This section includes select monographs on the following manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls: 1Q (Thanksgiving Hymns; War Scroll; Community Rule), Damascus Document, 4Q (Sapiental Work; Halakhic Letter), and 11Q (Temple Scroll).
The Redactional Meaning of the Thanksgiving Hymns (Online) by Trine Bjørnung HasselbalchApplies Systemic Functional Linguistics to four Hodayot compositions which show signs of hybridity. Analysis reveals that the speaker in some of the so-called leader hymns as well as in compositions not normally designated leader hymns appears to have the role of a mediator in the agency of God-a feature that distinguishes the hodayot from biblical psalms.
The Qumran Rule Texts in Context by Charlotte HempelDeals with several core Rule texts from Qumran, especially with the Community Rule (S), the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa), the Damascus Document (D), and 4Q265 (Miscellaneous Rules). Uncovers a complex network of literary and more murkily preserved social relationships.
Damascus Document (CD)
The Damascus Covenant by Philip R. DaviesSurveys previous research, with particular emphasis on the syntheses of H. Stegemann and J. Murphy-O'Connor. A more comprehensive view of the redaction and ideology of the document is offered, leading to the conclusion that it is originally a product of a community which traced its origins to the Babylonian exile.
The Zadokite Documents: I. The Admonition. II. The Laws. by Chaim RabinThe Zadokite Documents are much discussed, translated, commented upon, and, in some cases, reprinted. The present edition is the result of a new collection of manuscripts themselves, the text being as close as possible a reproduction as possible.
The New Damascus Document (Online) by Ben Zion WacholderThis composite edition of the Damascus Document and scrolls from Khirbet Qumran (with translation and commentary) presents a new understanding of the relationship of these texts, time and purpose; shedding additional light on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Laws of the Damascus Document by Charlotte HempelThis volume provides a detailed analysis of the Laws of the Damascus Document which fully incorporates the new cave 4 evidence. The author offers a close reading of the text and identifies a number of literary strata as well as a considerable amount of redactional activity.
4QInstruction (Sapiental Work A)
4QInstruction (Online) by Matthew J. GoffExamines particular texts of 4QInstruction as well as broader issues, including its date, genre, main themes, and place in Second Temple Judaism. Finally, in order to contextualize this pivotal work, 4QInstruction's relationship to the sapiential and apocalyptic traditions is also explored.
The Worldly and Heavenly Wisdom of 4QInstruction by Matthew J. GoffDiscusses how this composition should be understood in relation to the sapiential and apocalyptic traditions. Features of 4QInstruction that are examined include its appeal to revelation, its presentation of poverty, and its eschatology.
4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies by Benjamin WoldChallenges the interpretation of 4QInstruction as a deterministic and dualistic composition. In a re-examination of key fragments he offers new reconstructions and translations that indicate 4QInstruction envisaged wisdom available to all humanity, divisions among humankind and communities as the result of individual adherence to wisdom, and a hierarchy of authority as a result of individual merit.
The Temple Scroll and the Bible by Dwight D. SwansonRepresentative portions of each division of the Scroll are analyzed, first to establish precisely which biblical texts are used, and then to show how these texts are placed in relation to each other.
The Biblical Masorah and the Temple Scroll by Steven Leonard JacobsThe Temple Scroll, the last of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1967, contains two phenomena that are at variance with the Jewish tradition. Professor Jacobs presents a thorough study of ligature writing or "joined letters" and the insertion of both words and phrases between the lines of the text in The Biblical Masorah and the Temple Scroll.
A Critical Study of the Temple Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 by M. O. WiseA study of one of the Qumran texts, examining its characteristics and authorship. The author concludes that the Temple Scroll was an eschatalogical law book, composed around 150 BC by `The Teacher of Righteousness' and not a product of the Qumran community.