The dynamics of language and exegesis at Qumran

The discovery of the Qumran scrolls sixty years ago revolutionized our understanding of the development and exegesis of the Hebrew Bible. It became clear that both are mutually involved processes which started during the final stages of the Hebrew Bible and went on until its final canonization around 100 CA. Dated as they are between 300 BCE - 50 CA, the Qumran documents are placed precisely at the crucial stages of these developments. The recent publication of the entire collection of the scrolls illuminates these stages and opens new vistas on the early exegesis of the Hebrew Bible and its dynamics. In this volume, the authors deal with these issues in the light of the new material. Several articles trace the development from inner biblical interpretation to its follow-up in the scrolls and other ancient Jewish writings. Other contributions examine how various biblical narratives and figures are interpreted by the scrolls. The exegetical technique of the Pesharim, the particular interpretation of the biblical prophets, nurtured by the owners of the Qumran scrolls, is the subject of other discussions, while the relationship of the Book of Tobit and Qumran is the object of two of the studies in this volume.