What Angel or Prince Is Like Your Redemptive Help?

What is it about?

The ancient Jewish sect of the Dead Sea Scrolls is known for its boasts of a relationship with the angels. Not only did the members of the sect believe they communed with the angels in their liturgies, but they also were convinced that they would have the support of the angels at the great war that would occur at the end of the current age. However, in a text known as the War Scroll (1QM), there is a rhetorical question that has been understood as offering praise to the God of Israel at the angels’ expense: “What angel or prince is like your redemptive help?” (13:14). In other words, this question has been read as asking, “What angel can help us in the same way God does?” But to read the line as throwing shade at the angels is puzzling, given that there are so many statements in the War Scroll celebrating God’s willingness to send angels to help on the battlefield. This article approaches 1QM 13:14 from a different perspective. Instead of comparing God to the angels, this research suggests that the question is asking, “What angel can help us in the same way the angel sent by God helps us?” In ancient Judaism, the angel who was often singled out as Israel’s helper was Michael, whom the Dead Sea Scrolls sect dubbed the “Prince of Light.” Rather than belittling the angels, 1QM 13:14 celebrates the first-class help provided by Michael/the Prince of Light.

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