"The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal."

Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies n. 23/1 (2019) The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal Corrado Martone After a brief survey of the early history of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery from the perspective of the provenance of archaeological artifacts, this article offers a table of the so-called “E” series fragments from Qumran, that is to say those PAM photos containing only fragments coming from controlled excavations. What remains to be done is to identify each fragment of each text contained in the “E” series photographs. 1. Introduction The problem of the provenance of archaeological artifacts is often debated nowadays, 1 and the Qumran discoveries have been involved in such discussions (see Tigchelaar 2017). Two recent volumes devoted to the so-called post-2002 Qumran fragments have provoked controversy mainly because of the impossibility of tracing the provenance of these findings (Elgvin, Davis, and Langlois 2016; Tov, Davis, and Duke 2016; Tigchelaar 2016, 2017; Martone 2017). The museum where they have been displayed has issued a press release informing the public that at least five of the fragments are modern forgeries, as reported by Christina Caron, “Museum of Bible Removes Dead Sea Scrolls It Suspects Are Fake” (The New York Times, October 23, 2018).2 This is not the place to discuss this matter, nor the rather odd fact that among those disputing the authenticity of the fragments is one of the editors of the Brill volume that published the fakes (Davis et al. 2017), let alone the general issue of the reliability of today’s fashionable “blind” peer review, which is the object of a recent open letter to Brill,3 the publisher of one of the volumes in question. 1 See e.g. Cuno (2009); for a different viewpoint see Porten and Yardeni (2007). 2Accessed December 20, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/arts/design/bible-museum-fake-scrolls-dead- sea.html. 3 See https://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/open-letter-to-brill-fake-and-unprovenanced-manuscripts/ accessed Nov 17th 2018, it should be noted that the letter is also signed by some collaborators to the volumes quoted above (fn. 1). #101 Corrado Martone – The Excavated Fragments from Qumran 2. Provenance and Unprovenanced Artifacts To begin with, the present short note will focus on some traits of the first discoveries and acquisitions of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the provenance of which is — to say the least — debatable when measured against today’s standards for evaluating archaeological artifacts. A few examples will suffice. As is well known, one of the first scholars to learn of the Dead Sea discoveries was John Trever.4 Trever recounts that on February 16, 1948, a priest from St. Mark's Syrian Orthodox Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem phoned him to inquire about some “Ancient Hebrew manuscripts.” Although skeptical, Trever agreed to speak with him. The priest then informed him that while working in the convent’s library he had come across five scrolls in ancient Hebrew on which their catalogue had no information. He had thus decided to call the American School of Oriental Research for assistance. The next day, the priest came to the School and, opening a small leather suitcase, showed Trever five scrolls wrapped in newspapers as well as a small fragment. Thereupon, he unwrapped one of the smaller ones “which has since proved to be a part of the Sectarian Document” (Trever 1948: 46). 5 The situation of the first discovery is reaffirmed in 1950 by Millar Burrows in his General Introduction to the editiones principes of 1QpHab and 1QIsaa (Burrows, Trever, and Brownlee 1950: ix.): The full story of the discovery and the transactions which followed it cannot even yet be told: details have been gradually coming to light but some points are still and may always remain obscure. 4 For a more detailed account see Trever (1965, 1977). 