The Cave 3 Copper Scroll: A Symbolic Journey (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah) 9004428550, 9789004428553

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The Cave 3 Copper Scroll

Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Edited by George J. Brooke Associate Editors Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar Jonathan Ben-Dov Alison Schofield

volume 132

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/stdj

The Cave 3 Copper Scroll A Symbolic Journey By

Jesper Høgenhaven

LEIDEN | BOSTON

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Høgenhaven, Jesper, author. Title: The Cave 3 Copper Scroll : a symbolic journey / by Jesper  Høgenhaven. Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2020] | Series: Studies on the texts  of the desert of Judah, 0169-9962 ; vol. 132 | Includes bibliographical  references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020018030 (print) | LCCN 2020018031 (ebook) |  ISBN 9789004428553 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004429581 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Copper scroll. Classification: LCC BM488.C6 H64 2020 (print) | LCC BM488.C6 (ebook) |  DDC 296.1/55—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020018030 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020018031

Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0169-9962 isbn 978-90-04-42855-3 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-42958-1 (e-book) Copyright 2020 by Koninklijke Brill NV, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Legend or History: A Brief History of Scholarship 5 1 Discovery and Opening of the Copper Scroll 5 2 Early Assessments 7 3 Authentic or Fictitious Treasures? 11 4 The Publication of the Text 17 5 The Discussion Concerning the Language of 3Q15 22 6 Continued Discussions on the “Authenticity” Question 26 7 Newer Contributions and a New Text Edition 30 8 The Present State of Research 40 9 Key Questions for Understanding 3Q15 41 2 A Walk on the Wild Side: A Suggested Reading of 3Q15 43 1 First Main Section (I 1–IV 12) 47 1.1 Point of Departure: the Valley of Achor (I 1–8) 47 1.2 The Mound of Kohlit (I 9–12) 51 1.3 The Staircase of Manos (I 13–II 2) 55 1.4 First Visit to Jerusalem (II 3–12) 56 1.5 Retreat to Kohlit (II 13–15) 58 1.6 Second Visit to Jerusalem (III 1–13) 59 1.7 There and Back Again: Kohlit, Valley of Achor, Asla, Kohlit (IV1–12) 61 2 Second Main Section (IV 13–VIII 3) 63 2. 1 In and around Secacah (IV 13–VI 10) 63 2.2 Between Secacah and the Kidron Valley (VI 11–VIII 3) 67 3 Third Main Section (VIII 4–XII 3) 72 3.1 Through the Kidron Valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11) 72 3.2 Third Visit to Jerusalem: the Inner Kidron Valley (X 12–16) 78 3.3 Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7) 80 3.4 Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tombs and Monuments below the Temple Compound and Elsewhere (XI 8–XII 3) 82 4 Fourth Main Section (XII 4–13) 85 4.1 Away to the North: Gerizim, Beth-Shan, Bezek (XII 4–9) 85 4.2 Final Destination: Return to Kohlit (XII 10–13) 87

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5 6

Overview and Synthesis 88 Different Scholarly Opinions Regarding Structure in the Copper Scroll 92 7 Conclusions 95 3 A Map of Meanings: Places and Items in the Copper Scroll 96 1 The Structure of 3Q15: a Logic Beyond Geographical Sequence? 97 2 Understanding the Depiction of Landscape in 3Q15 98 3 The Symbolic Meaning of the Places in 3Q15 107 4 Distribution of Sacred Objects 115 5 Books as Objects to Be Retrieved in 3Q15 120 6 Gold, Silver and Other Valuables 123 7 Buildings, Architectural Remains, and Water Installations as Hiding-Places 127 8 Tombs, Burial Places, and Sepulchral Monuments 129 9 Underground Hiding-Places 132 10 Patterns of Meaning Associated with Hiding-Places in 3Q15 136 11 Conclusions 138 4 What is Real? The Copper Scroll as a Material Artefact 141 1 The Material State of the Copper Scroll 143 2 The Deposit of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 and Its Relation to Other Qumran Scrolls 144 3 The Paleography, Script, and Date of the Copper Scroll 146 4 The Greek Letters in 3Q15 149 5 The Hebrew of 3Q15 154 6 Numerals and Numerical Symbols 156 7 Special Abbreviations 157 8 The Use of Copper for Preserving the Text of 3Q15 158 9 The Structure of “Entries” in 3Q15 161 10 The Genre of the Copper Scroll: a “List” or “Inventory”? 167 11 The Functions of the Scroll and Its Historical Background Re-Evaluated 172 12 The Historical Situation of the Copper Scroll 174 13 The Case for the Authenticity of the Deposits 176 14 The Case against the Authenticity of the Deposits 181 15 A Perspective beyond the Dichotomy between Reality and Fiction 184 16 Conclusions 185

