Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryant J. Williams III" <bjwvmw AT com-pair.net>]

Dear Karl,

Regarding the DSS. The following is taken from
***The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation***
by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook
San Francisco: Michael, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook and 
Harper-Collins, 1996.

1QapGen 22:23-23:26
Pages 82-83,
    "Abraham battles the four kings of the east. Compare Genesis 14, whose 
narrative this portion of the Tales elaborates considerably. The author of 
the Tales is also concerned to update or identify the names of biblical 
peoples and places."
   " 23    Prior to those days Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, Amraphel, the 
king of Babylon, Arioch, the king of Cappadocia, and Tidal, king of Goiim, 
which 24 lies between the two rivers had come. They had waged war on Bera, 
the king of Sodom, Birsha, the king of Gomorrah, Shinab, the king of Admah, 
25 Shemiabad, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. All these gathered 
themselves together to battle in the Valley of Siddim. Now, the king of 26 
Elam and the kings with him proved stronger than the king of Sodom and all 
his allies. Thus they imposed tribute upon them.
    For twelve years they continued 27 to pay their tribute to the king of 
Elam, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. Consequently, in 
the fourteenth year the king of Elam sallied forth with 28 allies, and they 
ascended by way of the desert."

The key verses are 26-27,
    "26 Elam and the kings with him proved stronger than the king of Sodom 
and all his allies. Thus they imposed tribute upon them.
          For twelve years they continued 
    27 to pay their tribute to the king of Elam, but in the thirteenth year 
they rebelled against him. Consequently, in the fourteenth year the king of 
Elam              sallied forth with 28 allies, and they ascended by way of 
the desert."

Note also on Page 83, that in Column 23 of the same manuscript verse 12ff 
regarding the rescue of Lot by Abraham,
    "12 those who had bee captured he brought back.
        The king of Sodom heard that Abram had recovered all the captives 13 
and plunder, so he went up to meet him. He came to Salem, that is, Jerusalem, 
whereas Abram was encamped in the Valley 14 of Shaveh, that is the Valley of 
the King, the Valley of Beth Hakerem. Now Melchizedek, the king of Salem, 
provided 15 food and drink for Abram and all the men with him. He himself was 
a priest of the God Most High, and he blessed 16 Abram, saying, "Blessed be 
Abram by God Most High, the Lord of heaven and earth, Blessed be God Host 
High 17 who has closed your grasp about enemies."

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: K Randolph 
  To: Bryant J. Williams III 
  Cc: B-Hebrew 
  Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 7:08 AM
  Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Year 13 Hebrew Grammar


  Bryant:


  On Sat, Aug 27, 2011 at 11:15 PM, Bryant J. Williams III 
<bjwvmw AT com-pair.net> wrote:

    Dear Jim,

    Let us start from the beginning with the text at hand.

    Genesis 14:4-5:
    MT   "4 שְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה עָבְד֖וּ אֶת־כְּדָרְלָעֹ֑מֶר
    וּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה שָׁנָ֖ה מָרָֽדוּ׃
           5 וּבְאַרְבַּע֩ עֶשְׂרֵ֨ה שָׁנָ֜ה בָּ֣א כְדָרְלָעֹ֗מֶר 
וְהַמְּלָכִים֙
    אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתֹּ֔ו וַיַּכּ֤וּ אֶת־רְפָאִים֙ בְּעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת קַרְנַ֔יִם
    וְאֶת־הַזּוּזִ֖ים בְּהָ֑ם וְאֵת֙ הָֽאֵימִ֔ים בְּשָׁוֵ֖ה קִרְיָתָֽיִם׃

    LXX    4 δώδεκα ἔτη ἐδούλευον τῷ Χοδολλογομορ, τῷ δὲ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει
    ἀπέστησαν.  5 ἐν δὲ τῷ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει ἦλθεν Χοδολλογομορ καὶ οἱ
    βασιλεῖς οἱ μετ̓ αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέκοψαν τοὺς γίγαντας τοὺς ἐν Ασταρωθ 
Καρναιν καὶ
    ἔθνη ἰσχυρὰ ἅμα αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς Ομμαίους τοὺς ἐν Σαυη τῇ πόλει



    It will be noticed that the Hebrew text does indicate, by context, 12 
years, in
    the13th year, in the 14th year; although the Hebrew could, possibly, 
indicate
    they served 12 years, they rebelled 13 years, in the 14th year 
Chedorlaomer
    arrived (26 total years). It is evident that the LXX (so also the Vulgate 
- not
    listed) using the dative case in 14b, τῷ δὲ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ, followed by ἐν 
δὲ τῷ
    τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ in 5a, understood the text to be the former. Yigal's 
posts
    does indicate that some Rabbinic sources read the latter, but not all. Nir
    Cohen's formulation of the Hebrew text is also possible, but not probable
    because of context. Furthermore, it is evident that the four different
    translations above: 2 FE and 2 DE ALL translate it as the former (12th, 
in the
    13th, in the 14th year). BTW, all the translations that I have, about 20, 
have
    what the English texts above translate. That does not mean that one 
trusts the
    translations, but it behooves one to have ALL the evidence put forth to go
    against how the Hebrew is translated.

    Then there is the problem with the whole Amarna issue. Abraham is circa 
20th
    Century BCE (2000). He is NOT the 14th Century BCE (1400)  which is the 
time of
    Akhenatan's rule. So who ruled in Jerusalem, Meggido, Lachish, Sechem, 
etc.
    really does not help identifying the year Abraham was in Hebron, when you 
are
    looking in the wrong century; you are about 600 years off.

    Rev. Bryant J. Williams III



  It is more accurate to say that the translators that you referenced all 
agreed with the LXX over the MT.


  As for the dating, Jim Stinehart has long ago indicated that he believes 
that Genesis is not a historical book, rather a set of legends that were 
compiled centuries after the event. Therefore, to argue dates is useless with 
him.


  Does anyone know if there is a copy of this passage in the DSS? It would be 
interesting to compare if available.


  Karl W. Randolph.


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