RelSt 225 Dead Sea Scrolls (Spring 1999) Class Notes, week #1 (12-14 January 1999) by Krista Baker Class requirements along with class notes from previous years can be found on Dr. Kraft's website at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html Carbon dating and other indications place the DSS in the larger time frame of 330 BCE - 100 CE, or more specifically in the political situation from the Maccabean/Hasmonean Jewish revolt against the Greek Seleukid rulers around 170 BCE to the first revolt against Rome resulting in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE. The DSS were found in what was called by the Romans Palestine, and show (among other things) that Judaism was not a uniform religion during that time period. The DSS were found in 11 caves. Caves 1, 4, and 11 contained the majority of the materials. 1QS, 4QMMT, etc. -- The first 2 characters in the name stand for which Qumran cave it was found in, for example, 1Q stands for the first cave at Qumran, 4Q for the fourth cave. The remaining characters indicate the scroll number or abbreviation (e.g. "S"=Manual of Discipline, "M"=War Scroll, etc. -- based on the Hebrew names). eschatology -- study of what are perceived to be "last events" in the current world order (for example: The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness scroll prepares for the final battle). exegesis/exegetical -- pertains to interpretation (of scriptures); drawing out of a text what it means eisegesis -- reading into a text what you would like it to mean parabiblical - texts that are similar to biblical texts liturgy - formalized worship practices Dr. Kraft will be using Garcia Martinez's translation of the DSS. 14 January 1999 Watched a NOVA 1991 video - Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls First cave was discovered near Qumran around 1946. MMT -- letter written by a sect leader (?) to explain why they left the main body of co-religionists. Follow up from film for class 1. Historical setting (approx 200 BCE - 70 CE) 2. Current modern views -- see VanderKam and Fitzmyer 3. Read scrolls themselves -- start with 4QMMT, Rules (1QS, Damascus Document=CD) Question: Are the DSS a library written by different groups or were they all written by the same group (from the same viewpoint)? //end of week 1 notes// --- RelSt 225 Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes, week #2 (19-21 Jan 1999) by Susan Langley NOTE that for the most part, we explored the resources available on the "Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed" CD-ROM, especially the following topics -- Geography -Fertile crescent: from Persian Gulf, northwest along Tigres & Euphrates rivers, to Mediterranean coast and south to Egypt -Jerusalem is center of Jewish worship, the Temple located there -Area around Jerusalem is called Judea -Khirbet Qumran-area where DSS were discovered -Yahad is Hebrew term for community (literally "together, union") History: -Hellenistic period when DSS originated was the period from Alexander the Great (-323 bce) +he dies young without heir so empire is split b/w generals The two generals were Seleukis (northern area) and Ptolemy (southern area) and they created the Seleukid and Ptolemaic empires which were both Greek. The main city for the north was Antioch and the main city for the south was Alexandria. -Judea is b/w & control over it bounces b/w the north and the south -Maccabean/Hasmonean revolt against Seleukid rule produces century of Jewish independence, from about 165 bce to about 63 bce -the Hellenistic world ultimately falls to Rome -Rome also takes over Syria Palestinian area in 63 bce and the Roman domination ultimately leads to the annexation of Palestine -Jewish first revolt against Rome 66-73 ce -In 70 ce Roman soldiers conquer Jerusalem and burn down the temple so the DSS period terminates by then -The Masada enclave holds out to around 73 ce -The son of King David is Solomon in the 900's bce who built the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem +"first temple" period = ca. 960-586bce +"second temple" period = ca. 516 bce-70 ce Herodian dynasty (with Roman sponsorship, ca. 40 bce onward) -King Herod "the Great" was a powerful Jewish king (under Rome) he died in 4 bce and his kingdom was divided b/w his sons -Archelaeus rules Judea but is deposed in 6 ce, and his area comes under direct Roman rule by prefects then procurators (this includes Qumran) such as Pontius Pilate from 26-36 ce DSS have an "apocalyptic" eschatological orientation consciousness of living in "last times" final battles of "sons of light" vs. "sons of darkness" spirit forces involved in confrontations (angels, Belial, etc.) Languages in DSS are Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek The people and groups known from the DSS period in the Jerusalem area include the Sadducees who are especially associated with the temple and authorities in Jerusalem and are opposed on certain issues to the Pharisees (who seem to represent the stream that survived into classical Judaism) and lastly the Essenes and perhaps the terroristic "Zealots" of the first century ce. There are many debates over who wrote the DSS -- many say Essenes -Phillip Davies has challenged interpretations and doesn't believe there is connection b/w the ruins and caves just b/c they are in sight of one another -Prof Geza Vermes, an Oxford scholar, assumes there is some kind of sect that filtered the info -Prof Schiffman, of NYU, claims an early form of Sadducees lie behind DSS -Schiffman also doesn't accept the "monastary" model as too Christian -Pseudepigrapha are Jewish texts that give an air of being ancient -Early Christianity in this period (e.g. Jude) refers to traditions & books of the pseudepigrapha Q.) Was Enoch written by DS sect? A.) this is controversial -- the Enoch books may have been earlier compositions used by the DSS people Scholarship: Schiffman and Strugnell: -Prof Michael Wise (at Chicago, where N. Golb has very radical ideas) -Prof Davies: all kinds of interpretations are possible Did Essenes start out as Sadducees (Schiffman)? 4QMMT-put together from 5 fragmentary MSS; very short and fragmentary -this seems to be a foundation document of some importance Christianity: -Prof Vermes, Eisenmann-what Christianity became is quite different from what is in scrolls -Early Eisenmann argued for a Jewish-Christian connection in the DSS but carbon dating has proved this questionable -Barbara Thiering- argues scrolls are written (coded) by Christians -Murphy O'Conner denies that Vatican suppressed the DSS Vermes-for the first time we do have contemporary documents Davies-some threads connecting scrolls and Christianity ex: Messiah and son of god texts/ideas The Scrolls: Isaiah, Leviticus, Psalms, etc. ("biblical" books) Tefillin-(Phylacteries)-show reverence to God's word by attaching it to your body in little containers containing biblical text //end week 2 notes// --- RelSt 225 DSS Class Notes, week #3 (26-28 Jan 1999) by Leonne Tanis The "Damascus Document" (CD or DD) -- [for more focused treatment, see the previous years of minutes from this class on the class page] Salman Schechter was the first editor of Damascus Document, also called "Zadokite Fragments," which was discovered in the 1890s in the Cairo Genizah (storeroom) and published in 1910. The Genizah contained thousands of fragments of medieval Jewish materials that now reside in Cambridge, England, and several other places. Schechter's English Translation has been added to our course home page. The original lines are separated and numbered page by page. Schechter's footnote numbers have also been retained to indicate where he experienced special problems, but no attempt has been made to include the actual footnotes. Schechter's translation is outdated, but remains interesting for the way he struggles with this new (in 1910) text and all its ambiguities (many of which have now been clarified by the DSS). He often gives a cryptic translation. Recent translations (such as GM) are more informed because of the contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Cairo CD materials consist of manuscripts A (10th century) and B (12th century). These texts were written on codex pages (not scrolls) and the original order is uncertain. Manuscript A contains 16 pages (8 leaves written on both sides). The order of the first 8 pages seems accurate, but after page 8, something seems amiss. On the evidence of the DSS fragments, it is now believed that page 8 was followed (perhaps with some material missing inbetween) by page 15. Manuscript B is a single leaf, with pages numbered "19" and "20" (it seems). The material in manuscript B is parallel to manuscript A, pages 7-8, but contains some passages that manuscript A does not contain and vice versa. Thus CD A and CD B seem to be two different versions of the same text, but why? Did the medieval copyists modify it, or did they obtain the two versions from older copies? [For a useful chart, see the 1998 class minutes.] Compared to 1QS, CD has the same sort of dualism, but shows more "rootedness," more "connectedness" to the previous history of Israel. How did CD come to survive into medieval times? The Christian Bishop Timotheus I, who lived in the late 8th century ce, reported on discoveries in caves in Palestine around that time [see the class page for this text]. Possibly that was another DSS discovery. The CD is suspected to have been connected with the 8th century Jewish Karaite movement, which challenged the authority of Rabbinical Judaism by appealing to ancient scriptural texts. Themes in CD: Dualism -There is an ethical/spiritual dualism expressed in various terms such as truth and falsehood, love and hate, etc. Predestination -God has decreed each person's "lot," and in the end will be divine judgement as part of the eschatological framework. -Horoscopes are found among the DSS describing one's spiritual makeup -- proportions of spirit or anti-spirit, usually intermingled. Communal Organization -There is evidence of communal living. No private possessions. Everyone gave to the group as a whole. Note the parallelism with the early development of Christianity as described in the NT Book of Acts! Purity Laws -Very important in the scrolls, and helps connect present day Jewish Law with its ancient expressions in scriptural tradition. -Chastisements/punishments are legislated for various breaches of law. Note also purification rituals associated with water -Use of water language -Water storage at the site (cisterns, ritual pools/baths) Proper Order/ Proper Time -God keeps track of historical time, leading to the eschatological end. -Tri-level effect: Personal/communal, calendrical/ritual, eschatological. Note hierarchical order among the priestly classes -Levites are classes of priests who perform various "lesser" tasks in the Temple and perhaps in broader society (e.g. as preachers) Other terminology of note: "Bud" used in CD (botanical, plant language) with reference to the "Messianic" hope, in accord with older Jewish tradition. "Aetiology"/"Etiology" refers to causal explanations "Remnant" is one way the community refers to itself; God has remembered the promises to Israel, and has saved/rescued a remnant of Israel //end of week 3 notes// --- RelSt 225 DSS Class Notes, week #4 (2-4 February 1999) by Shoshana M Twersky (stwersky@sas.upenn.edu) 2/2/99 -If you click on the Home page/Gopher Menu/Topics and Info/"DSS Revealed CD-ROM Access Through Index," you find 4 main directories. They are the Scrolls directory, which has pictures and text of scrolls; the Pictures directory, which has all kinds of other pictures; the Text directory, which has various explanatory texts; and the Movie directory, which has movie clips from the CD. This is the index of how to locate files on the CD-ROM directly (e.g. using a browser or word processing program) without having to go through the CD-ROM software. -If you click on DSS Revealed CD-ROM Index of MSS it also tells what is on the CD but not how to get to it. Schechter's translation of the Damascus Document (CD or DD) - For more information on the Damascus Document one can look at the February 5, 1998 and/or the February 10, 1998 class notes, under the key word Damascus. - There is an emphasis on covenant, good, and evil. - In Chapter 3 of the Damascus Document there is a reference to the "Watchers of Heaven." This is referring to the tradition found also in Genesis 6.1-4, which discusses the "sons of G-d" cohabiting with daughters of man and producing giants of old. The "Watchers of Heaven" are the "sons of G-d." - "Now therefore children . . . ". This is paranetic (parenetic), telling students/congregation how they should be living. - "To walk uprightly . . . " Focus on ethical conduct (halacha). - "Because they walked in the stubborness," a reference to the Watchers. - "height of the cedars" refers to the giants. - End of Chapter 3 moves into the Flood, after telling the cause for the Flood and Chapter 4 moves on in subsequent history. We read next from 1QpHab (the Commentary on Habakkuk translated by G. Vermes (A0004212.TXT). - We began with Column 7 (the end of Column 6 is lost). Column 7 begins with a more general statement about what the author is doing here. The Commentary has 2 different levels -- what Habakkuk said and how the interpreter interprets it. - In the original scroll the text will sometimes indicate (blank space, marginal stroke) a move from the commentary to a Bible passage (the "lemma") and/or vice versa. - The first 5 lines talk about end time, righteousness, and authority. - The word Tanakh is an acronym for Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim. The Torah includes the 5 Books of the Pentateuch; the Neviim includes the books of the Prophets; and the Ketuvim (translated as Writings) is basically everything else. The term "prophet" basically means one who proclaims G-d's message. It has also come to mean a foreteller. In Habakkuk a "prophet" is primarily one who proclaims G-d's message and among these messages there may be predictions. - Under Home page/Canon one finds (and we went through) a list of "The Canonical Scriptures ("Bible") in Jewish and Christian Traditions". We especially discussed Tobit, which is found among the "Apocrypha" in the scriptures from Greek Judaism popularly known as "Septuagint" (LXX/OG). Tobit tells of a woman named Sarah whose husbands were all killed by demons on their wedding night until the angel Raphael helped the last husband, Tobias (the hero of the story). - Were 2 Temples in Jerusalem. The 1st Temple was approx. from 960 BCE-586 BCE. The 2nd Temple was approx. from 516 BCE-70 CE. 02/04/99 We started class with "Show and Tell". We passed photographs, and the book, to which Dr. Kraft had contributed, "The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll From Nahal Hever" (8HevxIIgr) (The Segal Collection I), around the room. Among the various photographs shown was one of 1QSa, one of fragments from the book of Numbers, and one of 4Q Testimonia. The photograph of 1QSa shows us how some of the Dead Sea Scroll material was brittle and had to be put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The text of the book of Numbers also had a lot of gaps. In comparison, the photograph of 4Q Testimonia, called that because there are 4 different quotations, was almost intact. 