Recent Publication by Bernard Levinson, EURIAS Fellow 2012/2013

'Refining the Reconstruction of Col. 2 of the Temple Scroll (11QTa): The Turn to Digital Mapping and Historical Syntax'

Bernard M. Levinson, Dead Sea Discoveries, Volume 23, Issue 1, 2016, pp. 1 – 26. 

Digital technology significantly expands the resources available to scholars seeking to reconstruct ancient manuscripts and, in combination with conventional philology, contributes to a more accurate reconstruction of both the text and the line breaks of col. 2 of the Temple Scroll. The column’s fragmentary condition led Yadin and Qimron to diverge in their reconstructions of the manuscript’s line-breaks and its lacunae. The problem is most acute at 2:8–9, where the scroll’s composer expanded the base text of Exod 34 with Deut 7:25–26. By employing techniques of digital mapping in conjunction with historical syntax, this article helps reconstruct the column’s line-breaks, helps restore the lacunae, and offers a refined reconstruction of the column.