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A CONTEXTUALIZED APPROACH TO THEHEBREW DEAD SEA SCROLLS CONTAINING EXODUSbyDREW LONGACREA thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree ofDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHYDepartment of Theology and ReligionSchool of Philosophy, Theology and ReligionCollege of Arts and LawUniversity of BirminghamDecember 2014

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ABSTRACTThis thesis suggests a new approach to studying the Hebrew-language Dead Sea Scrolls(DSS) containing Exodus. After surveying the history of research, Longacre suggests applyinga contextualized approach to the study of these scrolls, which seeks to understand them first asindividual material artifacts and then in comparison to other manuscripts which are mostclosely contextually connected to them. Each manuscript is only subsequently compared withincreasingly contextually distant manuscripts according to a hierarchy of contextual proximity.A network of close contextual connections between the Hebrew DSS containingExodus warrant the isolation of this corpus as a test case for application of a contextualizedapproach. Based on new transcriptions and reconstructions of each of the included manuscripts(1Q2 2Q2 2Q3 2Q4 4Q1 4Q11 4Q13 4Q14 4Q17 4Q18 4Q19 4Q20 4Q21 4Q22 4Q158 4Q3644Q365 4Q366 Mur1), Longacre then analyzes patterns that emerge from a comparison of thecharacteristics of each of these manuscripts. Finally, from a close examination of textualoverlaps from a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative perspectives, Longacre suggestsseveral specific groups and clusters of texts and synthesizes them to provide clearer insight intothe documented Hebrew-language textual history of the book of Exodus.

To my dear wife, Michelle Longacre,without whose patience, love, and supportthis research would not have been possible. תנו לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה -Proverbs 31:31

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSDespite the relief of completing the work, this doctoral thesis is not a finished line, butrather a milestone on a long journey on which I am already indebted to a great many. To allthose whose investments in me prepared me for this work, I am sincerely grateful for yourefforts. In particular, I would like to thank Steven Boyd for introducing me to the Hebrewlanguage, William Varner for introducing me to the world of textual criticism, and WilliamBarrick for showing me the need for the application of textual criticism to the Old Testament.I am also grateful for many who have directly or indirectly contributed to this research.Stefan Schorch, Nathan Jastram, and Kyungrae Kim all kindly sent me unpublished work forreference purposes. Hugh Houghton was kind enough to offer his advice during the course ofmy program and read a draft of chapter 4. The seminars of the Institute for Textual Scholarshipand Electronic Editing and the “Manuscripts and Their Texts” postgraduate seminars at theUniversity of Birmingham repeatedly challenged me to think methodologically about my ownresearch. Personal conversations with Eibert Tigchelaar and Sidnie White Crawford wereparticularly helpful for the study of the included manuscripts. Anneli Aejmelaeus, Hanne vonWeissenberg, and the other members of team 2 of the University of Helsinki’s Centre ofExcellence in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions also kindly interacted with the contentsof this thesis in a workshop which provided much useful feedback.Furthermore, this research would not have been possible without the generosity of theUniversity of Birmingham, who fully funded my program with a Doctoral Researcher EliteScholarship. Similarly, the University of Helsinki permitted me to finalize this thesis duringmy first months of postdoctoral research at the Centre of Excellence in Changes in Sacred Textsand Traditions.But perhaps most importantly, I would like to thank my supervisor Charlotte Hempelfor her support throughout this process. As all of her students are well aware, Charlotteconsistently goes above and beyond the call of duty as a supervisor. She invests herself fullyin both the personal welfare and development of her students and their research. Her insightfulcritiques have kept me from numerous errors and refined this research far beyond what it wouldhave been without her. Of course, any remaining errors or weaknesses are my own.On a more personal note, my wife Michelle and daughters Victoria and Gloria havebeen my constant companions in a seemingly unending series of studies that has taken adecidedly international turn. They have all sacrificed much for the sake of my research, andtheir support has been essential for its completion.And finally, thanks be to God, who has richly blessed us and faithfully led us throughmany life stages over the past few years. We have always had enough to meet our needs, andhis love continues to carry us through. May the contents of this thesis be profitable for hiskingdom. יהיו לרצון אמרי פי והגיון לבי לפניך יהוה צורי וגאלי -Psalm 19:15 [Eng. v. 14]

CONTENTSLIST OF FIGURESLIST OF TABLESLIST OF ABBREVIATIONSLIST OF TRANSCRIPTION SYMBOLSINTRODUCTION .1CHAPTER 1 – HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON THE SCRIPTURAL MANUSCRIPTSFROM THE JUDEAN DESERT AND THE TEXT OF EXODUS .21.1 Introduction . 21.2 Pre-Qumran Theories on the Textual History of the Pentateuch . 21.3 Post-Qumran General Discussions on the Textual History of the Pentateuch . 31.3.1 Local Texts . 51.3.2 Multiple Mixed Groups . 71.3.3 Variant Literary Editions . 121.3.4 Descriptive Categorization . 151.3.5 The Challenge of the 4Q(Reworked) Pentateuch Manuscripts . 171.3.6 The Question of the Original Text(s). 201.4 Post-Qumran Detailed Studies of the Text of Exodus . 241.4.1 Judith E. Sanderson . 241.4.2 Nathan Jastram . 331.4.3 Bénédicte Lemmelijn . 371.4.4 James R. Davila . 401.5 Conclusion . 41CHAPTER 2 – A CONTEXTUALIZED APPROACH TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OFANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS FOR TEXTUAL HISTORY .442.1 Introduction . 442.2 Individual Textual Artifacts . 462.2.1 Preliminaries to the Study of Fragmentary Manuscripts . 492.2.1.1 Collection, Identification, and Transcription of Fragments from the Manuscript. 492.2.1.2 Material Reconstruction . 502.2.1.3 Textual Reconstruction . 52

