Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times

244 Pages·2008·8.13 MB·English

by  Sidnie W. Crawford

STUDIES IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND RELATED LITERATURE
Peter W. Flint, Martin G. Abegg Jr., and Florentino Garcia Martinez, General
Editors
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been the object of intense interest in recent years, not
least because of the release of previously unpublished texts from Qumran Cave 4
since the fall of 1991. With the wealth of new documents that have come to
light, the field of Qumran studies has undergone a renaissance. Scholars have
begun to question the established conclusions of the last generation; some
widely held beliefs have withstood scrutiny, but others have required revision or
even dismissal. New proposals and competing hypotheses, many of them of an
uncritical and sensational nature, vie for attention. Idiosyncratic and misleading
views of the Scrolls still abound, especially in the popular press, while the
results of solid scholarship have yet to make their full impact. At the same time,
the scholarly task of establishing reliable critical editions of the texts is nearing
completion. The opportunity is ripe, therefore, for directing renewed attention to
the task of analysis and interpretation.
STUDIES IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND RELATED LITERATURE
is a series designed to address this need. In particular, the series aims to make the
latest and best Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship accessible to scholars, students, and
the thinking public. The volumes that are projected -both monographs and
collected essays - will seek to clarify how the Scrolls revise and help shape our
understanding of the formation of the Bible and the historical development of
Judaism and Christianity. Various offerings in the series will explore the
reciprocally illuminating relationships of several disciplines related to the
Scrolls, including the canon and text of the Hebrew Bible, the richly varied
forms of Second Temple Judaism, and the New Testament. While the Dead Sea
Scrolls constitute the main focus, several of these studies will also include
perspectives on the Old and New Testaments and other ancient writings - hence
the title of the series. It is hoped that these volumes will contribute to a deeper
appreciation of the world of early Judaism and Christianity and of their
continuing legacy today.
PETER W. FLINT
MARTIN G. ABEGG JR.
FLORENTINO GARCIA MARTINEZ
REWRITING SCRIPTURE
IN SECOND TEMPLE TIMES
Sidnie White Crawford
For Frank Moore Cross
,PIS -m-lin
Righteous Teacher
Contents
Preface ix
Abbreviations xi
1. Introduction 1
2. The Text of the Pentateuch at Qumran 19
3. Reworked Pentateuch 39
4. The Book of jubilees 6o
5. The Temple Scroll 84
6. The Genesis Apocryphon 105
7. 4QCommentary on Genesis A 130
8. Conclusion 144
Index of Modern Authors 150
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature 153
Preface
The seeds of this project were planted in 1986, when Frank Moore Cross, my
"doctor father," invited me to edit for my dissertation seven of the Cave 4
Deuteronomy manuscripts assigned to his lot. It was then that I first encountered
4QDeut", a manuscript containing excerpts of a harmonized text of
Deuteronomy. What was, I wondered, this strange little manuscript? Then in
1989 John Strugnell invited me to take over his work on the manuscripts at the
time called Pentateuchal Paraphrases, and Emanuel Tov graciously accepted me
as his junior collaborator on the project. This resulted in our publication of the
Reworked Pentateuch manuscripts in 1994. Again I wondered, what were these
manuscripts, and what did the people who copied and read them think of them?
Finally, Philip Davies of Sheffield Academic Press invited me to contribute a
volume on the Temple Scroll to the series Companion to the Qumran Scrolls,
which was published in 2000. I raised more questions for myself - how did these
different texts fit together, if at all? Thus when Peter Flint asked me to contribute
a volume on the "Rewritten Bible" texts from Qumran to this series, I
enthusiastically accepted. He has been a most kind editor, waiting patiently to
receive a long-delayed manuscript.
In addition to those mentors and colleagues mentioned above, I have many
people and institutions to thank. My research assistants at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, Deanne Hyde Manion, Jessica Buser, Nelson Schneider, and
T. Matthew Meyer, rendered invaluable clerical help. Mr. Kenneth Rolling
prepared the indices. I gave presentations on various parts of the book at Harvard
Divinity School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Society of Biblical
Literature, the Colloquium for Biblical Research, Augustana College, the Center
of Theological Inquiry, and Princeton Theo logical Seminary. To all those who
participated and gave helpful feedback, I owe my thanks. Several colleagues
read and commented on drafts of chapters, which immensely improved the final
product: Martin Abegg, Jr., Moshe Bernstein, Dan D. Crawford, Frank Moore
Cross, Chip Dobbs-Allsop, Peter Flint, and Benjamin G. Wright III. My husband
Dan lived with the project for over five years, offering encouragement, support,
and a sharp editorial eye. This volume was completed while I was a member at
the Center of Theological Inquiry during the winter and spring of 2005. I would
like to thank Wallace Alston, Robert Jenson, Kathi Morley, and the rest of the
staff, and the other members of the Center for creating and fostering an ideal
environment for scholarship.

Finally, this book is dedicated with gratitude and love to Frank Moore
Cross, who for over two decades has been for me the real Righteous Teacher.
SIDNIE WHITE CRAWFORD
Lincoln, Nebraska
Abbreviations