SHS/not checked/19/11/2017
The underlying assumption of this paper is that 4Q158, previously identified by scholars as one composition, should actually be understood as two distinct compositions. The first consists of fragments 5–12, and contains the proto-Samaritan version of Exodus 19–22. The second consists of fragments 1–4 and 14 of 4Q158. The identification of a common denominator linking these latter fragments, which I have labeled 4Q158b, is the aim of this paper.
|4Q158b expresses a particular exegetical understanding of the biblical covenants. Its author’s intentions and exegetical processes are best
|clarified in light of the book of Jubilees. According to Jubilees, two covenants were made by God at the creation of the world, the first with humanity and the second with the people of Israel. 4Q158b collects biblical passages (Genesis 31–32; Exodus 3–4; Exodus 24) in which the author discerns hints as to the commitment to these two covenants between the period of Abraham and the events at Sinai. The author rewrites these passages with the intent of revealing to the reader these covenantal references, only hinted at in the Bible.