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The Qumran Psalms Manuscripts and the Consecutive Arrangement of Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter GERALD H. WILSON University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 AMONG THE THOUSANDS of fragments of ancient religious documents discovered in the caves near Khirbet Qumran and called the "Dead Sea Scrolls" (because of their proximity to it) were numerous fragments contain- ing portions of psalms known previously from the canonical Hebrew Psalter. Of the eleven caves in which manuscripts were found, seven have yielded a combined total of more than 30 distinct psalm texts. By far the most numer- ous are the collections of Cave 4(18 distinct MSS) and Cave 11 (5 distinct MSS). The documents vary considerably in extent (from a few letters to thirty-five columns) as well as in time of origin (from 175 B.C. to A.D. 68). It is hardly possible to overestimate the importance of these texts for our understanding of the canonical Hebrew Psalter. In the first place, they represent the earliest known exemplars of canonical psalms (almost 1,000 years earlier than any Hebrew Psalter text previously known). 1 Further, the tendency of the Qumran scribes to present the canonical psalms in arrange- ments other than that preserved in the "standard" Masoretic text of the Psalter as well as their propensity to include additional "apocryphal" psalms along with the canonical ones, has given rise to a continuing controversy regarding the nature and authority of the Qumran texts and their relation- ship to the history of the transmission of the canonical text. The debate 1 J. A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1967) 9-10. 377

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Page 1: Wilson, the Qumran Psalms Manuscripts and the Consecutive Arrangement of Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter

The Qumran Psalms Manuscripts and the Consecutive Arrangement of Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter

GERALD H. WILSON University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602

AMONG THE THOUSANDS of fragments of ancient religious documents discovered in the caves near Khirbet Qumran and called the "Dead Sea Scrolls" (because of their proximity to it) were numerous fragments contain­ing portions of psalms known previously from the canonical Hebrew Psalter. Of the eleven caves in which manuscripts were found, seven have yielded a combined total of more than 30 distinct psalm texts. By far the most numer­ous are the collections of Cave 4(18 distinct MSS) and Cave 11 (5 distinct MSS). The documents vary considerably in extent (from a few letters to thirty-five columns) as well as in time of origin (from 175 B.C. to A.D. 68).

It is hardly possible to overestimate the importance of these texts for our understanding of the canonical Hebrew Psalter. In the first place, they represent the earliest known exemplars of canonical psalms (almost 1,000 years earlier than any Hebrew Psalter text previously known).1 Further, the tendency of the Qumran scribes to present the canonical psalms in arrange­ments other than that preserved in the "standard" Masoretic text of the Psalter as well as their propensity to include additional "apocryphal" psalms along with the canonical ones, has given rise to a continuing controversy regarding the nature and authority of the Qumran texts and their relation­ship to the history of the transmission of the canonical text. The debate

1 J. A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1967) 9-10.

377

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polarizes largely around two positions: those who view the variant Qumran data as evidence that at a late date (A.D. 50) the canonical Psalter, although authoritative, was not yet "fixed" in arrangement or content (e.g., J. A. Sanders);2

and those who view the variant material as non-authoritative, liturgical adaptations of a previously fixed Masoretic Psalter (as early as the 4th cen­tury B.C.) (e.g., P. W. Skehan, S. Talmon, M. H. Goshen-Gottstein).3

Since the proponents of these opposing views frequently buttress their arguments by emphasizing or disparaging the amount of conflicting data in comparison to the amount of supportive data, it would seem essential for an informed evaluation of their claims to determine just how much of the Qumran psalms data actually provides evidence of conflict with the canoni­cal arrangement. In the following study, recourse was made to all the avail­able Qumran psalms MSS.4 The material relating to the consecutive arrange­ment of psalms has been variously arranged to demonstrate: (1) the extent

2 Sanders has presented his views in numerous articles. The following are especially pertinent: "Variorum in the Psalms Scroll (1 lQPsa)," ZAW76 (1964) 57-75; "Cave 11 Surprises and the Questions of Canon," McCormick Quarterly Review 21 (1968) 284-98; reprinted in New Directions in Biblical Archaeology (ed. D. N. Freedman and J. C. Greenfield; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1969) 101-16; "The Qumran Psalms Scroll (HQPsa) Reviewed," On Language, Culture, and Religion: In Honor of Eugene A. Nida (The Hague: Mouton, 1974)79-99. See also Sanders's book, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (n. 1 above).

