This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves of Qumran. These nearly one hundred scrolls open a window onto a vibrant period of Jewish history for which we previously had few historical sources. Scholars and advanced students will find a general introduction to the corpus, detailed, richly-illustrated profiles of individual scrolls, and up-to-date studies of their Aramaic language and scribal practices. The goal of the book is to foster and support further study of these scrolls against the historical backdrop of early Judaism and ancient Mediterranean scribal cultures.
Daniel Machiela, Ph.D. (2007), University of Notre Dame, is Associate Professor at that University. He specializes in ancient Judaism and earliest Christianity, with emphases on biblical interpretation and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Previous publications include The Dead Sea Genesis Apocryphon (Brill, 2009).
Acknowledgements List of Figures, Tables, and Charts Abbreviations
1 Introduction: The Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves and the Parameters of this Study
â1âThe Current State of Research: The Aramaic Scrolls in the Context of Qumran and Second Temple Judaism
â2âDelineating the Corpus
â3âIntroduction to the Manuscripts Profiles
2 Manuscript Profiles
â1âFrom Enoch through Abram
â2âFrom Jacob through Aaron and His Family
â3âThe Assyrian to Persian Exiles
â4âTranslations or Possible Translations
â5âMiscellaneous Texts
3 Language
â1âYehezkel Kutscher and the Typological Method of Dating Aramaic Texts
â2âResponses to the Typological Method
â3âScribal Preferences and Textual Transmission I: The Evidence for Scribal Change
â4âScribal Preferences and Textual Transmission II: Archaisms, Archaizing, and Lessons from Elephantine and Arsacid Elymais
â5âA Descriptive Overview of Qumran Aramaic with Reference to Bordering Aramaic Dialects
â6âBiblical Aramaic, Qumran Aramaic, and the Problem of Terminology
â7âSummary and Conclusions: Early Jewish Literary Aramaic (EJLA)
4 Manuscript Features and Scribal Practices
â1âIntroduction: The Historical Context of Manuscript Production and Scribal Practice at Qumran
â2âManuscript Features
â3âScribal Habits
â4âConcluding Observations
Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources Index of Modern Authors