יצר לב האדם', הגוף והטיהור מן הרע: מטבעות תפילה ותפיסות עולם בספרות בית שני ובקומראן וזיקתם לספרות חז"ל ולתפילות מאוחרות'

In the first part of the article, several aspects of Abraham's prayer in the book of Jubilees (12:19-21) are scrutinized. Section 1 of this part argues that the author of Jubilees used an existing prayer, placing itin the mouth of Abraham and reinterpreting its wording. Section 2 notes that an apotropaic prayer, strikingly similar to Jub. 12:20, is foundi n a medieval Palestinian siddur from the Genizah. The Hebrew wording in both prayers is: הרוחות הרעות המושלות ביצר לב האדם . Section 3 presents a detailed investigation of the term yeser in Jubilees, at Qumran, and in Judith. The term yeser is applied to the human mind, thoughts, and decisions. Usually used in negative contexts, positive ones also occur in Judith and at Qumran. This term is barely related to dualistic notions (the term yeser at Qumran in the meaning of `creature', which is related toQumranic dualism, seems irrelevant to this discussion). From the terminological perspective, it appears that the expression יצר רע in11Q5 (Psalms a) 19:14-16 as well as in Jub. 12:20 is related to the meaning of this expression in rabbinic literature. The evil yeser, which is ruled bydemons, became in rabbinic literature a quasi-demonic entity of evil and lust within the human personality. As discussed in section 4, a study of the term yeser elucidates the ideological significance of this phrase in Jub. 12:20. Is human evil conceived of as caused by evil spirits, or by innate human decision, or are the two somehow related? The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs emphasizes that evil spirits have no power over the righteous. This seems to also be the notion expressed in Jub. 12:20. Several conflicting answers to the fundamental question of the nature of evil in ancient Jewish literature are also surveyed and analyzed. These conflicting answers serve as the ideological background for the rabbinic concept of the (evil) yeser as a quasi-demonic inherent power. As shown in section 5, the rabbinic concept of yeser is by no means a reaction toQumranic dualistic notions, as has been argued. The demonic origin ofevil is disputed as early as Sirach (22:27-23:6; 21:27), where evil and lust, attributed elsewhere to demonic powers, are explicitly and implicitly transformed into an innate quality of the human condition. This is the forerunner of the rabbinic concept of yeser, although the meaning that the term yeser acquired in rabbinic literature does not occur in Sirach.The second part of the article deals with a pattern shared by prayers for the purification of the human body. In various ideological contexts (among them Qumran, Paul, and rabbinic midrash), evil has power over human beings through their bodies, but the body is not conceived of as innately evil. Therefore, the purification of the body was supposed to yield a perfect state of being. A pattern of prayer for the purification of human limbs may be traced at Qumran, as well as in rabbinic prayers and in Sirach. There seems, however, to be no genetic relationship between the various prayers; each elaborates, in different theological contexts, anancient pattern of prayer. Comparison of the relationship between 4QBarkhi Nafshi and Paul (Col. 3:8-12) is especially instructive.