מזמורים חיצוניים בלשון העברית מקומראן: מזמור קנא

With the discovery of the Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (11QPsa), the Hebrew texts of several extra-canonical psalms which until now had been known only in translation came to light. These and some other apocryphal compositions are scattered among thirty-seven canonical psalms which have been preserved in the scroll in an order which differs from that of all the ancient versions. Of special interest is a Hebrew version of Ps. 151, the last extant in 11QPsa, which is not found in the MT but also closes the Psalter in the Septuagint and the Vulgate. A Syriac rendition of it appears as a filler in the tenth century Ketābā de Durrāšā by the Nestorian Bishop Elijah of Anbār. The initial publication by J. A. Sanders of a facsimile of Ps. 151 from 11QPSa, together with a transcription, translation and commentary, prompted students of Biblical and Qumran literature to suggest improvements on the editor's readings and his explanatory remarks. In the present paper, the author argues against viewing 11QPsa as a copy of the Biblical Book of Psalms, but rather tends to present it as a compilation in which canonical and extra-canonical composition have been interlaced for homiletic and liturgical purposes. For this reason 11QPsa cannot enlighten us on the structure and composition of the canonical Book of Psalms in the Period of the Second Temple. However much is to be gained from the scroll for an elucidation of the beginnings of institutionalized prayer in Judaism. In fact, the scroll represents the earliest type of an ancillary Jewish prayer book. In the second part of the paper, the text of Ps. 151 is discussed, some new readings are proposed, and an attempt is made to define its literary Gattung. The psalm is classified as an autobiographical song, a type unknown in Biblical literature. This type resulted from a fusion of the autobiographical style prevalent, e.g. in the post-exilic historiographies of Ezra and Nehemiah, with the form of the Biblical psalm. It is held that this composite literary type emerged in the apocryphal literature of post-Biblical times. In the concluding section of the paper, the possible relevance of the new find to an as yet unsolved issue in the history of the transmission of the MT is investigated, namely the question of the pisqah be'emẕa' pasuq (p.b.p.). The author maintains that the fairly numerous instances of a blank space in the middle of a verse (p.b.p) found in manuscripts of the MT, have no bearing on the history of the Biblical text proper, as is held by some scholars, nor do they give witness to a deviant section division (parasha) as is argued by others. The p.b.p. is indeed taken to point to "missing" text-units at junctures so indicated. However, these are not secondary omissions due to scribal faults, but rather extra-textual elaborations of, and expolations on given passages in Scripture, especially in the Books of Samuel, to which the early tradents wished to direct the attention of readers. These consist of: (a) additional factual information, and (b) poetic paraphrases. Some p.b.p. point to such additional elements in, predominantly late, Biblical books. Thus the p.b.p. in Gen. 35 : 22 is interpreted to refer the reader to the parallel account in Chron. 55 : 1; the one in II Sam. 7 : 4 to Ps. 132; cf. further II Sam. 12 : 13 with Ps. 51; II Sam. 16 : 13 with Ps. 3. In this fashion, the p.b.p. in I Sam. 16 : 12 is taken as a pointer to Ps. 151 which is but a poetical paraphrase on the Biblical narrative of David's anointment by Samuel. Similarly the additional psalm (151a) of which only the opening lines are preserved in 11QPsa and which clearly elaborates on the theme of David's battle with Goliath, may well be referred to by the p.b.p. in I Sam. 17 : 37. However, these fillers have never been part of the canonical text, nor were they ever meant to be restored to it. They were intended to be joined with the relevant Biblical passage for homiletic or liturgical purposes. Thus viewed, the p.b.p. constitutes a connecting link between the history of the Hebrew Bible text and the history of early Jewish liturgy.