Contents

5 What We Were Told: Traditional and Literary Contexts for the Copper Scroll 189 1 Massekhet Kelim 190 2 The Book of the Treasured Pearls 196 3 Lists and Inventories from Various Contexts 197 4 The Lindian Chronicle 201 5 The Fate of the Treasures of the First Temple in Early Jewish Sources 208 6 The Treasures of the First Temple in Rabbinic Sources 215 7 The Copper Scroll in the Context of Jewish Legends of Temple Treasures 220 8 The Copper Scroll and Qumran Literature 222 9 Conclusions 229 Conclusion 232 Appendix: Translation of 3Q15 239 Bibliography 245 Index of Ancient Sources 257 Index of Modern Authors 265

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Acknowledgments Substantial parts of this book were written during my stays at the École Biblique et Archéologique Francaise, Jerusalem, and I am deeply grateful for the hospitality and inspiration I have enjoyed there. In particular I wish to express my gratitude to Émile Puech, who, while disagreeing with the thesis of this book, has always generously shared his insights and expertise, and, above all, his friendship. I am indebted to the Departments of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for allowing me access to the Copper Scroll in 2005, and to the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman for offering me hospitality. A number of fruitful exchanges with colleagues in and outside Denmark have helped moved my work forward, and I my special thanks are due to the members of the Nordic Network in Qumran Studies and, not the least, to my current circle of colleagues at the Biblical Studies Section in Copenhagen, for their encouragement and support. I am grateful to George Brooke for accepting the book for publication in the STDJ series, and for his diligent and patient effort, at several stages, in improving my text.

Introduction Queequeg was a native of Rokovoko, an island far away to the West and South. It is not down in any map; true places never are. hermann melville, Moby Dick

∵ The Copper Scroll (3Q15), as often claimed, holds the prize as the “most mysterious” of the Dead Sea documents. The scroll is both a treasure in itself, and a treasure map. Among the Qumran manuscripts, the Copper Scroll is unparalleled. Nothing has been discovered in the Qumran caves resembling the shape, material, and contents of this manuscript. The scroll is an unsolved riddle, and implies several challenging, and unanswered questions: What was the function and meaning of this remarkable artefact, and what is its relation to the rest of the Qumran scrolls, and to the traditions of ancient Judaism, in particular biblical traditions? For more than 60 years, scholars have debated intensely whether or not the treasures recorded in the Copper Scroll reflect historical realities. In the present study, I argue that the dichotomy between pure facts and mere fiction is inadequate for a proper understanding of the Copper Scroll. I see the text as an answer to pressing historical realities. Like many ancient documents, it draws on traditional written and oral material in order to cope with contemporary challenges. From a modern perspective, some of these traditions may deserve the label “legend”, but the ancient authors and readers would have perceived them as “real” in every meaningful sense. In ancient literature legendary traditions and historical experiences were often blended in ways that renders a distinction impossible. The purpose of this book is to present a reading of the Copper Scroll from Qumran (3Q15) as a literary text, using classical rhetorical and literary analysis. The document, in my view, was designed by its author to convey specific images to its readers. The text achieves the desired effect by staying true to the chosen format and style – that of an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures. I work from the hypothesis that the structure of the text, the ordering and description of locations, and of the valuables themselves, meant something important to the authors and addressees of the scroll. The historical context of 3Q15, I suggest, is twofold: First, the text was written against the background of

