The granting of the spirit of holiness is viewed as yet to take place, in the eschatological future

[Guest guest]

" Adi Shakti's Power is Divine, is described in every religion. Same

in Islam called Ruh. In Bible is called the All-Pervading Power (Holy

Spirit). It's called as [...] that cannot be seen; Niranjana, the One

that is beyond any attachment... All these words are used for this

Divine Power. People have heard about it; people have sung about it

but unfortunately very few people felt it. And when they felt it they

didn't know how to give it to others; how to make others feel it. So

whatever they talked became sort of story or some nonsensical thing.

Nobody could believe that they have felt anything like that or could

imagine that there is such a Power really existing. Now luckily it

has become quite a universal fact for all of you - that you know

there is this Power. You are sure about this Power because you can

feel it within yourself. And when you feel it you feel very

joyous . . . the Power of Adi Shakti (Ruh of Allah) - She tells you

the Truth. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Cabella, Italy - June 9, 1996

 

 

" The Primordial Mother was the Primordial Power of Divine Love. The

Power of God separated from God itself. God was the Witness, Witness

of the Play of the Divine Power. There is no difference between the

two. God Almighty and His Power are just like the sun and his rays.

For us, for human beings it is impossible to conceive the mystery.

Moreover, in our ego, we think we can understand Him. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

The Mystery Of God, U.K. - June 8, 1981

 

 

" The reflection of Adi Shakti (Ruh) within you is the Kundalini.

Whatever is created on this Universe and in many Universes, is the

work of the Adi Shakti. Now many people believe that there is one God-

it's true, there's one God-God Almighty. But He has His own powers

which he can embody into someone and can get His own manifestation

expressed. So first of all He created the power of Adi Shakti. When

it was created, then there was a sound, the sound that we call as OM -

logos or anything you call it; the primordial sound - and these three

powers came out of that sound, is aa, oo and ma [a, u, m]- om [aum].

The Adi Shakti is the one who embodies the desire of God Almighty.

The desire of God Almighty comes out of His compassion and for His

own expression, for His own manifestation, for His own reflection. "

 

Shri Mataji, Cabella Ligure, Italy - June 8, 1996

Adi Shakti - The Power Of Compassion

 

 

Allah has decreed: " It is I and My messengers who must prevail " : For

Allah is One full of strength, able to enforce His Will.

Thou will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day,

loving those who resist Allah and His messenger,

Even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers

or their kindred.

For such He has written Faith in their hearts, and strengthened them

with a Spirit from Himself.

And he will admit them to Gardens, beneath which Rivers flow, to

dwell therein (forever.)

Allah will be well pleased with them, and they with Him.

They are the Party of Allah.

Truly it is the Party of Allah that will achieve Felicity.

 

surah 58:21-22 Al Mujadidah, (The Woman Who Pleads)

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)

 

 

" This leaves the problem of how God can be said to be about to preach

the good news to the poor. Whatever weight is placed on the

particular use of at Isa. 61.1, nowhere in the Old Testament is

this verb used with God as its subject, but always of human

proclaimers of (mostly good) news. Added to the fact that Isa 61.1,

which appears to be in view here, speak of one anointed by God’s

spirit to perform various actions on God’s behalf, the difficulty

seems almost insurmountable. Thus there appears to be an exegetical

deadlock. Every other consideration points to God being the subject

of the verbs in Line 12, and yet the third of these verbs, preaching

the good news, stubbornly resists having God as its subject. "

 

Eric Eve

The Jewish Context of Jesus' Miracles, by Eric Eve, pp. 195

 

 

" I am here to do the job of God Almighty. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Bordi, India — February 6, 1985

 

--------------

 

" The granting of the spirit of holiness is viewed as yet to take

place, in the eschatological future "

 

THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS AS ESCHATOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE OF OBEDIENCE IN

SECOND-TEMPLE JUDAISM

By Barry D. Smith

 

Qumran Sectarian Writings

 

The Qumran community understands its existence as owing to the

eschatological mercy of God.[21] Central to these texts is the

assumption that the community represents the beneficiaries of God's

present and future eschatological promises. One such promise is the

granting of a disposition to obedience,[22] sometimes called in the

Qumran sectarian texts " a spirit of holiness. " [23] Significantly, in

the Qumran sectarian texts this eschatological promise is understood

as both already realized in the present and yet to be realized in the

future.[24]

 

4.1. 1QS (Rule of the Community)

 

The Rule of the Community is a composite document serving as

something of a constitution for the Qumran community. It provides not

only regulations for entrance into the community and the ordering of

common life, but also some of the theoretical underpinnings of the

sectarian movement. In the Rule there are three references to " a

spirit of holiness " to consider.

