Evidence of a Polymorphic Text Towards the Text-History of Deuteronomy 33

Abstract

Like the Song of Deborah (Judges 5) or the theophanic hymns to the God of Sinai (Psalm 68, e.g.: 68:8-9) and the God of Teman (Habakkuk 3, e.g.: 3:3), the Blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33) is among the most difficult and puzzling texts in the OT. Its present Masoretic wording (MT) is full of ambiguities. The wordings found in the most important versions-the Septuagint (LXX, cf. the Greek recensions [OG]: Aquila [a], Symmachus [a;'], Theodotion [0']) and the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP)-further complicate matters (cf. LXX on Deut. 33:2-3). The present article thus wishes to place these polymorphic texts, in particular the Qumranic readings, under careful scrutiny. I The quest for an Urtext2 aside, the Blessing of Moses is almost