Not the Testament of Judah but the Words of Benjamin: The Character of 4Q538

Updated by: 
Oren Ableman
Research notes: 
Reader Checked OA 03/07/2014
Reference type: 
Book section
Author(s): 
Dimant, Devorah
year: 
2014
Full title: 

Not the Testament of Judah but the Words of Benjamin: The Character of 4Q538

Journal / Book Title || Series Title: 
History, Ideology and Bible Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Collected Studies
Issue / Series Volume: 
90
Series Title: 
Forschungen Zum Alten Testament
Abbreviated Series Name: 
FAT
Place of Publication: 
Tübingen
Publisher: 
Mohr Siebeck
Pages: 
441-454
Work type: 
Text edition
Abstract: 

In this volume Devorah Dimant assembles twenty-seven thoroughly updated and partly rewritten articles discussing various aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls that she published over the past three decades. An introductory essay written especially for this volume surveys the present state of research on the Scrolls. Dealing with major themes developed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the author reflects the rapid expansion and change of perspective that has taken place in research on the collection in recent years following its full publication. Among the topics treated are the nature and contents of the Scrolls collection as a whole, the specific literature of the community that owned this collection, the Aramaic texts and the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic works found therein. Each of these chapters contains an inventory list of the texts under discussion. In the article on the entire Scrolls collection she provides an updated inventory and analysis of all the Dead Sea Scrolls. Besides these general surveys, the volume includes discussions of particular themes such as the history of the community related to the Scrolls, its self-image and particular interpretation of biblical prophecies, and its notion of time. In addition, various previously unknown apocryphal works found among the Scrolls are analyzed, such as Pseudo-Ezekiel (4Q385-4Q386,4Q388), Apocryphon of Jeremiah C (4Q385a-4Q390), Apocryphon of Joshua (4Q522), Pesher on the Periods (4Q180, with a fresh edition), and a new edition and interpretation of the Words of Benjamin (4Q548).

Original Publication: 
Dimant, Devorah. “לא 'צוואת יהודה' אלא 'דברי בנימין': על כתב היד 4Q538 Not 'The Testament of Judah' but 'The Words of Benjamin': The Character of 4Q538.” In כלים שלובים: מגילות מדבר יהודה וספרות ימי הבית השני [ Connected Vessels: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Literature of the Second Temple Period]. Pages 236-251. Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute, 2010.
Label: 
2014
Record number: 
98 665