פשר ומדרש במגילות קומראן

The two genres of homiletic exegesis of biblical passages – pesher and midrash – intended to adapt ancient writings to the reality and understanding of later generations, differ in both purpose and form. Pesher focuses on interpretation of an ancient prophetical oracle in terms of its realization in concrete events of later or eschatological generations, whereas midrash focuses on a halakhic or ideological message confirmed by biblical prooftext. These diverse aims find expression in their different literary forms. The literary form of the Qumran pesher consists of: (a) a prophetic verse; (b) a technical formula including the term "pesher" or an equivalent pronoun; and (c) the description of an event, be it actual or eschatological. The literary form of Qumran midrash consists of: (a) a halakhic or ideological message; (b) the technical formula, "as it is written", "as it was said", or the like; and (c) a biblical prooftext. In some cases, however, it is not simple to make a clear distinction between the two. This is the case when the connection between the opening message and its prooftext requires additional explanation, sometimes involving more than one prooftext. In instances in which the prooftext is a prophetic verse, Qumran literature introduces its explanation with the technical term "pesher" or an identical pronoun. Here, a close reading that takes the characteristics of each genre into account is needed to clarify the specific genre of the text in question. Examination of examples of the pesher and midrash types elucidates the differentiation between these genres in Qumran literature. Jean Carmignac has defined the specific pesher system characteristic of the Pesharim scrolls as "continuous pesharim" (RQ 7, 1969–71), and the system of midrash prevalent in the homiletic sections as "isolated pesharim". Examples of the latter are found in the halakhic homiletic sections integrated in the Rule of the Community (see 1QS 8:12–16, defined as מדרש התורה, and 1QS 5:15–18) and in the Damascus Document (CD 11:17–21; etc.). A system that combines midrash and pesher to express a sectarian idea appears in the Damascus Document (CD 4:12–19; 7:9–21; etc.). However, 4QFlorilegium (4Q174), 4QCatena (4Q177) and 11QMelchizedeq (11Q13) present another type, described by Carmignac as "thematic pesharim" and by Annette Steudel as "eschatological midrash" (cf. 4Q174 1–2 i 14). Here, each section is introduced by a prophetic verse, and its pesher is confirmed by additional verses in the midrashic system. These intricate homiletic types enable us to trace the overt means used to demonstrate a sectarian idea, whereas the "continuous pesharim" use covert means to demonstrate their message. The paper concludes with a suggestion regarding the historical development of the alternative literary systems of midrash and pesher in Qumran literature.