Pub Date : 2021-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211022299
Noah Hacham
According to the Letter of Aristeas, the ancient treatise on the creation of the Greek translation of the Pentateuch, the high priest Eleazar chose seventy-two elders and dispatched them to Egypt where they translated the Torah into Greek. Scholars discerned the meaning of this number, indicating the affinity to the seventy elders who joined Moses and Aaron in the Sinai covenant (Exod. 24) and the fact that this number represents all the tribes of Israel equally, thus sanctifying the Greek translation in a similar way to the Torah. Particular attention was paid to Epiphanius, the fourth century church father, who explicitly states that the seventy-two elders provide equal representation to all the constituent tribes of Israel. Rabbinic literature, however, has been entirely absent from this discourse. In this article I point to Sifre on Numbers, a second century midrash, that notes that seventy-two elders experienced the Divine revelation (Numbers 11): seventy in the Tabernacle and Eldad and Medad in the camp. I suggest that based on a similar ancient interpretation of Numbers 11, the Letter of Aristeas chose the number seventy-two in order to bestow the aura, authority and sanctity of the seventy-two elders of Number 11 on the Greek translation. This example also highlights Rabbinic literature as an integral element of the cultural context of Jewish-Hellenistic literature.
{"title":"The seventy-two elders of the Letter of Aristeas: An ancient midrash on Numbers 11?","authors":"Noah Hacham","doi":"10.1177/09518207211022299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211022299","url":null,"abstract":"According to the Letter of Aristeas, the ancient treatise on the creation of the Greek translation of the Pentateuch, the high priest Eleazar chose seventy-two elders and dispatched them to Egypt where they translated the Torah into Greek. Scholars discerned the meaning of this number, indicating the affinity to the seventy elders who joined Moses and Aaron in the Sinai covenant (Exod. 24) and the fact that this number represents all the tribes of Israel equally, thus sanctifying the Greek translation in a similar way to the Torah. Particular attention was paid to Epiphanius, the fourth century church father, who explicitly states that the seventy-two elders provide equal representation to all the constituent tribes of Israel. Rabbinic literature, however, has been entirely absent from this discourse. In this article I point to Sifre on Numbers, a second century midrash, that notes that seventy-two elders experienced the Divine revelation (Numbers 11): seventy in the Tabernacle and Eldad and Medad in the camp. I suggest that based on a similar ancient interpretation of Numbers 11, the Letter of Aristeas chose the number seventy-two in order to bestow the aura, authority and sanctity of the seventy-two elders of Number 11 on the Greek translation. This example also highlights Rabbinic literature as an integral element of the cultural context of Jewish-Hellenistic literature.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41705859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211011764
Jonathan C. Kaplan
In this article, I build upon observations by Émile Puech regarding the available space in 4Q397 14–21 6, one of the manuscripts of Miqṣat Ma‘aśe ha-Torah (MMT), in order to propose an alternate reconstruction of the middle of this line. I suggest emending the earlier reconstruction of בספר מושה “in the book of Moses,” which is found in numerous editions of 4Q397, with בספר תורת מושה “in the book of the torah of Moses.” I argue that this new proposed reconstruction is plausible given the context of this line, the available space on the line, and the appearance of the phrase elsewhere in other Second Temple period Hebrew literature.
在这篇文章中，我基于Émile Puech对Miq手稿之一4Q397 14–21 6中可用空间的观察ṣ在Ma'aśe ha Torah（MMT），以提出该线路中间的替代重建方案。我建议修正早期的重建 “在摩西书中，”在1997年第4季度的许多版本中都可以找到 ”我认为，考虑到这一行的背景、行上的可用空间以及该短语在其他第二圣殿时期希伯来文文献中的出现，这一新提议的重建是合理的。
{"title":"Putting “the Torah” back into “the Book of Moses” in Miqṣat Ma‘aśe ha-Torah: A new proposed reconstruction of 4Q397 14–21 6","authors":"Jonathan C. Kaplan","doi":"10.1177/09518207211011764","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211011764","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, I build upon observations by Émile Puech regarding the available space in 4Q397 14–21 6, one of the manuscripts of Miqṣat Ma‘aśe ha-Torah (MMT), in order to propose an alternate reconstruction of the middle of this line. I suggest emending the earlier reconstruction of בספר מושה “in the book of Moses,” which is found in numerous editions of 4Q397, with בספר תורת מושה “in the book of the torah of Moses.” I argue that this new proposed reconstruction is plausible given the context of this line, the available space on the line, and the appearance of the phrase elsewhere in other Second Temple period Hebrew literature.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42202308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-01Epub Date: 2021-05-19DOI: 10.1177/0951820720948245
Tyler Smith
The ancient Greek novel introduced to the history of literature a new topos: the "complex of emotions." This became a staple of storytelling and remains widely in use across a variety of genres to the present day. The Hellenistic Jewish text Joseph and Aseneth employs this topos in at least three passages, where it draws attention to the cognitive-emotional aspect of the heroine's conversion. This is interesting for what it contributes to our understanding of the genre of Aseneth, but it also has social-historical implications. In particular, it supports the idea that Aseneth reflects concerns about Gentile partners in Jewish-Gentile marriages, that Gentile partners might convert out of expedience or that they might be less than fully committed to abandoning "idolatrous" attachments. The representations of deep, grievous, and complex emotions in Aseneth's transformational turn from idolatry to monolatry, then, might play a psychagogic role for the Gentile reader interested in marrying a Jewish person.