2.2.2 Bibliographical Analysis . 582.2.2.1 Provenance . 582.2.2.2 Manuscript Format . 592.2.2.3 Manuscript Contents . 602.2.2.4 Layout and Segmentation . 602.2.2.5 Paleography . 612.2.2.6 Paratextual Information. 632.2.3 Textual Analysis . 642.2.3.1 Language . 642.2.3.2 Orthography. 652.2.3.3 Errors and Corrections . 672.2.3.4 Miscellaneous Scribal Practices . 712.2.3.5 Analysis of Intrinsic Textual Evidence . 712.3 The Nature of Contextual Connectivity between Manuscripts . 732.3.1 Multiple Distinct Contextual Stages . 732.3.2 Multiple Distinct Contextual Factors. 742.3.2.1 Temporal Contexts. 752.3.2.2 Geographical Contexts . 762.3.2.3 Socio-Religious Contexts . 772.3.2.4 Literary Contexts . 782.3.3 Concentric Circles of Contextual Connectivity . 812.3.3.1 Immediate Context . 862.3.3.2 Near Context. 872.3.3.3 Far Context . 882.4 Comparative Analysis . 902.4.1 Description of Similarities and Differences . 912.4.2 Evaluation of Manuscript Relationships . 922.4.2.1 Connective Readings . 922.4.2.2 Statistical Clusters of Texts . 932.5 Reconstruction of Textual History . 932.5.1 Inductive Reconstruction of Textual History . 942.5.2 Iterative Refinement of Textual History and Analysis . 942.6 Conclusion . 97

CHAPTER 3 – PRIMARY EVIDENCE FOR THE TEXT OF EXODUS IN THE DEAD SEASCROLLS 993.1 Introduction . 993.2 Primary Evidence for the Text of Exodus in the DSS Utilized for This Study . 1003.2.1 1Q2 – 1QExod . 1013.2.2 2Q2 – 2QExoda. 1023.2.3 2Q3 – 2QExodb . 1033.2.4 2Q4 – 2QExodc. 1063.2.5 4Q1 – 4QGen-Exoda . 1073.2.6 4Q11 – 4QpaleoGen-Exodl . 1083.2.7 4Q13 – 4Q[Gen]-Exodb . 1093.2.8 4Q14 – 4Q[Gen]-Exodc . 1103.2.9 4Q17 – 4QExod-Levf . 1113.2.10 4Q18 – 4QExodg. 1123.2.11 4Q19 – 4QExodh. 1133.2.12 4Q20 – 4QExodj . 1133.2.13 4Q21 – 4QExodk. 1143.2.14 4Q22 – 4QpaleoExodm. 1143.2.15 4Q158 – 4Q(Reworked) Pentateucha . 1193.2.16 4Q364 – 4Q(Reworked) Pentateuchb. 1203.2.17 4Q365 – 4Q(Reworked) Pentateuchc . 1213.2.18 4Q366 – 4Q(Reworked) Pentateuchd. 1243.2.19 Mur1 – MurGen-Exod, Numa. 1263.3 Other Major Textual Traditions Utilized for This Study. 1273.3.1 Masoretic Text (M) . 1283.3.2 Samaritan Pentateuch (S) . 1293.4 Textual Witnesses Not Systematically Integrated into This Study . 1293.4.1 Non-Hebrew Texts . 1303.4.2 Excerpted Texts . 1333.4.3 Obvious Exodus Hypertexts . 1353.4.4 Commentaries. 1383.4.5 Citations and Allusions in Free Compositions . 1383.5 Conclusion . 139

CHAPTER 4 – A CONTEXTUALIZED APPROACH TO THE HEBREW DEAD SEASCROLLS CONTAINING EXODUS . .1414.1 Introduction . 1414.2 Contextual Connections of the DSS Containing the Text of Exodus . 1414.2.1 Temporal Connections . 1424.2.1.1 Temporal Inscription Contexts . 1424.2.1.2 Temporal Lived Contexts . 1434.2.2 Geographical Connections . 1444.2.2.1 Geographical Inscription Contexts . 1444.2.2.2 Geographical Lived Contexts . 1454.2.3 Socio-Religious Connections . 1454.2.3.1 Socio-Religious Inscription Contexts . 1454.2.3.2 Socio-Religious Lived Contexts . 1474.2.4 Literary Connections . 1484.2.4.1 Language and Content . 1484.2.4.2 Pentateuchal Context . 1484.2.4.3 Scriptural Status . 1534.2.5 Contextual Connectivity of the Hebrew DSS Containing Exodus . 1534.3 Differences in Hebrew DSS Containing Exodus . 1544.3.1 Descriptive List of Differences . 1554.3.1.1 Alternative Readings . 1554.3.1.2 Small Pluses/Minuses . 1564.3.1.3 Large Pluses/Minuses . 1564.3.1.4 Small Sequence Differences . 1574.3.1.5 Large Sequence Differences . 1574.3.2 Scribal Errors. 1584.3.2.1 Orthographic Errors . 1604.3.2.2 Substitutions . 1624.3.2.3 Omissions . 1644.3.2.4 Additions . 1654.3.2.5 Transpositions . 1664.3.3 Singular Readings . 1674.3.3.1 Methodology. 1674.3.3.2 Data Set . 1704.3.3.3 Percentage Singular Readings . 171