3 S. Talmon,"Pisqah be3emsac pasuq and 1 IQPsV Textus5 (1966) 11-21; M. H. Goshen-Gottstein, "The Psalms Scroll ( 11 QPsa): A Problem of Canon and Text," Textus 5 (1966) 22-33; P. W. Skehan, "Qumran and Old Testament Criticism," Qumran: sa piété, sa théologie et son milieu (éd. M. Delcor; BETL 46; Gembloux: Duculot, 1978) 163-82; P. W. Skehan, "The Scrolls and the Old Testament Text," McCormick Quarterly Review 21 (1968) 272-83 (references are to the reprint of this article in New Directions in Biblical Archaeology, 89-100).

4 The late Prof. P. W. Skehan was most helpful in providing me with his typed tran­scription of all the 4Q psalms MSS entrusted to him, as well as a photograph of the 4QPsa

fragments. Though the precise contents of each text can be verified from the primary editions and instances of confirmation of or conflict with the canonical sequence can be gleaned from the charts provided in this article, I provide below a summary of the total instances of confirmation and conflict for each pertinent MS along with bibliographical references to primary editions where available.

4QPsa: P. W. Skehan, "The Qumran Manuscripts and Textual Criticism," Volume du congrès international pour l'étude de l'Ancien Testament, Strasbourg 1956 (VTSup 4; Leiden: Brill, 1957) 148-60 (reprinted in D. N. Freedman and J. C. Greenfield [eds.], Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1975] 212-25). Instances of confirmation - 7; instances of conflict - 1 .

4QPsb: P. W. Skehan, "A Psalm Manuscript from Qumran (4QPsb)," CBQ 26 (1964) 313-22. Instances of confirmation - 5; instances of conflict - 1 .

4QPsc: My discussion is based on Skehan's transcription. Instances of confirmation - 5; instances of conflict - 0.

4QPsd: My discussion is based on Skehan*s transcription. Instances of confirmation - 0; instances of conflict - 1 .

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QUMRAN PSALMS MANUSCRIPTS 379

and source of evidence which supports the canonical arrangment; (2) the extent and source of conflicting evidence; (3) the amount of overlap which exists between these two types of evidence; (4) the relation of this evidence to the five-book division of the canonical Psalter; and (5) the correlation of supporting and/or conflicting data with the age of the manuscripts. I begin with an analysis of the distribution of data supporting the canonical ar­rangement in the Qumran MSS and then proceed directly to the analysis of conflicting evidence.

4QPse\ My discussion is based on Skehan's transcription. Instances of confirmation - 4; instances of conflict - 1(?).

4QPsf\ For cols. I-IV, VI-VII and frgs. 1 and 2,1 am dependent on Skehan's transcription. For cols. VII to the end, see J. Starcky, "Psaumes apocryphes de la grotte 4 de Qumran," RB73 (1966) 353-71. Instances of confirmation - 0; instances of conflict - 1.

4QPs*> h· J'k'l· m·n· P: These texts are too fragmentary to yield any data regarding psalm sequence. See Skehan's transcription.

4QPs°: My discussion is based on Skehan's transcription. Instances of confirmation - 1 ; instances of conflict - 0.

4QPs«: J. T. Milik, "Deux documents inédits du Désert de Juda," Bib 38 (1957) 245-55. Instances of confirmation - 2; instances of conflict - 1 .

