'לפשור את כל דברי עבדיו הנביאים' (פשר חבקוק ב 8—9): עיון נוסף במשמעות הפשר בעיני יוצריו ובהגדרות הפשר במחקר קומראן

This article offers a new perspective on two literary units from the Qumran pesher literature – 1QpHab 2:1–10 and CD 19:21–26 – which deal with controversies about the essence and reception of pesher. The purpose of the article is twofold: to examine the perception of the pesherists themselves concerning the essence of pesher, and to re-examine the pesher techniques and the classifications of the types of pesher as discussed in scholarly research. A careful analysis of two pesher units – 1QpHab 2:1–10 (part of a “continuous pesher”) and the literary unit of CD 19:21–26 (an “isolated pesher”) – and the allusions to scriptures that are interwoven into them, reveals an interpretative method that concerns the very idea of pesher, which is similar to that of the thematic pesharim.
In 1QpHab 2:1–10, the allusions to scripture that are intertwined into the pesher interpretation of Hab 1:5 (mainly Amos 3:7; Deut 18:18–19; and Jer 31:30) clarify the role of the prophet in maintaining the covenant between the people and God, and in warning against what is to come. These allusions are related to the role of the Teacher of Righteousness as a creator of the pesharim and to the role of the pesharim in understanding the history of Israel as well as the community’s own reality. This small thematic pesher, embedded into the continuous pesher on Habakkuk, suggests that we should allow for more flexibility in the current classification of the types of pesharim.
The pesher unit of CD 19:21–26 includes two textual focal points that are anchored in scripture. The first one is an explicit pesher, interpreting Deut 32:33 along with allusions to additional phrases from Deut 32:28–29. The second is a pesher about the Builders of the Wall and Whitewashers of the Wall, who follow the Preacher of Lies (an implicit pesher interpreting Ezek 13:10 and Mic 2:11). The link between these two textual centers is achieved through an allusion to Isa 44:18, where phrases common to both Deut 32:28–29 and Ezek 13:10 can be found. This pesher unit revolves around the themes of understanding prophecy and the importance of the method of pesher itself. The pesher exposes controversy about the meaning and significance of the events mentioned in the prophecies. It suggests that opponents of the Qumran community who do not pay heed to the pesher cannot understand their own reality and thus will be defeated by the “chief of the kings of Greece.”
A close examination of these units reveals the complexity and versatility of the pesher method, where either explicit pesharim within a continuous pesher, or isolated pesharim within a non-pesher literary framework, are interpreted by means of allusions to additional scriptures. These allusions are essential to formulating the idea of the function of pesher, and are by no means mere literary ornaments. In other words, the allusions and their implicit pesher interpretations are an essential part of the construction of the pesher, no less than the explicit pesher itself.