Table Of ContentTurning Proverbs towards Torah
Studies on the Texts of the
Desert of Judah
Edited by
George J. Brooke
Associate Editors
Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar
Jonathan Ben-Dov
Alison Schofield
VOLUME 117
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/stdj
Turning Proverbs towards Torah
An Analysis of 4Q525
Elisa Uusimäki
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Uusimäki, Elisa, 1986– author.
Title: Turning Proverbs towards Torah : an analysis of 4Q525 / by
Elisa Uusimäki.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2016] | Series: Studies on the texts
of the desert of Judah, ISSN 0169-9962 ; . 117 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016004920 (print) | LCCN 2016005974 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004313392 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9789004313415 (E-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Dead Sea scrolls. 4Q525. | Wisdom literature—Criticism,
interpretation, etc.
Classification: LCC BM488.5 .T87 2016 (print) | LCC BM488.5 (ebook) | DDC
296.1/55—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016004920
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issn 0169-9962
isbn 978-90-04-31339-2 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-31341-5 (e-book)
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 4Q525 and the Qumran Discoveries 1
2 Wisdom and Torah 7
3 Research History of 4Q525 11
4 Purpose of the Study 19
1 Scroll, Text, Arrangement 23
1 Material Reconstruction of 4Q525 23
1.1 Methodological Introduction 24
1.2 Observations on the Material Aspects 26
1.2.1 Manuscript 26
1.2.2 Scroll Manufacture 27
1.2.3 Damage Patterns 30
1.2.4 Sheet Division 31
1.2.5 Wrapping of the Scroll 34
1.3 The Arrangement of Fragments 35
1.3.1 Sheet One: Columns I–III 36
1.3.2 Sheet Two: Columns IV–VIII 38
1.3.3 Sheet Three: Columns IX–XI 41
1.3.4 Sheet Four: Columns XII–XIII 43
1.3.5 Unplaced Fragments 44
1.4 Concluding Remarks 45
2 Hebrew Text and English Translation 46
2.1 Remarks on Palaeography and Orthography 46
2.2 Column-by-Column Presentation 48
3 Structural Analysis 62
3.1 Outline 63
3.1.1 A Call for Wisdom 63
3.1.2 Teachings on Wise Life and its Implications 64
3.1.3 The Need for Wisdom: Spirits and Protection 66
3.1.4 Advice on Speech 67
3.1.5 Rejecting Wisdom: The World of Folly 67
3.1.6 A Return to Wisdom 68
3.2 Comments 68
4 Conclusions 72
vi contents
2 Influence of Scripture on 4Q525 73
1 Concepts and Phenomena 73
1.1 Remarks on Presuppositions 73
1.2 Theoretical Framework 78
1.3 Scriptural Interpretation 83
1.4 Definition of Terminology 85
1.5 Tables of Parallels 90
2 Primary Allusion to Proverbs 1–9 95
2.1 Influence of Proverbs on 4Q525 95
2.2 Proverbs as a Source of Inspiration 102
2.3 Use of Proverbs and Rewriting Processes 111
3 Secondary Allusions to Psalm 91 and Deuteronomy 32 118
3.1 Introduction to the Source Texts 118
3.1.1 Song of Moses 118
3.1.2 Poem of Protection 121
3.2 Shared Imagery and Ideas 125
3.2.1 Divine Protection and Blessings 126
3.2.2 Serpents, Demons, and the Underworld 128
3.2.3 Other Terms and Topics 136
3.3 Interpretation of the Parallels 137
4 Major Echoes of Psalms 139
4.1 Influence of Entrance Liturgy Psalms 141
4.2 Influence of Psalms with Wisdom Elements 144
4.3 Concluding Reflections 148
5 Echoes of Deuteronomy 33 and Ben Sira 151
6 Conclusions 155
3 Genre, Settings, Functions 162
1 Genre: Wisdom Built on Proverbs 162
1.1 Literary Context of 4Q525 162
1.1.1 Wisdom as a Tradition 163
1.1.2 Wisdom as a Literary Genre 165
1.2 Genre of 4Q525 in Relation to Proverbs 1–9 169
1.2.1 Introduction to the Prototype Theory 169
1.2.2 Criterion I: Literary Form 171
1.2.3 Criterion II: Content of Instruction 174
1.2.4 Criterion III: Literary Function 184
1.3 Concluding Remarks 185
contents vii
2 The Educational Settings of 4Q525 187
2.1 Dates of Manuscript and Composition 187
2.2 4Q525 and the Sectarian Movement 189
2.3 Pedagogical Use of 4Q525 195
