What Is Pesher Psalms?

Several fragments of commentary on the book of Psalms have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, though some are too fragmentary to be translated. Pesher Psalms^a (4Q171) is mainly a commentary on Psalm 37, though it also includes comments on Psalms 45 and 60. It is primarily concerned with the destiny of the just and the wicked, which it expounds in relation to the history of the sect and its opponents, including the struggle between the sect’s Teacher of Righteousness and the Wicked Priest. The text predicts the victory of the righteous and destruction of the wicked at the end of days. Pesher Psalms^b (4Q173) includes comments on Psalms 118, 127, and 129. Unlike other pesharim found at Qumran, these texts do not seem to have constituted a continuous commentary on the biblical book, at least in its present form, though it is notable that texts of Psalms from Qumran differ from the present canonical version in both order and content. The pesharim on Psalms indicate that the Qumran sect regarded Psalms as prophecy.