4QPsr: My discussion is based on Skehan's transcription. Instances of confirmation - 1 ; instances of conflict - 0.

4QPss: My discussion is based on Skehan's transcription. Instances of confirmation - 1; instances of conflict - 0.

llQPs0: This text is available in two editions: J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qum­ran (DJD 4; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965); and J. A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (see n. 1). See also Y. Yadin, "Another Fragment (E) of the Psalms Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 (1 lQPs*)," Textus 5 (1966) 1-10. Instances of confirmation -18; instances of conflict - 24.

HQPsb: J. P. M. van der Ploeg, "Fragments d'un manuscrit de psaumes de Qumran (1 lQPsb)," RB 74 (1967) 408-12. Instances of confirmation - 0; instances of conflict - 2.

UQPsc: My discussion is dependent, in part, on private communications from J. P. M. van der Ploeg. Van der Ploeg has also published a brief catalogue of the contents of this MS in "L'Edition des manuscrits de la grotte XI de Qumran par l'Académie Royale des Sciences des Pays-Bas," Acta orientalia neerlandica: Proceedings of the Congress of the Dutch Oriental Society. Held in Leiden 8-9 May, 1970 (ed. P. W. Pestman; Leiden: Brill, 1971) 43-45. The largest fragment has been published in J. P. M. van der Ploeg, "Fragments d'un psautier de Qumran," Symbolae biblicae et mesopotamicae Francisco Mario Theodoro de Liagre Bohl dedicatae, (éd. M. A. Beek et al.; Leiden: Brill, 1973) 208-9. Instances of confirmation - 2; instances of conflict - 0.

UQPsd: J. P. M. van der Ploeg, "L'Edition des manuscrits de la grotte XI de Qumran par l'Académie Royale des Sciences des Pays-Bas" (see above). Instances of confirmation - 1 ; instan­ces of conflict - 0.

llQPse\ According to van der Ploeg, this MS offers only the conjunction of Pss 77-78. Instances of confirmation - 1 ; instances of conflict - 0.

lQPsa: D. Barthélémy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1 (DJD 1 ; Oxford: Clarendon, 1955) 69. Instances of confirmation - 1; instances of conflict - 0.

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(1) Evidence Supporting the Canonical Arrangement of Consecu­tive Psalms.5

Psalms Joined Consecutively

Pss 5-6 Pss 5-6 Pss 12-13 Pss 15-16 Pss 17-18 Pss 26-27 Pss 27-28 Pss 33-[34]-35 Pss 33-34-35-36 Pss 39-40 Pss49-50-51-52-53 Pss 53-54 Pss 62-63 Pss 66-67 Pss 76-77 Pss 77-78 Pss81-82-83-84-85

Text Where Found

4QPsa, frg. a 4QPss, frg. 1 HQPsc 5/6 HevPs HQPsc 4QPsr, frgs. 1,2,3 4QPs<s frgs. e, f 4QPsQ, cols. I-II6

4QPsa, frgs. e, d, e llQPsd 4QPsc, frgs. 1, m, η, ο, ρ 4QPsa, frg. i 4QPsa, frgs. k, 1 4QPsa, frgs. k, m, η, o 4QPse, frg. 1 HQPs* MasPs

5/6 HevPs: Y. Yadin, "Expedition D," IEJ 11 (1961) 40 and pi. 20. J. A. Sanders ("Pales­tinian Manuscripts 1947-1967," JBL 86 [1967] 439) refers to additional material from this MS which he says contains Pss 7:14-31:22. However, the text to which he refers (Congress Volume, Bonn 1962 [VTSup 9; ed. P. A. H. de Boer; Leiden: Brill, 1963] 20) is not written by J. T. Milik, as Sanders states, and contains no reference to such a fragment. I am unable to confirm this sequence of psalms. Sanders also omits this reference from his updated article, "Palestinian Manuscripts 1947-1972," Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text (ed. F. M. Cross and S. Talmon; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1975)401-13. Instances of confirmation - 1 ; instances of conflict - 0.

