Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>]

> At 08:20 AM 9/16/02 -0600, you wrote:
> > > A statement was made that the DSS did not contain Ps. 22:16.  In "The 
> > > Dead
> > > Sea Scrolls Bible" the verse is listed.  It states that the phrase in 
> > > the
> > > MS they have has "they have pierced" and not "like a lion" as in most
> > > Hebrew MSS.  Anyone have any further information on this?
> > >
> >Psalm 22:16, in a fairly fragmentary state, is preserved in 4QPs(f) and is
> >published in DJD 16, transcription on page 88.  The reading is uncertain; 
> >the
> >DJD transcription shows 2 uncertain letters in this word, KR, followed by 
> >W in
> >brackets (indicating a restoration by the editor).  So it looks like this:
> >
> >K?R?[W
> >
> >I'm guessing that the reason the DSS Bible reads "they pierced" is because 
> >the
> >aleph appears to have been elided, something that likely wouldn't happen 
> >with
> >the word for "lion."  I'd be inclined to agree, but wouldn't go to the 
> >stake for it.
> 
> 
> It has been a while since I looked at it on the photos that  Eisenman put 
> out, but I recall that the aleph was fairly clear but that the last letter 
> had a mark through it and could be either a yod or a vov, possible a long 
> yod. The general quality of the scribe of that fragment was not impressive.
> 
I haven't seen the Eisenman photo, but I'd suggest a look at the 
plate in DJD 16 as well.  It's either plate XIII or XIV, I don't have it in 
front of me at the moment.  I'm going by the transcription on page 
88.

Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
"Don't let your mind wander.  
It's too little to be left alone."