הערות ללשון קומראן

This article discusses the linguistic basis of several enigmatic forms in the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In particular, it attempts to demonstrate how the polyvalence of certain Hebrew forms allows for multiple interpretations, each of which may be linguistically justified. The following examples are considered: (1) the meanings of Hebrew בלע and its interpretation as 'attack, rebuke' in Pesher Habakkuk (1QpHab) 5:8–11; (2) the confusion of the roots אשם and שמם following the elision of an aleph in Qumran Hebrew. The pseudo-corrective spellings נאכר and נמאס are explained by reference to this phenomenon; (3) the alternative interpretations of the form קרקר and their significance for the variant readings of Num. 24:17; and (4) the eschatological interpretation of שילה in Gen. 49:10 in the light of contemporary orthographic practices.