2.4 Concluding Remarks 200
3 Social Function: Identity Formation 200
3.1 Creating Groups and the Others 201
3.2 Blessing and Cursing in 4Q525 and its Context 203
3.2.1 Macarisms and the Description of Curses in
4Q525 203
3.2.2 Acts of Proclaiming Happiness, Blessing, and
Cursing 204
3.2.3 Antithetical Pairs of Blessing and Cursing 207
3.3 Macarisms, Curses, and Social Reality 209
3.3.1 Performative Role of Words 209
3.3.2 Macarisms and Curses as Speech Acts in 4Q525 210
4 Concluding Remarks 216
4 4Q525 and Jewish Pedagogy in Hellenistic Judaea 217
1 Curriculum of Wisdom Teaching 217
2 The Proverbs Tradition in the Late Second Temple Period 223
2.1 4Q525 and the Development of the Tradition 223
2.2 Wisdom of Proverbs in the Dead Sea Scrolls 230
2.2.1 Evidence for Proverbs 231
2.2.2 Relationship between 4Q184 and 4Q525 234
2.3 Role of Proverbs in Wisdom Teaching 237
2.4 Concluding Remarks 239
3 Wisdom and Torah Discourse 239
3.1 Merging of Torah into Wisdom 239
3.2 Torah Discourse of 4Q525 246
3.3 Hebrew Language and an Expanding Torah 251
3.4 Concluding Remarks 255
4 Relevance of 4Q525 for the Sectarian Movement 256
5 Conclusions 260
Conclusions 263
Bibliography 269
Index of Modern Authors 329
Index of Ancient Sources 337
Appendix: Reconstructed Scroll
Acknowledgements
This book is a revised version of my doctoral thesis, which I defended at the
University of Helsinki in late 2013. It is a delight to thank all the wise, warm,
and intelligent people who have contributed to this work, as well as to my grad-
ual and ongoing growth from a student towards a scholar. It has been a privi-
lege to have several outstanding teachers from whom to learn, with respect to
4Q525 in particular and the academic field of biblical and related studies in
general.
My story with the Dead Sea Scrolls began in Helsinki when I attended an
undergraduate seminar, led by Docent Hanne von Weissenberg, in 2007. In
that seminar, we received the fascinating task of translating some of these
ancient texts into Finnish for the very first time. I have been lucky to have von
Weissenberg as my teacher and mentor ever since. Her remarks on my work
have dispensed a plethora of insights, while her enthusiasm and positive grasp
guarantee that learning continues to be spirited, not to say exciting. Professor
Anneli Aejmelaeus has been my other supervisor since the beginning of my
doctoral studies in 2009. She has afforded an exemplar of an admirably meticu-
lous scholarly style, and her apt points on my writings have led me to sharpen
my arguments and to express them in a more lucid way.
This book would not be the same without the time spent abroad as part
of my doctoral candidacy. In 2010–2011, I had a major opportunity to study at
the University of Manchester. When leaving Finland, I had only a tentative
notion of my thesis in mind, but the year turned out to be crucial with regard
to its shape and purpose. Professor George J. Brooke has got the magical skill of
detecting connections between the smallest of details and colossal questions.
During my time in Manchester, he read preliminary drafts, which eventually
grew into chapters of this book, without sparing time and effort. Once again,
I benefitted from Professor Brooke’s visionary remarks when he acted as the
pre-examiner of my thesis, as well as in the preparation process of this book.
In 2011–2012, I spent another memorable and highly profitable year abroad
when I studied as a Fulbright grantee at Yale. I am most thankful for Professor
John J. Collins, who shared his eminent knowledge on the Scrolls and wisdom
literature. Professor Collins offered a myriad of valuable comments and was
immensely helpful, particularly regarding form-critical questions. My timing
at Yale was fortunate since it enabled me to attend some classes taught by
Professor Hindy Najman. I am grateful for being exposed to her fresh perspec-
tives on the study of ancient Judaism, which led me to develop and reformu-
late many of my own nascent ideas.
