Greek Loanwords in the Copper Scroll

Abstract

The Copper Scroll (3Q15) is certainly the most remarkable manuscript of the whole collection known to us under the name “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Its unique support and its language, place it in a unique position among the collection of manuscripts from the Dead Sea. Greek loanwords are nothing unusual in the Hebrew and Aramaic literature of the time, and they represent a constant feature in later Rabbinic literature. In the Qumran collection of manuscripts, however, the Copper Scroll is the only place in which they appear. There can be no doubt that both the author and the engraver of the Copper Scroll were somehow familiar with the Greek language, a fact made evident by the presence of groups of Greek letters at the end of certain entries in the first columns of the Scroll. This chapter considers the possible presence of Greek loanwords in the Copper Scroll . Keywords: Copper Scroll (3Q15); Dead Sea Scrolls; Greek language; Greek loanwords; Qumran collection; Rabbinic literature