“Nobook-body Dared To Add To Them, To Take From Them, Or To Make Changes” ( Josephus, Ag. Ap. 1.42) The Textual Standardization Of Jewish Scriptures In Light Of The Dead Sea Scrolls

Abstract

To contribute to a Festschrift for Florentino Garcia Martinez is a special privilege as Florentino is not only a friend but also one of the most erudite scholars among the Dead Sea Scrolls specialists. In his extensive oeuvre, Florentino worked not only on the non-biblical manuscripts from the Judean Desert but edited and studied also various biblical manuscripts. Hence, an essay on the textual standardization of the Hebrew Bible is a fitting contribution to a Festschrift for Florentino Garcia Martinez. This chapter gives a sketch of textual standardization in the Graeco-Roman world. It asks how Egyptian Judaism developed the idea of textual standardization and what caused textual standardization in Judah itself. This brief sketch of textual standardization in the Graeco-Roman world shows, before there is any hint towards textual standardization in Jewish culture, Greek culture developed standardized texts. Keywords: biblical manuscripts; Dead Sea Scrolls specialists; Egyptian Judaism; Florentino Garcia Martinez; Graeco-Roman world; Greek culture; Hebrew Bible; Jewish culture; textual standardization