MasPs: Y. Yadin, "The Excavation of Masada—1963/64: Preliminary Report," IEJ 15 (1965) 103-4. Instances of confirmation - 4; instances of conflict - 0.

5 In the following charts of evidence, material which is not extant but can be inferred from the circumstances of the MS is placed within brackets. Also, since the data are presented according to the canonical sequence of the psalms, variant data are repeated in chart 3 for each psalm affected. For example, the variant sequence of Ps 118-104-147 in 1 lQPsa must be cited three times.

6 In this text, col. I, line one contains the concluding words of Psalm 31. In line two, a superscription is written to the left of center, following an extended blank space. Psalm 33 then apparently began at the right margin of line 3 and continues through line 12 where it breaks off in v. 18. Col. II contains at the beginning of line 1 the last few words of v. 4 of Psalm 35, which continues until it breaks off at the end of v. 20. Space considerations suggest that Psalm 34 was most likely included in the lacuna at the bottom of col. I.

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QUMRAN PSALMS MANUSCRIPTS 381

Pss91-92-[93]-94 Pss 95-96 Pss 99-100 Pss 101-102-103 Pss 102-103 Pss 105-106(?) Pss 107-[108?]-109 Pssll2-U3(?) Pss114-115 Pss115-116 PssU6-[117]-118 Pss [120]-121-122-

123-124-125-126-127-128-129-130-131-132

Pss125-126 Pss 129-130 Pss 135-136 Pss137-138 Pss 142-143 Pss 149-150

4QPs°, cols. MV' lQPs», frg. 5 4QPs°, cols. XV-XVI HQPsa.frgs. A, B, C 4QPsb, cols. XX-XXV 4QPs«, frgs. 14, 15, 16 4QPsf, cols. I-VII 4QPsb, cols. XXVI-XXVII 4QPs°, frg. 1 4QPse, frg. 23 4QPsb, cols. XXXIII-XXXVI

HQPsa.cols. II-VI 4QPs*. frg. 25 4QPse, frg. 25 HQPsa.col. XV HQPsa.col. XXI UQPsa.col. XXV HQPsa, col. XXVI

(2) Evidence Conflicting with the Canonical Arrangement of Con­secutive Psalms.

Psalms Joined Consecutively Text Where Found

Pss 31-33 Pss31-33 Pss 38-71 Apostrophe-Ps 93 Pss 93-141 Pss 103-112 Pss 104-147 Pss 105-146

4QPs«, frgs. c, d 4QPsq, col. I* 4QPs*, frg. g llQPsa, col. XXII llQPsa,cols.XXII-XXIII 4QPsb, col. XXV HQPsa.frg. E.col. II 1 lQPsa, col. I-II

7 For Skehan's discussion and reconstruction of the contents of 4QPsb, see the biblio­graphic reference in n. 4 above. In addition, see Skehan's comments in "The Qumran Manu­scripts and Textual Criticism," 153. Skehan believes from his reconstruction that this sticho-metrically-arranged MS originally contained Pss 91-103 plus Pss 112-118. While only the junc­tures of Pss 91-92,99-100,102-103, 112-113(7), 116-[117]-118 are fully confirmed on single fragments, I believe Skehan's reconstruction is convincing that Psalm 93 originally bridged the gap between Pss 91-92 and Psalm 94.

