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

460 OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA AT QUMRAN
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
The list covers all the substantial remains of Qumran compositions of
this type known today and thus gives the general sense and character of
the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic corpus found in the Qumran
library. Although a thorough analysis of this corpus lies still ahead, preliminary
important observations may already be made on the basis of the
available data and the present state of inquiry. 85
Distinctiveness
Qumran apocryphal and pseudepigraphic writings are marked by the
absence of the distinctive sectarian terminology and organizational patterns.
Moreover, many of the Qumranic Pseudepigrapha are written in
Aramaic, a language never used in the works of typical sectarian mold.
Apocryphal and pseudepigraphic writings found at Qumran cannot
therefore be considered part of what may be termed the sectarian
literature, namely, the literature which conveys the discipline and terminology
of the specific community described therein. The sectaries themselves
do not seem to have authored pseudepigraphic, nor, for that
matter, apocryphal or “rewritten Bible” pieces. If they did, they
expressed themselves in forms and in ideas prevalent in contemporary
Judaism at large, devoid of any sectarian feature. So for all practical purposes
such works are to be considered as nonsectarian, even though they
Sea Scrolls Reader; 6 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2005), 6–13. In the initial publication (“Les
modèles araméens du livre d’Esther dans la Grotte 4 de Qumrân,” RevQ 15 [1992]:
321–406), J. T. Milik presented the fragments as belonging to one manuscript. In
Cook’s edition they are split into six. This raises the question whether all of these
fragments may be ascribed to one and the same work. Milik gave the manuscript the
title 4Q Proto-Esther, a name retained by subsequent publications. However, the connection
with the story of the biblical book of Esther is without textual support, and
therefore, the title is replaced here by a more neutral one.
84. Published by Jozef T. Milik, “Daniel et Susanne à Qumran?” in De la Tôrah du
Messie: Études d’exégèse et d’herméneutique biblique offertes à Henri Cazelles (ed. M. Carrez et al.;
Paris: Desclée, 1981), 355–59. Cf. also Edward M. Cook “4Q551 (4QDanSuz? ar),” in
Additional Genres and Unclassified Texts (ed. D. W. Parry and E. Tov; part 6 of The Dead Sea
Scrolls Reader; 6 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2005), 334–35. The association with the biblical
Daniel and Susanna has no textual basis. It is therefore replaced here by a neutral title.
85. Some of the observations offered here were first presented in earlier publications.
Cf. Devorah Dimant, “Apocalyptic Texts at Qumran,” in The Community of the
Renewed Covenant (ed. E.C. Ulrich and J.C. VanderKam; Christianity and Judaism in
Antiquity 10; Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994), 175–91;
idem, “Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha at Qumran,” DSD 1 (1994): 151–59.