 

4.1.1. 1QS 4.18-21

 

At His visitation, the time of eschatological salvation and final

judgment, God will put an end to the existence of deceit (4.18-19).

It is said that " God will purify by His truth all the works of man

and purge for himself some from the sons of man.[25] He will utterly

destroy the spirit of deceit from within his flesh " (4.20-21). What

is being described is the eschatological removal of the spirit of

deceit. The sons of truth may be generally righteous, having a

greater portion of the spirit of truth, but they still a share in the

spirit of deceit. Only at the time of God's visitation will the

possibility of disobedience to God be eliminated altogether.

 

The means by which God will carry out this eschatological purging is

described in 4.20 as " his truth " (). This important but ambiguous

term in this context seems to mean the attribute of God whereby he

opposes and ultimately defeats the deceit infecting His creation.

Parallel to this, in 4.21 it is said that God will purify " man " ()—

understood generically—from all evil acts by means of " a spirit of

holiness, " () and that God will also sprinkle upon " man " " a spirit of

truth " () like waters of purification. It seems that in this context,

at least, these three terms--his [God's] truth, a spirit of holiness

and a spirit of truth--are synonymous.[26] Each denotes the means by

which God will eschatologically purify the members of the community.

[27] Thus " a spirit of holiness " is a name for an eschatological

principle of obedience,[28] the means by which God shall destroy at

his visitation the very possibility of disobedience.[29]

 

4.1.2. 1QS 3.6-8

 

Although 1QS 4.18-21 anticipates a time in the future when God would

render disobedience impossible through purifying human beings by a

spirit of holiness, in 1QS 3.6-8, it is said that a spirit of

holiness is already present in the community, effecting repentance

and atonement.

 

1QS 2.19-25a specifies what appears to be the procedure for an annual

renewal of the covenant by the community. In this context, the case

of the one who refuses to enter the covenant is discussed. This one

is said to be unable to repent, in order that he might live () (3.1).

The same " cannot be purified by atonement, nor be cleansed by the

waters of purification, nor sanctify himself in streams and rivers,

nor cleanse himself in waters of ablution " (3.4-5). The refusal to

enter the community is equated with the inability to repent. The one

who cannot repent is cut off from the possibility of atonement and

ritual purity. Implicit is the assumption that these can only be

procured as a function of entering the covenant.

 

The reason that atonement is denied to the one who refuses to enter

the covenant is explained as follows: " It is by a spirit of holiness

of the community in his [God's] truth that he is cleansed from all

his iniquities. It is by an upright and humble spirit that his sin

can be atoned. " Atonement occurs by means of " a spirit of holiness "

(), which is synonymous with " an upright and humble spirit " ()

(3.7). In other words, atonement occurs when a person enters the

community and comes under the influence of a principle of obedience;

this naturally leads to repentance, the turning from sin towards

obedience to the Torah. In response to repentance God atones for sin,

as promised in Lev 26:40-42.[30] Since it is called " a spirit of

holiness of the community " (), this principle of obedience is

accessible only to those who enter the community.[31] The phrase " in

his truth " attached to " by a spirit of holiness of the community "

should probably be taken to mean that the cause of the existence of

this spirit of holiness is God's " truth, " meaning in this context his

eschatological mercy and salvation.

 

The variant reading in 4QS MS A (4Q255) Frg 2 of " by his holy spirit "

() rather than " by a holy spirit " () indicates that, in the

community's view, this new disposition to obedience characteristic of

those who enter the covenant originates with God. That is, the new

disposition to obedience comes to human beings from without, being a

gift of God's mercy.