4Q Testimonia was probably 1 sheet, not a scroll. The top line has . . . . (4 dots), which was one way that the Tetragrammaton (the special 4 lettered name of Israel's G-d, YHWH) was represented. Sometimes we find the Tetragram written in abbreviation or in archaic Hebrew. Available Resources -- If we want to find something in the minutes from the previous years, we can go to Edit/Find and type in a keyword. When we are writing our own class minutes we can and should cross reference to previous class minutes, by writing the keyword others should look for. -We looked at the chart on the various fragments of CD from the Spring 1998 minutes. It shows how multiple forms and editions of the same basic document, which existed in several copies among the DSS fragments, sometimes overlapped to help reconstruct the larger picture. The main point is how complex the literary development can be in a lot of documents we get from the scrolls. In many we have a lot of comparative documents. If we look in the Schechter file we can see MS A and MS B are similar but then one will give a variant reading or quote a different scriptural passage. How can we explain the differences in these 2 forms of CD? An ideal paper is one that takes a problem like that and pushes it to the limit. This will teach us the complexities behind historical re-creation. In general it is best to see the problems involved in arriving at conclusions rather than just throwing conclusions around. Another interesting paper would be to analyze Thiering's book to determine the extent to which her conclusions are based on wishful thinking. -We talked about other similar discoveries throughout the centuries, found in areas near the DSS (the Judean desert). There are stories like that of Shapira (see the CD-ROM!). It was thought that he originally had obtained ancient documents, but then was thought that they were forgeries. John Allegro noticed Shapira affair materials and tried to argue that there was more to them than appeared, but many people already thought of Allegro as a "semi-nut" and his argument fell mainly on dead ears. A Little Biographical Information on John Allegro: Allegro published his part of the DSS quickly (maybe too quickly), but he was one of the few who got the material out early. Allegro would probably have considered himself an atheist. (Atheist=says there is no G-d; Agnostic=says just don't know). His experience with his Methodist background may have caused him to look for criticism of it and to overconfidently state some of his sensationalistic views, which tend to highlight things more critical of traditional Christianity. One can find a little of it in his Penguin Scrolls book. Allegro's book came out in 1956. (An earlier, more scholarly introduction was called "The Dead Sea Scrolls", by Millar Burrows, published in 1955). Allegro got flack from some of his colleagues at the University of Manchester where he taught and he got fed up and quit teaching and published a few other best selling books. One was about the inflexibility of universities and the other was called "The Sacred Mushroom." Allegro retired to the Isle of Man off the coast of Great Britain. Before he quit his University post he organized an expedition to find some places mentioned in the Copper Scroll. He got flack from the archeological community for using heavy equipment, such as jackhammers. He died several years ago. -On Dr.Kraft's Homepage is a picture of him with Emanual Tov, who is currently head of the Dead Sea Scroll project. There is also a group picture including other notables such as Larry Schiffman, Gene Ulrich, Jim Sanders, Kurt Treu, and George Brooke. -In Garcia Martinez's translation pg. xxvi tells what all the symbols, such as < > mean. Pesher Habakkuk -If you look under Habakkuk can find more information in the Spring 1998 notes. (January 20, 1998). -There is a big polemic between scroll authors (who have their own Priest and Levites) who seem to be in opposition with the Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. -"Wicked Priest" is not easy to identify by looking at period of Scrolls. Is usually conjectured that the Priest is one of the Hasmonean priests. -Habakkuk is one of the 12 "smaller" prophets. -Kittim, the enemy, could be the Romans or Greeks. They are the super-enemy in a broad sense. Who they are depends on what century the commentary (or its symbolism) is coming from. There are 2 different levels of opponents in many of the scrolls. There are the Gentile opponents and the Jewish opponents. Commentary on Nahum (Q169 [4QpNah]) -If you look under Nahum you can find more information in the Spring 1998 notes. (January 20,1998). -It would normally be hard to know if fragment 1 came before 2, but we know here because we figure that it goes in the order of the passages from the biblical book of Nahum. We know 3 and 4 are in order because they are a strip covering 5 columns. -Often get the frustration of not knowing if fragments are from the same documents. -Fragments 1 and 2 -One scholar has argued Kittim in 4th line of Garcia Martinez probably should be reconstructed as Goyim (nations/gentiles). -The first 2 fragments are very fragmented, while fragments 3 and 4 get better. -Fragments 3 and 4 refer to someone who is the king of Yavan (Greece). -Edward Cook says that it is Demetrius and refers to an invasion we know from Josephus. -Interprets "seekers of smooth things" in that context as the Pharisees. //end of week 4 notes// --- RELS 225 "The Dead Sea Scrolls" Class Notes for week #5, 9-11 Feb 1999 Kathryn Murano DJD = Discoveries in the Judean Desert -- the official publication of the DSS that started coming out in the 60's and contains transcriptions, translations, notes, comments, and photographs of the materials. The last volume will probably be out in the next year or so. These books are available in Penn library (Semitics Seminar, 4th floor east). Commentaries/Interpretations in the contemporary sense are present in many of DSS, but the practice is most obvious in the Pesharim. From the Pesharim we can see what the scriptures meant to the people of the Dead Sea community in their own time (2nd century BCE-1st century CE). Pesher Nahum -- Nahum is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Bible. John Allegro's translation of Nahum begins with GM's fragments 3 and 4 of column 1 rather than the 1st and 2nd fragments. This is probably because he published his translation in 1969, and these two fragments may not have been identified at that time. The word "Yavan" is mentioned in the Pesher Nahum. This is the standard Hebrew word for Greece. This reference could be a code, and therefore not actually mean Greece, but it definitely could be interpreted literally. Historical references are unusual in the Commentaries. The enemies of the writers of the DSS are often referred to in code. Depending on the translation, they are called "seekers-after-smooth-things" or "those looking for easy interpretations" as well as other names. Some scholars interpret these enemies to be the Pharisees. Antiochus reference -- probably refers to Antiochus IV ("Epiphanes" -- manifestation of the deity). He was the Seleukid King from 175 BCE who tried to bring more religious conformity to those under his rule. Since he would not allow local temples to continue worshipping their own god(s) exclusively, this sparked conflict with many Jews. Some accepted the Seleukid spin and recognized other names for the god they worshipped (e.g. YHWH-Zeus), but others refused to compromise. This conflict, which forms the background of the Hanukkah story, prompted the Maccabean Revolt (with an element also of civil war) which lead to a century of Jewish independence under rule of the Hasmonean/Maccabean kings. Kittim -- the appearance of the Kittim mentioned in pNahum probably refers to the appearance of the Romans. General Pompey came to Judea in 63 BCE. The writers of the Pesharim were probably male. They represent a group who fancied themselves under the guidance of Yahweh in opposition to their enemies, which included the Greeks and Romans. In this text, "the lion of wrath" might be a good figure, but it's not really clear to outsiders. In GM, "the lion of wrath" is in concert with his nobles against "the simple folk of Ephraim." In Allegro, however, he seeks vengeance against his nobles. Translation of these texts can be very ambiguous also because the Hebrew grammar construction is so different from English. Since the Hebrew DSS had very little or no punctuation, any punctuation in the translation, including sentence division, is the discretion of the translator. The Scrolls didn't contain capitalization -- all characters are the same size. Sometimes there are conscious gaps in the texts, possibly signifying the end of a sentence or section. GM notes these gaps in his translation. There do tend to be spaces between words in the Hebrew/Aramaic Scrolls, unlike most ancient Greek texts. The reference to people being hung alive on trees may be about crucifixion. If this is so, it probably refers to an episode narrated by Josephus, when the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus crucified some of his Jewish enemies (Pharisees). Crucifixion was not an exclusively Roman punishment, as some treatments of Jesus' execution claim. Any words in brackets in GM are either illegible or missing from the original texts and have been filled in as an educated guess by GM or his predecessors. It's important to keep in mind that in these instances we can't know for sure what these passages really said. Josephus Flavius -- a Jewish General in the war against the Romans who surrendered and became a protectee of the Roman court in Rome, where he recorded his account of the war, and a lengthy history of the Jews. He is sometimes viewed as a "traitor" in Jewish circles. His book Antiquities of the Jews is the most complete surviving early history of the Jews, but its veracity (and/or the veracity of its sources) is often questioned on various points. In addition to protecting his own interests, he also was under the patronage of the Romans when he wrote his texts, and thus his "history" had to be pleasing to them, giving modern scholars additional reason to see them as biased. Relationship between archaeology done at Qumran and the DSS -- Archaeological excavations reveal levels of differing occupations which mark different time periods. The Phase 1B level at Qumran is supposed to be an occupation from the rule of Alexander Jannaeus (VanderKam 107-6). The Document known as "In Praise of King Jonathan" (4Q448) is thought to be a text written about Alexander Jannaeus (aka "Jonathan"). VanderKam says that the Pesher Nahum tells the story recounted in Josephus' text about the conflict between Alexander Jannaeus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees supposedly tried to oust Jannaeus with the help of the Seleukid Greek ruler, Demetrius. This attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and Jannaeus ended up crucifying 800 Pharisees in one day in front of their families. VanderKam's interpretation is that in this text the Essenes (who supposedly wrote the texts) are ridiculing the Pharisees for being "seekers-of-smooth-things." Eschatological indicators -- "the end of days", "in the final time" Gentile -- nations, people of the world, non-Jews, anybody outside of your group Israel -- general designation for Jews, the people who consider themselves to be God's people The three "patriarchs" of Judaism/Israel are Abraham, his son Isaac, and his son Jacob. Judah is one of the sons of Jacob (also known as Israel), and the tribe of Judah became the major surviving entity from which the David-Solomon dynasty developed giving rise to the geographical area "Judea" and the ethno-cultural designation "Jew." Ephraim -- one of the other 12 tribes of Israel, from the line of Joseph. In the DSS Ephraim was deceived for a while before finally seeing the light and joining true Israel under God's guidance. Manasseh, brother of Ephraim, represents another of the 12 tribes, and is also used symbolically (negatively) in some of the DSS. Phylactery (tefillin) -- the DSS include certain passages of Jewish scripture written out and put into boxes that are bound to a part of the body in the Jewish tradition. Today people still use tefillin, but usually they are only applied in the morning for prayer and then taken off. Passages used in tefillin are more or less fixed by the community because they are considered to be the most important passages of the Bible. However, they may vary in different communities that follow different traditions. Decalogue -- the Ten Commandments are one of the primary texts in such teffilin/phylacteries. Cave 11 is the last scroll-bearing cave to be found. Others have been reported since, but none of the rumors have come to fruition. Caves 1, 4, and 11 contain the bulk of the materials found. Cave 1 alone contained about 70 documents. Cave 7 only contained Greek texts. Cave 4 had at least 3 or 4 Greek biblical manuscripts, but most of the texts were Hebrew and some others were Aramaic. The three languages included in the