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

PETER W. FLINT 249
had been finalized and was accepted by virtually all Jews as the “Book of
Psalms” well before the second century B.C.E.
On the contrary, he accepts the 11QPs a (= 11Q5) collection (Edition
IIa) as a true scriptural Psalter on three main grounds: the attribution to
David, structural principles, and usage (i.e., quotations and allusions). The
explicit statement in “David’s Compositions” that 4,050 compositions—
undoubtedly including those in 11QPs a (= 11Q5)—were spoken by David
“through prophecy” 52 is reinforced by the arrangement of compositions in
11QPs a (= 11Q5), which forms clusters dominated by psalms with Davidic
titles. Flint also endorses Wilson’s view that similar organizing principles
lie behind these clusters in the scroll and behind the compilation of the latter
part of the MT-150 Psalter, but regards this feature as only one of several
pillars supporting the scriptural status of this collection. These factors,
plus the absence of any Psalms scroll from Qumran that clearly confirms
the longer order of the received MT-150 against 11QPs a (= 11Q5), leads
him to conclude that the 11QPs a -Psalter (Edition IIa) is the foremost representative
of the book of Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
3.4 Provenance of the 11QPs a -Psalter
The final element in James Sanders’s Qumran Psalms Hypothesis is that
11QPsa (= 11Q5) was compiled at Qumran and thus may be termed the
“Qumran Psalter.” Four possible arguments—which are unconvincing to this
author—could be used in support: (a) This Psalter is found in at least three
manuscripts (4QPse [= 4Q87], 11QPsa [= 11Q5], and 11QPsb [= 11Q6]),
which shows that it played a significant role in the life of the community. (b)
The Four Songs for Making Music over the Stricken mentioned in David’s
Compositions53 most likely refer to the collection found in 11QapocrPs, which
was used at Qumran. (c) The 364-day solar calendar evident in David’s
Compositions54 is indicated in other writings that are undoubtedly of Qumranic
origin (e.g., 4QMMT). (d) 11QPsa (= 11Q5) displays what Emanuel
Tov terms the expanded “Qumran orthography” or the “Qumran practice”
(which for some scholars is indicative of Qumran provenance). 55
52. h)wbnb (11QPsa 27.11). An English translation of David’s Compositions is provided
in appendix 2.
53. 11QPsa 27.9–10.
54. Note the 364 songs for the days of the year and 52 songs for Sabbath offerings
(11QPsa 27.6–7).
55. Cf. Emanuel Tov, “Hebrew Bible Manuscripts from the Judaean Desert: Their
Contribution to Textual Criticism,” JJS 39 (1988): 23–25; idem, Textual Criticism of the
Hebrew Bible (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1992), 108–9.