 

This " spirit of holiness, " or " upright and humble spirit " is also

synonymous with " a spirit of the true counsel of God " () (3.6b),

which is likewise said to atone for iniquity: " For by the spirit of

the true counsel of God are the ways of man--all his iniquity--

atoned " (3.6b-7a). Assuming that should be translated as " true

counsel, " perhaps the designation " a spirit of the true counsel of

God " emphasizes the cognitive dimension of this new spiritual

disposition. The spirit consists of the true counsel of God, for

without an understanding of God's will, there can be no proper

repentance, since a person must know what God requires to be able to

repent. To have this new disposition to obedience results in being

able " to look upon the light of life " (3.7a). To look upon the light

is to understand God's will; to do so leads to life. But, as Wernberg-

Møller argues, the phrase could be translated as " the spirit of God's

true council, " meaning the spirit possessed by or characterizing

God's true council or community. If so, it is parallel to the

phrase " the spirit of holiness of the community " (3.7b).[32]

 

4.1.3. 1QS 9.3

 

In 1QS 9.3, it is said that, when established, the community will

be " a foundation of a spirit of holiness in (or of) eternal truth "

(9.3). Spirit of holiness seems to refer to the new disposition to

obedience that God has granted to the community. Thus the community

can be described as " a foundation of the spirit of holiness, " insofar

as this spirit of holiness given by God is ultimately responsible for

the existence of the community: it is a foundation consisting of the

spirit of holiness. Without it, there would be no repentance, no

possibility for the members of " cleansing their way by separating

themselves from deceit " (9.9). The phrase " in (or of) eternal truth "

modifying " a foundation of a spirit of holiness " makes it unambiguous

that this foundation has as its basis in God's " truth, " which is his

eschatological mercy resulting in salvation.

 

4.1.4. Summary

 

In the passages from Rule of the Community considered, spirit of

holiness denotes an eschatological principle of obedience; it is the

disposition to obedience that God in His eschatological mercy has

bestowed upon the community. There is, however, a present and a

future dimension to this eschatological gift. On the one hand, a

spirit of holiness is the means by which God will purify human beings

at His visitation (1QS 4.18-21). On the other hand, in two other

passages in Rule of the Community (1QS 3.6-8; 9.3), a spirit of

holiness is assumed already to exist in the community.[33] One need

not, however, resort to the positing of different sources and

careless redaction to account for this apparent discrepancy. Rather,

to use a well-worn phrase, this juxtaposition of the eschatological

present and future betrays the " already, but not yet " perspective, so

characteristic of this Jewish sect. It is a distinctive of the Qumran

community's self-understanding that its membership represents the

recipients of God's eschatological mercy, foretold in the Hebrew

Bible. Not with all Israel, but only with a minority within the

nation did God establish his eschatological covenant, or the new

covenant, foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. (Of course, potentially,

all Jews could be the beneficiaries of God's eschatological blessings

on the condition of joining the community.) Yet the establishment of

the community is merely the first phase of the realization of God's

eschatological salvation. In fact, the members of the community are

to be soldiers in the final, but protracted eschatological war.

Consequently, it is not contradictory to affirm that a spirit of

holiness is given to the community in the present in order to make

repentance and atonement possible, and that this same spirit of

holiness will function to destroy forever the very possibility of

disobedience in the future.[34] (Until God's visitation, the

possibility of sin remains open the members of the community, even

with a spirit of holiness [see 1QS 3.21-23].)

 

4.2. 1QSb 1.2 (Blessings)

 

1QSb contains blessings that are to be recited after the visitation

of God, when the sons of darkness and evil have been removed from the

world; thus these are eschatological blessings. At that time, the

maskil is to bless " [those] who fear [God, do] His will, and keep His

ordinances and are strengthened by His s[pirit] of holiness () and

walk perfectly. " The blessing, in other words, will be directed

towards those who obey God, the members of the community. What is

significant is that the members of the community after God's

visitation are also referred to as those strengthened by God's spirit

of holiness. From the context, God's spirit of holiness seems to be

an eschatological principle of obedience. That is, at the visitation

of God the members will be able to obey God, because they will have

been strengthened by God's spirit of holiness.[35]

 

4.3. 1QH (Thanksgiving Hymns)

 

In the Thanksgiving Hymns, there are found several references to

spirit of holiness as a present reality. In some of these, it is

clear that the spirit of holiness is a principle of obedience. A

spirit of holiness is granted to the founder and the members of his

community, with the result that obedience becomes possible. Without

this provision of mercy, obedience would be impossible, since human

beings are thought to be naturally weak and sinful.[36] Although it

is never stated explicitly, since the community understood its origin

and nature in eschatological terms, God's granting a spirit of

holiness is the fulfillment of His eschatological promise to make any

future disobedience on the part of the Israelites impossible. Of

course, the community applies this eschatological promise to itself,

not to the whole of the nation.