DSS are Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. Hebrew scriptures were often translated into Aramaic ("targums") because during this time period more people presumably could understand Aramaic since it had such a long tradition in the Persian Empire. There was a revival of Hebrew under the Maccabees (165-63 BCE), and Greek was the official language of the Hellenistic Empire(s). Many "Targums" (interpretative translations, usually from Hebrew into Aramaic and/or occasionally used of Greek) were already known prior to the discovery of the DSS, the earliest of which date back to perhaps the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE. The most famous of these include the Targum Onkelos, which is representative of Babylonian Judaism in the 5th and 6th centuries and contains the Pentateuch (Torah). Another famous one is the pseudo-Jonathan Targum, which contains additonal scriptural books. The Targum to Canticles (Song of Songs) contains a reference to the daughters of Mohammed, showing how widespread and long lasting the tradition of translation (interpretation) became. Among the DSS are earlier targums (e.g. an Aramaic translation of Job) and developments in that direction. The leader of the 2nd Revolt is known as Shimeon/Simon Bar Kochba in Aramaic and Ben Kosiba in Hebrew. His name/title(?) means "son of the star", probably with reference to Num 24.17 as a messianic prediction. The Judean desert discoveries from some places other than Qumran contain letters to and from Bar Kochba in all 3 languages. We hear very few first hand women's voices from antiquity. A unique set of documents belonging to a woman, Babata, was recovered in an archaeological dig in the Bar Kochba caves. The translations by GM and Vermes don't include the Biblical DSS texts. Wise, Abegg, and Cook don't even include extra-biblical texts such as Enoch or Jubilees that were known prior to the finding of the DSS. They only include the parts of the DSS that is considered new material to scholars. GM lists the biblical manuscripts in the valuable appendix, and puts a degree sign next to the items not in the book. The Prayer of Jonathan is an example of a text not included in GM, but available in WAC and Vermes. Palimpsest -- a manuscript that is used "again" (palin) by bleaching out or rubbing off the original writing and then writing over it. Refer to minutes from 9/5/96 for a summary of information regarding the Temple Scroll. Use keyword "temple scroll" to do a search. The Temple Scroll survives in 2 copies from Cave 11. One writer who wrote a copy of the Temple Scroll also wrote a scroll in Cave 4. This shows a connection between the materials contained in the two caves. Most of the writers of the scrolls only wrote one manuscript. We know this because almost all of the handwritings are unique to that one document. Both copies of the Temple Scroll are fragmentary, but since the surviving portions overlap in some instances, we can fill in some of the missing parts. "The First Fruits" -- refers to the first harvest of the year, since the climate of the area allows for two harvests per year. In GM p. 158 Col. XIX line 7, the term corncobs (British sense) actually refers to wheat. The Dead Sea community uses the term "a week of years" to refer to a 7 year period. Similarly, 7 weeks of years means 49 years, which they call a Jubilee year. This period was celebrated on the 49th or 50th year. Halakah -- Jewish law Most scholars would argue that the temple of the Temple Scroll is an ideal, not an actual thing. Many of the purity practices stated in the Temple Scroll are safeguards against sinning -- this idea of "building fences around the law" can be illustrated many times in traditional Judaism. E.g. by not ever saying the tetragrammaton, we can never use the Lord's name in vain. By outlining exactly what constitutes work, we can be sure to refrain from doing such activities on the Sabbath. By rigorously defining the Commandments, many sub-commandments are formed. The question remains whether the Temple Scroll and the rest of the Scrolls are merely an expansion of biblical texts or a parallel tradition to the biblical ones that have survived until today. This community celebrates biblical festivals, but they also have separate ones that didn't survive into modern Judaism or Christianity, such as the Festival of the New Wood. The Temple Scroll contains several references that make us wonder if the DSS people practiced sacrifice. These include the mention of the Holocaust, or burnt offering. However, it is not probable that the DSS people did sacrifice because the only place where they would have deemed sacrifice to be appropriate is in the Jerusalem Temple which would have been inaccessible to them. However, there are still questions about whether people sacrificed lambs in their homes for Passover or if this was only done in the Temple. On GM 160, the tribes of Judah are mentioned, and a bit later (e.g. GM 165) the gates of the Temple are identified with the different tribes. The purity laws concerning who may enter the Temple are very stringent. The policy towards the blind (45.12ff) is controversial today because as politically correct modern people we tend to view this restriction towards the blind as a prejudice against the handicap. However, one rationalization for this law is because blind people couldn't be fully aware or whether they were contracting impurity and blindness is associated with leprosy. The Temple is to be protected even against bird related impurity (46.1f)! //end week 5 notes// --- Religious Studies 225: Dead Sea Scrolls. Notes for week #6 (16 and 18 February 1999) prepared by Aaron Nielson See also Class Minutes from 16 April 1998 for more information on Hebrew poetry. 14 March 1995 by Cara Weinstein, recorder, and Lisa Bronowitz, editor, also has some information on poetry and parallelism.) -Goal and plan for the year: big stuff so far, later this semester we will cover some of the smaller manuscripts. We have begun with the larger scrolls so we would get "our teeth" into the scrolls. -No midterm. We should submit a proposal for our final paper/project around "midterm time." At the end of the semester the final will be due, but Robert Kraft (RK) is very easy with allowing incompletes and such. He mentioned someone who presented a dissertation thirty years after starting! It is not necessary to have a concrete idea; all that is needed at this point is several vague ideas to get started with. Reference back to the first set of notes (and the home page) for the exact requirements. -When doing the notes, do not use a lot of tabs or other stylistic features. "Less fancy formatting." This approach is preferable for RK when he edits the materials before posting them on the net. -New material has been added to the website. Hopefully it will still be available as the semester develops (possible legal issues) but it has many links that might be useful in the study of the scrolls. The new material is found at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Resources/Texts/dss.html. We looked at 4QMMT briefly at this site. WAR SCROLL: GENERAL OVERVIEW (Note: see Class Minutes from 5 March 1998 prepared by Stan Zebrowitz, and Class Minutes from 4 April 1995 by Jake Jaffe, as the inscriber, and Reuben Wetherbee, as the examiner for more information on the War Scroll. The minutes from 5 December 1996 by Micah Y. Selya have limited information on the topic as well.) -Along with the Manual of Discipline this was one of the most "eye catching" scrolls. This is because the character of the community is displayed in a very unusual way. The people were preparing for a military war in apparently literal ways (what should be painted on the shields, etc). This is unique among the scrolls and other such records of antiquity. -On page 123 of th Garcia Martinez translation is a heading called "Texts connected with the War Scroll." These texts are connected by being suspected of being other copies of the scroll originally or they have some textual things in common with the scroll. -The War Scroll was found primarily in Cave 1, but 6 or 7 fragments were found in Cave 4. This gives evidence Cave 1 is connected with Cave 4. It also suggests that the War Scroll was important enough in the community to have several copies. -The War Scroll is about the end times. It is eschatological in nature. It is sort of like an instruction manual for the priests and other participants about what they should do in the final conflict. WAR SCROLL: VOCABULARY/CONTENT -Sons of Light and Sons of Darkness. Predestination and dualism were very important to the community. (Some scrolls we cover later are actually horoscopes which you might not suspect in Jewish texts.) -Priests and Levites still presented in War Scroll. -In Temple Scroll there was a definite concern for Jerusalem. This is also true for the War Scroll. The people of the community most likely had an ambivalent view of Jerusalem because of disagreements about the running of the Temple. They were left with disdain on its handling. The possibility of "rescuing" and "purifying" the Temple might be the cause of Jerusalem's place in the War Scroll. -The War Scroll uses "Judah" in a more positive way than the Damascus Document. This might be because the War Scroll focuses on the end of the world and the restoration of Judah while the Damascus Document has other interests (e.g. the history of the group). -The War Scroll starts (GM 95) with a reference to the "Instructor." This phrase appears in other scrolls, especially the Manual of Discipline. -The first attack will be by the Sons of Light. It will be launched against the Sons of Darkness (Belial, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, Kittim -- look in the Bible for background traditions about some of these groups). -The War Scroll begins confrontationally; the great war will fix the past problems. This might be the reason the Sons of Darkness are composed of Israel's ancient enemies. -The Covenant is then mentioned; this is followed by the various tribes being mentioned. -The desert is mentioned. This might be a symbol and not literal. The desert metaphor is used in some of the other scrolls. This is more evidence that the writings stem from a similar outlook. -"Desert of the peoples" (1.3) is obviously symbolic (RK). To whom is it referring? Is it referring to the Jews among the Gentiles? Perhaps the scattered tribes? The Qumran community? Some other image ("the people" is often shorthand for "Israel")? -Kings of the North mentioned. This is a symbol from the Bible. It concerns the geography of the area. To the west of the region is the Mediterranean Sea, to the east is a nearly impenetrable desert. This only leaves a north/south line of travel. -The War Scroll states that the Sons of Light will overcome the Sons of Darkness. "Time of God" (1.8) is when God is victorious (likely that is the correct interpretation). -There is some confusion in Column 1, Line 10. Is the conflict between congregation of gods and the assemblies of men or are they on the same side? Maybe the congregation of gods is a reference to evil angels or the gods of the Kittim. -The final war will have both humans and gods/angels fighting. -"Gods" is used to refer to the spiritual world. This is not uncommon in ancient Israelite sources. That part of the world used such terms. "Elohim" literally means "gods," not just the one "God" as it came to develop it's meaning in Hebrew. Thus there is lots of plurality in terms. OVERVIEW OF CHANGING VOCABULARY AND CONCEPTS (LITTLE WAR SCROLL DIRECT CONTENT) -In Judaic history, human beings deal with gods (angels/spiritual world) all the time. Believe in both good and bad angels. -In the ancient world the word "myth" is used of traditions that lack boundaries between the spiritual world and the human world. As the language developed the word came to take upon itself the sense it now has of "fictional" or "false." -Even in Jewish scripture the term "gods" is used. An example is Genesis 6.1-4, though there we find "sons of god" (twice). The use of "gods" is found explicitly in the Psalm 82 (see also Psalm 89.5-7) with reference to the "council of gods." This passage came to be interpreted as referring to the judges of Israel who act under divine authority, but its language is common ancient Near Eastern idiom. -We discussed the 10 Commandments, most notably the charge to have "no other gods before me." We discussed whether or not this meant an acknowledgement of the existence of other gods, with the God of Israel claiming alliegance of Israel ("henotheism"). Also mentioned was the progression of the language and ideas which developed into strict monotheism. It later came to be understood as denying the existence of any other gods. An example of the earlier notion is when a nation defeated another nation it required the conquered state to follow its God. -As the discussion continued it was suggested that the passage meant no other gods existed and that idolatry (false gods) was prohibited. Here is an excellent example of development of religion. -Language is ambiguous. (For another reconstruction of the development, see Freud's "Moses and Monotheism" essay.) -RK said his purpose was "not concerned to prove or disprove religious truths or explanations" that appeal to divine authority, but to explore human ("secular") explanations which could be applied consistently to other times and cultures as well. -RK talked about progress using this example: If we lived 200 years ago we would not be able to understand a lot of the concepts ("council of gods," etc.) in this discussion. He mentioned the Ugaritic Discoveries (whole library of clay tablets from about 3000 years ago found in Ras Shamra [north of Palestine/Israel] in 1929, which use some language similar to the Psalms). Discoveries give insight into understanding; the language/idiom of the Psalms was thought to be unique, this discovery proved that it was more commonplace. More information can lead to paradigm shifts. -Distinction between monotheism and henotheism: monotheism means that there is only one God, henotheism (also Greek) that one God is to be revered among others. (Complex development of concepts.) BACK TO WAR SCROLL -Interesting