The ‘Pesher on Genesis’, or ‘Commentaries on Genesis’, is part of the collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in caves near the archaeological site of Qumran about a mile off the Northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. There are four fragmentary manuscripts that have been grouped together from Cave 4; 4Q252, 4Q253, 4Q254, and 4Q254a which contain interpretations of the Book of Genesis.[1] The most extensive of the manuscripts is 4Q252 which contains 6 fragments. They date from mid 1st century BCE (Hasmonean period) to late 1st century CE (Herodian period). They are all written in Hebrew on parchment.[2]
4Q252, or Commentary on Genesis A, is dated approximately to the 1st century BCE and is the most extensive of the 4Q commentaries. There are three manuscripts that have been ascribed to 4Q252.
For decades only column V of 4Q252 was known to scholars, and this fragment was known as 4QPatriarchal Blessings. Gerbern S. Oegema and other scholars later recognized that other fragments should be included with this work to comprise 4QCommentary on Genesis A.
There are 6 columns extant of 4Q252, some more fragmentary than others.
Column I and II lines 1-7 mostly retell and expand slightly the story of Noah and the flood from Genesis 6-9. In this portion, the author was mostly concerned with including more dating details than appear in Genesis.
Column II lines 8-14 and all of column III focus on the story of Abraham, including the judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah and the binding of Isaac. Column III is especially fragmentary, with several blanks.
Columns IV-VI are based on Genesis 49, Jacob's blessing of his twelve sons.
Column IV covers Jacob's blessing of Reuben. The author's comment on Jacob's blessing is an exclusively negative portrayal of Reuben.
Column V, formerly known as Patriarchal Blessing, covers Jacob's blessing of Judah. It contains a quotation from Jeremiah 33:17. The author links this blessing to Messianic expectation and the "covenant of royalty" given to David. The commentary serves dually as anti Hasmonaean polemic and affirmation of the Qumran community's self-understanding as spiritual descendants of David.
Column VI is a couple of lines and only a few words, but apparently contains Jacob's blessing of Naphtali.
4Q253 (Commentary on Genesis B) consists of three fragments that were found in cave four. The first fragment mentions the Ark of the Covenant. The second fragment is said to be associated with Jacob and his cultic activities. Fragment three cannot actually be placed in relation to the Genesis text, however, it speaks of Belial – the traditional name for Satan in Jewish apocalyptic writings.[3]
Physical Description:
The fragments are quite small in size and show the very bottom of a column of a commentary on Genesis. Unfortunately, due to the poor state of the fragments, scholars are unable to determine the size of what the full manuscript would have been.[4]
Frg. 1 = 3.1 x 3.9 cm
Frg. 2 = 5.2 x 6.2 cm (two joined pieces)
Frg. 3 = 3.2 x 3.0 cm
The fragments are almost certainly recognized to have been written by the same scribe due to the type of writing – a formal script from the late Hasmonaean to the early Herodian period.[4]
The fourth manuscript in this group, also known as 4QCommentary on Genesis D or pGen IVa, is extant in three fragments in a developed Herodian formal hand. In fragments 1–2 there is a description of the measurements of Noah's ark, partly citing Genesis 6.15 . Fragment 3 is concerned with Noah's disembarkation and something that the raven makes known to the latter generations.
Fragment 1 is 3.8 cm x 3.2 cm, the left hand edge is very dark brown and can be read with the assistance of infrared photography. The rest of the fragment is tan colour and there is no visible ruling showing
Fragment 2 is 1.7 cm x 1.4 cm. On this fragment both the left and the right edges are very dark brown the rest being tan.
Fragment 3 is two pieces attached together measuring a total of 6.6 cm x 5.0 cm. Its lower right corner and far left edge are dark brown, the rest being tan. An upper margin of 1.9 cm is preserved and ruled guidelines as well as a ruled left margin are visible.
Both Fragment 2 and Fragment 3 are attached to paper and on the card in Mus. Inv. 820 and is not movable
One of the principle reasons for distinguishing these three fragments from 4Q254 is the distinctive shape of some of the letters. The features of these letters were developed and more commonly used in the Herodian formal hand. These difference in the formating of the letters show that it was a different scribe who penned these scroll fragments.
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