 

4.3.1. 1QH 16

 

In 1QH 16.7 the author refers to being strengthened by a (or your)

spirit of holiness (). [37] Following this, there occur three more

infinitive constructs: " To adhere to the truth of your covenant, to

serve you in truth with a perfect heart, to love your . " [38]

Unfortunately, the text is full of lacunae, so that it is not clear

how these three infinitive constructs relate to the previous

infinitive construct, " to be strengthened by a spirit of

holiness. " [39] Nevertheless, it is probable that being strengthened

by a spirit of holiness is to be enabled to obey God, since this is

the central theme of this passage.[40] (In 1QH 1.31-32 God is said to

strengthen the spirit of man, but with no reference to the means, the

holy spirit.)

 

A few lines later the author writes, " I know that no one is righteous

except through you " () (16.11). On this assumption, the author

implores God () " by means of the spirit that God has given " him

() " to perfect your [loving]kindnesses to your servant [forever], to

purify me by your spirit of holiness " () and to draw me near to You

by your grace according to your lovingkindnesses " (1QH 16.11-12).

What is significant is that God's spirit of holiness is said to be

the means of purification.[41] The meaning is probably that receiving

the spirit of holiness issues in repentance, which results in being

purified from sins.[42]

 

4.3.2. 1QH 7.6-7

 

In 1QH 7.6-7, the author begins his hymn on a note of

thankfulness: " I thank you, O Lord, that you have supported me with

your strength, that you have spread your spirit of holiness () ADD

Check Hebrew// reference upon me in order that I not stumble. " [43]

God enables the founder to carry out his appointed task of leadership

within the community against all opposition by means of his spirit of

holiness.[44] To stumble would be not only to fail, but to sin

against God. The spirit of holiness is a principle of obedience, a

new spiritual disposition.

 

4.3.3. Summary

The fact that God makes obedience possible for the leader of the

community and the members of his community is sometimes expressed as

God's giving them a spirit of holiness. This spirit of holiness is an

eschatological principle of obedience.

 

5. Conclusion In the passages examined, spirit of holiness is a

functional term denoting an eschatological principle of obedience. It

refers to the new, divinely-granted capacity of repentance, which in turn

results in atonement.[45] In some of the texts, the granting of

the spirit of holiness is viewed as yet to take place, in the

eschatological future, whereas in other texts, it is a present

eschatological reality. Defined as such, the term spirit of holiness

is synonymous with the various expressions in the Hebrew Bible used

to describe the means by which Israel will be spiritually transformed

at the eschaton. Clearly not every use of the term spirit of holiness

in second-Temple Jewish texts has this meaning. Nevertheless, this is

a distinctive use of the term.[46]

 

www.abu.nb.ca/courses/pauline/SpirHol.htm

 

 

Notes

 

[23] See A. A. Anderson, " The Use of `Ruah' in 1QS, 1QH and 1QM, " JSS

7 (1962) 293-303, especially 301-302. F. F. Bruce categorizes the

uses of the term " spirit of holiness " in the DSS, but fails to notice

its use as the eschatological principle of obedience ( " Holy Spirit in

the Qumran Texts, " Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society 6

(1969) 49-55).