{"title":"Complexes of Emotions in <i>Joseph and Aseneth</i>.","authors":"Tyler Smith","doi":"10.1177/0951820720948245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720948245","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ancient Greek novel introduced to the history of literature a new <i>topos</i>: the \"complex of emotions.\" This became a staple of storytelling and remains widely in use across a variety of genres to the present day. The Hellenistic Jewish text <i>Joseph and Aseneth</i> employs this <i>topos</i> in at least three passages, where it draws attention to the cognitive-emotional aspect of the heroine's conversion. This is interesting for what it contributes to our understanding of the genre of <i>Aseneth</i>, but it also has social-historical implications. In particular, it supports the idea that <i>Aseneth</i> reflects concerns about Gentile partners in Jewish-Gentile marriages, that Gentile partners might convert out of expedience or that they might be less than fully committed to abandoning \"idolatrous\" attachments. The representations of deep, grievous, and complex emotions in Aseneth's transformational turn from idolatry to monolatry, then, might play a psychagogic role for the Gentile reader interested in marrying a Jewish person.</p>","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720948245","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39210207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820720963472
Trevor Tibbertsma
This short study seeks to highlight the rhetorical use of creation imagery in the sapiential Torah exhortation of Baruch 3:9–4:4. A methodology of rhetorical criticism will principally be used to investigate the style of this “ecologically” insightful part of the poem as well as its function in the wider message of the exhortation. The few short phrases of 3:33–35 effectively bolster the overall exhortation to adhere to the divine commandments as Israel is thereby invited to an imitation of creation in its reverent, unhesitating, joyful and Patriarch-like obedience to the divine will. To paraphrase this idea, “Hear O Israel, be like the light and the stars! Learn from creation and you will live.” Finally, this study seeks to contribute to the more recent attention to the Book of Baruch by commenting further on the previously accentuated unoriginality of this marvelous short work of Second Temple Jewish literature, especially with regard to its employment of some bright “ecological” wisdom.
{"title":"Bright ecological wisdom in Baruch 3:33–35","authors":"Trevor Tibbertsma","doi":"10.1177/0951820720963472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720963472","url":null,"abstract":"This short study seeks to highlight the rhetorical use of creation imagery in the sapiential Torah exhortation of Baruch 3:9–4:4. A methodology of rhetorical criticism will principally be used to investigate the style of this “ecologically” insightful part of the poem as well as its function in the wider message of the exhortation. The few short phrases of 3:33–35 effectively bolster the overall exhortation to adhere to the divine commandments as Israel is thereby invited to an imitation of creation in its reverent, unhesitating, joyful and Patriarch-like obedience to the divine will. To paraphrase this idea, “Hear O Israel, be like the light and the stars! Learn from creation and you will live.” Finally, this study seeks to contribute to the more recent attention to the Book of Baruch by commenting further on the previously accentuated unoriginality of this marvelous short work of Second Temple Jewish literature, especially with regard to its employment of some bright “ecological” wisdom.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720963472","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42360544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820721995758
Claudia D. Bergmann
Both the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical literature consider food and drink to be gifts from the deity to be enjoyed by human beings, especially when they live according to the divine laws and in moderation. When it comes to extrabiblical early Jewish texts about the meal in the World to Come, one notices a curious detail: while the World to Come is portrayed as being one of utter abundance and joy, none of the texts actually describe the righteous as drinking. References to drinking natural water, fruit being turned into drink, or any other possibility for the human consumption of liquids are simply absent from these texts. How is this to be explained? This article investigates the possible reasons for the conscious or subconscious omission of a function of the human body that is most common to all human beings.