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Pss 118-104 llQPsa, frg. E, col. I Pssll8(?)-104 4QPs«, frg. 9 Pss 119-135 llQPsa, col. XIV Pss 132-119 llQPsa, col. VI Pss 141-133 HQPsa, col. XXIII Pss 141-133 HQPsb, frgs. e, d, e Pss 133-144 llQPsa, col. XXIII Pss133-144 HQPs°,frgs. e, d, e Pss 134-151A llQPsa, col. XXVIII Pss 136-Catena HQPsa,col. XVI Pss 138-Sirach51 llQPsa, col. XXI Plea-Ps 139 llQPsa, cols. XVII-XX Pss 139-137 llQPsa, col. XX David's Comp.-Ps 140 llQPsa, col. XXVII Pss140-134 1 lQPsa, cols. XXVII-XXVIII Pss 143-149 llQPsa, cols. XXV-XXVI Pss144-155 llQPsa, col. XXIV Catena-Ps 145 llQPsa, col. XVI Pss 145-154 llQPsa, cols. XVII-XVIII Pss 146-148 1 lQPsa, col. II Pss147-104 4QPsd, cols. I-V« Pss147-105 llQPsa, frg. E, col. Ill Pss 148-[120] HQPsa.cols. II-III Pss 150-Hymn llQPsa, col. XXVI Pss 154-Plea llQPsa, cols. XVIII-XX Pss 155-142 HQPsa.cols. XXIV-XXV

Though the evidence thus displayed is quite impressive, it is most interesting to note that, when supportive data are arranged alongside conflicting data, instances of overlap involving the same groups of psalms are meager indeed.

(3) Correlation of Supporting and Conflicting Data to Indicate Degree of Overlap.

Psalm-Groups Supporting Canon

Pss 5-6 Pss12-13 Pss 15-16

Psalm-Groups Conflicting

8 The identification of Psalm 147 at the point of juncture with Psalm 104 is based on the reading of four letters and a hllwyh postscript. Skehan judges on the basis of the MSS that this

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QUMRAN PSALMS MANUSCRIPTS 383

Pss 17-18 Pss 26-27 Pss 27-28

Pss 31-33 Pss 33-[34]-35 Pss 33-34-35-36

Pss38-71 Pss 39-40 Pss49-50-51-52-53 Pss 53-54 Pss 62-63 Pss 66-67

Pss38-71 Pss 76-77 Pss 77-78 Pss 81-82-83-84-85 Pss 91 -92-[93]-94 Apostrophe- Ps 93

Pss93-141 Pss 95-96 Pss 99-100 Pss 101-102-103 Pss 102-103

Pss 103-112 Pss 118-104 Pss 147-104 Pss 104-147

Pss 105-106(7) Pss 105-146 Pss 107-[108?]-109

Pss 103-112 Pss 112-113 Pss 114-115 Pss115-116 Pssll6-[117]-118

Pss 118-104 Pss132-119 Pss 119-135 Pss 148-[120]

material follows the bulk of Psalm 147 contained in col. II. While the data are meager, the constraints of the MS format would seem to support Skehan's assessment.

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Pss[120]-121-122-123-124-125-126-127-128-129-130-131-132

Pss 132-119 Pss 141-133 Pss 133-144 Pss140-134 Pss 134-151A Pss 119-135

Pss 135-136 Ps 136-Catena Pss 139-137

Pss 137-138 Psl38-Sirach51 Plea-Ps 139 Pss 139-137 David's Comp.-Ps 140 Pss 140-134 Ps 93-141 Pss 141-133

Pss 142-143 Pss 143-149 Pss133-144 Pss 144-155 Catena-Ps 145 Pss 145-154 Pss 105-146 Pss 146-148 Pss104-147 Pss 147-104 Pss 148-[120] Pss 143-149

Pss 149-150 Ps 150-Hymn

From this arrangement of the materials it becomes evident that, as far as the Qumran psalms MSS themselves are concerned, there are, in fact, only three instances of overlap between these two categories of evidence.

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QUMRAN PSALMS MANUSCRIPTS 385

Conflict with Canon Support of Canon

(1) Apostrophe-Ps 93 4QPsb preserves canonical order (llQPsa) of Pss 91-92-[93]-94

(2) Pss 93-141 (llQPsa)

(3) Pss 105-146 4QPse preserves possible canonical (1 lQPsa) order of Pss 105-106(?)