 

[24] Foerster explains, " Die Qumrangemeinde weiß sich also in einem

eigenartigen `Zwischen' lebend: die Heilszeit ist eingeleitet, Gott

hat die Würzel der Pflanzung sprießen lassen, aber die Vollendung

steht noch aus, noch ist die Zeit Belials " ( " Der heilige Geist im

Spätjudentum, " NTS 8 (1960-62) 117-34, esp 132). The spirit of

holiness correspondingly is understood as a present and a future

reality. E. Sjöberg anachronistically interprets references to " the

spirit of holiness " and other similar formulations as God's

spirit: " Er [Gott] hat seinen heiligen Geist auf ihn gesprengt, um

ihn zu reinigen und die Schuld zu sühnen " ( " Neuschöpfung, " 135). In

most of the passages in question, however, spirit should be taken to

mean human spiritual disposition as influenced by God. M. Treves is

on the right track when he insists that " spirit " in 1QS 3-4 refers

to " tendencies or propensities that are implanted in every man's

heart " ( " The Two Spirits of the Rule of the Community, " RQ 3 [1961-

62] 449-52). He errs, however, in not recognizing that some uses

of " spirit " refer to angelic beings.

 

[25] J. Licht believes that the text should read " the building of

man " ( " An Analysis of the Treatise on the Two Spirits in DSD, "

Scripta Hierosolymitana, vol. 4, Aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls [ed.

C. Rabin and Y. Yadin; Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1965] 97.

 

[26] See Friedrich Noetscher, " Geist und Geister in den Texten von

Qumran, " in Mélanges bibliques rédigés en l'honneur de Andre Robert

(Paris: Blaud and Gay, 1957) 306-307; Anderson, " The Use of " Ruah " in

1QS, 1QH and 1QM, " 301.

 

[27] The relationship between the spirit of truth or spirit of

holiness as the eschatological means of the purification of the sons

of Truth and the spirit of truth who resides in every human being

from birth (1QS 3-4; see also T. Judah 20; T. Asher 1.3-9) is

difficult to determine. Schreiner has proposed that they are the same

( " Geistbegabung in der Gemeinde von Qumran, " BZ 9 (1965) 161-80, esp.

174-77). Similarly, Foerster argues that the spirit of holiness in

1QH is synonymous with the spirit of truth in 1QS 3-4 ( " Der heilige

Geist im Spätjudentum, " 129-30). It is preferable, however, to allow

for polyvalence and even ambiguity of usage of the terms " spirit, "

" spirit of holiness, " " spirit of truth, " or any other phrase

consisting of " spirit " in genitive construct with another noun. One

should not assume that there is a single consistent doctrine of the

spirit underlying each of the occurrences of " spirit " used by itself

or in construct form. The spirit of truth present in each human being

from birth is not the spirit of truth by which God will purify

eschatologically.

 

[28] A. R. C. Leaney feels obliged to connect the use of " spirit of

holiness " in 1QS 4.21 with other uses of " spirit of holiness "

" spirit, " and other phrases with " spirit " in them, on the assumption

that there is a shared root meaning (The Rule of Qumran and its

Meaning [London: SCM, 1966] 158-59). This is a difficult task, and

probably in the end results in misinterpretation, since there is no

root meaning.

 

[29] Strangely, in his study Licht does not comment on the use of the

phrase spirit of holiness in 1QS 4.21 ( " An Analysis of the Treatise

on the Two Spirits in DSD " .

 

[30] The connection between the spirit of holiness and forgiveness is

missed when the former is not understood as a principle of obedience.

See, for example, O. Betz, who affirms that the spirit serves as

a " Reinigungsmittel " but without explaining why (Offenbarung und

Schriftforschung in der Qumransekte [WUNT 6; Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck,

1960] 131) and Bruce, " Holy Spirit, " 53. G. Klinzing says that both a

blameless life or obedience and the spirit of holiness were means of

expiation in the community, but does not seem to notice this is

really one means of atonement: repentance (Die Umdeutung des Kultus

in der Qumrangemeinde und im Neuen Testament [sUNT 7; Göttingen:

Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1971] 93-106). Likewise, P. Osten-Sacken

does not make explicit that the " spirit of holiness " cleanses those

who enter the community, because it leads to repentance and God

mercifully allows repentance to have an expiatory effect (Gott und

Belial [sUNT 6; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1969] 134-35).

 

[31] See Garnet, Salvation, 58.

 

[32] P. Wernberg-Møller, The Manual of Discipline (STDJ 1; Leiden:

Brill, 1957) 61-62.

