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

234 PSALMS AND PSALTERSINTHEDEAD SEA SCROLLS
1.1 Contents of the Psalms Scrolls
a. Quantity Preserved
In decreasing order, the manuscripts with the highest number of verses
preserved (whether wholly or in part) are: 11QPsa (= 11Q5), 4QPsa (=
4Q83), 5/6H[ evPs (= 5/6H[ ev 1b), 4QPsb (= 4Q84), 4QPsc (= 4Q85), and
4QPse (= 4Q87).
b. Biblical Compositions in the Psalms Scrolls
Of the 150 psalms found in the MT-150 Psalter, 3 126 are at least partially
preserved in the forty Psalms scrolls or other relevant manuscripts such
as the pesharim. All the remaining twenty-four psalms were most likely
included, but are now lost because of the damaged state of most of the
scrolls. Of Psalms 1–89, nineteen no longer survive (3–4, 20–21, 32, 41,
46, 55, 58, 61, 64–65, 70, 72–75, 80, 87), and of Psalms 90–150, five are
not represented (90, 108?, 110, 111, 117). The reason for this discrepancy
is because the beginnings of scrolls are usually on the outside and are
thus far more prone to deterioration. For a complete list of contents of the
Psalms scrolls, see Appendix 3.
c. Nonbiblical Compositions
At least fifteen “apocryphal” psalms or compositions are distributed
among four manuscripts (notably 11QPs a [= 11Q5], also 4QPs f [=
4Q88], 11QPs b [= 11Q6], 11QapocrPs [= 11Q11]). 4 Six were previously
familiar to scholars: Psalms 151A, 151B, 154, and 155; David’s Last
Words (= 2 Sam 23:1–7); and Sir 51:13–30. Nine were unknown before
the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Apostrophe to Judah, Apostrophe to
Zion, David’s Compositions, Eschatological Hymn, Hymn to the Creator, Plea for
Deliverance, and three Songs against Demons. One further piece, the Catena
of Psalm 118, is not really a distinct composition, but constitutes a longer
ending for Psalm 136. An English translation of all fifteen texts plus the
Catena is provided in Appendix 2.
3. I.e., as found in the Masoretic Text (MT) of Psalms.
4. This document, “the Apocryphal Psalms,” has been identified variously as
apocrPs a , apocrPs, 11QPsAp a , and eventually numbered 11Q11. Within the
PTSDSSP numbering scheme, this text retains the number 11Q11 and is named A
Liturgy for Healing the Stricken. Herein we refer to the text as 11QapocrPs.