4QMMT
4QMMT ( M iqtzat M a'ase ha- T ora [some works of the Torah], formerly also Halakhic Letter [ halachic letter]) is a work from the library of Qumran , which has come down to us in six fragmentary manuscripts. Its content may provide information about the beginnings of the Qumran community. The expression “works of the Torah” aroused particular interest on the part of New Testament science because of the Greek parallel term ἔργα νομοῦ erga nomou, which is central to Pauline theology . The announcement of the contents of the fragments at a congress in 1984 was a major impetus for the discussion about the faster publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls .
Research history
4QMMT was initially only known under the title 4QMishnique, under which JT Milik had quoted from it in DJD 3 (1962). At this point in time, the “six manuscripts by MMT had been identified, transcribed , materially reconstructed and in some cases joined together to form a common text”. John Strugnell was entrusted with the publication . However, due to the historical circumstances and lack of funding, the research work was postponed for several years. In 1979 Strugnell met Elisha Qimron , who had finished his dissertation on Hebrew from Qumran , and included him in the work. Ya'akov Sussmann was later brought in as a specialist in halachic questions . At a congress in Jerusalem in 1984, the content of the work was presented to a wider public and immediately caused a sensation because of its importance. Nevertheless, the edition was delayed further, as Strugnell had been appointed chief editor of the entire edition project. In the meantime, Hershel Shanks , editor of the popular science journal Biblical Archeology Review , obtained a facsimile edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the unauthorized use of preparatory work by Strugnell and Qimron. A lawsuit by Qimron against Shanks for infringement of copyright and theft of intellectual property resulted in a heavy fine and set an example for dealing with copyright in issues relating to the publication of ancient texts. In the summer of 1993, the work of the official publishers was finally completed and 4QMMT appeared as Volume X of the Discoverie in the Judaean Desert series in 1994.
Manuscripts
There are six manuscripts of 4QMMT from cave 4. The number of copies of this work alone testifies to its importance in Qumran. Manuscript 4Q394, consisting of ten fragments, is considered to be "early Herodian" according to palaeographic determination . The orthography shows vulgar spellings. Handwriting 4Q395 consists of only one fragment and is chronologically classified like 4Q394. Larger text sections can be found in the somewhat younger manuscript 4Q396. The 23 fragments of 4Q397 are also early Herodian in writing. 4Q398 is a bit out of the ordinary because it is written on papyrus, the other manuscripts on leather. 4Q399 can be described as "Middle Herodian" and is probably the youngest of the six manuscripts. Three columns have been preserved on one fragment, the third column only containing the beginnings of four blank lines. Thus Column II obviously contains - also the content suggests this - the end of 4QMMT.
content
The work consists of two or three parts. The first part contains calendar dates. The times of the Sabbaths for each quarter as well as festivals, which are also known from the temple scroll , are mentioned. Each quarter consists of three months of thirty days each, of which one more day is to be added to each one, so that quarters of 91 days result, thus a year of 364 days. The observed calendar is therefore a pure solar calendar in accordance with numerous other writings from Qumran . However, the beginning of the work has only been preserved in a manuscript, and formally the following section seems like a new beginning. It is therefore controversial to what extent the calendar notes were an integral part of the work.
In the second section, a group notes in the plural some of the religious legal provisions they obeyed, regarding sacrifice, food and other rules of purity.
The third section mentions that the group of senders has separated itself from the many because of violations of the aforementioned regulations. The recipient of the letter is exhorted to keep the commandments of the Torah . The kings of Israel and Judah are presented to him as examples to warn or to commend.
language
The language of 4QMMT stands in a peculiar middle position between the Hebrew of the late biblical books and the rabbinical Hebrew , but also differs significantly from other texts from Qumran in terms of vocabulary. Among other things, the use of ש as a relative particle is striking, but often in the spelling with a vowel carrier following as שא. According to E. Qimron, the linguistic peculiarity can best be explained by the fact that 4QMMT does not yet follow the typical, sect-like sociolect of later Qumran texts.
Historical speculation
Like almost every other composition from Qumran, the work was ascribed to the Teacher of Justice . Although the plural of the senders should not be understood as pluralis majestatis , the senders may well have been represented by a significant member of the group. As long as one sticks to a historical figure of a "teacher of justice" at all, it is quite natural to associate him with the work.
Since the addressee is held in front of royal figures as a warning example, he too should perhaps be thought of as rulers. One possibility would therefore be the Hasmonean Jonathan . Usually the beginning of the Qumran community is connected with the assumption of the dignity of the high priest by Jonathan and the forcible removal of the teacher of justice from him, what the seven-year Intersacerdotium in the high priesthood between 159 and 152 BC. Could explain. 4QMMT should therefore have been written beforehand.
Contact with rabbinical works
Many of the halachic positions represented in 4QMMT are ascribed to the Sadducees in later rabbinical works , especially in the mixed natracts Machschirin and Jadajim . This observation should be borne in mind when identifying the Qumran community and Essenes as usual .
literature
- Elisha Qimron and John Strugnell: An Unpublished Halachic Letter from Qumran. In: Janet Amitai (Ed.): Biblical Archeology Today. Proceedings of the International Congress on Biblical Archeology, Jerusalem, April 1984. Jerusalem 1985, pp. 400-407.
- Elisha Qimron and John Strugnell: Qumran Cave 4.V: Miqsat Ma'aśe ha-Torah. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert X. Oxford 1994.
- John I. Kampen and Moshe J. Bernstein (Eds.): Reading 4QMMT. New Perspectives on Qumran Law and History. SBL Symposium Series 2. Atlanta 1996.
- Lawrence H. Schiffman: Miqtsat Ma'asei ha-Torah. In: Lawrence H. Schiffman; James C. VanderKam (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York 2000, pp. 558-560.