Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

The contents of these Aramaic texts suggest that some might have a pre-

Maccabean origin in priestly-Levitical circles who had knowledge of

Mesopotamian lore and science. They were influenced by Persian ideas and

emphasize revelation through dreams and visions, as well as the transmis-

sion of ancestral traditions above or alongside the interpretation of the

Scriptures. Though some of these Aramaic texts include interpretative or

paraphrastic sections, the main link is with the ancestral “scriptural” figure,

not with the scriptural text.

The Hebrew examples of new writings attributed or connected to Mo-

ses, Jeremiah, and David belong to a somewhat different category than the

Aramaic examples. The former may be seen as foundational figures ac-

cording to the functions ascribed to them in the Scriptures. All the new

texts attributed to Moses belong to a Mosaic discourse in which specific

interpretations of the Law were regarded as divine revelation to Moses on

Sinai. Likewise, theApocryphon of Jeremiah Cis based on the image of Jere-

miah being the leader and teacher of the nation after the destruction of the

Temple.

Most of these texts have in common that their ascription to ancestral

patriarchs or foundational figures may be seen as an expansion of Scrip-

ture, although only in some cases is there evidence that they achieved

scriptural status in some circles. This goes for the Enochic writings, theAr-

amaic Levi Document,and perhaps theApocryphon of Jeremiah C,if

2 Macc. 2:1-4 is connected to that text.

More importantly, the Dead Sea Scrolls call for a more sophisticated

approach toward the phenomenon of pseudepigraphy, which ranges from

no more than a purely literary device in some texts (like theGenesis

Apocryphon) to attribution of one’s traditions to ancestral figures to an

authority-conferring strategy of presenting one’s new interpretation of au-

thoritative Scripture.

Expounding Scripture in Commentaries and Pesharim

Whereas rewritten texts and paraphrases are implicitly interpretative, a

special category of texts makes an explicit distinction between scripture

and commentary. The clearest examples are the so-called continuous

pesharim, such as theHabakkuk Pesher(see fig. 43) andNahum Pesherand

the pesharim on Isaiah, some Minor Prophets, and some of the Psalms.

They feature a quotation of one or more verses from a “prophetic” Scrip-

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EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:03 PM