Of Scribes and Scrolls: Studies on the Hebrew Bible, Intertestamental Judaism, and Christian Origins (review)

REVIEWS OF SCRIBES AND SCROLLS: STUDIES ON THE HEBREW BIBLE, INTERTESTAMENTAL JUDAISM, AND CHRISTIAN ORIGINS. Harold W. Attridge, John J. Collins, and Thomas H. Tobin, eds. College Theological Society Resources in Religion 5. Pp. vii + 289. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1990. Cloth, $45.50 I Paper, $28.75. This volume consists of twenty-five essays written by friends, colleagues , and students honoring John Strugnell on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The quality and variety of articles, which cover biblical, Qumran, and classical subjects, testify to the expertise of those whose scholarship has in some way been influenced by him. J. R. Davila presents unpublished readings from 4QGeng, 4QGenh, and 4QGenk, and mentions readings from 4QGenc and 4QGeni. He suggests that the LXX of Genesis must be taken seriously as a translated source for a Hebrew textual tradition alternate to the MT. S. D. White discusses 4QDeutn (the All Souls Deuteronomy) as a harmonizing collection of texts made for devotional or study purposes (photograph, p. 40). R. Fuller analyzes a tiqqun sopherim of Zech 2:12, showing that the tiqqun "my eye" may not be older than the euphemism "his eye" (MT). He believes that 4Q12c (Zech 2:12) probably reflected the MT reading, although taking Yahweh as subject would suggest that one read "my eye." E. Ulrich examines 4QDana and 4QDanb, concluding that the former agrees orthographically with the MT against the latter. Textually, however, where the two manuscripts overlap they share the same text against the MT. E. Tov concludes that the Greek translator of Proverbs used a Hebrew text that was recensionally different from the MT. The LXX reflects major and minor differences in sequences as well as in pluses and minuses. Discussing 2 Sam 12:1-14, 14:1-17, 1 Kgs 20:35-43, and court legends from Persia and Asia Minor in Herodotus, L. M. Wills argues that "court parables" were international and moved between royal and prophetic settings. J. H. Charlesworth explains the beth essentiae and the permissive meaning of the hiphil (aphel). E. Puech argues that the Hebrew Ben Sira 48:11 refers to the resurrection of the just when Elijah returns. J. J. Collins deals with the sequential reinterpretation of the term "end" in the book of Daniel-from Hebrew Studies 33 (1992) 94 Reviews eschatological kingdom in chap. 7, to the period of tribulation before divine intervention in chap. 8, to the restoration of temple worship in chap. 9, to the judgment of the dead in chap. 12. Covering a variety of classical sources, R. Doran points out that Jason's building of a gymnasium (2 Macc 4:9-17) involved educational rather than constitutional reform. F. J. Murphy reviews Pseudo-Philo's account of Korah's rebellion in Biblical Antiquities 16, showing how he ignores Korah's power struggle with Moses and makes him a literary type of disobedience to the Law. C. A. Newsom studies the rhetorical strategies used in the Hodayot and the Community Rule to illustrate how the Qumran community-that is, the Teacher and the community'S leaders-dealt with conflict and disaffection. E. Schuller offers a survey of blessing formulae as witnessed in hymns, psalms, liturgies, and narratives from the Dead Sea Scrolls. T. H. Tobin argues that 4Q185, a wisdom instruction or admonition, belongs in the tradition of Proverbs and Ben Sira and must predate the founding of the Qumran community. J. C. Greenfield and M. E. Stone discuss the prayer in 4QTLevi 1.6-12 and 2.11-18, showing that the Greek Testament of Levi has modified the original context and the sequence of events in the original Aramaic. They also interpret the term mebaqqer to refer to an official who took charge of the spiritual and financial affairs of his community. B. J. Brooten argues that the name Ia 11A in a major Jewish inscription from Aphrodisias refers to a female president of a Jewish community. R. A. Kraft reviews Josephus' different treatments of Tiberius Julius Alexander in the Antiquities and the War. A. Y. Collins argues that Jesus used the Aramaic expression "son of man" in an exegetical sense (Dan 7:13) to refer to a heavenly...