{"title":"Drink and drinking in early Jewish texts: Describing a meal in the World to Come","authors":"Claudia D. Bergmann","doi":"10.1177/0951820721995758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820721995758","url":null,"abstract":"Both the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical literature consider food and drink to be gifts from the deity to be enjoyed by human beings, especially when they live according to the divine laws and in moderation. When it comes to extrabiblical early Jewish texts about the meal in the World to Come, one notices a curious detail: while the World to Come is portrayed as being one of utter abundance and joy, none of the texts actually describe the righteous as drinking. References to drinking natural water, fruit being turned into drink, or any other possibility for the human consumption of liquids are simply absent from these texts. How is this to be explained? This article investigates the possible reasons for the conscious or subconscious omission of a function of the human body that is most common to all human beings.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820721995758","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42968515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820721995765
D. Domning
The Egyptian word seshen (“water lily,” a cognate of the Hebrew name Susanna, written with hieroglyphs depicting a door bolt, a garden pool, and water), may have inspired the setting of the Theodotion form of Daniel 13:1–27. This may constitute a novel type of “bilingual visual paronomasia,” and point to an Egyptian source of the details of Susanna’s bath, absent in the earliest (Old Greek) form of the biblical text of Daniel.
{"title":"Susanna and the Elders: A Hebrew Legend with Egyptian Wordplay?","authors":"D. Domning","doi":"10.1177/0951820721995765","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820721995765","url":null,"abstract":"The Egyptian word seshen (“water lily,” a cognate of the Hebrew name Susanna, written with hieroglyphs depicting a door bolt, a garden pool, and water), may have inspired the setting of the Theodotion form of Daniel 13:1–27. This may constitute a novel type of “bilingual visual paronomasia,” and point to an Egyptian source of the details of Susanna’s bath, absent in the earliest (Old Greek) form of the biblical text of Daniel.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820721995765","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47781840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820720949456
Benjamin G. Wold
In early Jewish wisdom literature, a Hebrew idiom occurs that combines “hands” with “wisdom.” This construct has been overwhelmingly translated along the lines of “manual wisdom” and implying craftsmanship or the work of an artisan. This article examines “wisdom of the hands” and argues that its meaning relates to acting wisely, as distinguished from merely acquiring knowledge or cognitive assent, and is used especially in the context of wielding authority. As such, this idiom may inform another rare expression, namely being “doers of the word” and not only “hearers” in James 1:22.
{"title":"“Ḥokma of the Hands” in early Jewish sapiential tradition and the Letter of James","authors":"Benjamin G. Wold","doi":"10.1177/0951820720949456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720949456","url":null,"abstract":"In early Jewish wisdom literature, a Hebrew idiom occurs that combines “hands” with “wisdom.” This construct has been overwhelmingly translated along the lines of “manual wisdom” and implying craftsmanship or the work of an artisan. This article examines “wisdom of the hands” and argues that its meaning relates to acting wisely, as distinguished from merely acquiring knowledge or cognitive assent, and is used especially in the context of wielding authority. As such, this idiom may inform another rare expression, namely being “doers of the word” and not only “hearers” in James 1:22.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720949456","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48808358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820720963469
J. Ben-dov
Much of the sapiential treatise Instruction (=4QInstruction) can be read as a systematic attempt to support one basic ideological principle: Each person has a divinely assigned share, and every interaction that requires mixing that share with other agents is a breach of the metaphysical order. This idea was first formulated with regard to Instruction by Menahem Kister. In the present article, I apply this notion to the prologue (preserved in 4Q416 1) and to the sections on family relations (parents, wife) in 4Q416. These latter cases explore the financial relations within a family and align them with the overall principle of Instruction. The various sections highlight the person’s spirit as a commodity, intertwined with the life and capital of that person. The literary focus is on the phenomenology of the spirt, as it shifts during various transactions. The biblical allusions in these sections are explained along the same line of argument.
{"title":"Family relations and the economic-metaphysical message of Instruction","authors":"J. Ben-dov","doi":"10.1177/0951820720963469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720963469","url":null,"abstract":"Much of the sapiential treatise Instruction (=4QInstruction) can be read as a systematic attempt to support one basic ideological principle: Each person has a divinely assigned share, and every interaction that requires mixing that share with other agents is a breach of the metaphysical order. This idea was first formulated with regard to Instruction by Menahem Kister. In the present article, I apply this notion to the prologue (preserved in 4Q416 1) and to the sections on family relations (parents, wife) in 4Q416. These latter cases explore the financial relations within a family and align them with the overall principle of Instruction. The various sections highlight the person’s spirit as a commodity, intertwined with the life and capital of that person. The literary focus is on the phenomenology of the spirt, as it shifts during various transactions. The biblical allusions in these sections are explained along the same line of argument.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720963469","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48547072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820720969375
G. Brooke
The dominant approach to sapiential compositions found in the caves at and near Qumran has been based on traditional views of the wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible. The intention here is to look rather at the likely contexts of the transmission of the sapiential literature in the movement that preserved the Scrolls. In so doing, particular attention is given to esoteric writings. The first part of the paper outlines three key factors that indicate how a change of perspective might be justified and facilitated, namely views among biblical scholars that the overarching category of Wisdom Literature has lost much of its heuristic value, early Jewish views on evil and how to deal with it, and views on secrecy in early Judaism. The second major part is a brief consideration of sapiential compositions in the light of those key factors, suggesting a hierarchy of texts to match the social hierarchy and its accompanying hierarchy of knowledge for the group responsible for collecting the Scrolls in the caves at and near Qumran.
