384 E.D. Reymond rities. From the more fragmentary context of 4Q401 16, 2 = 4Q402 9, 3 we learn primarily that hmmd occurs in the context of speech, presumably where the word is in construct with another word(30). In 4Q417 2 I, 3 we have a bit more context. The prepositional phrase hmmdb has been translated by other scholars as “in whisper”, “calmly”, “in silence (calmness)” (31). Although one might take this as an evidence of hmmd’s connotation of audible sound, it is not necessarily the case that it must mean “whisper” or something akin to this. As demonstrated above, a word meaning “silence” in the context of a verb indicating speech qualifies the notion conveyed by the verb; and, specific parallels to the syntax of the preposition b + a word for silence are found in the passages cited above. For these occurrences as well, hmmd may be understood as from d-m-m I and understood to mean the absence of sound and motion. The rest of the occurrences of hmmd appear in construct phrases in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Two of these (4Q405 18, 3 and 5) are from fragmentary contexts (32). These phrases are difficult to interpret, in part due to the fragmentary nature of the scrolls, but also due to the convoluted sense and syntax of the whole text. These convolutions present problems for interpreting even passages that are well preserved (33). Syntactic confusion derives from (among other (30) The rectum word might be lwq (“voice” or “sound”), μyhwla (“God” or “divine beings”), fqç (“silence”), or ˚rb (“blessing”); all occur as the rectum word, preceded by the construct form of hmmd. The word ˚rb is defined as a masculine “by-form of hkrb” by NEWSOM, “Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat”, 353. (31) These translations are, respectively, those of G. VERMES, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London 2004) 428; DSSSE, 855; STRUGNELL – HARRINGTON, Qumran Cave 4, XXIV, 176. Strugnell and Harrington ask in their comment to this passage “in silence or sotto voce?” (ibid., 179). (32) These read, respectively, [μ]yhwla tmmd jwrb μyçd[wq] and [lw]q tmmdb alp ylh[t]. NEWSOM, Angelic Liturgy, 91, translates these “[hol]ines with the quiet divin[e] spirit of godlike being[s]” and “wondrous [ps]alms with the quiet so[und]” (NEWSOM, “Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat”, 338). She presents better translations in a subsequent publication “[ho]lines with the quiet spirit of godlike being[s]” and “[ps]alms of wonder with a quiet so[und]”. It might be observed that the second phrase reverses the more common combination in the Songs where hmmd usually follows (and modifies) lwq. It is hard to be certain of any interpretation in 4Q405 18, 5, but, given the frequency of the reverse combination of words, this might be a case of an epexegetical construct. (33) An example of this convolution is found in 4Q403 1 I, .32-33: “Because in the splendor of praises (is) the glory of heaven (lit., his kingdom wtwklm); in it (i.e., heaven) are the praises of all the divine ones, together with the splendor of hea[ven] (lit., his kingdom wtwklm)”. The Hebrew reads: [wtw]klm lwk rdh μ[ μyhwla / lwk twjbçt hb wtwklm dwbk twjbçt rdhb yk.