Stephen,
Thanks for clarifying that (sorry I'm replying a week late - and even more so
for not having read up on your article in the Assessment volume yet - this
semester's getting out of hand ... )
So the term 'osey hattora is in two pesher texts only (pHab and pPsalms a).
That makes it a very good candidate for a sectarian expression, (although being
in two texts only it could be a term characteristic of one specific writer?).
And it seems obvious that the writer counts himself among those doing the tora.
But occurrence in two out of several dozen sectarian texts is a little scarce
for an actual technical self-designation, wouldn't you say? If that is what
they actually considered to be the word(s) for being one of them rather than
being somebody else, how come there's not a single occurrence in 1QS e.g.?
But I guess it could be something that they did in fact NOT generally call
themselves, but which somehow became the nickname for them ("Methodist" and
"Mormon" suggest themselves as obvious modern parallels). In that case it's
merely a question of whether the phonological development from hebrew "osey" to
the various Greek terms for Essene makes linguistic sense. I'm afraid I'm not
strong on phonology. Would the double -ss- sound in most Greek terms have to
reflect a geminated sibilant in the Hebrew or Aramic ancestor term, I wonder?
You mention in your review of Ullman-Margalit's book that "Dozens of scholars,
scores of publications, hold this view" (the osey - essene etymology). You mean
literally dozens within the scholarship produced since the scrolls came to
light 60 years ago? I haven't come across that many, but then I've certainly
not read everything there is.
all the best
Soren
-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sendt: 13. april 2006 14:34
Til: Søren Holst; [email protected]
Emne: Re: osey hattora
Quoting Søren Holst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Stephen,
> [....]
> It would support your thesis, I assume, if the use of "osey hattora"
> was more or les restricted to the undisputedly "sectarian" corpus.
> I'm at home right now with only rather incomplete tools for searching
> the texts, but perhaps you know the answer by heart already?
> [....]
Soren,
Hello, and thanks for your question. The answer is yes, osey tatorah is
found in
Qumran mss only in sectarian texts (pHab, pPsalms a...), texts otherwise known
as Essene texts. In fact, further, this collocation is known in ancient Hebrew
only in Qumran mss; at least, that was the conclusion after I consulted the
Materials for the Historical Dictionary of Hebrew (the microfiche
edition--perhaps the newer CD version has an expanded database?). A
list of the
relevant texts and related texts is in DSS After Fifty Years: A Comprehenisve
Assessment, volume 2 (1999) in my chapter and some are discussed also in the
chapter by Jim VanderKam. A bibliography of pre1948 publications that discuss
the origin (from 1532 on) is in the g-megillot archives (and I've found
additional references since sending that list).
all the best,
Stephen
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