that there is no clear revelatory frame (for example, "An angel told/showed me") for the War Scroll. However, the opening phrase "for the Instructor" (1.1) could be used for that purpose, by implication. -The Sons of Light were going to lose the 2nd, 4th, and 6th battle but would win the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and the decisive 7th. They would still fight the battles they were ordained to lose because of predestination. -"Melt the heart" in the context of War Scroll means scary or frightening. -There are hymns (poetic sections) in the scroll from columns 10- 19 (GM 102-115). -No ending for the 1Q copy of the war scroll, it has been lost. -Good idea for topic to explore: weaponry in Ancient Palestine and the Dead Sea Scrolls with regards to accounts of Essenes. -Diversity of possible interpretations. Some might take the War Scroll literally; some others might consider it idealistic. HYMN PROBLEMS (1QHodayot = 1QH) (See Class Minutes from 25 April 1995 by Mark P. Berman with Asaf Cohen, 12 November 1996 by Jessica H. Wiener, and 16 April 1998 by Carolina Armenteros for more information on the hymns.) -There is some confusion in the various available translations, with recent editors (e.g. GM, WAC, Vermes) following the renumbering of the columns proposed by Puech and others. (GM and Vermes give the new numbering, then the old in parentheses; WAC gives only the new). The main differences are as follows: new col. 4 = old col. 17 new cols 5-8 = old 13-16 new cols 9-20 = old 1-12 new cols 21-23 = old 18 (redivided into three) -Note that the new column 5, lines 1-13 (GM, WAC) is a confusing section, apparently constructed from newly placed smaller fragments and perhaps not even poetic. It is not clear what these lines are trying to say or how they function. Vermes does not even include the material, GM and WAC do but it is still confusing. We discussed whether they were talking about the community they lived in and if that was normal for these works. We did notice that the community is mentioned in column 7, so we presumed they go together. DNA testing would help to determine if these fragments came from the same skin. -Some editions also attempt to divide the materials into sense units, thus supplying numbers to individual psalms. With the reordering of the columns, the assigned numbers to the individual sections also become confused. Vermes provides new numbers, and gives the old in parentheses (GM and WAC do not use this system of numbering individual psalms). -The Thanksgiving Psalm and Thanksgiving Hymns on the website mentioned at the start of these notes should both be labeled 1QH -- they are variant titles to the same work. The first of these links provides translations of "Psalms 4, 5, 8, 23" using an old numbering system. To compare these materials with the new Vermes, or with GM and WAC, one needs the following tables of equivalences: website "Psalm 4" = new col. 10, lines 31ff (Vermes "Hymn 8") website "Psalm 5" = new col. 11, lines 1ff (Vermes "Hymn 9") website "Psalm 8" = new col. 12, lines 5ff. (Vermes "Hymn 12") website "Psalm 23" = location undetermined! "PSALM 4" (new 10.31ff) CONTENT -"I thank you, O Lord" used many times as a start. RK said a good project would be analyzing the formal structure of the hymns. -"Jealousy of liars" probably means the seekers of smooth things. (Note: here we discussed the Hebrew poetry, review the referenced minutes above for more information on parallelism and the lack of rhyme or meter in this poetry.) -"Poor" might mean many things. It might be a reference to the congregation, but it also might be the literal meaning. In early Christian circles was a group called Ebonites. Their name derived from the Hebrew word "poor," so when Jesus said "blessed are the poor" it is confusing who is being referred too. -This is very similar to biblical psalms. "PSALM 5" (new 11.6ff) -Two examples of being in trouble, parallelism. -"Crucible" probably means an expectation of tests and trials in the last times. It is used several times in the scrolls, often with the idea of testing or judging in mind. -"she who is pregnant by the serpent" (11.12; GM 331): a very confusing translation problem! RK's explanation: "Briefly, the same Hebrew word (sequence of letters alef-peh-ayin-he) appears in 1QH 10 (old 2), line 28 (first word; GM "emptiness"), as well as in our column 11.12 and 17-18 (GM "serpent). It is difficult to see how the first passage (10.28) can mean "serpent" and there it seems to be parallel to another problematic word that GM renders "nothing" (shin-waw-he) -- "right up to the stars burst emptiness and nothing" (Vermes: "Naught and Vanity" with upper case letters, as if personifications; Abegg, "wickedness and fraud"; Gaster "all weak things and frail"; Burrows, "naught and worthlessness"). The translator's guess as to what 10.28 might mean seems to have influenced the attempts to give meaning to 11.12, with the idea of "vanity" or "worthlessness" dominating. The definition "viper, adder" (i.e. serpent) that appears for these Hebrew letters (word) in the standard dictionary for Hebrew and Aramaic in this period (Jastrow) seems to have had no effect until GM used it. I'm sure there is a history of discussion prior to GM, but .... At very least, a negative connotation is there (Abegg "wickedness" all three times!). The Isa 41.24 passage to which Gaster refers has the same Hebrew letters (without the final he) and is rendered something like "nothing" (with a marginal note in the traditional Hebrew text mentioning "viper"!); Isa 30.6 and 59.5 also has our Hebrew letters (all four) and seems to mean "viper" (so also Job 20.16). That's more than most of you wanted to know!" -There is lots of water language. The significance is unclear. -Child birth metaphor. The exact meaning is also unclear, but it can be made to fit other known eschatological ideas from the period, about the labor pains ("messianic woes") that precede the "birth" of the new world. -"Sheol." Complicated word, has multiple meanings that rely on context. Can mean something like purgatory, a place where souls wait to be judged. It also can be similar to Hell. -Bible is full of guess work about such ambiguous words. "PSALM 8" (new 12.5ff) -"Brighten my face with your covenant" probably means they are smarter or happier for understanding and/or accepting the covenant. -"Teacher of Lies" not really mentioned in this Psalm (at least in the text we have), it was a translator insertion. "PSALM 23" (Do not know where it is from) -Has a lot of light imagery. LOOKED AT THANKSGIVING HYMNS 7 & 8 VERY BRIEFLY, from the next web link on the aforementioned page (= new col. 10.20ff and 31ff). Next time: more sampling of poetic and associated materials from 1QH and other DSS -- e.g. 1QSb (GM 432), and the "Hymns against Demons" (GM 371ff). //end of notes to week 6// --- RelSt 225 Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes, week #7 (23 and 25 Feb 1999) by RAK and Grace Muscarella Topic: Hymns, Poetry, Blessings, Curses, etc. (continued) Context of Modern Discussions: the use of "Wisdom" as a category to describe ancient literary FORMS (e.g. instruction from teacher/parent to pupil/child; see the books of Proverbs and Sirach in Bible and Apocrypha) and also CONTENTS (e.g. the biblical book of Job, or "Wisdom of Solomon" in the Apocrypha). GM's category, "Poetic Texts" (301ff), embraces under the poetic FORMAT various subcatergories of both sub-FORM (Psalms, Hymns) and of CONTENT (against demons, Wisdom poems, and other = Miscellaneous, plus some poetic "liturgical" materials in the next section of GM [405ff]). Ancient Settings (note connections to "liturgical" activities): 11Q5 col 27.2-11 Compositions of David (GM 309) -- here we see, in a collection of biblical and other psalms/hymns (poetry), a narrative section describing the activities of David as a "wise" author of 4,050 songs. 1QSb = 1Q28b Rule of the Blessings (GM 432) -- instructions to community leaders (and participants?) on whom to bless, why, and how; on what to do liturgically. Hymns against Demons (GM 371ff): Starting with the references in 4QShir\a = 4Q510 Songs of the Sage to the "spirits" that should be avoided (e.g. frag 1.5), we looked a bit at the Lilith electronic page by Alan Humm -- http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/index.html -- among other things. 4Q510 1 is a song of exorcism to "frighten and terrify" the spirits: usually the intent in exorcism formulae is to bind them. The connections of wisdom and exorcism with David's son and successor Solomon are illustrated by 11Q11 = 11QPsAp\a Apocryphal Psalms\a (GM 376ff) -- Solomon has a high profile in ancient magical traditions. Proverbs represent a literary form, a core collection attributed to Solomon, that evolved through time gathering up similar proverbial material like a snowball rolling downhill. Other Hymnic/Wisdom Materials: 4Q184 Wiles of the Wicked Woman ("4Q Harlot"; GM 379f) uses the same imagery as found in the biblical Proverbs 7-9 (and in Sirach in the Apocrypha) to warn against the anti-Wisdom symbol, personified as a loose woman (the word "wisdom" is feminine in Hebrew [hokma], as in Greek [sophia], and is normally personified as a virtuous woman). The Harlot poem could have been included in or added to a collection of Proverbs like that of Solomon, just as some Qumran rolls of the biblical psalms incorporate other similar materials. Such moralistic material, a sort of 'school instruction', often contains the phrase 'my son.' For a cultural analogy, compare Poor Richard's Almanac in early America. In Puritan Christian Society, Proverbs was a part of the background of thought. The connection between wisdom and worldly riches was assumed; Wisdom was personified as operating side by side with God from the beginning (Proverbs 8.22). 4Q424 (fragments) = 4QSap Work C (GM 393) takes the form of a 'Last Will & Testament' with an old man giving instructions to his children, passing on admonitians. The FORM is instructional; the CONTENT Wisdom. In Genesis 49, Jacob calls his sons together and gives them his instructions in the FORM of prophetic poems addressed directly to them. A different approach to ethical teaching compares two possible ways, that of light/darkness, life/death, association with good angels or evil spirits, and gives insturctions for living through various contrasting metaphors. WAC even calls 4Q473 (not in GM) a "Two Ways" Text. 4Q416 = 4QSapWork A\b Sapiental Work A\b (GM 383) plays on similar themes and seems to be written in poetic couplets, although GM does not attempt to format it that way. It frequently repeats the theme of "the mystery of existence" or perhaps "of what will be." We met an interesting translational problem in fragment 2 col 3.15-20, a passage about honoring parents. //end of notes to week 7// --- Religious Studies 225: The Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes, week #8 (2 and 4 March 1999) Prepared by Michael Heasley and RAK RAK starts with a bit of follow up from the week before. We look at GM 383 = 4Q416 "Wisdom Poems" Mystery of Existence; on the top of GM 385, we find the passage starting: "Honor your father..." (frg.2 col.3 line 15). This passage leads in to a discussion about the DIFFICULTY OF TRANSLATION. Sarah notices some discrepancies from different translations. Where GM has "grass" others have "arms" (EW) or even "God" (Vermes, Cook in WAC) representing the same Hebrew word (which can also mean sprout or protective circle. The word used for mother is perhaps a basis or standard used for this kind of term. For GM's "oven of your origin" others have "like a hand," apparently misreading one of the ambiguous letters in this "crucible" Hebrew word that we have also found elsewhere. **see the list message on this! Dictionaries can be deceptive when we try to understand the meanings of words from works such as the DSS. The dictionaries define words in a certain context that may not be appropriate when reading or translating the DSS. Dictionary definition of crucible: Furnace or pot/container put into a furnace (e.g. for refining metals). Handwriting: Paleography is the study of old handwriting. The handwriting can cause problems when trying to translate old works, especially the DSS. Some characters in Hebrew are very similar and the handwriting can make it very difficult to know which word is written (see above with "as a hand" instead of "crucible"). Problematic phrase from Fragment 2 column 3 of this scroll starting, "Honor your father". The phrase "pedestal of a man" in some translations have "grass" for "man". The mystery of existence of man will improve or be more understood as God takes over is one way to explain this passage. In the statement, "Honor your mother in your steps", "in your steps" should probably be translated as "proceedings". All translators have problems. There is an Italian proverb, "A translator is a traitor" (traduttore traditore). Every translator has to make a choice between what he/she thinks it should say or what it means literally. For instance in the above, Halakhah means proceedings but is not used. In GM problems may also arise since he went from his original Spanish translation to English with someone helping him while also using the Hebrew for reference. Each step in the process could produce a problem. The line "Mother is like a ruler to a human being." will most likely not stand as the accepted translation. It is a play on words. When looking at the Hebrew printed in the Eisenmann and Wise edition, the word translated as man (in "pedestal for a man") could also be translated "penis." Perhaps there is some symbolism involved here. It must be understood that such problems with translation occur throughout all of the material. There are many articles about how to read the passages and then the articles parallel the DSS to other texts. There are many times that the translations do not really make any sense because of problems in copying the Hebrew (in modern times, or ancient). The translator then has to make decisions on how to translate the work. This particular passage demonstrates the different levels at which the DSS must be read and studied to make sense of them. RAK wants to move on to the