5 This is the opening line of his report, that deserves to be quoted in some detail: “Sunday morning, February 15, 1948, Dr. Millar Burrows, Director of the Jerusalem School, his wife, and Miss Ann Putcamp left by taxi for a two-week trip to Iraq. [...] Wednesday afternoon Omar, the cook, came to my room saying that someone was calling for the Director to inquire about some “ancient Hebrew manuscripts.” A bit skeptical of the expression “ancient Hebrew,” I went to the telephone to find that Father Butros Sowmy, a priest of St. Mark's Syrian Orthodox Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem, was on the wire. He said that while working in the library of the Convent, cataloguing the books, he had come upon five scrolls in ancient Hebrew about which their catalogue carried no information. He added that he remembered receiving a cordial welcome at the American School of Oriental Research some ten years earlier, and hence had decided to call the School for help on the scrolls. Since we had been avoiding visits to the Old City, I asked him if he would come to the School the next afternoon at 2:30, assuring him that I would do everything possible to secure the information he desired. Promptly at 2:30 the next day, Father Sowmy appeared with his brother, Karim Sowmy, a customs official at Allenby Bridge. [...] Opening their small leather suitcase, they showed me five scrolls wrapped in newspapers and a small fragment (4 x 6 cm.). Carefully they unwrapped one of the smaller ones, which has since proved to be a part of the Sectarian Document.” #102 Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies n. 23/1 (2019) As can be seen, the problem of the provenance of these fragments, was neither noted nor mentioned. The very fact that some fifteen years later Trever wrote an article entitled When was Qumran Cave I discovered is telling in this regard (Trever 1961). In other words, it indicates that we do not know for certain when the first Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, as one can also deduce from the words of another pioneer of the Scrolls’ discovery, Eleazar Lipa Sukenik, who opened the introduction of his editio princeps of 1QM and 1QH by stating that the precise time of the discoveries was unclear (Sukenik 1954: 13). A similar account of the negotiations over the scrolls was offered by Frank Moore Cross.6 When in Beirut, he received an anonymous call, followed by a rather frightening meeting aimed at purchasing some fragments from “a silver-haired gentleman who spoke French-accented English”. Examples could be multiplied: it is hardly necessary to recall the unclear steps of the acquisition of the Temple Scroll (see Collins 2013: 19), 7 or the fact that we simply do not know anything about the provenance of the codex optimus of the Hebrew Bible, the famous Leningrad codex penned by the Ben Asher scribal school.8 Be that as it may, we can conclude this quick survey on the first discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the perspective of today’s standards for authenticating unprovenanced archaeological artifacts as voiced by D. Barthélemy’s ingenuous statement on the Greek Minor Prophets scroll from Nahal Hever (8HevXII gr) in his seminal monograph, Les devanciers d’Aquila (Barthélemy 1963: 163): 6 “Later in the day the same person, who remained nameless, called and said they were satisfied I was who I claimed to be and proposed that I meet them that night at 11 p.m. under an arch in the Old Suq of Beirut—alone. I argued that my associates should come along. To no avail. So I found my way by cab to the designated rendezvous, where the cab driver left me after asking if I really wished to be left alone in such a place. After he left, I debated with myself. Should I stand in a shadow or in plain view on the street? It occurred to me that the person or persons whom I was to meet might figure that I had come prepared to pay the $1 million or more asked per scroll and that they might take unpleasant measures to extract money from me. The place was perfect for a robbery. So I thought. No one was to be seen. It was very dark. Garbage littered the walkways under the arches. One body more or less might not be noticed for days. After a very long time passed—perhaps ten minutes—a Mercedes came into sight, rolled past me standing in the archway, and circled out of sight again. A few minutes later it came back into view and paused in front of me. A door was opened, and I was invited into the back seat by a silver-haired gentleman who spoke French-accented English. I immediately noticed a man with his head hidden under the dash sitting to the right of the driver. His brachycephalic skull was familiar. So I said, “Greetings, O Kando, how are you?” (Marḥaba ya‑Kando, kêf elḥâl?). He rose, grinning, thanked God several times, asked me about my health, and shortly ran out of Arabic I understood” (Cross and Shanks 1994: 135-36). 