 

[33] In CD 5.11b-19 occurs a reference to those who heard the

community's interpretation of the Torah, but rejected it. They are

described as follows: " Also they have made their spirit of holiness

unclean (), and with blaspheming tongue they have opened their mouths

against the statutes of the covenant of God, saying, `They are not

unfounded' " (5.11b-12). The term " spirit of holiness " as used in this

context seems to intend something like an original disposition to

good or the conscience. Rejecting the " statutes of the covenant "

results in the defilement of this the spirit of holiness, damage to

this original disposition to good or impairs the conscience.

Likewise, in CD 6.11b-8.2a, each member of the community is warned

not to " defile his spirit of holiness " () (7.3b-4a). From the context

it is clear that defiling one's spirit of holiness results from

violating the laws of purity, especially dietary laws (7.3). To

defile one's spirit of holiness through ritual impurity is the

defilement of that original disposition to good or perhaps a restored

disposition to good. The phrase " to defile one's spirit of holiness "

seems to be an interpretation of Lev 11:43; 20:25, in which the

verb " to defile " () is used in the context of ritual defilement; in

these passages, however, the object of the defilement is not spirit

of holiness, but " soul " (). See O. Betz, Offenbarung, 126-30.

 

[34] See P. von der Osten-Sacken, Gott und Belial (SUNT 6; Göttingen:

Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1969) 178-79.

 

[35] In 1QSb 2.24, another reference to a spirit of holiness

occurs: " May He be gracious to you through the spirit of holiness. "

Unfortunately, the context to which this statement belongs is lost,

so that the full meaning of this text is unrecoverable.

 

[36] This is a long-recognized aspect of Qumran anthropology, and

serves as a presupposition of the teaching on the spirit of holiness

in the DSS (see Dietzel, " Beten im Geist, " 12-14; Sjöberg,

" Neuschöpfung " ; Betz, Offenbarung, 120-23.

 

[37] Vermes translates as " cleaving to Thy Spirit of [holiness], but

this obscures the intended meaning.

 

[38] Becker, Das Heil Gottes, 162. Becker correctly interprets the

reference to the spirit of holiness in 1QH 16.7 as " Kraft...,die

sowohl negativ reinigend, als auch positiv den Wandel festigend, dem

Frommen helfend beisteht " (162). This coheres with his hypothesis

that the community constituted a sort of " Heilssphäre. " Becker does

not connect the spirit with repentance and repentance with removal of

objective guilt. He considers the spirit as a power (Kraft) that

removes sin; it is synonymous with the Heilsphäre. As already

indicated, Becker's analysis seems to be a case of over-

interpretation.

 

[39] As Becker explains, in some contexts " (God's) truth " is the

equivalent of God's commandments, God's will as expressed concretely

in the Torah (Das Heil Gottes, 155-60). With respect to 1QH 16.7, he

writes, " Da der Mensch wohl kaum an Gottes Treue zu seinem Bund

kleben soll, wird man hier als Inhalt des Bundes fassen müssen,

d.h. ist hier die in den Gesetzen konkret gewordene Wahrheit Gottes "

(159).

 

[40] See Dietzel, " Beten, " 23-24. Becker correctly interprets the

reference to the spirit of holiness in 1QH 16.7 as " Kraft...,die

sowohl negativ reinigend, als auch positiv den Wandel festigend, dem

Frommen helfend beisteht " (Heil, 162). This coheres with his

hypothesis that the community constituted a sort of " Heilssphären. "

 

[41] The spirit of holiness is synonymous with " the spirit that You

have given me " in 16.11. Thus it is probable that the founder's

reference in 4.31-32 to the spirit created by God for human beings

should also be taken as synonymous with " a spirit of holiness. " The

passage reads: " And the path of man is not secure except by the

spirit () that God creates for him, to perfect the path of the sons

of man, in order that all his creatures know the strength of his

power " (see also 12.11-12; 13.18-19). In this context, the spirit is

the capacity for obedience implanted in human beings by God. By it a

person's way is made perfect, so that it becomes known to all that

God is active in enabling obedience (see Garnet, Salvation, 24-27).

In addition, a spirit of holiness may also be called " a spirit of

your [God's] compassion " () (16.9) or " a righteous spirit " ()

(16.10). Anomalously, in 17.17, the author probably thanks God not

merely for the spirit but the " spirits " that God has given him

(). One should add that in 1QH 9.32 the author says that God has

delighted him with your spirit of holiness () (1QH 9.32).

