the heavenly visions of the Old Testament provided the material and inspiration for the descriptions and assertions in later Judaism of the appearance of God in heaven, and the worship offered to him by celestial beings. Although by no means exclusively limited to the trisagion, or qeduššah as it is termed in Judaism, this particular acclamation of praise was considered in some circles to be an important element in the angelic repertoire. The extension of the biblical ideas can be traced in the Qumran literature, the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the yorde merkāvāh or Hekhalot literature, and in the evolving prayers of the Synagogue.

THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY

The discovery of scrolls in a number of caves near the ruins of Qumran on the Dead Sea – the Dead Sea Scrolls – has given scholars a much broader picture of the variety of religious beliefs in Judaism during the period 100 BCE – 100 CE. Amongst the writings which originated within the community itself (many scholars identify them as Essenes), one basic belief was the idea of a cosmic struggle between light and darkness, represented by the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. The sectarians of the Qumran Community believed that they were engaged in a struggle with their enemies which reflected a cosmic struggle between the Spirits of Light and the Spirits of Darkness – an angelic struggle. M. Mansoor describes it as follows:

With God in heaven, under the leadership of the prince of light [1QM 13:10] are all the hosts of angels, who gladly and willingly serve God, who sing His praises, who compose His retinue, and fight His battles. […]