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

PETER W. FLINT 241
Table 1. Agreements and Conflicts with the Masoretic Text in
Arrangement
Books (Psalms) Consecutive Joins Agreements with MT Conflicts with MT
I (1–41) 20 18 = 90% 2 = 10%
II (42–72) 13 12 = 92% 1 = 8%
III (73–89) 6 6 = 100% 0
IV (90–106) 18 7 = 39% 11 = 61%
V (107–150) 62 24 = 39% 38 = 61%
When we compare the evidence for books I–III with that for books
IV–V, 26 the small number of disagreements with the MT-150 Psalter for
Psalms 1 to 89 contrasts markedly with the high incidence of variation
for Psalms 90 to 150. For books I–III, thirty-six psalms are found in the
same arrangement as in the MT, which represents 92 percent of the total,
as opposed to only three psalms in a conflicting order (8 percent). For
books IV–V, only 31 psalms support the masoretic arrangement (39 percent),
while 49 are in a conflicting order (61 percent).
Table 2. Conflicts with the Masoretic Text in Content
Books (Psalms) “Apocryphal” Psalms
I (1–41) 0
II (42–72) 0
III (73–89) 0
IV (90–106) 2
V (107–150) 11
The second correlation involves content, meaning the presence or absence
of compositions that are not found in the Masoretic Psalter. These additional
pieces are never joined with any of Psalms 1–89, but are linked
thirteen times with compositions that appear in Psalms 90–150 of the
MT. The order and content of Psalms 1–89 thus vary little from that of
the MT-150 Psalter, while many divergences are evident for Psalm 90
and beyond. These data support Sanders’s thesis that during the
Qumran period Psalms 1–89 were stabilized over time, but Psalms 90
26. The traditional division of the Psalter into five “books” is used here for convenience
only; it is not clear whether this division was known at Qumran or had even
been finalized by the beginning of the Common Era.