SCRIBAL PRACTICES AND APPROACHE S ... - Emanuel Tov

Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts from the Judean Desert 191
• 11QpaleoLev a I 1–2 (Lev 18:27): The notation of parenthesis signs around ten words from Lev 20:23-24
appearing in the middle of Lev 18:27 indicates that these verses had been inserted in the wrong place. Upon
recognizing his mistake, which was triggered by identical words in the two verses, the scribe enclosed the ten words
with parenthesis signs (only the sigma is preserved) and continued copying the text.
In three texts, the omitted elements were indicated with a box-like shape around the letters, in
4QD a ) with a square form, and in 4QOrd b (4Q513) 1–2 3 with an elliptical form around hamfh
hmhm, partly crossed out. These two texts are halakhical. In 4QJub f (4Q221) 1 6, the lines around
the words are thick and light-colored. See, further, group ii i above.
• 4QJub f (4Q221) 1 6 rwm]çw µtb[wt lwkmw together with the first four words of the following line were crossed
out (vertical dittography, cf. line 5 and the beginning of line 6).
• 4QD a (4Q266) 1a 22 rpa (vertical dittography, cf. line 23).
• 4QD a (4Q266) 11 15 jltçmhw (vertical dittography, cf. line 14).
• 4QOrd b (4Q513) 1–2 3 hamfh hmhm‚.
The box-like form of the parenthesis sign is paralleled by P.Berlin 17212 of Jeremiah 2–3 of the LXX (3 CE) around
sou which was to be omitted and P.Bodmer XXIV of Psalms 17–53, 55–118, hands A and B (3 CE), e.g. XVIII 10–
13. In this case, the text of Ps 24:4-5 was repeated erroneously (dittography), and the first occurrence was encircled
by a vertical line together with a long dotted line. For further examples, see Kasser–Testuz, Bodmer, 28.
iv. Addition/Omission signs (figs. 8.3, 8.3 9) 9
Three instances of addition/omission signs are evidenced, with two possible additional instances.
4QpapTob a ar (4Q196) 6 8 (Tob 3:13): A long vertical line with a short horizontal line at the bottom turning to
the right at an angle of 90 degrees written in the space between words on the line (fig. 9) indicated an addition to be
inserted in the running text.
4QEna ar (4Q201) II 1: Omission or addition (fig. 8. 3). 3
4QapocrJoshb (4Q379) 22 ii 14: According to Newsom, DJD XXII, 279 a high-placed dot indicates the insertion
point of a dotted section wrongly placed in line 13. The dots in line 13 denote that the four words so indicated do
not belong there.
4QPhyl H 7 and 4QPhyl I 11: According to J. T. Milik, vertical lines possibly denote insertions.
v. Re-division sign (fig. 23) 23
In 1QIsaa , two dots in the space before the last letter of a word above and below the level of the
letters indicate that the following letter needs to be joined to the word after the space. See also the
separation dot between words described in § 7 below and illustrated in fig. 17. 17
1QIsaa XIII 12 (Isa 15:5) wr[ y úIrbç (cf. MT: wr[[y rbç).
1QIsaa XXVI 10 (Isa 32:2) µrz µ úIrtsw (cf. MT: µrz rtsw; fig. 2 3).The 3 two dots indicate that the words need
to be read as µrzm rtsw (= LXX kai; krubhvsetai wJ" ajf j u{dato").
(3) Single letters in the Cryptic A script primarily written in the margin (figs. 10.1–11 10.1 11)
Several individual letters in the Cryptic A script as well as paleo-Hebrew letters (next section, 4)
were used as scribal marks in some Qumran scrolls. These groups of scribal markings probably
point to a sectarian background for the copying of these texts or to their use within the Qumran
community.
One group of scribal markings consists of single letters in the Cryptic A script used in the
following texts, reasonably well preserved as well as very fragmentary, written completely in the
Cryptic A script:
4Qpap cryptA Midrash Sefer Moshe (4Q249)
4QcryptA Words of the Maskil (4Q298)