Ariel Feldman

The rewritten Joshua scrolls from Qumran : texts, translations and commentary

Among the unknown Jewish writings that emerged from the caves of Qumran are five scrolls rewriting the Book of Joshua. The present volume offers a detailed analysis of these texts and explores their relationship with each other and other Second Temple Jewish writings concerned with the figure of Joshua. The first full-blown study of this group of scrolls, this book is of interest to students and scholars working in the fields of the Dead Sea scrolls and ancient Jewish biblical interpretation.

The Dead Sea scrolls rewriting Samuel and Kings : texts and commentary

Long neglected by scholars, the Dead Sea scrolls rewriting Samuel-Kings shed precious light on the ancient Jewish interpretation of these books. This volume brings all these texts together for the first time under one cover. Improved editions of the fragments, up-to-date commentary, and detailed discussions of the exegetical traditions embedded in these scrolls will be of interest to both scholars and students of Second Temple Jewish literature.

Scripture and interpretation : Qumran texts that rework the Bible

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are texts which rewrite the Hebrew Bible. They differ from the literary products of the Qumran ascetic community by missing the sectarian particular style and terminology. These rewritten Bible texts may therefore shed light on the origins and sources of this community. Most of the scholarly attention has been focused on the larger specimens of this genre, such as Jubilees and the Genesis Apocryphon. The present volume assembles for the first time eleven smaller texts of this type and analyzes them in order to see how they fit into the wider picture of the scrolls.

The Song of Miriam (4Q365 6a ii + 6c 1–7) Revisited

This article explores the expanded Song of Miriam preserved in the Qumran scroll 4Q365 (4QReworked Pentateuchc). While several scholars have discussed the significance of Miriam’s Song and elucidated its vocabulary, no attempt has yet been made to clarify some of the difficult readings found in this passage. A fresh inspection of the fragments suggests that the available edition of the text can be improved on. The new readings and reconstructions proposed here demonstrate the text’s dependence on the Moses’ Song of the Sea yet also highlight the peculiar vocabulary of this version of the Song of Miriam.

The Sinai Revelation according to 4Q377 (Apocryphal Pentateuch B)

This paper explores the reworking of the biblical Sinai accounts in 4Q377 3 ii. While previous studies of 4Q377 focused on its depiction of Moses, the retelling of the Sinai theophany in this scroll has not received due attention. The paper scrutinizes the intricate web of biblical allusions in 4Q377 3 ii and analyzes the ways in which it deals with the difficulties embedded in the accounts of the Sinai revelation in Exodus and Deuteronomy. It demonstrates that the scroll’s interpretation of these biblical texts exhibits several similarities with the later Jewish sources.