Q653 MT Deut 1:33 Mkt)rl OV(l) – Difference in grammati-
cal form or possible difference in
pronunciation.^1187
4QDeuth 2-4 26 tw)rhl
Q654 MT Deut 1:33 Mkt)rl SV(2) – The MT has an explicat-
4QDeuth 2-4 26 tw)rhl ing plus.^1188
Q655 MT Deut 1:37 M# SV(1) – The MT lacks the loca-
4QDeuth 2-4 29 hm# tive h.
Q656 MT Deut 1:39 w(dy SV(1) – Difference in number.^1189
4QDeuth 2-4 30 (dy
Q657 MT Deut 1:44 hmrx SV(1) – The MT lacks the definite
4QDeuth 5-6 5 hmrxh article.
Q658 MT Deut 2:3 Mkl SV(1) – Difference in number.^1190
4QDeuth 5-6 8 Kl
1187
The form in the MT could be Qal, though Hiph‘il better suits the context. The Hiph‘il is clearly written
with afformative heh in 4QDeuth. On the elision of the afformative heh on Hiph‘il infinitives in the MT see
the examples listed in W. Gesenius, E. Kautzsch, and A.E. Cowley, 1188 Hebrew Grammar, 148, §53q.
4QDeuth lacks the pronominal object suffix appended to the infinitive construct. The word stands at the
extreme left margin of the column so it is impossible to ascertain if the pronoun was written with the prepo-
sition l marking the nota dative (see W. Gesenius, E. Kautzsch, and A.E. Cowley, Hebrew Grammar, 381,
§119 1189 s) preceding the direct object (cf. Deut 4:38; 5:5; 6:23).
The MT reads: hm# w)by hmh (rw bw+ Mwyh w(dy )l r#) Mkynbw hyhy zbl Mtrm) r#) Mkp+w,, “And your
toddler of whom you said, ‘he will be as plunder,’ and your sons who this day do not know good or evil,
they will come therein.” Only the words bw+ Mwyh w(dy )[l, “this day they do not know good” are preserved
in 4QDeuth, so it is possible to read an abbreviated text that is restored on the basis of LXX: )l r#) Mkp+w
(rw bw+ (dy, “and your toddler who this day does not know good or evil.” Another alternative is to read the
phrase in 4QDeuth as a rearranged word order of that found in the MT, where the singular Mkp+ is paired
with (dy )l and the plural Mkynb is paired with zbl wyhy. Seeing as the preserved text in 4QDeuth does not
clearly show a rearranged word order, the reading that assumes an abbreviated text is preferred in light of
Rule 4. 1190
The MT switches from singular to plural address, whereas 4QDeuth continues to use the singular. The
audience for Yahweh’s speech here is ostensibly the people as is clear in the following verse, though
4QDeuth appears to have Yahweh addressing Moses individually. The other witnesses agree with the MT.
See note above for references to the literature on Numeruswechsel in Deuteronomy.