Sapiential works (GM 385ff). These works lead to another problem in translation. The Sapiential works are in many fragments. The translators are not sure if the fragments represent the same ancient work. They are not written in the same handwriting, and thus might be different copies of a work. The only real evidence is that they speak of the same subject matter. There is conjecture, but no definite conclusion, unless there is clear overlapping of fragments. After a digression about Jesus, we looked at GM 387 = 4Q417 fragment 2 column 1. This mentions some of RAK's pet interests from the DSS -- e.g. line 12, the (good) deeds "are always black"! Here we also have the themes of "poverty of deeds" which will be written/engraved presumably in "the book of memorial." With this passage we may have variations on the binary mentality of the scrolls: light and dark, good and evil, etc. The Book of Memorial (line 15) here apparently is analogous to "The Book of Life." God keeps a tab on what people do. There are tablets in heaven on which a record of everything that was, is and is meant to be is kept. If you are special, an angel may be sent to tell you (or even show you) what is in the book (prophets). The tablets tell the mystery of "what is." The reference to "his spirit" over against "the spirit of flesh" (lines 16f) resembles the ideas of Paul, for whom things of the flesh are bad and become synonymous with the inclination to sin in early Christianity. In line 15 we have the "sons of Seth." Sometimes this is reference to good people, sometimes it refers to bad people. Mostly it refers to good guys. GM has them here as good guys. Sons of Seth needs to be added to the index. Maybe it is talking about engraving the sins of the Sons of Seth or perhaps their good deeds. Seth was another son of Adam. This way Cain would not be the father of the good people. Seth is accepted as a hero figure. In early Christianity, we have the discovery of the Nag Hammadi ("Gnostic") Codices that talk about the Sethites. Seth starts the line that leads to the Israelites -- how he becomes a figure for evil is not clear. Class Notes, 4 March 1999 We start with GM 393 = 4Q424. This piece provides an exercise in how to reconstruct such a work. Not only do you have to fill in the blanks, you have to translate properly. We tried our hands at filling in some of the blanks and smoothing the translations in fragment 1, where there is often good parallelism; (4) [Blank] If it is hidden, do not take a law [??], and if it is [ ... ] do not (5) enter the oven, for like lead so will it melt you and it will not resist before the fire. [Blank] (6) In the hands of the slothful, do not place an affair, for he will not follow your orders; and do not send him (7) to collect something, for he will not level off your paths. [Blank] Do not trust in the collector of taxes (8) to collect money for your necessities. [Blank] Do not entrust the man with twisted lips (9) with your trial; certainly he will distort with his lips, he will not be favorable to the truth [ ... ] (10) with the fruit of his lips. [Blank] Do not entrust wealth to the avaricious man [ ... ] (11) and he adjust what remains to you to your pleasure [ ... ] ... [ ... ] (12) and in the time of harvest he is found a hypocrite. [Blank] The impatient person [ ... ] the simple, for certainly he will consume them. [Blank] The word Sapiential is Latin for "things of wisdom". There are several different fragments that sometimes overlap. There are neatly placed blanks that seem to be markers for changes of thought. Certain parts lend themselves to parallelism. There is much repetition of the same idea, "Don't ask someone who isn't responsible to take care of something." The translations available to us, in addition to GM, are by: Robert Eisenman -- Considered to be a bit unconventional in his thought and his theories have been downplayed. He is also a bit obnoxious. He does not take the time to develop his translations. He sees James (brother of Jesus) to be figure in the scroll History. He has backed off and is not as vocal because of Carbon 14 dating. He teaches at a school in Southern California. Michael Wise was just out of Grad school when he did his translation with Eisenmann (The DSS Uncovered, Penguin 1992). His involvement with Eisenman could have caused him serious professional problems. At the beginning of their translation they say that they will try to disambiguate the scrolls even by using, where appropriate, expressions with a Christian tendency. By doing this they try to make the reading more understandable. In WAC there are initials at the end of the passages to tell which of the three was the translator. Vermes makes some interesting choices in his English in his translation. For instance the word "delicate" is used to describe attention to details. Methodologically there is a warning not to be associated with people who don't pay attention to details. The Sapiential works give timeless wisdom. Look at the passage starting on line 4. In Hebrew you can't tell an "it" from a "he." Context is very important for something to make sense in the readings. The "fiery ordeal" idea carries through the next three lines. There is also the idea of the cheater, hypocrite, or thing hidden (variant translations of the same Hebrew word!) that is related to the "fiery ordeal." These words all relate to the idea of not being authentic. The text seems to be condeming something that is not appropriate in the context of "hearing laws." It probably does not have to do with a personal disagreement. The passage could just be a damning of being vague. The fire analogy is not clear. Perhaps it is a metaphor for going into something with an individual who is not prepared. The reference to the fire or oven could be "crucible" language. This passage could be a warning to or about people who do not know of "the oven." This is one of the places where people who only work in English can see the difficulty in recapturing the language of the scrolls. Eisenmann deals with the "code word" Kittim by translating it as "the simple" or "the fools." Next. GM 394 = 4Q521 (Messianic Apocrypha). This is a short text made up of eight fragments of which four are found in GM. Fragment 2, column 2 refers to "his messiah." There is a plural reference in fragment eight which talks about all "his anointed ones." This text is not too full of holes and the idea of established laws or precepts comes across. Apocalypse refers to revealed things about the future. The Greek term from which the word comes means to reveal; e.g. the Episcopal Church calls the final book of the New Testament "The Apocalypse" while many others call it "Revelation." (Among RAK's pet peeves are people who refer to the book in the plural, as "Revelations," or to Josephus' "Jewish War" as "Jewish Wars.") There are references to groups of people. The positive references are made with words such as just, pious and faithful. "The masses" or "the many" is used a lot in these writings for the main body of the community. There are shifts from the use of his, he and I and when this occurs it could be coming from a use of earlier sources. There are phrases that seem to come from the biblical book of Isaiah and this book is also used by Christians to support the idea that Jesus is the messiah. Someone could also be misreading the text when translating and from that we could get the idea that there are quotes in these passages. The source of the translations comes from photos and these photos can be hard to read. In GM the passages refer to messianic (?) acts of healing and proclaiming good news. Explicit references to resurrection in the DSS are very rare. In general, Jewish eschatology usually includes the idea of resurrection, but they do not mention it because perhaps they believe that it is so well known that it doesn't need mentioning. It could also be that they don't give it much credence. Fragment 5, column 2 tells about what the Messiah will do and one of the lines talks about resurrection. There are statements about resurrection (GM frg 5) and anointed ones (EM frg 4 "her" = GM frg 8 "his"). The discrepancy in gender comes most likely from the fact that part of a word may be missing in the text. GM 395 = 4Q525. Here is a longer text called a "Wisdom text with Beatitudes." The word beatitude comes from the word blessed. In the Gospels Jesus recites "the beatitudes" (Matthew 5; in the parallel passage in Luke's Gospel both blessings and curses are mentioned). EW calls 4Q525 Demons of Death. If we refer to fragment 15 in the GM translation, we get the image of the snake that seems to be some kind of play on the image of the serpent in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1-3). RAK: In the middle ages, we have the belief that (angels and) demons are made of fire. Fire is a source of light. The WAC translation has the fire for what is translated as demons in EW. Sarah can not find the actual word for demons in her copy of the Hebrew text. The title "Wisdom Text" comes from the beginning of the scroll where there are many feminine pronouns. The "She" that is mentioned is Lady Wisdom. She is personified in the biblical book of Proverbs. She is God's consort at the beginning of creation. GM 399 = 1Q27 or 1QMysteries. The theme of this scroll is that of mystery. The mystery needs to be understood by the true follower of God. The text was found with the cave one materials but there are overlapping materials from cave four. If we compare it to the other wisdom texts (e.g. 4Q416 = GM 383ff), there is more of a focus here on overcoming sin and evil (with "knowledge/wisdom" as part of the solution). This emphasis seems to contrast with what one usually finds in Judaism of this period, with its concerns with religious law. Noteworthy also are the ambiguous references to parable, divination, heavenly signs and visions (GM 400). GM 400 = 4Q300. This scroll talks about "false revelation" or "wizardry". These terms generally refer to things learned by signs from the heavens and things found in nature. We must remember that these people were living in a time and place where "magic" was being performed. How do you know who is performing "good magic" (prophets) or "bad magic" (charlatans)? The books of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah wrestle with this question. The answer basically boils down to whether or not their predictions come true. Also, if the people did not appreciate the manner in which you told the future, you were practicing "bad magic" (for instance, using entrails to tell fortunes). Also, there was an "inside-out" distinction - "Our guy can tell the future and yours can not." In 4Q525 fragment 22 (GM 398), there seems to be a condemnation of divination through the use of entrails. GM 401 = 4Q179 (Apocryphal Lamentations). This scroll speaks about a destroyed Jerusalem. Jerusalem had been destroyed several times and, therefore, it is difficult to discern exactly about which time they are speaking. The writers of the scrolls often refer to Jerusalem in a bad light and they may be rejoicing about the fact that the city has been destroyed. Bit it probably is not post 70 (when Jerusalem was indeed destroyed again), so what did it mean to those who read and copied it? Is the Jerusalem that exists authentic to the writers? They probably don't respect anything that goes on there past their group's departure. GM 403 = 4Q501 (Apocryphal Lamentation). The line at the top of the passage is probably easily filled in with "chosen" or "remnant." These statements select a subset of the people and set them apart from everyone else in a form of self-"exile." This idea can be used as a good parallel to other ideas that appear in the DSS. 4Q504 Words of the Luminaries (GM 414ff) -- note that the title has been preserved, on the "back" of the final (?) column. There are historical allusions in this text, as we also noted in the Damascus Document. The actual "blessings" portion is brief and fragmentary. And what is the role of the "luminaries" in all this? Are they the angelic beings of 4Q400 (GM 419ff) mentioned below? They seem to be at God's side. Apparently humans can graduate to the level of luminaries. GM deals with this scroll as a Liturgical work. Liturgical refers to formal worship, such as the different times and days when certain things are done. This group has set times for worship and other things in their daily lives. There is a digression about the "Our Father" ("Lord's Prayer). In these materials, GM leaves some of the Hebrew words as they are. For instance the word cherubim is left alone in 4Q403 column 2 (GM 423). WAC translates the word as "wheel beings," presumably with reference to the visions of Ezekiel. The cherubim and seraphim protected the ark of the covenant in ancient Israelite tradition. 