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_002

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the social and political turmoil of Jewish Palestine in the 1st century CE, and reflects contemporary concerns and interests. Second, the treasure descriptions in 3Q15 should be seen as building on, and borrowing from, the world of legends of treasures of the First Temple. Some of the treasure deposits recorded in the scroll may very well have been “real “deposits from the period in which it was written, while other deposits are “legendary”, but we possess no criteria or method to separate the categories from each other. For the interpretation which I suggest this distinction is not important in itself. My personal fascination with the Copper Scroll dates back to 2003 when I was a part of the academic team translating the Dead Sea scrolls into Danish. In the process of studying the literary structure of 3Q15, I was struck with the frequency of locations with a biblical background, and began considering their symbolic significance against this background. That aspect of the text had not yet been analysed in depth. In my view, this was an indication that the Copper Scroll was not merely a list or inventory of hidden valuables. It occurred to me that 3Q15 could also be read as a composition employing literary devices and strategies to convey certain images of the world to its readers: The brevity and conciseness of the text, which consists solely of place-names, descriptions of hiding-places and items, and instructions for retrieving the items, could be seen as the appropriate means to support the readers’ imagination. In this way, the form of the document remains true to the genre chosen. Some scholars had already suggested that the Copper Scroll contained literary devices associated with the place-names and their inherent biblical symbolism. Following up on these earlier suggestions, I set out to investigate further how 3Q15 could be meaningfully read and understood as a literary text aimed at generating a certain effect on its readers. At the time, despite the relatively well-preserved state of the manuscript, many readings were disputed, and since the appearance of Józef T. Milik’s editio princeps (1962) scholars had made numerous suggestions for improved readings of the text in various places. By the kind permission of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, I was able to examine the Copper Scroll in Amman in 2005. In the meantime, the publication in 2006 of Émile Puech’s text edition of 3Q15 changed the course of my study. The new edition settled many of the disputes on readings, and provided a reliable text to work from. In most cases, detailed discussions concerning readings were no longer relevant. Consequently, I was able to focus my work more precisely on the literary structure and contents of the text. Due to various circumstances, I was only able to work intensively on this project for limited periods from 2006 to 2017. During several sojourns at the École Biblique et Archélogique Francaise in Jerusalem I had the opportunity to discuss my work with Émile Puech, who generously shared his insight and expertise on the Copper Scroll. Likewise, George J. Brooke has

Introduction

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offered numerous valuable suggestions for improving my text, and I am in many ways indebted to my Copenhagen colleagues for their comments and encouragement. The recent articles by Steven P. Weitzmann on the Copper Scroll were a significant inspiration to complete the present study. From a different perspective, Weitzmann suggested an approach similar to mine, aimed at overcoming the dichotomy between history and legend. This book represents an attempt to read the Copper Scroll within the historical and literary contexts to which the text belongs. From a historical perspective, the Copper Scroll seems to respond to urgent concerns in a 1st century CE situation in Jewish Palestine. From a literary point of view, the scroll has its place within the context of the manuscripts from Qumran and the world of ancient Jewish literature. The argument is divided into five chapters, as follows: Chapter 1, Legend and History: A Brief History of Scholarship, contains an overview of the history of research since the discovery of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 in 1952. The debate on the Copper Scroll has to a great extent been formed by the question of fact or fiction regarding the treasures of the scroll, and the function it was originally designated to perform. The text editions by Józef T. Milik in 1962 and by Émile Puech in 2006 represent two important milestones in the history of scholarly understanding of the Copper Scroll. At the end of the chapter, against the background of the history of interpretation of 3Q15, I point to the key questions for understanding the text. In Chapter 2, A Walk on the Wild Side: A Suggested Reading of the Copper Scroll, I lay the foundation for my analysis by conducting a reading of 3Q15 with literary tools. This implies walking in the footsteps commanded by an instructing voice directing the addressee through a landscape of hidden treasures. I present the Hebrew text, which is clearly divided into a number of units (or “entries”), each of which describes a hiding-place and the particular treasure it contains, along with instructions for retrieving the valuables. Based on the distribution of geographical names in the text, I suggest a reading of the text in accordance with an itinerary model. Furthermore, I also suggest a provisory division of the text according to the logic indicated by the movements through the Palestinian landscape. The proposed division is discussed in relation to previous scholarly suggestions regarding the structure of 3Q15. Chapter 3, A Map of Meanings: Places and Items in the Copper Scroll, contains a systematic discussion of the literary character of 3Q15, and the systems of meaning inherent in the text. I argue that the most important locations mentioned in 3Q15 carry symbolic meanings, usually associated with their role and significance in literary traditions. These symbolic meanings and their interrelation add a dimension of meaning to the overall structure of the text. Symbolic meanings are also associated with the descriptions of valuables and

