Thanksgiving Psalms

Dead Sea Scroll

Also known as: “Hodayot”

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July 14, 2026

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The Hodayot, or "Thanksgiving Psalms," are a collection of hymns found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. These sectarian psalms express praise to God and emphasize the human need for divine grace for justification. Some scholars suggest these hymns might have been written by the "Teacher of Righteousness," a significant figure in the Essene community associated with the scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered near the Dead Sea, are ancient manuscripts that have provided crucial insights into biblical literature, the history of Palestine, and the origins of Christianity and rabbinic Judaism.12

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biblical literature
Hodayot
…modern Hebrew name for the Thanksgiving Psalms. This scroll contains sectarian hymns of praise to God. In its view of the fleshly nature of man, who can be justified only by God’s undeserved grace, it resembles St. Paul’s approach to the same problem. Some scholars think that the work, or…
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…modern Hebrew name for the Thanksgiving Psalms. This scroll contains sectarian hymns of praise to God. In its view of the fleshly nature of man, who can be justified only by God’s undeserved grace, it resembles St. Paul’s approach to the same problem. Some scholars think that the work, or…
Read More