{"title":"Esoteric wisdom texts from Qumran","authors":"G. Brooke","doi":"10.1177/0951820720969375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720969375","url":null,"abstract":"The dominant approach to sapiential compositions found in the caves at and near Qumran has been based on traditional views of the wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible. The intention here is to look rather at the likely contexts of the transmission of the sapiential literature in the movement that preserved the Scrolls. In so doing, particular attention is given to esoteric writings. The first part of the paper outlines three key factors that indicate how a change of perspective might be justified and facilitated, namely views among biblical scholars that the overarching category of Wisdom Literature has lost much of its heuristic value, early Jewish views on evil and how to deal with it, and views on secrecy in early Judaism. The second major part is a brief consideration of sapiential compositions in the light of those key factors, suggesting a hierarchy of texts to match the social hierarchy and its accompanying hierarchy of knowledge for the group responsible for collecting the Scrolls in the caves at and near Qumran.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720969375","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48348604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820720968743
Benjamin G. Wold, Daniele Pevarello
This is the second of two thematic editions focused on the theme “Jewish Wisdom from the Judean Wilderness to Diaspora.”1 In this edition, the weight of the contributions is focused on Qumran discoveries. A composition that features in three of these articles, and discussed in the fourth, is 1Q/4QInstruction (1Q26; 4Q415–418, 423).2 A number of previously unknown sapiential texts were preserved in Qumran Cave 4. These include 4QBeatitudes (4Q525), several texts that are simply titled as Sapiential Works (4Q474– 476), Instruction-like compositions (4Q424–426), and two Sapiential Hymns (4Q411, 4Q498). Among these, 4QInstruction is the longest. Originally it was about thirty columns long and is preserved in at least eight manuscripts. 1Q/4QInstruction is significant not only because of the many fragments that preserve roughly a third of the original composition. Its sapiential teaching is also located within an explicit cosmology. While there is general agreement about the significance of 1Q/4QInstruction for understanding the development of early Jewish wisdom, debates remain about the interpretation of this composition. Contributions here contribute to the ordering of fragments (Asaf Gayer), translation (Benjamin Wold), and teaching about economics (Jonthan Ben Dov). George Brooke looks broadly at the Qumran sapiential literature, with special attention to esoteric tradition. We would again like to thank the editor-in-chief of the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Matthias Henze, as well as the Senior Project Editor at Sage Publications, Arshiya Singhal. A special note of gratitude goes to each contributor in this period of COVID-19 for their efforts in the midst of unforeseen challenges.
{"title":"Introduction","authors":"Benjamin G. Wold, Daniele Pevarello","doi":"10.1177/0951820720968743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720968743","url":null,"abstract":"This is the second of two thematic editions focused on the theme “Jewish Wisdom from the Judean Wilderness to Diaspora.”1 In this edition, the weight of the contributions is focused on Qumran discoveries. A composition that features in three of these articles, and discussed in the fourth, is 1Q/4QInstruction (1Q26; 4Q415–418, 423).2 A number of previously unknown sapiential texts were preserved in Qumran Cave 4. These include 4QBeatitudes (4Q525), several texts that are simply titled as Sapiential Works (4Q474– 476), Instruction-like compositions (4Q424–426), and two Sapiential Hymns (4Q411, 4Q498). Among these, 4QInstruction is the longest. Originally it was about thirty columns long and is preserved in at least eight manuscripts. 1Q/4QInstruction is significant not only because of the many fragments that preserve roughly a third of the original composition. Its sapiential teaching is also located within an explicit cosmology. While there is general agreement about the significance of 1Q/4QInstruction for understanding the development of early Jewish wisdom, debates remain about the interpretation of this composition. Contributions here contribute to the ordering of fragments (Asaf Gayer), translation (Benjamin Wold), and teaching about economics (Jonthan Ben Dov). George Brooke looks broadly at the Qumran sapiential literature, with special attention to esoteric tradition. We would again like to thank the editor-in-chief of the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Matthias Henze, as well as the Senior Project Editor at Sage Publications, Arshiya Singhal. A special note of gratitude goes to each contributor in this period of COVID-19 for their efforts in the midst of unforeseen challenges.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820720968743","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41737856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：