It should be noted that all three instances of conflict occur in a single MS (1 lQPsa), whereas supportive data are derived from two separate MSS (4QPsb

and 4QPse). The mutual support of these two MSS is somewhat diminished, however, when one observes that, of the two, 4QPse is able to support the canonical arrangement only by a hypothetical reconstruction of its frag­mentary text.9 Further, since 4QPse may also contain the non-canonical juxtaposition of Pss 118(?)-104, one should be careful not to make more of its supportive readings than the evidence allows.

If this questionable occurrence is omitted from consideration, we are left with only two instances of overlap from two MSS (HQPsa vs. 4QPs*>). 4QPsb, however, is not unambiguous in its support of the canonical arrange­ment of the psalms. It gives evidence of its own major conflict with the canonical sequence when it omits the entire group of Pss 104-111 and juxta­poses the two bordering Pss 103 and 112. As a result, one is left without a single example from a fully supportive MS in opposition to any of these instances of conflict. Supportive readings from a MS which elsewhere conflicts with the canonical arrangement cannot be used effectively to denigrate the validity of conflicting readings with which they overlap. Since we cannot fully recover the intent of the editor, we cannot know certainly what relative authority he placed on conflicting and supporting arrangements. We should be careful not to allow ourselves to be persuaded by our own knowledge of the subsequent shape of the canonical Psalter to presume that the presence of such supportive readings necessarily signifies the existence of the fixed, authoritative canonical Psalter. It is quite feasible that supportive readings represent one possible arrangement of the psalms at a time prior to the final fixation of the Psalter-text.

9 Based on Skehan's transcription of 4QPse, it would seem that Psalm 105 ends near the middle of line 7 of this fragmentary column. The canonical hllwyh postscript apparently has been lost in the lacuna to the left of line 7. If this is correct, all that is preserved of the succeeding psalm is a hllwyh superscript which stands at the right margin of line 8. The data are insufficient to identify conclusively this composition, though Psalm 106 would seem the logical choice.

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(4) Correlation of Data with the Five-Book Division of the Psalter.

The correlation of instances of support or conflict with the segments of the five-book division in which they occur, while far from conclusive, does yield results consistent with the theory of gradual stabilization of the Psalter from beginning to end, as proposed by J. A. Sanders.10

Book One (Pss 1-42) Eight MSS yield ten separate instances of confirmation of 13 points of

juncture involving 17 discrete psalms from this division. This is compared with only two MSS exhibiting three instances of conflicting data for three points of juncture involving but three psalms from Book One.

Book Two (Pss 43-72) Here two MSS in four separate instances confirm the canonical arrange­

ment for seven points of juncture between ten discrete psalms. By contrast, only a single MS gives evidence of an isolated example of conflicting sequence involving one psalm (Ps 71).11

Book Three (Pss 73-89) The pinnacle of support for the canonical arrangement is reached in this

book, where three MSS, each containing a single instance of support affirm six points of juncture between eight individual psalms and stand uncontested by any evidence of conflict in this section.

Book Four (Pss 90-106) A clear change is observed beginning with Book Four in the increased

examples of conflict. The canonical arrangement is supported by three MSS with a total of six instances of support for nine points of juncture affecting 13 psalms. In contrast, three MSS contain six instances of conflicting evidence for six points of juncture involving four psalms from Book Four.12

10 See n. 2 above. 11 There are, in fact, only three instances of conflicting juxtaposition in Books One and

Two. Since 4QPsa frg. g juxtaposes Psalm 38 from Book One with Psalm 71 from Book Two, this single instance of conflict has been enumerated twice. If this juxtaposition is accidental (as Skehan and Sanders seem to agree [J. A. Sanders, "Cave 11 Surprises and the Question of Canon," McCormick Quarterly Review 2\ (1968) 292]) then evidence of conflicting sequence in the first three books is even further reduced.

