Notes on the Dating of the Non-Massoretic Psalms of IIQPsa

The publication of the psalms scroll from Cave 11 of Qumran has generated a great deal of interest in the seven non-massoretic, poetic compositions included in it. The following remarks are intended to provide some preliminary notes on the dating of these "psalms." We Think that the point we shall bring up in the discussion are sufficiently strong to establish a probable late Persian/Hellenistic provenance of the compositions we analyze. Our Remarks are directed only toward the compositions in their present form, since elements of these psalms clearly contain older material.