reader checked|16/01/2012 AL
Although previous studies note the similarity between the sum of David's compositions (4,050 according to 11QPsa 27 10) and the total number of poetical works attributed to Solomon (4,005 according to MT 1 Kings 5:12), they overlook other significant parallels linking these two texts. An analysis of their similar literary structure reveals that David's Compositions is a sectarian adaptation of the sapiential description of Solomon's wisdom (1 Kings 5:9–14). Some of the differences between the two texts seem to betray the influence of yet another biblical source, namely, the book of Chronicles. Its possible influence can be detected in various motifs of David's Compositions when compared to the list of Solomon's sapiential works: (1) the substitution of secular wisdom by matters relating to the Jerusalem Temple; (2) the transfer of characterizations from Solomon to David; (3) David's prophetic spirit; and (4) the establishment of liturgy as an inseparable part of the Temple cult. In order to identify the provenance and function of David's Compositions these features are analyzed in detail and are placed in their literary, linguistic, and ideological contexts within Second Temple literature in general and the sectarian works from Qumran in particular.