 

[42] See Dietzel, " Beten, " 18.

 

[43] In 1QH 17:26 an author other than the founder of the community

uses writes, [i thank you, Lord, that] you have shed () [your] spirit

() upon your servant. As in 1QH 7.7, the verb is used to describe

the giving of the spirit of holiness, presumably with the same

meaning. The probable use of the pronominal suffix denotes that the

new spiritual disposition has its origin with God and is not an

innate human capacity. Presumably, this shedding of the spirit

occurred at the time of the author's entrance into the community.

 

[44] The somewhat oblique reference in 1QH 14.11 to the existence of

two spirits corresponding to good and evil () could imply that there

is a counterpart to the spirit of holiness operative among human

beings, similar to the spirit of deceit in 1QS 3-4. The fragmentary

nature of text makes it difficult to determine exactly the intended

meaning, but it seems to be alluding to two forces responsible for

all human volitional activity. The fact that, immediately following,

the author refers to God's spirit of holiness could be taken as

confirmation of this interpretation (14.13). Another possible

reference to the negative counterpart to the spirit of holiness could

be, translatable as " guilty inclination " : " There is no salvation for

guilty inclination; it will be trampled to destruction " ()

(6.32; see also 7.16). The guilty inclination seems to be the natural

disposition to evil in human beings, which will bring God's judgment.

When this disposition is supplanted by God's spirit of holiness, the

result is obedience and salvation.

 

[45] Leaney errs in objectifying the " spirit of holiness " in the Dead

Sea Scrolls, so that it refers to an entity that exists apart from

its effects; in other words, he does not interpret the term

functionally. Leaney writes, for example, " The holiness of God's

spirit is emphasized again and again: only God's spirit is holy and

only he can bestow it upon a man " (Rule of Qumran, 35). This is

probably the result of the influence of the Christian conception of

the Holy Spirit on his interpretation of these uses of the term

" spirit of holiness. " O. Betz also errs does not see the functionality

of the term; rather he objectifies the " spirit of holiness, "

interpreting it as a substance or an entity that originates from

above and overcomes the flesh and its inherent weakness and impurity.

He writes, " Der Geist dagegen kommt von oben, denn er ist Gottes

Geist und, wie aus seiner Bezeichung hervorgeht, heilig wie der

heilige Gott " (Offenbarung, 125). G. Maier likewise wrongly concludes

that the spirit of holiness " Der 'heilige Geist' is also nicht der

schlechthin menschliche….Der 'Heilige Geist' ist wirklich Gotttes

Geist, geht aber gewisserma8en in das Inventar des Frommen über "

(Mensch und freir Wille (WUNT 12; Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1971) 188-

89. At least with respect to the instances studied in this paper, it

is better to say that the term " spirit of holiness " is a means of

describing God's action on individual Jews, creating in them a

disposition to obedience. In other words, it is a divinely-grant

attitude or spirit that leads to obedience to the Law or holiness.

 

[46] There are other meanings for the " spirit of holiness. " First, in

the Dead Sea Scrolls, the phrase " the spirit of holiness " is used to

denote the means of prophetic inspiration: 1QS 8.16 " According to

that which the prophets have revealed by his spirit of holiness ().

(In CD 2.12 a similar meaning is probably intended: " And he informed

them through those anointed of the spirit of holiness... " (). This

text is ambiguous for two reasons: 1. There is no preposition with

holy spirit, so that it can be the object of the verb (see Vermes'

translation); 2. It is necessary to emend to (see M. A. Knibb, The

Qumran Community [CCWJCW 2; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1987], 27) The context suggests that the prophets are meant, contrary

to Leaney, who interprets wxyvm as referring to God's Messiah, to

whom will be granted " the power to make the spirit of his holiness

known to the 'remnant' " ). Second, the spirit of holiness denotes the

means of obtaining spiritual knowledge otherwise inaccessible to

human beings (see 1QH 12.11-12; 13.18; 14.12b-13a); the same idea is

found in WisSol 9.17. The use of " spirit of holiness " in these texts

is a synonym for " spirit of insight " in Sir 39.6 (see also Sir

48.12a, 24).