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Introduction

hiding-places. Making heuristic use of insights from landscape theory, the chapter strives to map these meanings and their interrelation, thus corroborating and developing the notion that the Copper Scroll can be meaningfully interpreted as a text that remains true to its chosen format – an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures. In Chapter 4, What is Real? The Copper Scroll as a Material Artefact, I confront my reading with the material reality of the Copper Scroll. I examine the relation between this manuscript and the remaining manuscripts of Cave 3 from an archaeological point of view, and possible material signs of the scroll’s original function. Furthermore, I discuss the palaeography and date of the scroll and the character of its Hebrew language. Particular attention is given to the use of copper as writing material, and, more generally, to the intention and function of the scroll in its original historical context. I take up the discussion with scholars who have suggested that the Copper Scroll is a “list” or a “catalogue,” and, finally, I attempt a reassessment of key arguments in the debate on the authentic or legendary character of the document. Following the lead of certain recent scholars, I suggest a perspective that takes us beyond this dichotomy. Chapter 5, What We Were Told: Traditional and Literary Contexts for the Copper Scroll, attempts to identify literary analogies to 3Q15, and texts, and traditions that may be meaningfully understood as parts of its context. Józef T. Milik cited two medieval compositions as relevant analogies to the Copper Scroll, the Jewish text Massekhet Kelim, and the Arabic Book of the Treasured Pearls. I examine aspects of both texts, which, even if they are much later than 3Q15, offer some interesting points of contact with regard to form and contents. A number of ancient documents have been suggested as possible analogies, and I survey these suggestions and their relevance. In particular, I focus on the Greek Lindian Chronicle, which Steven P. Weitzmann has recently adduced as a text with a significant affinity to 3Q15. I argue, following Weitzmann’s lead, that the form of this text, and especially its combination of legendary and historical elements, is an illustrative analogy to 3Q15. Furthermore, I survey ancient Jewish legends of lost treasures from the First Temple, and suggest that these traditions form part of the framework for the treasure descriptions of the Copper Scroll. Finally, I briefly survey points of contact between 3Q15 and a number of other compositions from Qumran. The main results of the present study are summarized in the Conclusion.

