SCRIBAL PRACTICES AND APPROACHE S ... - Emanuel Tov

Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts from the Judean Desert 171
4QTest (4Q175) 9, 14, 20 (separating between the sections in the anthology; for a similar use of the paragraphos, see
the Greek anthologies P.Tebt. I 1–2 of 100 BCE and P.Petrie 3). See fig. 1. 3a 3 .
d. Two lines at a 90-degree angle (fig. 1 . 5) 5
MasSir II 8 (40:18), 24 (41:1); III 18 (41:14); IV 16 (42:9)
e. Unique shapes
4QTanh≥ (4Q176) 1–2 i 4 (fig. 1. 7a) 7
4QHistorical Text E (4Q333) 1 2 end of line (fig. 1 1. 6). 6 The inverted paragraphos at the end of the line
possibly represents a special type of line-filler.
4QNon-Canonical Psalms A (4Q380) 1 7 at the beginning of an empty line before a new psalm (fig. 1. 4) 4
4QpapHodayot-like Text B (4Q433a) 2 2 at the beginning of a large indentation (fig. 1 8) 8
4QDibHama (4Q504) VII 4 (fig. 2 . 2) 2 and 11, both at the beginning of new sections
The paragraphos sign—the most frequent sign occurring in the Qumran texts—is usually
drawn at the right side of the column between the lines of the text, with the greater part of the
sign protruding into the right margin, referring to a content division indicated by spacing either in
the line above or in the line below. E.g. 1QIsa a XXXIV 5 (Isa 41:2), at the end of the section,
above the indented section:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx —— —— — —
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1QS VIII 5 at the end of the section, above a closed section (rare):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx——— — —
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1QIsa a XXXIV 27 (Isa 41:21), at the end of the section, below the closed section:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx——— — —
1QIsa a XLVIII 8 (Isa 58:13), at the end of the section, below the open section:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx——— — —
In 1QIsa a and 4QRitPur A (4Q414) 2 ii 4, 5 the paragraphos sign is written almost completely or completely in the
margin itself. The different shapes of the paragraphos show that the scribes or users developed their own forms,
slightly differing from one another.
Not only the shapes of the paragraphos signs, but also their usages differ slightly in the various texts. For
example, in 1QIsa a the paragraphos was usually written below the line ending with an open section or in which a
closed section occurs (e.g. V 21 [Isa 6:1]; VIII 9 [Isa 8:16]), and, in the case of an indentation, above the indented
space (e.g. VII 10 [Isa 7:21]). Likewise, most of the signs in 1QS were written above an indented space, but in a few
cases below lines in which a closed section occurs (above V 14, 26; VI 9; VIII 5). In the latter detail this scroll differed
from 1QIsa a .
Since the shapes of the signs differ in the two halves of 1QIsa a , it is not impossible that the scribes of these
scrolls inserted these signs and not later users. Thus, the section written by scribe A displays two forms of the
paragraphos, a straight line and, more frequently, a line with a curve to the left (fig. 1. 1), 1 without distinguishable
difference in meaning between them. However, the section written by scribe B displays the straight paragraphos, the
paragraphos with a hook to either the left or the right (figs. 1. 1–2), 1 and the composite paragraphos as described
above (fig. 1 .6). .6 For a detailed study of the signs in this scroll, see J. W. Olley, “Texts Have Paragraphs Too—A