4Q400 Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (GM 419) seems more explicitly liturgical, with praise to God and to "the gods" (=? the "holy ones"?). You may want to puzzle a bit about who these "debir(im)" and "ofanim" might be (GM 423, 428-31, etc.), or perhaps, why GM chooses not to try to translate the words. When we come back from spring break we are going to look at modern interpretations of who wrote the DSS. We will then look at the literature read at the beginning of the course and see how it looks after new interpretations have been explored. //end of notes to week 8// --- RelSt 225: Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes for week #9 (16 and 18 March 1999) by Leonardo Dona Dalla Rose OVERVIEW OF THE DISCOVERIES The first DSS were found in 1946-7, by accident, by local Bedouin. Cave 1 was found approximatly 1 mile from the Qumran ruins. Cave 4 was located almost in sight of the ruins. When the DSS were found they weren't valued by the Bedouin as ancient documents but more as items of possible reuse (e.g. as leather straps). In Cave 1 some DSS were found inside a single jar, with other empty jars nearby. The DSS were then brought to a dealer's shop for evaluation; then some knowledgeable persons were contacted to see them. They discovered that they had an incredibile value as documents. After this discovery the DSS began to be studied by the scholars and the search for other similar items was undertaken in the area. There were found about 800 manuscripts altogether. But this was not the first discovery of such materials in the area! THE REPORT OF BISHOP TIMOTHEUS (about 800 ce): 1901 Oscar Braun published this material (see the web page). He also made some comments on the Origen's Hexapla. He also explained how these earlier scrolls were found -- by acident by a boy searching for his dog or sheep! Timotheus had his theory; Baruch (the companion of Jeremiah) put these scrolls in the caves. We do not know why or how the DSS were forgotten in the caves. OTHER SCROLLS FROM THE JUDEAN DESERT The third part of the "DSS" (broadly speaking) were found in other caves in the area, south of Qumran towards Masada (see the introduction to GM for details). A Greek translation of the Minor Prophets was found there. This same translation was quoted by the Christian author Justin ("the Martyr") in the mid-second century. APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF THE DSS AND QUMRAN There are two way to date the DSS: 1. Paleography (study of the old writing). By the writing you can get a general idea of the date. 2. Trying to date them with "carbon 14" analysis. Three sources of ancient descriptions of "Essenes": 1 Philo before 68 ce 2 Pliny the Elder before 79 ce 3 Josephus before about 100 ce //end of notes to week 9// --- RelSt 225 Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes, week #10 (23 and 25 March 1999) by Susan Langley The "Essene Hypothesis": Pliny's Evidence -relationship b/w Essenes and DSS comes back frequently to Pliny -Pliny the Elder (natural scientist), died from Vesuvius eruption in 79 ce -he gathers descriptions from around the world from various sources -his "Natural History" preserved as work that was copied and recopied -Pliny probably wrote it in the mid/late 70's just before his death -The context talked about the survey of the area moving from Syria in the north down to the Judean area and Dead Sea -talks about general districting of area by Romans -describes Jordan river from Cesarea down to Galilee -Keeps describing down to the south (Jericho and east of Dead Sea) and then west of Dead Sea, where he touches on the topic of the Essenes -The Dead Sea is called Asphalites...because of the tar -it is said the Essenes fled from the shores for some reason ("because of the noxious odors"?) -The Essenes are called a "genos" (race, group); Pliny never calls them Jewish -They have no women or money but associate with palm trees: even though they don't have wives and families people flock to them so their numbers don't deplete -Pliny doesn't mention the fall of Masada in 73 ce -- does the tradition he reports regarding the Essenes date from an earlier time? -Pliny is one of three ancient sources which makes references to the Essenes and the Dead Sea (also Dio and Solinus) -Philo and Josephus don't relate the Essenes to the Dead Sea -- Josephus mentions marrying AND unmarrying Essenes -Pliny becomes the oldest surviving source for the idea that Qumran is possibly included in the area to which he refers -Hirschfield digging in areas around Engedi (south of Qumran) found cell-size dwellings with evidence people occupied them -There are questions whether or not this is a place Essenes lived Tangent: WOMEN, THE DSS, AND QUMRAN -There is a fairly extensive graveyard on the eastside of Qumran -There are rules that relate to women in the sectarian texts -The "main" cemetary, which is very close to the ruins of Qumran, seems almost too close for comfort for those practicing strict purity -There are about 1200 graves, most oriented S-N (head at S end) -The graves are marked with piles of stones -Only about 50 have been excavated -The problem with excavating more graves now is that there is opposition from orthodox Jewish leaders for religious reasons -In the 50 graves that were uncovered, there were 9 women plus children, these graves were not as rigorously oriented in the S-N direction -This contributes to the discussion about whether or not Qumran was male only -Right now the restrictions on uncovering the graves is a major frustration -The bones from the graves that were excavated have "disappeared" -it is probable they still exist in a storeroom somewhere, but noone knows where (or they aren't telling) -- some coins are missing too! Other Ancient "Essene" Descriptions: -Another Greco-Roman author who mention the Essenes is Solinus (3rd century ce, or 4th ?) -He talks about Dead Sea and saltiness of it and floating camels -He also mentions Essenes in this context (but does not mention them having a specific "town/city" as Dio does) -"interior of Judea towards the west is occupied by Essenes" -"No women are found around them and they renounce sex" -"they have no money and live on the palms...the place is dedicated to chastity" -"they are a race in which no child births occur yet they live on forever" (sounds like Pliny, or the same source as Pliny used) -Philo (and Josephus) -More detailed materials are not as good about locating where exactly the Essenes lived -Philo has 2 descriptions of Essenes, in his HYPOTHETICA and in EVERY GOOD MAN IS FREE; these are very similar to his description of the Therapeutae -Philo is intrigued by the Therapeutae, who live in a healthy area between two bodies of water (compare Pliny on the Essenes and the "shore") -Elsewhere in his writings he refers to Jews who have correctly interpreted what Jewish laws are all about -he mentions critically the Jews who don't understand the laws and calls them literalists -he also criticizes those who have found meaning in the laws but don't follow them -Philo's Therapeutae include both men and women -The name suggests (for Philo) that they are "healers" or "servants" of God and have a mystical ability to be God's friends (like Moses) -they are "drunken with the sight of God" -they are anxious for immortality and give up their possessions to follow God and await their union with him -They have certain rooms where no food or drink is allowed where they go to study the word of God -There are holy shrines in their houses and they pray twice a day -These people practice virtue and have writings on their founders including "allegorical" writings and hymns --On the 7th day they come together sitting in order of age and the eldest speaks -They look for meaning of the laws -The Therapeutae wear white garments -- to practice simplicity -They assemble at the end of 7 weeks for the jubilee celebration //end of notes to week 10// --- Religious Studies 225: Dead Sea Scrolls Notes for week #11 (30 March and 1 April 1999) prepared by Aaron Nielson JOSEPHUS' DISCUSSION (WE LOOKED AT WAR 2.(8.)117ff) (Note: see James Blankenship's notes from 1995, Ben Fogelman with Tamar Lasson's notes from 1996, Adena M Galinsky's notes from 1998 for more information on Josephus.) The translation most people use is William Whiston's when dealing with Josephus. He first translated it in 1736. One problem with his translation is that the chapter divisions are rather far apart; more recent editions use smaller divisions. He also called it "Wars" instead of "War." Thus there are two kinds of divisions (Whiston's and the newer), which can make it rather confusing to find where you are when checking references. Josephus is the primary source for information about Judaism in the Dead Sea Scroll time period. In his work, "The Life of Josephus" is information about him; we do not have such resources about the other historians around that time like Philo and Pliny. Josephus was born in 37 CE and raised in the "shadow of the temple." He studied in his youth with different subgroups of Judaism. He eventually began to associate himself with the Pharisees (though he was not necessarily one himself). He was a general or leader in the revolt against Rome and surrendered. An interesting story (of questionable accuracy) concerning the surrender goes like this (see War 3.[8.], esp 387ff): Josephus and his men hid in cavern to avoid surrender. They commit suicide one by one until only Josephus and one other person are left. They decide to not kill themselves and instead surrender to the Roman general, Vespasian, who soon became emperor. (The name of that line was Flavia, so Josephus changed his name to Flavius Josephus.) He went to Rome and wrote his book called "War" and later "Antiquities: A history of the Jews." Looking for the word "Essene" in Whiston's translation will yield nothing. He spells it "Essen"; one must take account for such spelling changes when doing electronic searches. We first looked at War 2.(8.) on the web page. In what precedes, Josephus discusses Archelaus (son of Herod) at the turn of the era. Archelaus took over after Herod in 4 BCE, he ruled until 6 CE. (RAK reminded us that there is no year "0," so you have to be careful when dealing with the crossover years.) Archelaus had a dream, he called some Chaldeans and then Simon the Essene to interpret the dream. (Chaldeans were Persian magi or astrologers. However, the term might mean anyone who deals with such things, not just Persians.) The dream was about animals and corn, much like the story of Joseph in Genesis. As Josephus tells the story, Simon the Essene's interpretation was most accurate (War 2.[7.3].113). After this, in War 2.(8), Josephus discussed the various groups of Jews at the time: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. The Essenes were Jews by birth. They believed in reason over passions. This theme is similar to that in a book around the time: Fourth Maccabees. These Essenes neglected wedlock (possibly sexual relations), but took other people's children and taught them. They did not reject marriage, but they feared the lascivious conduct of women. They despised riches and had communal property. They thought oil was a defilement. They had no specific city and were very hospitable towards traveling Essenes; thus Qumran can not be the only Essene city (if it was Essene at all). They carried weapons when traveling to protect themselves from thieves. They did not sell or buy from each other and they wore their clothes until they wore out. They were very pious and did not talk about profane things before sunrise. Until the fifth hour after sunrise they fashioned things, then they bathed in cold water for purity and proceeded to eat bread blessed by a priest. They could not spit or say bad things about Moses either. It was difficult to join the group. There was a two year probationary period. They were very fair in excommunicating people as well. They also had no resurrection doctrine. There are many similarities between the DSS people and the Essenes, but some things are different. RAK told us it is possible that the two groups were similar but not the same. VIDEO: VOICES FROM THE DESERT (This video gave a brief history of scroll discovery and the conspiracy theories.) Interesting facts/theories learned from the video: There were two kinds of caves; five were natural caves (e.g. cave 1), six were caves dug in the soft "marl" (e.g. cave 4). Digital reconstruction can be bad because it allows manipulation of the text. You must be careful when dealing with such technologies so you will not be misled about the content derived from reconstructed work. It is possible to read the aging and darkened scrolls by using infrared light and "spectography" (Greg Bearmen is one of the pioneers in this field). Researchers used technology to take microwave images by flying over Qumran in a low flying plane with special equipment to view ancient trails to help see how the people at Qumran lived. Biologists are making genetic fingerprints of the animals the scrolls were made from to see if they were made in the same place. Some were made from cow skins; they do not know where cows lived around the area. Most of the scrolls were made from goats. They checked the pottery to see where it was made. Some at least was made in Qumran, and some may have been made in a hurry because the pieces blistered in the kiln. A sundial was found at Qumran, perhaps illustrating the interest in calendric matters. It divided the day into twelve equal parts, compensating for the fact that days were longer in the summer. It is possible that the collapsed caves in the area contain more scroll stuff; researchers hope that they will find a cave not tampered with. We discussed how this sort of thing related to the discovery of ancient Egyptian tombs, especially. //end of notes to week 11// --- RelSt 225: The Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes for week #12 (6 and 8 April 1999) by Kathryn Murano Anyone who hasn't selected a project yet may help organize materials for the index -- the different translators do not always agree on the categories and classifications of the various DSS (apocalyptic, legal, liturgical, etc.). TOC = Table of Contents It is possible to construct a timeline of important events and characters in the biblical tradition and see which of these are mentioned and/or elaborated on in the Dead Sea Scrolls: 1. Angelic world (assumed) 2. Creation of Adam and Eve, humanity, nature 3. Cain and Abel, Seth -- Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. When animal offerings were designated as more favorable to God than fruit and vegetable offerings, Cain became jealous and killed his brother Abel. 4. Enoch, Enosh, Methuselah -- "prehistoric" traditions, quasi- mythical. Enoch reads heavenly books, "walks with God." 5. Tower of Babel -- God sees humans building a tower so high that it threatens to reach up to the heavens. As a result, God creates linguistic divisions between people so that they can't organize at that level. 6. Noah -- beginning of more believable stories, more historical. 7. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his 12 sons ("patriarchs" all) from whom come the 12 tribes of Israel. 