12 It should be noted that the çarliest canonical psalm contained in the conflicting manu­script 1 lQPsa is Psalm 93 from this fourth book.

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QUMRAN PSALMS MANUSCRIPTS 387

Book Five (Pss 107-150) This tendency continues to increase in the last division of the Psalter.

Here five MSS yield 12 separate instances of support for 25 points of juncture between 31 psalms. Evidence of conflicting arrangement increases sharply with four MSS containing 28 separate instances of conflicting data for 28 points of juncture concerning 22 individual psalms.

The implications seem clear. While evidence in support of the canonical order of psalms is fairly consistent throughout, examples of conflicting ar­rangement, practically non-existent in the first three books, increase markedly in Books Four and Five. While this evidence does not "prove" Sanders's thesis, it is certainly compatible with it, especially when correlated with the relative age of the MSS in which the data occur. When one arranges all the significant MSS according to date of origin, an important relationship emerges between their relative age and the appearance of evidence conflicting with the canonical arrangement of the psalms (see the following table). There is a direct correlation between the date and the evidence of support or conflict. Conflicting MSS occupy the earliest position and totally supportive MSS only appear much later. Admittedly the evidence is fragmentary, but it is at least suggestive that there is no fully supportive MS dated prior to the first half of the first century A.D. The impression gained from this analysis is of a certain looseness of psalms-arrangement which continued until ca. A.D. 50, and apparently died out soon after.

(5) The Qumran Psalms Manuscripts Arranged by Date

Manuscript Date Relationship to MT

4QPsa Mid-2d B.c. Contradictory 4QPsf ca. 50 B.c. Contradictory 4QPs<* Mid-lst B.C. Contradictory 4QPsb 2d half of 1st B.C. Contradictory 4QPs« 1st half of 1st A.D. Contradictory llQPsa A.D. 30-50 Contradictory llQPsb 1st half of 1st A.D. Contradictory MasPs 1st half of 1st A.D. Supportive 4QPsq Mid-lst A.D. Contradictory 4QPs* A.D. 50 Supportive 4QPSC A.D. 50-68 Supportive 5/6 HevPs 2d half of 1st A.D. Supportive

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INCONCLUSIVE MSS

Date Not Established Insufficient Cor

llQPsc -Supportive 4QPsg llQPsd -Supportive 4QPsh HQPse -Supportive 4QPsi 4QPsr - Supportive 4QPsk

4QPsl 4QPsm 4QPsn 4QPsP

Conclusions

1. The appearance of supportive evidence is somewhat deceptive since much is derived from MSS which elsewhere vary considerably from the canon­ical arrangement (e.g., the supportive series of Pss 120 through 132 in the extremely variant HQPsa). As a result it is impossible to determine abso­lutely whether this opposition of conflicting and supportive evidence indi­cates: (a) deviation from a prior, fixed canonical Psalter form; (b) a more fluid, "proto-canonical" stage prior to final fixation; or (c) an independent, competing Psalter tradition which parallels the transmission of the canonical arrangement. As a result, one should be careful not to allow a predisposition to accept the early fixation of the canonical Psalter-arrangement to influence evaluation of the data.

2. The small amount of overlap between supportive and conflicting MSS leads me to wonder just how much conflicting material might have originally existed in the lacunae of otherwise supportive texts. Consequently, while evidence of conflict with the canonical arrangement is always clear and certain, supportive evidence from fragmentary MSS must be viewed with some qualification.

3. The correlation of instances of supportive and conflicting arrange­ment with the five-book division of the Psalter supports Sanders's theory of the gradual fixation of the canonical Psalter, from beginning to end.

4. The correlation of age of the MSS and instances of conflict or support occurring in them affirms a gradual conformity of psalms MSS to the canoni­cal arrangement which reached its height about the middle of the first cen­tury A.D. and prevailed thereafter.

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