7 The opening of Yadin’s edition of the Temple Scroll is more than telling in this regard: “[t]he long and tortuous path which culminated in the acquisition of the scroll began with a letter sent to me on 1 August 1960 by a resident of Virginia (U.S.A.), to whom, since he must for the present retain his anonymity, I shall refer as Mr Z ”; see Yadin (1983: 1). 8 “We do not know where Firkovich found the Leningrad Codex, nor precisely when” (Freedman, Beck, and Sanders 1998: XV). As a sidenote, we may add the the situation of the Christian Greek manuscripts is not so different, see Nongbri (2018). #103 Corrado Martone – The Excavated Fragments from Qumran La plupart des fragments de ce rouleau ont été apportés à l'École Biblique Française de Jérusalem (Jordanie) par des bédouins en deux livraisons au cours de l'été 1952. Ils nous ont été présentés comme provenant d'une grotte située plus au sud que celles du wadi Murabbaʽât. 3. From Unprovenanced to Provenanced 8HevXII gr offers us the opportunity to turn to the second part of this contribution and focus on how to correct this situation. In fact, the new edition of the same scroll appeared in 1990. In this publication, Emanuel Tov gives us some new pieces of information on the actual site of the discoveries, that is, Nahal Hever and not wadi Murabbaʽât (Tov, Kraft, and Parsons 1990: 1). More importantly, Tov notes that this site has been identified thanks to a subsequent discovery of fragments of the same scroll during controlled excavations at the location (Tov, Kraft, and Parsons 1990: 1; see also Barthélemy and Milik 1955: 14). In other words, fragments discovered during controlled excavations, if identified as parts of the same manuscript as unprovenanced fragments may confirm the provenance of the latter. This problem, and a possible way to resolve it, were likewise clear to Frank Moore Cross, who, in fact, stated in an interview with W. Fields that ...the material acquired from the Bedouin was taken out of the many small boxes in which it was stored and combined with what the archaeologists had dug from Cave 4 with all the material bought by the museum and the Antiquities Department and then filled up that room with plates of fragments. I had worked for the summer, for about four months, in a little side room with just the excavated material. So I at least knew perfectly well where that stuff came from.9 In fact, in September 1952, Qumran cave 4 was discovered and excavated by unauthorized people, who, incidentally, confused the fragments coming from what had originally been two caves (caves 4a and 4b). To avoid further illegal and potentially damaging excavations, a team lead by Roland De Vaux went to the site to begin controlled operations. About 600 manuscripts were identified as 4Q manuscripts, and about 150 of them were identified as coming from controlled excavations. In addition, photos were taken of these fragments and filed in the PAM (Palestine Archaeological Museum) tables under the serial number sequence 40.962-985 (Tov and Pfann 1993: 114; see also Reed 2007: 206-07). This is the so-called “E” (excavated) series, whose photographs contain only fragments coming from controlled excavations. 9 As reported in Fields (2009: 196); emphasis mine. #104 Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies n. 23/1 (2019) In order to provide a clearer view of this situation, we present here a table of the Qumran texts contained in those PAM photos, based on the microfiche catalogue (Tov and Pfann 1993: 20-72; Reed 2007: 207, fn. 33);10 what remains to be done is to identify each fragment of each text contained in the “E” series photographs.11 Thus, the identification of manuscript fragments found during controlled excavations will allow for the identification of unprovenanced fragments belonging to the the same manuscript. In other words, this survey will make it possible to establish the provenance of fragments found in uncontrolled excavations, as it is clear that if fragments of a given manuscript come from controlled excavations, other fragments of the same manuscript, even if unprovenanced, may be considered authentic. In addition, it is hardly necessary to note that such a survey will allow for a revised assessment of the statistics on the provenanced and unprovenanced Qumran fragments. 