The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Scribal Culture of Second Temple Judaism

Full title
The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Scribal Culture of Second Temple Judaism
Research notes

MDE/Reader Checked/17/11/2015

Reference type
Author(s)
Zahn, Molly M.
Year
2015
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Journal for the Study of Judaism
Volume
46
Issue / Series Volume
3
Abbreviated Series Name
JSJ
Pages
285–313
Work type
Label
07/09/2015
Abstract

The Samaritan Pentateuch (sp), along with its Qumran forebears, has deservedly been regarded as a key source of information for understanding the scribal culture of early Judaism. Yet studies have tended to emphasize the relative uniformity of the characteristic pre-sp readings as evidence of a scribal approach distinct within Second Temple Judaism. This article argues that both the uniformity and the distinctiveness of these readings have been overstated: there is more internal diversity within pre-sp than is usually recognized, and similar or identical readings are also preserved in other manuscript traditions. Rather than representing a distinctive scribal approach or school, the readings of pre-sp are better taken as a particularly concentrated example of scribal attitudes and techniques that appear to have been widespread in early Judaism.

Primary Texts: Judean Desert Documents
Scroll / Document
Passage
7
Section type
Fragment
Scroll / Document