מינוח קומראני ואסטרולוגי ב'מוסר למבין'

The editio princeps of AQInstruction (Musar Le Mevin) is a milestone in the publication of wisdom texts from the Qumran library (J. Strugnell, D. Harrington and T. Elgvin [eds.], Qumran Cave 4, XXIV: Sapiential Texts, Part 2: 4QInstruction (Musar Le Mevin: 4Q415ff. [DJD, 34], Oxford 2000). The following observations pertain to instances where the editors' translations are offered only with hesitancy, and the difficulties that remain point to the need to look for other more cogent renderings of the text.
A. שר as a title of honor for communal colleagues. The editors, who assume a transition from the antagonist of the mevin to God, who is the subject of the verb יצדק and the pronoun הואה , were perplexed by the description of the deity as a 'prince among princes'. 'And make haste to recount a rebuke towards him, But do not overlook thy own sins. [For . . . ] He indeed will declare righteous like thee; for He {for He} is a prince among prin[ces. And with forgiveness] will He work' (4Q417 2 i 4 - 5 ) . However, as we know from Damascus Document 6, 5 - 6 , the early adherents of the Qumran community were entitled שרים , 'princes', as refleeted in the pesher on Num 21:18, 'the well dug by princes, which the nobles of the people started'. Both שר and נדיב are used as epithets of honor in 4QInstruction. This use of שר helps to clarify the meaning of the obscure word והנקשר with which the editors struggled, 'he who is bound up (bewitched?)'. It is clear from the wide space between the ק and the ש that these are two words והנק שר , with the apparent meaning 'and clear the noble one (of guilt)', parallel to עבור לו , 'forgive his trespass'. The justification for this leniency of the mevin towards his antagonist derives not only from the latter's noble status, but from the lack of legal charges against him ( בלוא הוכח ). According to the procedural rules governing the relationship of members of the community, no charge against a fellow may be disseminated without a prior judicial hearing ( אשר לא הוכח ) (CDC 9, 2 - 4 ) .
Β. The Astrological Connotation of מולד . 4Q416 contains passages concerning marriage: אשה לקחת ברישכה קח מול[דיה] (2 iii 20). is translated in the edition, 'Thou hast taken a wife in thy poverty, take her offspring'. The premise that this is a call for the husband to provide for the sustenance of his children is questionable. More plausible is Elgvin's suggestion that לקח in the gnomic sense pertains to determining the מולד horoscope of one's prospective wife. The astrological sense of מולד is further illustrated by the advice to the mevin not to be devastated by the death of a relative: ׳ אל תשום באבלכה... הבט ברז נהיה וקח מולדי ישע Do not despair in your mourning... contemplate the mystery that is to come and heed the birth-times of salvation'. The moderation of mourning echoes Ben Sira 38:17-20, but here it derives from the trust in the coming of pre-destined salvation. Astrological beliefs are well documented at Qumran. 4Q186 is a physiognomic text which uses מולד in what is clearly a horoscope: 'This is the birth-time in which he was born in the foot of Taurus'. Note also the use of מולד in the Aramaic 'Elect of God' text (4Q534) based on the determination of man's birth-time and the spirit of his soul by providence. It is probable that the reputation of the Essenes as foretellers of the future was related to astrology. Conceptually the deterministic theology of Qumran is akin to the astrological view that everything depends on fate. Note also the prominence of the divine epithet אל הדעות in the catechism of the Community Rule and 4QInstruction.
C. Poverty. One of the salient aspects of the Instruction is the characterization of the mevin as עני, רש, אביון . The author is aware of vicissitudes in economic circumstances, but he regards poverty and humility as desirable moral qualities: 'Be thou a s a poor man in your dispute' (4Q417 iii 14). This may be compared to the self-image of the people of Qumran as the poor, B. the humble in spirit, and the congregation of ebyonim.