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

GEORGE J. BROOKE 303
exegetical variants of several kinds. One famous example must suffice: in
1QIsa a in Isa 52:14 instead of the MT’s tx#m (ms ]h[t), “marred,” 1QIsa a
reads ytx#m (ms ]h[ty), “I anointed.” This provides a positive reading for
the verse as a whole and better fits the context in describing the status
and role of the servant. The reading is not directly attested anywhere
else, so it would appear to be a secondary improvement of a difficult text,
perhaps the responsibility of a Qumran exegete, though the reading is
not sectarian. 49
In addition, the explicit quotations from biblical compositions in the
sectarian scrolls commonly show interpretative adjustments. In many
places it is hard to be sure that such adjustments are the work of the
Qumran sectarians rather than of those responsible for passing the texts
on, 50 but in several places it seems clear that the adjustment has been
made to facilitate the use of a particular text in a new context. A couple
of examples make the point. In Ps 37:20 the MT reads: “The enemies
(yby), )yby) of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—
like smoke they vanish away” (NRSV). The Psalm Pesher 1 (4Q171) 3.5a,
a sectarian commentary, divides the verse; it gives the first half a positive
reading and referent: “‘And those who love (ybhw), )whby) the Lord shall
be like the pride of pastures.’ Interpreted, [this concerns] the congregation
of His elect.” 51 In the second part of the verse, the pesher gives the
expected negative reference. Or again, Hab 2:15 in the MT contains the
phrase “in order to gaze on their nakedness (Mhyrw(m, m(wryhm).” In
1QpHab 11.3, the Habakkuk Pesher, the same phrase is written as “in order
to gloat at their festivals (Mhyd(wm, mw(dyhm),” which is probably an
adjustment of the text of Habakkuk to facilitate the interpretation of the
verse as referring to the festival (d(wm, mw(d; 1QpHab 11.6) of the Day
of Atonement. Apart from vowel letters, only a single exegetical letter
change is involved in either of these examples.
49. For the details regarding this reading and its significance, see William H.
Brownlee, The Meaning of the Qumrân Scrolls for the Bible with Special Attention to the Book
of Isaiah (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), 204–15; Brownlee has recently
been largely supported by Paolo Sacchi, “Ideologia e varianti della tradizione ebraica:
Deut 27, 4 e Is 52, 14,” in Bibel in jüdischer und christlicher Tradition: Festschrift für Johann
Maier zum 60 Geburtstag (ed. H. Merklein, K. Müller, and G. Stemberger; Athenäums
Monografien, Theologie 88; Frankfurt: Hain, 1993), 13–32.
50. This problem is addressed in George J. Brooke, “The Biblical Texts in the
Qumran Commentaries: Scribal Errors or Exegetical Variants?” in Early Jewish and
Christian Exegesis: Studies in Memory of William Hugh Brownlee (ed. C. A. Evans and W. F.
Stinespring; SBL Homage Series 10; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987), 85–100.
51. Trans. Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (5th ed.; London:
Penguin, 1997), 489.