Some of the worship at Qumran is foreign to us since it is from a culture far distant from our own in time and space. However, we as Latter-day Saints recognize in the texts from Qumran many aspects of worship that resonate with our restored truth because they are based on truths revealed anciently, many of which are still found in the Old Testament. The constant expression of humility is most impressive in the hymns from the members of this covenant community. The residents of Qumran recognized that their position as the only covenant people was an exalted calling, one that must be constantly balanced and tempered by humility. We share with the community at Qumran the heritage of the Old Testament and recognize with them the need to constantly call upon the Lord God of Israel, to be obedient to his word, to obey his law of sacrifice, to seek to become holy through repentance, participate in his ordinances, to read and study his word, and to continue to bless his name.

These remarkable lines from the Thanksgiving Hymns capture the feelings of covenant people from all ages and provide a moment of reflection for us, the covenant people of the latter days:

1. Throughout the scriptures, Israel is reminded to continue to call upon the Lord, but although prayer is the very essence of worship, little instruction is given in the law of Moses specifically legislating prayer. The bulk of the legislation in Leviticus, for example, regards sacrifice. Ritual is accompanied by recitation in only a few incidents: confession upon bringing a sin offering (see Leviticus 5:5), the priest sending away the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16:21), the recitation connected with the bringing of firstfruits (see Deuteronomy 26:1–11), and the confession of tithes (see Deuteronomy 26:12–15).

2. There are two reliable English editions of most of the Dead Sea Scroll texts. The first and most complete is Florentino García Martínez, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994). The second is Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 4th ed. (London: Penguin Books, 1995), which will soon be expanded in a 5th edition.

3. See James C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1994). This is one of the best introductions to the scrolls and their study.

4. A good general survey of prayer at Qumran can be found in Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1994), 289–312. The first full-length comprehensive study of the prayer texts from Qumran was recently published by Bilhah Nitzan, Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994).

5. Josephus, Jewish War 2.8.5. These English translations of Josephus are taken from the edition of the works of Josephus, translated by H. Thackeray et al., Loeb Classical Library (1927).

6. Rule of the Community (1QS) X 13–6. This and subsequent translations of the Rule of the Community are taken from a recent edition of the text translated by Elisha Qimron and James H. Charlesworth, Rule of the Community and Related Documents, vol. 1 of The Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James H. Charlesworth et al., (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994).

7. See Shemaryahu Talmon, "The Emergence of Institutionalized Prayer in Israel in Light of Qumran Literature," in The World of Qumran from Within: Collected Studies (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1989), 209 (pp. 200–243).

8. The history of Jewish prayer is recounted in a popular work edited by Raphael Posner, Uri Kaploun, and Shalom Cohen entitled Jewish Liturgy: Prayer and Synagogue Service through the Ages (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1975).

9. For example, Moshe Weinfeld has identified fragment 2 of 4Q434 as a form of Grace after Meals for Mourners and hymns from the Psalms Scroll of Cave 11 as containing elements congruent with the Morning Benediction. See Moshe Weinfeld, "Grace after Meals in Qumran," Journal of Biblical Literature 111 (1992): 427–40, and "Prayer and Liturgical Practice," in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Years of Research, ed. Devorah Dimant and Uriel Rappaport (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992), 241–58.

10. See the edition of the scroll prepared by J. A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1967).

12. A readable study of this intriguing document with many illustrations can be found in Yigael Yadin, The Temple Scroll: The Hidden Law of the Dead Sea Sect (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985).

13. Liturgical Prayer (1Q34 and 1Q34bis) II, in Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls in English.

14. See Yadin, The Temple Scroll, 84–111.

15. Purification Ritual (4Q512) VII, in Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls in English.

16. Josephus, Jewish War 2.129.132.

17. Barki Nafshi (4Q434) 1 i 1–4. This and subsequent translations of the Barki Nafshi are by the author. Complete translations of this text can be found in García Martínez, Dead Sea Scrolls Translated and Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls in English.

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