12 The Fragments of the “E” Series13 10 4Q number Title PAM Number 4Q1 Gen-Exoda 40.968; 40.983 4Q22 paleoExodm 40.970 4Q24 Levb 40.968 4Q26 Levd 40.976 4Q26a Leve 40.967 4Q27 Numb 40.963; 40.978; 40.979; 40.982 4Q30 Deutc 40.968 4Q34 Deutg 40.967 4Q37 Deutj 40.967 4Q39 Deutl 40.978 It should be noted that some titles and serial numbers have changed over time: an update in this regard will be focus of a further study. On the complex and somehow confusing history of the titles of the Qumran texts see Najman and Tigchelaar (2014). 11 I am grateful to Eibert Tigchelaar for informing me about his ongoing project in this regard. 12 Marcello Fidanzio and his team will offer further assessment for the Cave 11 fragments, see Fidanzio (2017: 165-67; Fidanzio, forthcoming). I am grateful to Marcello Fidanzio for providing me with a pre-print of this essay. 13 Each photo is linked to the the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library archive (https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/home). #105 Corrado Martone – The Excavated Fragments from Qumran 4Q51 Sama 40.967; 40.971; 40.978; 40.984 4Q52 Samb 40.967 4Q62 Isah 40.967 4Q63 Isaj 40.964 4Q68 Isao 40.967 4Q72 Jerc 40.963 4Q74 Ezekb 40.967; 40.968 4Q80 XIIe 40.967 4Q84 Psb 40.967 4Q94 Psm 40.962 4Q103 Provb 40.967 4Q109 Qoha 40.967 4Q112 Dana 40.965 4Q115 Dand 40.975; 40.985 4Q121 LXXNum 40.970; 40.975; 40.976 4Q127 pap paraExod gr 40.977 4Q151 Mez C 40.976 4Q163 papIsac 40.972 4Q165 Isae 40.978 4Q179 apocrLam A 40.962 4Q204 Enc ar BE 40.965 4Q217 papJubb 40.974 4Q227 psJubc 40.985 4Q248 Acts of a Greek King 40.962 4Q249 pap cryptA MSM 40.974 4Q255 papSa 40.972 4Q258 Sd 40.962 4Q261 Sg 40.962 #106 Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies n. 23/1 (2019) 4Q270 De 40.969 4Q276 Tohorot Bb 40.962 4Q289 Berd 40.962 4Q321 Calendrical doc Ba 40.966 4Q334 Ordo 40.962 4Q362 Unidentified 40.982 4Q365 RPb 40.968 4Q365 RPc 40.963; 40.967 4Q367 RPe 40.963 4Q378 Psalms of Josha 40.964; 40.969 4Q381 Non-Canonical Psalms B 40.962 4Q384 pap apocrJer B? 40.974 4Q385 psEzeka 40.975 4Q387 psEzekc 40.962 4Q387a psMosb 40.962 4Q387b apocrJer D 40.962 4Q391 pap psEzek?e 40.972 4Q395 MMTb 40.964 4Q412 Sap Work 40.963 4Q418 Sap Work Aa 40.962; 40.964 4Q422 of Gen and Exod 40.966 4Q432 papHodf 40.972 4Q440 Hodayot-Like Text 40.969 4Q485 papProph 40.977 4Q487 papSapb 40.974 4Q489 pap Apocalypse ar 40.974 4Q491 Ma 40.976 4QM127a Unclass frg 40.964 #107 Corrado Martone – The Excavated Fragments from Qumran 4Q496 papMf 40.981 4Q497 papMg? 40.981 4Q499 papHymPr 40.980 4Q502 papRitMar 40.977 4Q503 papPrQuot 40.980 4Q506 papDibHamc 40.981 4Q508 PrFetesb 40.975 4Q509 PrFetesc 40.974; 40.980 4Q512 papRitPur 40.981 4Q518 papUnclass 40.980; 40.981 4Q519 papUnclass 40.980; 40.981 4Q525 Wisdom Text with Beatitudes 40.969 4Q529 Words of Michael ar 40.965 4Q532 Book of Giantsd ar 40.965 4Q545 Visions of Amramc ar 40.965 4Q558 papVisb ar 40.972 Mur 6 Unclass text 40.975; 40.978; 40.981 References Barthélemy, Dominique, and Józef Tadeusz Milik (eds.). 1955. Qumran Cave I (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 1). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Barthélemy, Dominique, ed. 1963. Les devanciers d’Aquila : première publication intégrale du texte des fragments du Dodécaprophéton trouvés dans le désert de Juda (Supplements to Vetus testamentum 10). Leiden: Brill. Burrows, Millar, John C. Trever, and William H. Brownlee (eds.). 1950. The Dead Sea scrolls of St. Mark’s Monastery. 2 vols. New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research. Caron, Christina. 2018. “Museum of Bible Removes Dead Sea Scrolls It Suspects Are Fake.” The New York Times, October 23, 2018. Accessed December 20, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/arts/design/bible-museum-fake-scrolls-dead-sea.html. Collins, John J. 2013. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books). Princeton and New Jersey: Princeton University Press. #108 Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies n. 23/1 (2019) Cross, Frank Moore. 1992. “Some Notes on a Generation of Qumran Studies”. In: The Madrid Qumran Congress (2 Vols.): Proceedings of the International Congress on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Madrid 18-21 March, 1991 Vol. I (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 11), edited by Julio Trebolle Barrera and Luis Vegas Montaner, 1:1-14. Leiden: Brill. Cross, Frank Moore and Hershel Shanks. 1994. Frank Moore Cross: Conversations with a Bible Scholar. Washington, D.C: Biblical Archaeology Society. Cross, Frank Moore, Donald W. Parry, Richard J. Saley, and Eugene Ulrich. 2005. Qumran Cave 4. XII. 1-2 Samuel (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 17). