Qumran Question #2

[NumberMan™]

I'm glad I can now see the actual book names these fragments belong to, now the next question is this and pardon my ignorance

Question #1

11Q5 = "Psalmsa" 19:15

Is this referring to Psalms? If so what verse does this 19:15 align with in the regular scriptures and what does the "a" and "b" mean with that tag?

The verse there doesn't match with the one in Psalms. I looked above and below to see if the numbering was off so if anyone has an idea let me know. (I checked the Hebrew and nothing appeared to match that verse)


Question #2

Do these Books still exists in full such as "Rule of the Blessings" and other books. If not how do they know this fragment is from that book with nothing to go on?

If it does exist does anyone know where all these books can be found as I google searched and didn't come up with anything noteworthy other then they were Dead Sea Scroll fragments. I would like to research them if they're out there.

[Mark Eddy]

The Dead Sea Scrolls in BibleWorks don't contain any of he biblical texts, none at all. So the "Psalms" are extra-biblical.
I have started to coordinate the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls in BibleWorks with the O.T. apocrypha. But it will be a long time before I get it worked out.
There are lots of books out there that include entire books of the Dead Sea Scrolls rather than just the fragments. I have a copy of "The Dead Sea Scrolls in English" by G. Vermes. But I know there are many newer ones.
I've also read that BibleWorks is in the process of trying to get an English translation. But nobody knows how soon that may be available.
Mark Eddy

[Dale A. Brueggemann]

There are lots of books out there that include entire books of the Dead Sea Scrolls rather than just the fragments. I have a copy of "The Dead Sea Scrolls in English" by G. Vermes. But I know there are many newer ones.

A standard edition:

Martínez, Florentino García. The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated. 2nd ed. Trans. Wilfred Watson, G. E. Leiden: Brill/Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1996.

[Ben Spackman]

11Q5 means the 5(th text found in Cave) 11 (at) Q(Qumran). The a,b, etc, are usually used to indicate that the text is one of multiple copies or variants.

The names are those given by scholars, and sometimes vary from scholar to scholar. Sometimes the name comes from the scroll itself, and sometimes not.

In the case of 11Q5, I believe it's been called "Psalms" because parts of the text match certain Psalms (though not always the MT version.) Column 28 matches Psalm 151, which exists in the LXX, but not the MT. The discovery of it has caused a re-evaluation of whether the LXX added it, or the MT dropped it.

Do these Books still exists in full such as "Rule of the Blessings" and other books. If not how do they know this fragment is from that book with nothing to go on?

Yes and no. Some of them are fairly complete, but only exist in the DSS, presumably because the group responsible for the DSS produced those books (such as the manual of discipline). Other bookes referred to in the DSS, like the Enoch fragments or Jubilees, exist much fuller outside the DSS.

[NumberMan™]

A standard edition:

Martínez, Florentino García. The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated. 2nd ed. Trans. Wilfred Watson, G. E. Leiden: Brill/Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1996.

Is it in digital format? If so do you have a link where it can be purchased.

Thanks

[Dale A. Brueggemann]

Dead Sea Scroll.... I would like to research them if they're out there.

Of course, there's LOTS to read to study up on this, but two works that would certainly give you a real leg up on this are these:

Geza Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective can be had for $1-2 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...Fencoding=UTF8

Florentino Garcia Martinez, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English for about $20.00 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...Fencoding=UTF8

Or the more affordable Geza Vermes, Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014...lance&n=283155

[Ben Spackman]

You can also get a Hebrew/English translation electronically, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. Not cheap though.

[NumberMan™]

Very Nice Ben!

Have you toyed with it or heard any good news with the digital version?

Paperback would be painful to go through.

[Ben Spackman]

I used it and the QSM module together for my Dead Sea Scrolls class. The translation is good, but is just that, translation only.

The first part of the preface reads, "This book is intended as a practical tool to facilitate access to the Qumran collection of Dead Sea Scrolls. As such, it is primarily intended for classroom use and for the benefit of specialists from other disciplines (scholars working on the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament or Rabbinic literature, specialists on Semitic languages, on the History of Judaism or on the History of Religions, among others) who need a reliable compendium of all the relevant materials found in this collection."

If you want books about the DSS, I like Hershel Shanks Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls and the more recent and comprehensive The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls : Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity

[NumberMan™]

So there is no side by side original language next to the translation?

I like to see the original text when I can rather then just an English translation.