chapter 1

Legend or History: A Brief History of Scholarship 1

Discovery and Opening of the Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll (3Q15) was discovered in 1952 in the course of a survey of caves at Qumran (then part of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan) undertaken by an archaeological team organized by the three Jerusalem-based scholarly institutions l’École Biblique et Archéologique Française, the American School of Oriental Research, and the Palestine Archeological Museum, led by Roland de Vaux and William L. Reed.1 The discovery was described by Roland de Vaux in 1953 in a preliminary report in Revue Biblique on explorations in the Qumran region. There de Vaux reported the extraordinary finding by the archaeological team excavating cave 3 of two copper scrolls close to the entrance of the inner chamber of the partly collapsed cave.2 De Vaux further reported that the scrolls in their present state resisted any attempts to open them, and described their dimensions: The two scrolls had originally made up one large scroll, consisting of three copper sheets (height 30 cm, length 80 cm for each sheet), riveted together to form one large strip (length of the strip 2,40 m).3 At some point, one of the sheets must have broken off from the other two, and it was therefore rolled up separately to form a 1  The small team that excavated Cave 3 was headed by Henri de Contenson of l’École Biblique. 2  “Près de la chambre intérieure, contre la paroi rocheuse qui faisait le fond de la chambre écroulée, deux rouleaux de cuivre avaient été deposés l’un sur l’autre … Ils n’étaient enveloppés ni protégés par rien; l’effondrement du plafond les avait heureusement épargnés et isolés dans une sorte de niche” (Roland de Vaux, “Exploration de la région de Qumrân. Rapport préliminaire,” RB 60 (1953): 540–61 (557)). Cf. also the shorter preliminary report by William L. Reed (“The Qumrân Caves Expedition of March, 1952,” BASOR 135 (1954): 8–13 (10– 11). A brief earlier report on the discovery is Roland de Vaux, “Fouilles au Khirbet Qumrân,” RB 60 (1953): 83–106 (84–85). An announcement of the finding by Lankester G. Harding appeared in “Notes and News,” PEQ 84 (1952): 59–61 (59). Early reports occurred in the popular press in April 1952, cf. Judah K. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll (3Q15): A Reevaluation. A New Reading, Translation, and Commentary, STDJ 25 (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 2–4. 3  A more accurate estimate is possible based on the mould of the scroll segments made by Électricité de France during their restoration of the Copper Scroll 1994–1996. The actual length of the entire strip is estimated by Émile Puech to 229 cm (Émile Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre de la grotte 3 de Qumrân (3Q15). Édition révisée,” in Le Rouleau de cuivre de la grotte 3 de Qumrân (3Q15). Expertise – Restauration – Épigraphie. Vol. I, ed. Daniel Brizemeure et al., STDJ 55/1 (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 169–227 (173); Émile Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, STDJ 112 (Leiden: Brill 2015), 7–8.

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second smaller scroll. The state of the oxidized material made it impossible to reopen the two scrolls, as is done with leather scrolls, and de Vaux suggested that the long copper strip must have been designed to be displayed on a wall, possibly in one of the larger rooms in the buildings at Qumran.4 For parallels to the phenomenon of writing on copper de Vaux pointed to the treaty between Judas Maccabeus and the Romans, which was reportedly written on bronze tablets (1 Macc 8:22; 14:27), and more generally to the example of Roman laws and treaties engraved on bronze tablets and kept at the Capitol.5 The document engraved on the Copper Scroll, de Vaux contended, must have had a comparable significance for the Qumran community, and he suggested tentatively that the contents could have been some community law of regulation. However, de Vaux cautioned, attempts at an interpretation should await the opening and decipherment of the entire document, although some letters are visible on the outer side of the scrolls, and so far de Vaux contended himself with assessing – judging from the visible parts of the text – that the composition was almost certainly non-biblical.6 De Vaux’s preliminary description of the finding and his initial assessment of the character and provenance of the Copper Scroll are important in the light of the theory that was later advanced according to which the Copper Scroll was deposited in Cave 3 independently and at a later time than the remaining manuscripts. This, obviously, was not de Vaux’s immediate impression, although he later admitted that the possibility of a subsequent, independent deposit was not ruled out by archaeological evidence.7 The opening and reading of the Copper Scroll had to wait until 1955–1956, when Henry Wright Baker of the College of Technology in Manchester undertook the task of cutting the remains of the scroll up into smaller segments, which could be separated and read. Experiments had been made at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, with the purpose of developing a method to restore flexibility to the oxidized material of the scrolls, but a successful procedure had not been devised, and it was decided to adopt the alternative method 4  De Vaux, “Exploration,” 557–58. De Vaux’s interpretation of the scrolls as originally designed for display has been disputed, since there is no direct evidence of the metal strip having been attached to a wall or the like. See Chapter 4 for details on this question. 5  De Vaux, “Exploration,” 558. 6  De Vaux, “Exploration,” 558. 7  Roland de Vaux, L’Archéologie et les manuscrits de la Mer Morte. The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 1959 (London: Oxford University Press, 1961), 83–84. Cf. also de Vaux’s introduction in Milik’s text edition, J.T. Milik, “Le rouleau de cuivre provenant de la grotte 3Q (3Q15),” in Les ‘petites grottes’ de Qumrân, ed. M. Baillet et al., DJD 3 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1962), 201–02. See Chapter 4 for more details on de Vaux’s reassessment.