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Cuno, James B. (ed.). 2009. Whose Culture? The Promise of Museums and the Debate over Antiquities. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Elgvin, Torleif, Kipp Davis, and Michaël Langlois, eds. 2016. Gleanings from the Caves: Dead Sea Scrolls and Artifacts from the Schøyen Collection (The Library of Second Temple Studies 71). London – New York: Bloomsbury T & T Clark. Fidanzio, Marcello. 2017. “L’agenda Di Qumran”. In: Terrasancta II. Ricerche Storiche e Filologiche, edited by Marcello Fidanzio and Giorgio Paximadi, 151-167. Lugano and Siena: Eupress-Cantagalli. Fidanzio, Marcello. forthcoming. “Note: The Retrieval of Unknown Manuscript Fragments from Cave 11Q”. In: Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha: IV A: The Caves: Cave 11Q: Archeology and New Scroll Fragments, edited by Jean-Baptiste Humbert and Marcello Fidanzio. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Fields, Weston W. 2009. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History. Volume 1: 1947-1960. Leiden: Brill. Freedman, David Noel, Astrid B. Beck, and James A. Sanders (eds.). 1998. The Leningrad Codex: a facsimile edition. Leiden: Brill. Martone, Corrado. 2017. Review of La biblioteca di Qumran, by Kathell Berthelot. Rivista biblica 68: 259-261. Najman, Hindy, and Eibert Tigchelaar. 2014. “A Preparatory Study of Nomenclature and Text Designation in the Dead Sea Scrolls”. Revue de Qumran 103: 305–326. Nongbri, Brent. 2018. God’s Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts. New Haven: Yale University Press. Porten, Bezalel, and Ada Yardeni. 2007. “Why the Unprovenanced Idumean Ostraca Should Be Published”. In: New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean, and Cuneiform (Hebrew Bible Monographs 8), edited by Meir Lubetski, 73-98. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press. Reed, Stephen A. 2007. “Find-Sites of the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Dead Sea Discoveries 14/2: 199–221. Sukenik, Eleazar Lipa (ed.). 1954. Otsar Ha-Megilot Ha-Genuzot: Shebi-Yede Ha-Universiṭah Ha-ʻIvrit. Jerusalem: Mosad Byaliḳ ṿeha-Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit. Tigchelaar, Eibert. 2016. “Review: Emanuel Tov, Kipp Davis, Robert Duke (eds.). Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments in the Museum Collection.” Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 92/3: 712–713. Tigchelaar, Eibert. 2017. “A Provisional List of Unprovenanced, Twenty-First Century, Dead Sea Scrolls-like Fragments.” Dead Sea Discoveries 24/2: 173–188. #109 Corrado Martone – The Excavated Fragments from Qumran Tov, Emanuel, Kipp Davis, and Robert R. Duke (eds.). 2016. Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments in the Museum Collection (Publications of Museum of the Bible, Semitic Texts 1). Leiden and Boston: Brill. Tov, Emanuel, Robert A. Kraft, and P. J. Parsons (eds.). 1990. The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Naḥal Ḥever: 8 Ḥev XII Gr (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 8). Oxford – New York: Clarendon Press and Oxford University Press. Tov, Emanuel, and Stephen J. Pfann (eds.). 1993. The Dead Sea Scrolls on Microfiche: A Comprehensive Facsimile Edition of the Texts from the Judean Desert: Companion Volume. Leiden and New York: Leiden: Brill. Trever, John C. 1948. “The Discovery of the Scrolls.” The Biblical Archaeologist 11/3: 46–57. Trever, John C. 1961. “When Was Qumran Cave I Discovered?” Revue de Qumran 3/1: 135–141. Trever, John C. 1965. The Untold Story of Qumran. Westwood, N.J: F.H. Revell Co. Trever, John C. 1977. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Yadin, Yigael (ed.). 1983. The Temple Scroll. 3 vols. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. Corrado Martone, PhD (1995) in Jewish Studies, University of Turin, is Associated tenured Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature and Jewish History at the University of Turin. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Journal Henoch - Historical and Textual Studies in Ancient and Medieval Judaism and Christianity and Secretary of Revue de Qumran. Corrado has extensively written on Jewish history and literature of the Second temple period and on textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. He is the author of the most complete Italian translation of the Qumran texts and of an Introduction to the Second Temple Judaism. He can be reached at: corrado.martone@unito.it. #110