SCRIBAL PRACTICES AND APPROACHE S ... - Emanuel Tov

Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts from the Judean Desert 69
• 4QRenewed Earth (4Q475): This is a palimpsest according to T. Elgvin, DJD XXXVI, 464 who, with the aid
of a microscope, discerned traces of an earlier layer of writing which was erased when the scroll was used for the
second time.
• 4Q457a and 4Q457b (two layers of a single document?) display clusters of letters which are less distinct than
the main text of the fragment, in the form of very narrow columns above the beginning of most lines and in the
margin to the right of the column. These letters do not belong to the main text of the fragment, and may represent an
earlier layer of writing (thus E. Chazon, DJD XXIX, 409): 4Q457a (4QCreation?) and 4Q457b (4QEschatological
Hymn). One notes that two vertical lines (0.8 cm apart) were drawn to the right of the text in frg. 1, before the
supposed first and second layers of the text. The left line more or less indicates the beginning of the original layer of
the text (4Q457a). These lines, which are not known to appear in the wide margin at the beginning of other
documents, resemble intercolumnar lines seen in other texts. On the basis of this explanation, it appears that this
fragment reflects a secondary use of the leather in which a scribe or manufacturer attempted to recycle a fragment that
was located in the middle of another scroll, but did not completely succeed in removing the first layer. Another
possible explanation would be to regard the letter remains as the imprint of a layer placed on top of the fragment, in
which the ink has presumably bled through the leather, as in the case of 4QParaGen-Exod (4Q422); for a description,
see Elgvin–Tov, DJD XIII, 430.
• 4QHistorical Text F (4Q468e): M. Broshi (DJD XXXVI, 406) described this text as a palimpsest, whose first
layer is still visible in places.
c. Length and contents of scrolls
A comparative analysis of the size of the Judean Desert scrolls adds a welcome dimension to
their discussion, since it provides data not only on specific scrolls, but also on the compositions
contained in them. In this regard, the tradition of copying and transmitting is at times rather
uniform, but more frequently diverse. The data analyzed refer to the length and contents of
individual scrolls, the sizes of columns and writing blocks, and further the varying sizes of scrolls
containing the same composition. This comparative information is important for the
reconstruction of individual columns, sheets, and scrolls. The scope of scrolls and columns in
antiquity no longer needs to be inferred from the post-Talmudic tractate Massekhet Soferim,
often vague inferences in rabbinic literature, or even medieval codices or modern editions (thus
Blau, Studien, 70–84). Now, the ancient sources themselves can be examined, even if the corpora
of texts from the Judean Desert are not necessarily representative for all of Israel.
The great majority of Qumran fragments constitute parts of scrolls of leather or papyrus.
Some scrolls found at Qumran were probably prepared locally, but others, especially those
copied in the third or early second century BCE, must have been copied elsewhere. With regard to
the details discussed below, no major differences between the two groups are visible. Nor is it
known whether the differences between the various scrolls disprove the existence of any scribal
school, as it is unclear whether a scribal school would use only scrolls or measures of the same
parameters. Insufficient data is available on the length of these scrolls, since very few have been
preserved intact, but some partly reconstructed data are mentioned below. 125
A few compositions written on one-column sheets were found at Qumran: 4QTest (4Q175),
4QList of False Prophets ar (4Q339), 4QList of Netinim (4Q340), 4QExercitium Calami C
(4Q341 [illustr. 2]). The latter text was written on a scrap of leather, while 4Q339 and 4Q340
were written on regularly shaped albeit very small pieces of leather. Several additional texts which
are only partially known, such as 4QSelf-Glorification Hymn (4Q471b) and 4QText Mentioning
Descendants of David (4Q479), may also have been written on single sheets. While 4QTest
(4Q175) is preserved well on a neatly cut sheet of leather, most other one-column fragments are
only partially preserved.
125 For an attempt to measure the length of fragmentarily preserved Qumran scrolls, see D. Stoll, “Die Schriftrollen vom
Toten Meer: mathematisch oder Wie kann man einer Rekonstruktion Gestalt verleihen?” in Qumranstudien (ed. H.-J.
Fabry et al.; Schriften des Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum 4; Göttingen 1996) 205–18.