Nominal Density and Semantic Compression in the Liturgical Style of 4QBerakhot

This article examines the stylistic and rhetorical function of the construct state in a liturgical pericope from 4QBerakhot (4Q286, frg. 1a ii, lines 1–11), one of the densest concentrations of construct chains in the Qumran corpus. Through close philological reading, colometric analysis, and systematic comparison with related Yaḥad compositions—chiefly the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, the Community Rule, and the Hodayot—it argues that the construct state functions here not merely as a syntactic relation but as a stylistic and theological device. Sequences of construct phrases compress multiple semantic relations into compact nominal units, multiply rare plural forms (“double plurality”), and recast abstract concepts as fixed entities within a heavenly architecture. The suppression of finite verbs produces a non-eventive, static mode of representation: rather than recounting a visionary event, as in Ezekiel’s throne theophany, the text presents the worshipper with a static heavenly reality and a calendar of fixed times for praise. The pericope thereby reworks prophetic vision into nominal liturgy, constructing the community’s presence within sacred space through language itself. The study illuminates how nominal density operates as a constitutive feature of Qumran liturgical style and invites broader comparison across the Scrolls.