The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

160 A NEW EDITION OF THE HEBREW BIBLE
4QJudg a [= 4Q49] differs strikingly from MT and LXX in its lack of
Judg 6:7–10. Julio Trebolle Barrera, the editor of this fragment, notes that
these missing verses have long been identified as a literary insertion in
this chapter and are generally attributed to a Dtr editor. 27 The independence
of these verses is accepted in most commentaries, as in Alberto
Soggin’s recent commentary: “A new element appears in vv. 7–10: the
message of an unknown prophet. It is a typically Dtr message, and does
not have any connection with the context.” 28 The fact that these verses
are lacking in 4QJudg a leads Trebolle Barrera to conclude that “4QJudg a
can confidently be seen as an earlier literary form of the book than our
traditional texts.” 29 Since there are no features that might have motivated
a haplography in this text, Trebolle Barrera’s conclusion is warranted.
In this instance we can clearly see the history of a scribal expansion of
the biblical text: the Qumran text preserves the unexpanded text, while MT
and LXX preserve the later expanded text. This fragment is helpful not
only for recovering the textual history of Judges 6, but also for providing
empirical data for our models of the nature and history of biblical literature.
4QSam a /LXX
about a month later
MT
he was like someone who is silent
1 Samuel 10:27
#dx wmk yhyw
#ydxmk yhyw
This phrase occurs in MT immediately after the statement that “evil men”
(l(ylb ynb) despised Saul and did not bring him gifts. The idea that Saul
was “like someone who is silent” in the face of such rejection is plausible, but
it is odd in its context since Saul has already gone home to Gibeah (1 Sam
10:26). Most commentators understand this phrase to be connected with the
27. Julio C. Trebolle Barrera, “4QJudg a ,” in Qumran Cave 4.IX: Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, Kings (ed. E. Ulrich et al.; DJD 14; Oxford: Clarendon, 1995), 162; and idem,
“Textual Variants in 4QJudg a and the Textual and Editorial History of the Book of
Judges,” RevQ 54 (1989): 238.
28. J. Alberto Soggin, Judges: A Commentary (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981), 112.
29. Trebolle Barrera, ibid. (DJD 14), 162. I would add a linguistic note to Trebolle
Barrera’s analysis: the linguistic forms hnt)w and hrm)w in Judg 6:9–10 are characteristic
of Late Biblical Hebrew, lending further plausibility to the late dating of this
passage. Such forms are common in Ezra, Nehemiah, and later texts; see Shelomo
Morag, “Qumran Hebrew: Some Typological Observations,” VT 38 (1988): 148–64,
esp. 154–55 with its references.