What Is Words of the Luminaries?

Words of the Luminaries, preserved in three fragmentary scrolls among the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran, is one of the most important liturgical compositions found there. It appears to have been an actual liturgy, not merely a literary creation, and gives penitential prayers for every day of the week, in addition to a hymn of praise for the Sabbath. The biblical history is rehearsed from the creation of Adam (in the prayer for the first day of the week) through the contemporary situation of the author (in the prayer for the sixth day of the week). The prayer of each day begins, “Remember, O Lord, that . . .” and concludes, “Blessed is the Lord, who . . . Amen. Amen.” It is not certain that the prayers were composed at Qumran, but they certainly comport with the group’s beliefs.