DSS.950420 Class Minutes #26, Dead Sea Scrolls, 20 April 1995 University of Pennsylvania, Religious Studies 225, Robert Kraft Recorded by Chanan Tigay and Kathleen Hoffman On the Book Reviews: Dr. Kraft suggested a number of different headings available or possible for our electronically published reviews including DSS (as on Kim Noble's review), Delta Sigma Sigma (created by Glen Aduana, for his review), DeltaCC (using the "lunate Sigma" form), Dalet Samech Samech (phonetic Hebrew equivalent), and Mem Yud Mem (abbreviated Hebrew translation). Choose what you want! On DSS Halakha, in Preparation for Dr. Schiffman's Visit: Dr. Kraft mentioned a few notable articles regarding the Halakhic materials in the DSS including the recent BAR selection (20/6, Nov/Dec 1994): "MMT as the Maltese Falcon," "Paul, Works of the Law and MMT" (by Martin Abegg), "For This You Waited 35 Years" (by Herschel Shanks); this led to comments on the computerized concordance developed by Martin Abegg and Ben-Zion Wacholder which was a catalyst to recent developments in opening up the study of the DSS. A concordance lists each word in a particular text or group of texts (e.g. the Bible) and shows every occurrence of that word in the entire text, usually with some surrounding context. Thus it is possible to reconstruct the full text from the contextual snippets. Dr. Kraft then commented on the legal battles between Shanks and Elisha Qimron regarding the publication of the 4QMMT material. Shanks published a "bootlet" copy of this text and Qimron sued and won the legal rights to the text in an Israeli court. An appeal (or counter suit) may be in the offing. In passing, Kraft referred to Shanks as the Howard Cosell of biblical studies, since both have legal backgrounds, are flamboyant and claim to "tell it like it is." The text of the official publication with the reconstruction of 4QMMT by Qimron and John Strugnell was excerpted in a useful format in BAR and Dr. Kraft read it aloud to the class. The first quarter of a page doesn't appear in the "composite text" in Garcia-Martinez (77-79; but see 4Q394 on 79-81)); it deals with calendric themes and reads as follows (see BAR): [The sixteenth day of the second month is a sabbath]. The twenty- third of it is a sabbath. The thirtieth [of it is a sabbath. The seventh of the third month is a sabbath. The fourteenth of it is a sabbath. The fifteenth of it is the Festival of Weeks. The twenty-fi]rst of it is a sabbath. The twenty-eighth of it is a sabbath. After it, the first and the second, [a third is to be added. And the season terminates -- ninety-one days. The first of the fourth month is a remembrance [i.e. a Memorial Day]. The fourth] of it [is a sabbath]. The el[eventh] of it is a sabbath. The eighteenth of it is a sabbath. The twenty-fifth of it is a sabbath. The second of the fif[th is a sabbath. The third of it is the Festival of New Wine.... The ninth of it is a sabbath]. The sixteenth of it is a sabbath. The twenty-third of it is a sabbath. The thirtieth [of it is a sabbath....] The twenty-second of it (the sixth month) is the Festival of New Oil, on the day af[ter the sab]bath. Af[ter it] is [the Wood] Offer[ing.... And the year is complete -- three hundred and [sixty-four] days. As we have noted in other connections, each month is 30 days long. Every three months one day is added. The wood offering is mentioned in MMT but it is uncertain on which day it is to be observed because the document is very fragmentary. In Garcia-Martinez line 5 of 4QMMT/4Q394 is translated: "The precepts we [are examining...]" Qimron-Strugnell reconstruct the same line as "the precepts (of the Torah) in accordance with [our opinion....]" Dr. Kraft believes that this sort of assumption (i.e. that the precepts referred to those in the Torah) can be quite misleading. The respective translations differ in a number of other instances as well. In GM line eight the word "temple" is found where Q-S have "sanctuary." In GM line twelve Q-S translate: "...like (a woman) who whored with him," while GM has: "[...] which he is pulling towards it." The word "pulling" apparently can be a sexual reference. In GM line 96 Q-S have "the book (of Moses)" while GM has simply "the book." Dr. Kraft disagrees with the Q-S rendering since it prejudices the discussion of what authoritative texts were used among those represented in this document. The language of MMT is temple and sacrificial language. However, while some DSS texts speak without comment or footnote about temple sacrifices others do footnote and comment (e.g. equating sacrifice with prayer). Why this apparent discrepancy? Perhaps because the texts are so fragmentary, leaving us with an incomplete version of the original text, making the author's intentions difficult to judge. In line eleven we have "V'al," translated as "And concerning." This is similar to the phrase "V'af al," translated as "And also concerning." These seem to be formulas to introduce new subjects; they may indicate formal divisions in the text. In line 21, the text, itself written on animal hides, discusses some use of leather and the tanning of hides. The text, however, is too fragmentary to understand fully what this discussion actually means. Among the rites and rituals of the DSS community there is a high consciousness about not mixing that which should not be mixed (i.e. purity involves isolating items, people, etc.). Some things which create impurity are: menstruation, masturbation, nocturnal emissions, and dead bodies. Line 96 seems to begin an eschatological section of the document and offers an eschatological framework for the remaining discussion. The text refers specifically to Belial (GM line 115) and the end of time. Line 99f resembles the "blessings and curses" section in Deutoronomy 27. Line 105 mentions Zedekiah, the last legitimate ruling king in the Davidic Dynasty. The author is clearly situating himself within the line of David. At the end of the document the author is essentially saying to the person addressed in the letter: "I've got it right. You're wrong. You'd better change or else...." The person to whom the author speaks in this text seems to have some sort of leadership role. //end dss.950420//