What Was the Book of Moses in 4QMMT?

Full title
What Was the Book of Moses in 4QMMT?
Updated By
Research notes

OT/not checked/11/06/2020 YKC/reader checked/14/03/2022

Reference type
Author(s)
Wearne, Gareth J.
Year
2020
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Volume
82
Issue / Series Volume
2
Abbreviated Series Name
CBQ
Pages
237-255
Work type
Label
22/06/2020
Abstract

Discussions of 4QMMT have often focused on whether the epilogue refers to a tripartite canon comprising the Books of Moses, the prophets, and David. Recent scholarship has tended to doubt the possible reference to a Davidic corpus but has nonetheless persisted in the assumption that the Book of Moses (ספר משה) refers to the canonical five-book Torah. In this article I reexamine the use of the term ספר משה in 4QMMT and other Second Temple-period sources and argue that the expression had a narrower scope, specifically denoting the Book of Deuteronomy. By recognizing file restricted nature of the ספר משה in MMT, we are better able to appreciate early Jewish conceptions of Scripture and the important place of Deuteronomy in the rhetoric of the epilogue.

Primary Texts: Judean Desert Documents
Scroll / Document