The Manuscript Tradition of Jubilees4Q482 13:29 (or Gen 14:22-24); 36:9 (?) Herodian^16
There are eight small pieces grouped under 4Q482. Maurice Baillet de
bated whether frg. 1 corresponded with Jub 13:29 or with Gen 14:22-24. He was
able to read twenty-four letters spread over five lines, with only one (uncer
tain) complete word (DH in line 3). If he has correctly read ]V^1 7'S in line 1, the
possessive that he reconstructs partially in line 2 would not be very far distant
from it, thus suggesting a rather short line, while the reference to Mamre that
he finds in line 3 has a parallel only at a considerably greater distance in Jub
13:29. Nothing else matches the context in Jubilees. There is a similar problem
with spacing in comparison with Gen 14:22-24. The piece probably has the
text of neither Jub 13:29 nor Gen 14:22-24. For frg. 2 Baillet asked whether it
held the text of Jub 36:9. It has ten letters distributed over three lines. It seems
that the word Bmn^1 (which can mean "he will devise") made him think
about Jub 36:9 where yaxasses (- he will seek) appears, as does "sky," which
would correspond with D'ttU? in line 2. But the verbs do not have the same
meaning, and as a result there is nothing to identify the words on the frag
ment with Jub 36:9. Baillet was able to locate none of frgs. 3-8.
4Q483 Gen 1:28 (Jub 2:14?) Herodian
The two tiny fragments preserve, respectively, little and nothing dis
tinctive. The second has only one legible letter, but the first has eleven of
them located on three lines. The word that made Baillet think the fragment
could be from Jub 2:14 is what he reads as miPS'SI, although he considered
reading it as D'lPS'D'l. Jub 2:14 contains the assignment given to humanity to
rule the earth (JHXH can be read on line 2). Yet, if a plural verbal form is
properly read, it would not agree with Jub 2:14.^17
4Q484 Mid-ist cent. C.E.
Baillet published under this number twenty fragments, the most pro
ductive of which offers five letters (frg. 1 "IDt^ty), three marked with a circlet
- 4Q482 and 4Q483 were published by Baillet, Qumran Grotte4.Ill, DJD 7 (Oxford:
Clarendon, 1982), 1-2, with pi. I. In neither case was he sure about the identification, as the
alternative identifications and question marks that he supplied show. - Puech has now maintained that 4Q483 is a copy of Genesis ("Un nouveau
manuscrit de la Genese de la grotte 4: 4Q483 — pap4QGenese°," RevQ 19, no. 74 [1999]: 259-
60). That is, he agrees with Baillet's first suggestion for it.