Biblical Interpretation from Qumran

Genres of Biblical Interpretation among the Dead Sea Scrolls

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran are a number of texts best characterized as biblical interpretation. These texts shed light on Second Temple Jewish literary creativity and interpretive practices. Ideas and interpretations first attested in these texts reappear in later exegetical material, so the texts provide clues to their origins. Some, like the Temple Scroll, belong to the genre of rewritten Bible, in which familiar narratives are expanded, altered, harmonized, and sometimes rearranged. Others belong to a distinctive genre called pesher, meaning “interpretation.” The term comes from the various formulas that some Dead Sea Scrolls use when expounding biblical texts, specifically prophetic literature, including the Psalms, which were considered prophetic at Qumran. These texts interpret biblical prophecies in light of present events and concerns and are important for understanding how the sect viewed its own history and role. 

The pesharim here are presented according to the columns and lines of the scrolls on which they are written. The heading identifies the biblical text on which the pesher comments.