The Priestly Referent of 4QMMT B 64–72 and Its Implications for the Organization and Origin of the Text

Among the enduring enigmas of 4QMMT are the organizational principles which govern its halakhic section. Focusing primarily on the halakhah concerning skin disease in B 64–72, this article argues that the arrangement of MMT’s halakhot was influenced, at least in part, by similar collocations of topics in Leviticus 21–22 and possibly Ezek 44:15–31. It seems that the selection of sources is attributable to a specific focus on priestly conduct in the halakhah. By recognizing the nature and extent of this dependence it is possible to better understand MMT’s origin and the writers’ exegetical and halakhic methods.