A Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible between the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Masoretic Text

Author(s):  
Marvin A. Sweeney ◽  
Shelley Birdsong

The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the major prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible, although Rabbinic tradition sometimes places it first following Kings and prior to Ezekiel due to its thematic focus on destruction (b. Baba Batra 14b–15a). It presents the words of the prophet, Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, who lived in Jerusalem during the reigns of the Judean kings, Josiah (640–609 bce), Jehoahaz (609 bce), Jehoiakim (609–598 bce), Jehoiachin (597 bce), and Zedekiah (597–587 or 586 bce). Jeremiah was a Levitical priest from Anathoth, who resided in Jerusalem during the last years of the kingdom of Judah. Major events during the period ascribed to Jeremiah include the outset of King Josiah’s reforms (c. 628 bce), the death of Josiah (609 bce), the Babylonian subjugation of Judah (605 bce), Nebuchadnezzar’s first deportation of Jews to Babylon (597 bce), the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (587–586 bce), and the assassination of Gedaliah (582 bce). Jeremiah interpreted the Babylonian subjugation of Jerusalem in 605 bce and the later destruction of Jerusalem in 587 or 586 bce as acts of punishment by YHWH, the G-d of Israel and Judah, for the people’s alleged failure to observe the divine will. Although the book of Jeremiah is largely concerned with destruction, it also holds out hope for the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem, especially in Jeremiah 30–33. The book appears in two very distinctive forms from antiquity. The Hebrew Masoretic text (MT) is the standard form of Jeremiah in Jewish Bibles, but the Greek Septuagint (LXX) form of the book is approximately one-eighth shorter and displays a very different arrangement of materials (e.g., the oracles concerning the nations in MT Jeremiah 46–51 appear following portions of Jeremiah 25 in the LXX form of the book). The Dead Sea Scrolls likewise include remnants of early Hebrew forms of both of these versions. Scholarly consensus maintains that both versions grew out of a common original text, although the issue is still debated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-216
Author(s):  
Jelle Verburg ◽  
Tal Ilan ◽  
Jan Joosten

An expedition of the Egypt Exploration Society in 1913–14 discovered four fragments of the Hebrew Bible (from the books of Kings and Job). This article presents the first critical edition of the fragments. With a few minor exceptions, the fragments conform to the Masoretic Text. The possible datings of these fragments range from the third to the early eighth centuries ce. Very little is known about the transmission of the text of the Hebrew Bible in the so-called ‘silent’ or ‘dark’ period between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Cairo Genizah. The fragments also testify to the presence of a Jewish community in Egypt – which was virtually eradicated after the revolt of 115–17 ce. The article gives a brief overview of the extant documentary and epigraphic evidence to reconstruct the forgotten story of Jews at Antinoopolis in Late Antiquity.


Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Schiffman

This chapter argues that the Writings was an evolving collection of scripture used in a wide variety of ways by the Dead Sea Scrolls community at Qumran (second century bce to first century ce). Though the Hebrew word Ketuvim (Writings) does not occur in the Scroll material, all but one (Esther) of the books contained therein are found. The plentiful and varied textual evidence at Qumran, and occasionally other Judean desert sites, is presented with special attention to the number of biblical and other manuscripts and place found; textual comparisons with the biblical Masoretic text and others (e.g., Septuagint); citations; and other interpretive uses in sectarian documents. The importance of the books in the Writings for the life of the late postexilic community of Qumran and the nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls biblical collection are, together, a constant focus of the study.


Author(s):  
Timothy H. Lim

The Dead Sea Scrolls have shed light on the canonization of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible in the Second Temple period. They provide us with exemplars of their biblical texts and how they used them in an authoritative manner. ‘The canon, authoritative scriptures, and the scrolls’ explains that the sectarian concept of authoritative scriptures seemed to reflect a dual pattern of authority by which the traditional biblical texts served as the source of the sectarian interpretation that in turn was defined by it. The authority was graded, beginning with the biblical books and extending to other books that were not eventually included in the canon.


Author(s):  
Timothy H. Lim

‘New light on the Hebrew Bible’ investigates what the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell us about the textual diversity and canonicity of the Hebrew Bible. Before the scrolls were discovered, Hebrew manuscripts generally dated back to the medieval period. The Qumran texts, dating to between 250 bce and 100 ce, tell us what the Bible was like before its standardization. Errors from copying gave rise to different text-types, and the Dead Sea Scrolls showed that there were far more text-types than previously thought. Variations in readings of the Hebrew Bible and other ancient sources show there was greater diversity in biblical texts than previously realized.


