The Thanksgiving Hymns

This week many in the United States pause, gather together, and give thanks. Giving thanks is a practice preserved in cultural memory and recorded in written texts. In Jewish literature, the Psalms are a testament to this tradition of giving thanks. For over two thousand years, psalms of thanksgiving have been read in services and in homes.

But have you ever heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls? A vast corpus of new material dated to approximately 200-BCE-70 CE was found in Israel near the Dead Sea in 1947. These scrolls provide a unique picture of a Jewish sectarian group, removed from popular society by choice, in protest to their perceived corruption of the Temple at that time.

The community who composed this religious poetry was preoccupied with prophetic literature because they believed there were “mysteries” hidden within Scripture. The hymns are written in predominantly Old Testament style using Old Testament themes and language. Very little of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) is alluded to in these compositions, and outside of the Psalms, most biblical phrases and allusions are drawn primarily from Isaiah 40-45.

Among the first seven scrolls discovered is a collection of religious poetry later named The Hodayot (Thanksgiving Hymns). The Hodayot are clearly modeled on biblical Thanksgiving Psalms due to structure and opening formula. Most of the hymns have a standard beginning: “I give thanks to you” or “blessed are you.” The opening is then typically followed by a description of the author’s distress/call for help, and finally closes with a description of deliverance.

 One of my favorite Thanksgiving Hymns is Hodayot 9:

In the meditation of my heart. I give thanks to You, O my God, for you have dealt wonderfully with dust, and you have worked so very powerfully with vessels of clay. As for me, what am I? For you have enlightened me in the counsel of Your truth, and You have given me insight into your wonderful works. You put praises in my mouth, and upon my tongue, a psalm; the utterance of my lips forms the foundation of joyous song. I shall praise Your mercy and consider Your strength all the day (1QHa 9:5-8).

 If you enjoy reading the Psalms and want a fresh set of texts to meditate on, I encourage you to read through the Hodayot. The Israel Museum offers a google tool that allows you to read the Dead Sea Scrolls in both Hebrew and English. The Hodayot are a unique collection of religious poetry because they offer a glimpse into the complexity of biblical interpretation which preoccupied this little community. They are also passionate hymns that may speak to you as you pause and reflect this Thanksgiving season.

                                                                Jennifer Metten Pantoja