8. Egypt, Exodus, Moses The DSS refer briefly to Adam and Eve and their fall from the Garden of Eden. They talk about the angelic fall from grace much more, as in the Book of Enoch. The DSS also mention the patriarchs and the 12 tribes frequently. In the DSS, most of the individuals talked about in the Bible are linked to God through angelic ties and do good things (Enoch sees the heavenly tablets, Moses writes down the law). We wonder why there isn't a lot of mention in the DSS of certain traditions that are preserved and even highlighted in Christian circles. Genesis 5.21 is about Enoch's life and how he doesn't really die (lives 365 years, 365 is number of days in a solar year). Not all of the Book of Jubilees is contained in the Scrolls that have so far been found. Other facts tangent to issues concerning the DSS: Ahiqar is a teller of fables, analogous to the Greek Aesop. Many of his texts were found at Elephantine, an island in the Nile where a Jewish military community existed in the 5th century bce. Aseneth was the wife of Joseph (one of the 12 sons of Jacob) and the daughter of an Egyptian priest. She is not mentioned in the Scrolls but is subject of an interesting pseudepigrapha. Letter of Aristeas -- this letter records how the Egyptian king Ptolemy I asked the Jews to contribute some of their sacred literature to a library that was being collected in Alexandria. The occasion involved a big banquet and celebration, and the result was that the Pentateuch got translated into Greek. The translation is supposed to have been inspired. THE BOOK of JUBILEES: Jubilees is also known as 'Little Genesis' and the 'Apocalypse of Moses.' It organizes history into periods of 49 years, known as a Jubilee. Wednesday is a special day in its symmetrical annual solar calendar (see further, below) because it is supposed to be the day that God created the world (however we're supposed to know that). Thus New Year's day always falls on a Wednesday. Many of the key days specified in Jubilees are Wednesdays. Jubilees has a renewed eschatological interest in creation. It begins with Moses on the Mount and goes back to describe the period from creation in more detail than Genesis. Jubilees stresses time and the seasons. The tradition of the jubilee period is probably very old and plays a less central role in the biblical materials (especially in laws on slavery, land ownership). The extant full form of Jubilees in Ethiopic manuscripts is developed and edited, relative to the DSS fragments, but Kraft thinks the main features of the ancient text are preserved. Interesting mention in Jubilees: "He created man, a man and a woman He created them." Does this mean God first created an androgynous man-woman (as in some ancient Near Eastern traditions) which later became separate? The Sabbath is described as being kept in heaven by the angels as well as on earth by God's people. 22 genealogies -- could be this number because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. David and Solomon created the fixed temple in Jerusalem. Before this time it had been a portable tent called the tabernacle. AM=anno mundi (the year of the world), starts from creation. Question about ancient traditions in the Pentateuch > tangent: Scholars realized that only certain names/terms were used in certain biblical texts to refer to God. Beginning in the 1700's, they tried to figure out if this meant that different writers of biblical texts used different sources. They looked at the background of the material, including thematic elements and clues involving the words used to refer to God used in the particular text. These are the classifications they came up with: J = Uses the word Yahweh (Jehovah) to refer to God E = Uses the word Elohim to refer to God D = Deuteronomic (the book of Deuteronomy and related interests) P = contains mostly priestly thematic elements and editing Centuries of copying and cyclical patterns make it very hard to discern clear-cut lines as to the sources. In the DSS, perhaps the different words used to refer to the devil can be used to trace back to different traditions (e.g. 'Satan' originally meant adversary). Reference to "the finger of God" -- When Moses got the tablets from God, written by God's "finger" (Exodus 31.18, 32.16), he descended the mountain to find that the people had created a golden calf. Moses breaks the tablets out of anger (32.19), and had to go back up to get others (written down by Moses? see 34.27f; but contrast 34.1 where the LORD intends to write). ASTRONOMICAL TEXTS (8 April class) The solar calendar used by the Dead Sea people had 364 days. It consisted of four seasons, of 90 days each, with one day (perhaps for celebration) between each season. Each season consisted of three months, each of 30 days. There were 52 weeks in every year, each week consisting of 7 days. This means that holidays fell on the same day of the week every year. The Jewish calendar that survived in classical Judaism is basically lunar, with 354 days, but for seasonal celebration purposes it must be reconciled with the solar cycles every three years by adding a second "12th month." The "Christian" influenced world at large now uses a solar calendar of 365 1/4 days. Classical Islam uses a strictly lunar calendar of 354 days, without coordinating to the solar. The 7-day week is a development that came out of the East and spread to the West. Rome, for example, went by months and divided these into subsections such as the Ides, etc. There is a theory that the Aramaic texts found in the DSS were texts that came into the community from the outside (like the biblical texts) and did not originate in the DSS community. The Ethiopic versions of Jubilees and the Enoch collection are probably translations from the Aramaic. Aramaic was the official language of the Persian Empire in the 6th-4th centuries bce. The attempts in the DSS to correlate the movements of the sun and moon and possibly other planets aren't included in the later Ethiopic texts of the "Enoch" astronomical work. Because the astronomical texts are so fragmentary, it is hard to determine if they are a collection of otherwise unrelated texts, or formed part of a single document. Kraft thinks they were probably once all part of a unified document. Brontologian -- a work that predicts weather, and talks specifically about interpreting thunder. The fill-ins constructed by GM in the Calendrical Documents (Mishmarot) are probably accurate to the original text because there are other copies of the text and also the text is very patterned and thus predictable. GM 455 = 4Q327 is in the same handwriting as one of the copies of 4QMMT (GM 79-81), and might be from the same document. Two or more scrolls in the same hand is not a common occurence in the DSS. Paleographers state that out of 800 or so texts, most are in unique handwritings. To explain such phenomena, there is a theory that the DSS could be a part of a major Jerusalem library (thus the diversity of handwriting and of subjects) that was moved to Qumran during the conflict with the Romans. But in keeping with the idea that at least sometimes the simplest explanation is probably the right one ("Ockham's razor"), Kraft doesn't think this is likely. Physiognomy -- making predictions of blessings or curses based on a person's physical features (real or imagined). The horoscope texts divide the spirit into 9 parts, which are separated into those in the house of light and those in the house of darkness (in other words, good and evil). In this thinking, hairy thighs are bad because they are goat-like, and goats are often satanic figures, etc. //end of notes to week 12// --- RelSt 225: Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes #13 (13 and 15 April 1999) [[13a not yet submitted; Mark Snyder]] Class Notes for DSS Class #13b (15 April 1999) by Grace Muscarella HALAKHIC LETTER -- 4QMMT The Halakhic Letter, (also called "Some of the Works of the Torah"), 4QMMT, exists in fragments of half a dozen copies. It argues issues of Halakha (Jewish ritual law) in a reasoned, measured way. Halakha is Lawrence Schiffman's expertise (see his dissertation at Brandeis). The letter was believed to have been written by the sectarians, perhaps by their Teacher of Righteousness, to opponents in Jerusalem whose high priest = the Wicked Priest of the scrolls. The tone is that of reasoned legal dialogue. Schiffman argues from 4QMMT for the Sadducean origin of the scrolls. A problem with this interpretation is that the eschatological, apocalyptic emphases of the scrolls are not believed characteristic of the Sadducees. Schiffman addresses this problem by positing developments between the origin of the group and its subsequent orientation. What do we know of the Jewish sects in this period? JEWISH SECTS (i.e. sub-groups) Halakhic versus Conceptual: 1. Halakhic: observance matters, purity rituals, temple rules; 2. Conceptual: larger issues like the concepts of messiah, theology, eschatology. Most of our knowledge of 1. comes from rabbinic materials, of 2. from materials (including Philo, Josephus, "pseudepigrapha") preserved by Christians. Sadducees versus Pharisees What did each group believe? Josephus gives information for the period of Alexander Jannaeus and his wife Alexandra, around 100 bce. Wise follows Schiffman and tries to move beyond this appraisal. Josephus usually is described as a Pharisee, based on his statement in his "Life." (Steve Mason argues that this was a political expedient; the Pharisees were the popular party.) Josephus tells us that he was brought up in priestly circles in Jerusalem, thus we assume he was associated with the Temple and therefore with Sadducees at some point. Josephus, in his Jewish War (bk. 2, ch. 8), discusses the differences among the three main groups: Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducces. His description of the Essenes and their communities is very positive and lengthy. He seems to be favorable towards the Essene life-style and commending it to a Roman audience, whereas he treats the Pharisees more briefly and is almost dismissive of the Sadducees. Josephus says that the Pharisees believe in "fate" (predestination), but also in free will in cooperation with fate. They believe souls to be incorruptible (=immortal?); the good pass on to other bodies (=an altered state? reincarnation?), while the evil are condemned to eternal punishment. (Do they hold to some sort of idea of resurrection of the body? Of evil persons as well as good?) The Sadducees do not believe in fate, nor in a god that intervenes in the world; they accept free will, but reject the concept of an immortal soul along with punishments and rewards after death. According to Josephus, the Pharisees are sociable people, but the Sadducees are boorish. (Some commentators suggest that as the priestly caste they were probably elitist and aloof.) Josephus's negative assessment may be related to his probable close personal familiarity with Sadducees. There followed a class discussion of resurrection and messianic hopes. Some have argued that for Judaism, the Messiah can never come because, by definition, Messiah is expected and hoped for, and therefore must be perpetually anticipated. On the other hand, full page advertisements in the New York Times still appear heralding the late Brooklyn hyper-Orthodox Rabbi, Menachem Schneerson, as the Messiah ("Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach") -- despite the medical fact that he died a few years ago. Michael Wise holds that the "teacher of righteousness" of the scrolls was elevated to Messiah after his death. This argument allows Wise to move the Sadducees from their earlier philosophical position as described by Josephus to an outlook of eschatological expectations. In response to a question, a time of messianic expectation can be described as a time when people are seeking extraordinary manifestations of divine activity, seeking human representatives to mediate with God in their behalf. The Pharisees are the ones "separated" (one possible meaning of the Hebrew term) by adherence to purity laws. The origins of rabbinic Judaism are usually thought to be with the Pharisees as described by Josephus -- "those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact explication of their laws". Pharisees may have reached out to the people by teaching, perhaps in the synagogues. Jesus and Paul would have been closest in outlook to this group -- in Acts 23.6, Paul is described as, "a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees" (see also Philippians 3.5). RECAPITULATION Josephus notes (War 2.8, quoted above) the Pharisaic belief that the soul is incorruptible, but the body corruptible, and that the souls of good men are reincarnated, "removed into other bodies". The afterlife is one of rewards and punishments. This is similar to resurrection as understood by Paul where the body is changed into some other, different sort of body. Josephus and Paul use the same Greek word for body, 'soma.' Josephus describes Essene communities that are very similar to the Theraputae in Egypt that Philo describes. The Pharisees according to Josephus attribute everything to fate (God) and human will. Their fate is equivalent to the Graeco- Roman concept of Fate. While predestination and free will often viewed as mutually exclusive concepts, the Pharisees mix them. The scrolls, on the other hand are usually strongly predestinarian, talking about the "lot" of various people/groups, and including horoscopes and the like that are consistent with a belief in fate/determinism. In comparison, the Sadducees according to Josephus don't have god active or involved in the world, have freedom of choice, and do not hold eschatological views of the sort discussed above. The name is apparently related to a priestly ancestor named Zadok, and may have some sort of connection to the 'sons of Zadok' of the scrolls (but the DSS priests are strongly linked to eschatological expectations). Josephus, in trying to present a favorable image of Judaism can't exonerate the Jerusalem leadership. He moves to a Pharisaic outlook similar to that of the fabled (in rabbinic circles) Johanan ben Zakkai, leader of the Sages of Yavne/Jamnia, who is credited with the founding of rabbinic Judaism. The much discussed etymology of Essene may be related to such a connection with law and piety. The Essenes, "the keepers of the law, doers of the law" (see Hebrew ASAH = to do), are explained by Philo with reference to the Greek word hosios, 'pious,' which itself is sometimes a rendering of the Hebrew HESED, the word applied to the tradition-oriented 'pious ones' (Hebrew HASIDIM) of Maccabean times and later. //end of notes to week 13// --- RelSt 225: Dead Sea Scrolls Class Notes #14 (20 and 22 April 1999) by Shoshana M. Twersky Philo's Description of the Essenes #1 - A scan of Philo's briefer treatment of the Essenes has been put up on the class page under Texts/ Philo's Essenes (1). It is from his lost work known as Hypothetica or Apology for the Jews, as quoted by Eusebius. The first part of it deals with a description of Judaism in a more general sense. At the end of the material, in section 11, Philo deals with the Essenes. - "And they dwell in many cities of Judaea, and in many villages, in great and populous communities" (11.1). Both Philo (here and in "Every Good Man is Free" [=EGMF] 76) and Josephus (War 2.