2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-355
Author(s):  
Isaac Kalimi

AbstractAlthough for some reasons the book of Esther is missing from among the biblical manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it has a unique place in Judaism and Jewish theology and thought. A large number of exegetes, ballads, poems, essays, arts, etc. have been composed on it, in all times and places, alongside the Jewish history and culture. Esther expresses one of the worst fears of the Jewish people: fear for complete annihilation, which is also well documented in the Hebrew Bible as well as in some extra-biblical sources (e.g., "Israel Stele", Moabite Stone). Esther replies to that fear, and forwards the theological message that God never leaves Israel. He is the faithful God "who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments". Yet, the historical reality of the Jewish Diaspora shows differently. The article discusses, therefore, also this theology, history and us, as post-Sho'ah readers of Esther.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Brando V. Kondoj

Untuk sekian lama, Septuaginta sebagai terjemahan Kitab Suci Ibrani yang pertama telah dipinggirkan dan tidak memperoleh tempat dalam usaha untuk mencari autograf (naskah asli Alkitab) Perjanjian Lama yang telah lama hilang itu. Namun demikian, perkembangan terbaru dalam studi terhadap naskah-naskah kuno Alkitab justru menunjukkan bahwa Septuaginta memiliki sumbangsih besar dalam pencarian autograf Perjanjian Lama. Hal ini dibuktikan melalui penggunaan metode kritik tekstual oleh para sarjana Alkitab, yakni dengan melakukan penelitian dan perbandingan terhadap naskah-naskah kuno Alkitab Perjanjian Lama, seperti Teks Masoret, Pentateukh Samaria, Gulungan Laut Mati, dan Septuaginta. Kata-kata kunci: Septuaginta, autograf Perjanjian Lama, metode kritik tekstual, Teks Masoret, Pentateukh Samaria, Gulungan Laut Mati. English :  For too long the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, has been sidelined and not given a credible hearing in seeking to discern the text of the original autographs of the Old Testament which have been lost in antiquity. Even though that has been the case, the new direction in recent textual studies, which has focused on the meaning of the original autographs of the Old Testament, has recognized that the Septuagint has a significant contribution to make within this field of study. This position has been supported by Biblical scholars who have employed the Text Critical method in determining the authoritative text of the Old Testament. They employ the Text Critical method in their comparison of the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, The Dead Sea Scrolls and most recently, the Septuagint to find traces of the original OT autographs. Keywords: Septuagint, Old Testament autographs, text critical method, Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, The Dead Sea Scrolls.


Author(s):  
Annette Yoshiko Reed

“Second Temple Judaism” is a common designation for the Jewish traditions that flourished between the return of exiles from Babylon and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple under Persian patronage from 538 to 515 bce, and the destruction of the Temple by Roman forces in 70 ce. In practice, research on the period often focuses on the 4th century bce and following, and stretches into the 2nd century ce. Sometimes referred to erroneously as “intertestamental,” Second Temple Judaism has attracted sustained attention since the late 19th century as a transitional age between the ancient Israelite religion reflected in the early strata of the Hebrew Bible and the emergence of Christianity and classical rabbinic Judaism in their characteristically postsacrificial forms in late Antiquity. In relation to the former, it has been called “postexilic,” “post-biblical,” or “late Judaism,” and, in relation to the latter, “prerabbinic” or “early Judaism.” Particularly since the discovery and publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it has been studied increasingly for its own sake and on its own terms. By the 1970s, a nascent subfield was taking form, energized by a new emphasis on the diversity of the Judaism from within which Christianity arose. In the late 20th century, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed new insights into the significance of this period for the development of Judaism as well. Long deemed critical for Jewish engagement with Greek language and literature and for the spread of Jewish communities throughout the Mediterranean world, the Second Temple period has also become a new locus for research on halacha, purity, and biblical interpretation. In addition, its study continues to create a space for discussion and collaboration among specialists in the Hebrew Bible, Classics, New Testament, Jewish studies, and rabbinics. This entry focuses on the literary evidence for Second Temple Judaism, selectively treating themes and issues that cross the large span of periods and places encompassed by this scholarly designation; for material and documentary evidence for Jews in the Second Temple period, the reader is referred to the Oxford Bibliographies articles on specific locales and time periods. Please see also Inscriptions, Papyri, Coins, and Seals in the Oxford Bibliographies article Hellenistic Judaism.


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