Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls

321 Pages·2014·3.839 MB·English

by  Alex P. Jassen

ScriptureandLawintheDeadSeaScrolls
ThisbookisthefirstworkofitskindtoexaminelegalexegesisintheDead
SeaScrollsfromtheperspectiveofboththehistoryofJewish lawandearly
Jewishscripturalinterpretation.ItshowshowtheDeadSeaScrollstransform
the meaning and application of biblical law to meet the needs of new his-
torical and cultural settings. The Dead Sea Scrolls legal texts are examined
throughthecomparativelensoflawandlegalinterpretationinSecondTem-
ple Judaism and rabbinic Judaism. The creative interpretation of scriptural
textsintheDeadSeaScrollsrespondstothetensionbetweenseeminglyrigid
authoritative scripture and the need for law and scripture to be perpetually
evolvingentities.Theongoinglegalinterpretationofscripturaltextsframes
thedevelopmentofJewishlawatthesametimeasitshapesthenatureofthe
biblicalcanon.
AlexP.JassenisAssociateProfessorofHebrewandJudaicStudiesintheSkir-
ballDepartmentofHebrewandJudaicStudiesatNewYorkUniversity.He
previouslytaughtattheUniversityofMinnesota,wherehewastherecipient
oftheuniversity’sprestigiousMcKnightLand-GrantFellowship.Dr.Jassen
holdsaB.A.inJewishStudiesandNearEasternLanguagesandCivilizations
fromtheUniversityofWashington(2001)andaPh.D.inHebrewandJudaic
Studies from New York University (2006). He has published widely on the
Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism and is a member of the international
editorialteamresponsibleforpublicationoftheDeadSeaScrolls.Heisthe
author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea
Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism, winner of the 2009 John Templeton
AwardforTheologicalPromise,aswellasmanyarticlesinleadingjournals
such as the Association for Jewish Studies Review, Biblical Interpretation,
DeadSeaDiscoveries,JournalofBiblicalLiterature,JournalofJewishStud-
ies, and Revue de Qumran. He is the co-editor of Scripture, Violence, and
TextualPracticeinEarlyJudaismandChristianity,andco-editor-in-chiefof
theJournalofAncientJudaism.HeservedasacademicadviserforTheDead
SeaScrolls:WordsThatChangedtheWorldexhibitattheScienceMuseum
of Minnesota. His work on religious violence has been recognized with a
fellowshipfromtheNationalEndowmentfortheHumanities.

Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls
ALEX P. JASSEN
NewYorkUniversity
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©AlexP.Jassen2014
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Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Jassen,AlexP.
ScriptureandlawintheDeadSeascrolls/AlexP.Jassen.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-0-521-19604-8(hardback)
1.DeadSeascrolls. I.Title.
bm487.j37 2013
296.1ʹ55–dc23 2013021425
isbn978-0-521-19604-8Hardback
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externalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationanddoesnotguarantee
thatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
In Loving Memory of
David R. Azose
September 12, 1939–October 26, 2009
'ה'ב'צ'נ'ת

Contents
ListofTables pageix
Acknowledgments xi
ANoteonStyleandTranslation xv
AbbreviationsandSigla xvii
1. Introduction 1
2. TheDeadSeaScrollsandtheHistoryofJewishLawand
LegalExegesis 18
3. JewishLegalExegesisandtheOriginsandDevelopment
oftheCanon 41
4. Isaiah58:13andtheSabbathProhibitiononSpeech
intheDeadSeaScrolls,Part1:TheDamascusDocument 68
5. Isaiah58:13andtheSabbathProhibitiononSpeech
intheDeadSeaScrolls,Part2:4QHalakhaB 86
6. Isaiah58:13andtheSabbathProhibitiononSpeech
intheBookofJubileesandRabbinicLiterature 104
7. Isaiah58:13andtheRestrictiononThoughtsofLaboron
theSabbathintheDeadSeaScrolls 131
8. Isaiah58:13andtheRestrictiononThoughtsofLaboron
theSabbathinPhiloandRabbinicLiterature 150
9. Jeremiah17:21–22andtheSabbathCarryingProhibitionin
theDeadSeaScrolls 172
10. Jeremiah17:21–22andtheSabbathCarryingProhibitionin
Nehemiah,Jubilees,andRabbinicLiterature 190
vii
viii Contents
11. Non-PentateuchalPassagesasProoftexts 216
12. Conclusions 247
Bibliography 253
IndexofAncientSources 285
IndexofModernAuthors 292
SubjectIndex 296
List of Tables
1. Isa58:13andCD10:17–19 page74
2. Isa58:13andCD10:19 81
3. Isa58:13andCD10:19and4Q264a1i6–7 94
4. TheLiteraryInversionofCD10:17–21in4Q264a1i5–8 102
5. Isa58:13andCD10:17–19andJub50:8 106
6. TheReformulationofIsa58:13inCD10:20–21 136
7. השעandץפחinIsa58:13andCD10:20–21 139
8. Exod16:29andJer17:21–22,24andCD,4Q251,and
4Q265 178
9. TheLiteraryInversionofJer17:21–22inCD11:7–9 183
10. TheInterpretationofאשמ(Jer17:21,24)inNeh13:15bc,
19 192
11. Jer17:21–22andJub50:8 198
12. TheReformulationofJer17:21–22inJub2:29 201
13. TheReformulationofJer17:22inJub2:30 203
14. 1Sam25:26andCD9:8–10 223
15. Prov15:8andCD11:20–21 228
ix