[8.4].124) clearly say that the Essenes lived in a lot of places (not just one). - Philo, especially in this description (probably prior to the year 40) emphasized the idea that Essenes tended to be older people (see also his description of the Therapeutae). This is hard to square with some of the other images we have of the Essenes, including Philo's other description (EGMF 81). - "And they all dwell in the same place" (11.5). This probably means that in all the different places the Essenes were located they tended to live together (see EGMF 85). - There is terminology that is close to terms later applied to Christian monastics. - Some of the Essenes are farmers (so also EGMF 76), some are shepherds or cowherds, and some are experienced in bee-keeping (11.8). Bee keeping was a big industry then. They got their sweet from honey. It also mentions that some of the Essenes were artisans and handicraftsman (11.9). It doesn't mention the perfume trade, which is under discussion as a possible occupation at Qumran. These kinds of passages suggest that the Essenes sold things and gave the money to the general fund (see also EGMF 86). - The Essenes eat at the same table . . . they love frugality . . . they have a fairly uniform dress (11.11-12). - "Accordingly the old men, even if they happen to be childless . . . " (11.13). This passage suggests that they might have had children before they entered the community, or perhaps simply emphasizes the family-like atmosphere of their groups (see also EGMF 87). - According to Philo, the Essenes have more than ordinary acuteness and accuracy (11.14). - "they (the Essenes) repudiate marriage; and at the same time they practise continence in an eminent degree; for no one of the Essenes ever marries a wife, because woman is a selfish creature and one addicted to jealousy in an immoderate degree, and terribly calculated to agitate and overturn the natural inclinations of a man, and to mislead him by her continual tricks" (11.14). This is a shocking passage, and interestingly has no parallel in the description of Essenes in EGMF!! - Philo is pretty much arguing that mothers get out of balance when talking about their children (11.16). He says the man somehow becomes like a slave when he has a wife and children (11.17). - "This now is the enviable system of life of these Essenes, so that not only private individuals but even mighty kings, admiring the men, venerate their sect, and increase their dignity and majesty in a still higher degree by their approbation and by the honours which they confer on them" (11.18). Philo, as the other authors, pretty much attests that the Essenes are well known people who get acclamation from other people. Class Web Page Update and Information - Minutes of Spring 99 are up on the Web page (under Minutes all). - Format of book reviews is 1) name of author/ Title /Publication & date/ pages; Reviewed by for RelSt 225 (Spring 1999). For examples go to the reviews by past DSS students on the class web page. - Research projects (under Religious Studies 225/Research projects) web page has mostly 1995 topics. - Queries and Responses (under Religious Studies 225/Queries and Responses) web page has miscellaneous postings. They are divided into topics. - Karaites and DSS (under Religious Studies 225/Queries and Responses/Karaites and DSS) talks about Karaites that still exist in different places. - Copper Plaque (Scroll) (under Religious Studies 225/Queries and Responses/Copper Plaque (Scroll)) has two entries about the possible treasures listed on the Copper Plaque. Regarding the Copper Scroll(s) -- Fitzmyer prefers "Plaque(s)" -- John Allegro did a sort of "Indiana Jones" performance searching for its treasures and excavating more caves back in 1959-60. If you want to know more you should read John Allegro's book on the Copper Scroll. He gives an impassioned introduction of the problems of getting enough money, support, and interest to do a right job on the sites and their texts. John Allegro also rips into the Jordanian museum officials. He thinks they should have immediately engaged in archeological investigations as sites became known. He says if they had they might have found a few more caves and he is upset that the Copper Scrolls were not found until 1953. At one point, Allegro got construction companies and equipment to sponsor his forays and went looking for sites and treasures. His books detail some of these developments. In Allegro's Copper Scroll book there are pictures of special storage device built for the Copper Scrolls and also a Hebrew transcription of the Copper Scroll. The Copper Scroll was found as two separate rolls. They were too brittle to unroll (once copper gets oxidized it is not pliable), so they cut strips, in Manchester, using a thin cutting wheel. The Copper Scroll was found in Cave 3 (which had caved in sometime in the past). Other manuscripts in Cave 3 included some fragments of Lamentations, Commentary on Isaiah, fragments of Jubilees, and some unclassified fragments). There were enough things found in Cave 3 to see that it has some relationship to things found in other caves but the Copper Scroll is unique. Allegro wrote that Cave 3 had lots of jars like those in cave one. If those jars all had scrolls in them at one time then there had been lots of scrolls in this cave 3 as well. Translations of the Copper Scroll - Allegro has a translation. Garcia Martinez (page 461) gives a brief introduction and translation. In Garcia Martinez's introduction he questions whether the Copper Scroll was a document from the Qumran group or if it was deposited in the cave later. The writing on the Copper Scroll is very well preserved, but it is hard to know how to interpret it. The Copper Scroll is mostly Hebrew but occasionally there are Greek letters thrown in. Vermes' introduction discusses various hypotheses at greater length (e.g. Milik's theory that the Copper Scroll is a fictional account from about 100 CE), and Wise (in WAC) argues that it probably refers to real temple treasure, but the Romans would have found it fairly quickly; thus Allegro's treasure hunt was futile from the start. - Garcia Martinez (461) shows the Greek letters KEN (column 1, line 4) and further down is XA (neither of which are usual formulations for Greek or Hebrew numbers). They may be abbreviations or simply cryptic. The Copper Scroll is so intriguing, yet so difficult that not as much work has been done on it as on many other DSS documents/fragments. - Allegro and others have pointed out places that keeps being repeated, such as Kochlit (e.g. column 1, line 9) and a place called Sekaka. - Blanks frequently surround the references to numbers. - Idea of stuff hidden under stone slabs is natural. There are stories that Jeremiah hid the Temple vessels under stones (or in a cave) when the Jerusalem Temple fell to Nebuchadnezzar around 587 bce. Reference was made to Gabriele Boccaccini's recent book "Beyond the Essene Hypothesis" and his creation of further sub-groups in the DSS community's background. Boccaccini's earlier book in which he attempts to differentiate "Middle Judaism" from what preceded it (Early) and Judaism proper (later) was also mentioned. - Boccaccini teaches at the University of Michigan in the Department of Near Eastern Studies.His web page is . Boccaccini is presents a different argument from others (instead of arguing that either the Essenes wrote the DSS or we don't know where they came from), based on his understanding of attitudes to the Enoch traditions. -Lots of study was done on Judaism 150 years ago in Germany by Protestant scholars. These scholars reserved the designation "Judaism" for what they saw happening in the area of Judea after the breaking up of the northern and southern kingdoms. The Southern Kingdom with Jerusalem and what comes out of it comes to be called Judaism. Ezra and Nehemiah were considered by these scholars to be the focus of it (in 5th and 4th century bce). What about Judaism after Ezra, in the hellenistic period down to the Judaism Paul aDdresses? This was termed "late Judaism" (Spaetjudentum). In the view of these Christian interpreters, the Jews should have accepted Jesus, thus bringing Judaism to an end. "Supercessionism" is the idea that Christianity supercedes (and thus replaces) Judaism. After that, the anomaly (from this Christian viewpoint) of "Rabbinic Judaism" emerged. - A generation or so ago people began to get upset with this use of the term "late Judaism" since there continued to be "Judaism" after the time of Jesus, in the form of "Rabbinic Judaism." Boccaccini thus proposes to call the Judaism in the time of Jesus "middle Judaism" rather than "late Judaism." Others prefer to call everything prior to Rabbinic Judaism "Early Judaism." Early Judaism starts with the break down of the southern kingdom. -Boccaccini would include Hellenistic Judaism in Middle Judaism, while Professor Kraft and others would include it in Early Judaism. -Boccaccini's book "Beyond the Essene Hypothesis" proposes to be even more precise about divisions within his "middle Judaism." He wants to create two new divisions with two subdivisions. Whether one can feel comfortable about his divisions and how they happened is another issue. Looking at the Dead Sea Scrolls in particular Boccaccini posits that there was a group called Zadokites (Zadok is already famous for a Priestly line before the frequent mentions in the Dead Sea Scrolls) with their particular take on Judaism and from them come the Enochites as a split off from the Zadokites. Then Baccoaccini talks about a split in the Enoch group. -Boccaccini is trying to propose new things by operating within the general framework of academics, unlike Eisenman who does not seem to mind being alienated. Kraft does not know of any recent adjustments Eisenman might have made (e.g. in view of carbon 14 dating). There is a web page one could look at to find out information. Eisenman does not want to connect the scrolls with standard Jewish groups that Josephus mentions but with the image and influence of Jesus's brother James. He spins out really imaginative hypotheses out of the thinnest of clues. Even if you do not like his theories, his approach makes you think. Development of the Biblical Text - Scholars think that the story that king Josiah and associated priests found the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22) refers to the editing of the book of Deuteronomy. -Under HomePage/Canon there is a chart called "The Canonical Scripture ("Bible") in Jewish and Christian Traditions". Under Roman Numeral I. Is The Bible of Classical Judaism = "Tanak". Genesis, Exodus . . . (5 Books). The traditional view is that all 5 Books came from Moses' hand. Then one has to worry about dating of Moses, which depends on ones assessment of Near Eastern history -- a window between 1400-1200 BCE is a starting point. When we look at the materials closely, we find scholars talking about different strands of tradition -- J, E, and P/D. They take J,E (Yahwist, Elohist) to be edited together around 800 or possibly earlier, P (Priestly edition of materials) to be no later than 400, and maybe as early as the 600's, and D (Deuteronomist) to be from the same general period. People who analyze it this way argue that by the 400's it all came together. This is conjecture and no one can prove it. Usually Ezra is depicted as reconstituting the law after the Temple was burned. Some traditions even say he put it all together. Septuagint and the Ptolemies - Septuagint (Greek term for 70 = LXX in Roman numerals) stories date the translation of the Pentateuch back to the earliest of the Ptolemies (around 320 BCE). Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BCE, did not have any successor to take over for him so his kingdom was divided among his generals. One part was called the Seleucid Empire (Asia Minor and Syria) and the Southern side (Egypt) was called the Ptolemaic Empire. One of the first Ptolemies in the early 200's founded a library in Alexandria, which lasted for about 1000 years until it finally was destroyed by Muslim invaders in the 7th-8th centuries. One of the Ptolemies in building up the library wanted the sacred books of various cultures. The point is that certainly by 250-200 BCE there is good reason to believe the 5 Books of Moses had been translated into Greek. -Letter of Aristeas talks about the tradition of Ptolemy sending out a letter asking for texts and translators. "Text types" (different versions) -LXX - Hebrew - Aramaic - Samaritan Examples of all of these seem to exist by 200 BCE (DSS come from roughly this period) Some argue that by 150 CE we can already see the basic characteristics that develop into the "Massoretic Text" by the 8th-9th centuries CE. -People talk about textual fluidity. The Dead Sea Scrolls were produced before text got firmly established in the Massoretic form. We do not know when the book of Jeremiah got translated into Greek but when it did it was shorter and and in a different order than the Massoretic text. -It used to be argued that the Greek translation was responsible for the shortening of the book. Now it would be difficult to hold that because fragments of the shorter version in Hebrew have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. -The Dead Sea Scrolls contain evidence of the Greek "Vorlage" (Hebrew base text that was translated), Samaritan, and Masoretic texts. In class it was suggested that they apparently did not care as much about preserving one type of text. //end of spring 1999 class notes//