Rewritten Scriptures as a Clue to Scribal Traditions in the Second Temple Period

Abstract

Professor Geza Vermes was one of the pioneers who recognized that the old categories were no longer adequate with his description of the phenomenon he called Rewritten Bible. This chapter focuses on the textual tradition itself, and looks specifically at the manuscripts in which this textual tradition is found. It also look at the codicological practices found in these manuscripts, to see if any specific practices can be found across these manuscripts, indicating a group or a school. The impetus for this investigation came from a recent article by Steve Delamarter on scribal practices in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The chapter deals with Qumran manuscripts, which do not give a representative sample of the manuscript tradition of the Second Temple period. It explores Emanuel Tov's conservative reckoning of what he labels the textual tradition among the Qumran scrolls. Keywords: Dead Sea Scrolls; pre-Samaritan textual tradition; Qumran manuscripts; rewritten scriptures; scribal traditions; second temple period