4QInstruction
Encyclopedia
4QInstruction, or Sapiential Work A, or (Hebrew) Musar leMevin, is a document that is preserved in at least seven fragmentary manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls
; these are 4Q415, 4Q416, 4Q417, 4Q418, 4Q418a, 4Q423, and 1Q26. Cave 1 materials were first published by Józef Milik
in DJD 1 in 1955. Cave 4 materials were published in the Discoveries in the Judean Desert series in 1999 by John Strugnell and Daniel Harrington. The document is written in Hebrew, is likely to be categorized as "Non-Sectarian" or, perhaps, "Pre-Sectarian". There is some consensus that it dates to the third century BCE.
This document continues to receive so much attention because it is viewed, on the one hand, as a wisdom document and yet, on the other, has multiple apocalyptic motifs that arise alongside sapiential ones. Many major studies have asked questions about the relationship of wisdom to apocalypticism which has been part of a larger question about categorizing genres, schools and worldviews in Judaism in the Second Temple Period.
One of the most discussed passages (4Q417 1 i lines 15-18) from this document is a fragmentary and cryptic description of what many view as angelic involvement in the creation of humanity, which is apparently described in reference to Genesis 1:26. Humanity is divided into those who are among the "Spirit of Flesh" and the "Spiritual People". In addition to the fragmentary nature of these lines and the broader context, the identification of the "Vision of Hagu" and the "sons of s/Seth" have led to competing views about implications for the type of dualism one should find in 4QInstruction. A recent summary of interpretations is given by Florentino García Martínez.
Among the major studies published on the document are those by Armin Lange (1995), Daniel J. Harrington
(1996) , Torleif Elgvin (1998), John J. Collins
(1999; 2003) , Eibert Tigchelaar
(2001), Matthew Goff (2003), Cana Werman (2004), Benjamin Wold
(2005), and Jean-Sebastian Rey (2009).
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
; these are 4Q415, 4Q416, 4Q417, 4Q418, 4Q418a, 4Q423, and 1Q26. Cave 1 materials were first published by Józef Milik
Józef Milik
Józef Tadeusz Milik was a Polish biblical scholar and a former Catholic priest. Fluent in Polish, Russian, Italian, French, German, and English plus many ancient languages Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Georgian, Ugaritic, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and...
in DJD 1 in 1955. Cave 4 materials were published in the Discoveries in the Judean Desert series in 1999 by John Strugnell and Daniel Harrington. The document is written in Hebrew, is likely to be categorized as "Non-Sectarian" or, perhaps, "Pre-Sectarian". There is some consensus that it dates to the third century BCE.
This document continues to receive so much attention because it is viewed, on the one hand, as a wisdom document and yet, on the other, has multiple apocalyptic motifs that arise alongside sapiential ones. Many major studies have asked questions about the relationship of wisdom to apocalypticism which has been part of a larger question about categorizing genres, schools and worldviews in Judaism in the Second Temple Period.
One of the most discussed passages (4Q417 1 i lines 15-18) from this document is a fragmentary and cryptic description of what many view as angelic involvement in the creation of humanity, which is apparently described in reference to Genesis 1:26. Humanity is divided into those who are among the "Spirit of Flesh" and the "Spiritual People". In addition to the fragmentary nature of these lines and the broader context, the identification of the "Vision of Hagu" and the "sons of s/Seth" have led to competing views about implications for the type of dualism one should find in 4QInstruction. A recent summary of interpretations is given by Florentino García Martínez.
Among the major studies published on the document are those by Armin Lange (1995), Daniel J. Harrington
Daniel J. Harrington
Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. is a professor and the Chair of the Biblical Studies Department at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry . A member of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Harrington has served as editor of New Testament Abstracts since 1972...
(1996) , Torleif Elgvin (1998), John J. Collins
John J. Collins
John J. Collins is the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism & Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. He is noted for his research in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the apocryphal works of the Second Temple period including the sectarian works found in Dead Sea Scrolls and their relation to...
(1999; 2003) , Eibert Tigchelaar
Eibert Tigchelaar
Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar is a leading authority and author on the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Formerly he held the position of research associate at the Qumran Instituut , Rijksuniversiteit Groningen , was appointed to a professorship at Florida State University, before becoming research...
(2001), Matthew Goff (2003), Cana Werman (2004), Benjamin Wold
Benjamin Wold
Benjamin Wold is lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins at Trinity College, Dublin, School of Religions and Theology.-Publications:* Women, Men and Angels: Allusions to Genesis Creation Traditions in Musar leMevin...
(2005), and Jean-Sebastian Rey (2009).