Discord between the Tiberian Written and Reading Traditions

2020 ◽  
pp. 227-280
Author(s):  
Aaron D. Hornkohl
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Biblical Hebrew ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Real Language ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Biblical Sources

Aaron Hornkohl examines two features in the Tiberian reading tradition of Biblical Hebrew, namely the qal construct infinitive and the 3ms possessive suffix that is attached to plural nouns and some prepositions. The article argues that although the vocalisation in both cases is secondary relative to what is represented by the consonantal text, it is not artificial and post-biblical, but rather a relatively ancient product of the real language situation of an earlier period, namely, the Second Temple Period, if not earlier. The view that the vocalisation has such historical depth and is the result of natural linguistic development is often dismissed by biblical scholars. By examining the distribution of forms within the Tiberian Masoretic version of the Hebrew Bible and in extra-biblical sources, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls and First Temple period epigraphy, Hornkohl convincingly demonstrates that the incongruity between the vocalisation and the consonantal text is earlier than Rabbinic Hebrew (second–third centuries CE).

5. The canon, authoritative scriptures, and the scrolls

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy H. Lim
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Shed Light

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.

Second Temple Judaism

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Yoshiko Reed
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
The Dead

“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.

The Literature of the Second Temple Period

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Biblical Sources

Strictly speaking, the Second Temple period extends from the construction of the temple at the end of the sixth century bce to its destruction by the Romans in 70 ce. Some scholars would now argue that the entire biblical corpus belongs in this period. Even if one accepts the more traditional dating of biblical sources, the final edition of the Torah must be placed after the Exile. This article deals with this literature. The literature may be divided into three categories, based on provenance more than on literary genre, although each category has its own characteristics. These are the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha; the Dead Sea scrolls; and the literature of the Greek-speaking diaspora. The first and third categories were preserved by Christians, the second was only recently recovered from the caves by the Dead Sea.

Early Judaism

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Identity ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Early Judaism ◽  
The Dead

The Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient inscriptions, and Jewish books preserved within various Christian communities demonstrate that Jewish identity took a variety of forms in the period following that described in the Hebrew Bible. However, the teachings of only one of these groups – the rabbis – became normative. This was also the period during which prayer and synagogues emerged as a widespread practice. It was also at this time that the foundation for the eventual break with Christianity, which began as a form of Judaism, was laid. Remarkably, several of the features from this Second Temple period are shared with our modern times.

scholarly journals The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Tiberian Reading Tradition

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-425
Author(s):  
Aaron D. Hornkohl
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Biblical Hebrew ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The One ◽  
Age Features

Abstract The most authentic portrait of Second Temple Hebrew is afforded by the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially by those texts actually composed in Hellenistic and Roman times. On salient linguistic points Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew agrees with the vocalization of the Tiberian reading tradition against the testimony of the written, i.e., consonantal, tradition of Masoretic Classical Biblical Hebrew material. This article presents a case study. On the one hand, these Dead Sea-Tiberian vocalization affinities are evidence of the relatively late character of their respective linguistic traditions and of the secondary character of the developments in the Tiberian reading tradition vis-à-vis the classical biblical written tradition. On the other hand, these same affinities demonstrate that the Tiberian pronunciation tradition is plausibly regarded as one that crystallized in the Second Temple Period, rather than in Byzantine or medieval times. Lastly, since joint Dead Sea-Tiberian reading departures from the classical biblical consonantal tradition constitute a tiny minority of their relevant linguistic data, most of which are characterized by historical continuity and/or linguistic heterogeneity of comparable historical depth, it is clear that the Second Temple crystallization of Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew and the Tiberian reading tradition in no way preclude their routine preservation of authentic Iron Age features.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND THE ACCOUNTING AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES OF A SOCIETY: EVIDENCE FROM THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Herda ◽  
Stephen A. Reed ◽  
William F. Bowlin
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
First Century ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
The Relationship

This study explores the Dead Sea Scrolls to demonstrate how Essene socio-religious values shaped their accounting and economic practices during the late Second Temple period (ca. first century BCE to 70 CE). Our primary focus is on the accounting and commercial responsibilities of a leader within their community – the Examiner. We contend that certain sectarian accounting practices may be understood as ritual/religious ceremony and address the performative roles of the Essenes' accounting and business procedures in light of their purity laws and eschatological beliefs. Far from being antithetical to religious beliefs, we find that accounting actually enabled the better practice and monitoring of religious behavior. We add to the literature on the interaction of religion with the structures and practices of accounting and regulation within a society.

scholarly journals Wisdom and Law in the Hebrew Bible and at Qumran

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-181
Author(s):  
Charlotte Hempel
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Jewish Literature ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Spread Model ◽  
Community Rule ◽  
Relationship Of

This article begins by noting the paucity of engagement between scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls (dss) and a number of significant studies on the relationship of wisdom and law in the Hebrew Bible. A substantial case study on Proverbs 1-9 and the Community Rule from Qumran is put in conversation with the seminal work of, especially, Moshe Weinfeld on Deuteronomy and its refinement by subsequent research to trace a dynamic interaction between wisdom and law in the Second Temple period. The article ends with critical reflections on the wide-spread model of segmenting ancient Jewish literature and those responsible for it into neat categories such as wisdom and law. It is argued that such a model presupposes a degree of specialization that is not borne out by the range of literature that found its way into the Hebrew Bible or the caves in the vicinity of Khirbet Qumran.

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