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of cutting the scrolls into strips. They were transported to England, the smaller scroll in August of 1955 and its larger counterpart in January 1956. The scrolls were fixed on spindles, covered with baked celluloid cement on the outside, and cut into strips with a circular saw. Facsimiles and photographs were made of the strips as they were cut, and a preliminary transcription of the text was provided by John M. Allegro.8 After the successful completion of the procedure the scrolls were returned in April 1956 to the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman, where the scrolls are kept.9 2

Early Assessments

Before the opening and reading of 3Q15, Karl Georg Kuhn in 1954 published a preliminary analysis of the parts of the text that were readable on the reverse outer side of the two scrolls, which he had studied at the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem (The Rockefeller Museum), where the scrolls were on temporary exhibition at the time. The scrolls had to remain in their case while studied by Kuhn, but he was able to supplement his inspection of the original documents with the study of photographs showing the scrolls from all sides.10 Kuhn based his reading primarily on the occurrence of several numerals in the text, and of the recurrent formulation ‫ חפור אמות‬followed by a numeral, which he translated: “buried at … cubits”.11 Based on the text that he was able to detect and transcribe, Kuhn arrived at some provisional conclusions regarding the nature and content of the document: 3Q15 is a text written in Hebrew, and it is clearly neither biblical nor closely related to any biblical source. Indeed, the document does not appear to be a “religious” text at all. 8  Cf. Allegro’s account of the opening of the scrolls in John M. Allegro, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll: The Opening and Decipherment of the Most Mysterious of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Unique Inventory of Buried Treasure (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1960), 19–26. On Allegro’s central part in arranging for the scrolls to be sent to Manchester and opened, see also Philip R. Davies, “John Allegro and the Copper Scroll,” in Copper Scroll Studies, ed. George J. Brooke and Philip R. Davies, JSPSup 40 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 25–36. 9  The procedure is described in H. Wright Baker, “Notes on the Opening of the ‘Bronze’ Scrolls from Qumran,” BJRL 39 (1956–57): 45–56. A reworked and abridged version appeared in Milik, DJD 3 (H. Wright Baker, “Notes on the Opening of the Copper Scrolls from Qumran,” 203–10). Rather conspicuously, Wright Baker makes no mention of Allegro’s involvement in the process. A brief description is found in J.T. Milik, “The Copper Document from Cave III, Qumran,” BA 19 (1956): 60–64 (61). Cf. also Allegro, The Treasure, 23–24. 10  Karl Georg Kuhn, “Les rouleaux de cuivre de Qumrân,” RB 61 (1954): 193–205. 11  “enterré à tant de coudées” (Kuhn, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 197).

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Lines seem regularly not to be fully filled out, which supports the interpretation of the text as a list or catalogue. Kuhn also noted that no personal names are visible. The extant portion of the document resembles a description of a building with its numerous indications of length or depth. However, assuming that the text is an architectural description raises difficulties. Kuhn was critical of de Vaux’s suggestion that the document was originally meant to be put on display against a wall, since the copper sheets show no traces of having been fixed in such a way.12 The scroll, according to Kuhn, gives the impression of being constructed as an imitation of the well-known leather scrolls, applying the familiar format and manner of writing to an unusual material. The natural assumption, then, is that it was from the outset meant to be rolled up and concealed.13 Kuhn tentatively suggested that the text was a catalogue of valuable possessions owned by the Essenes, and hidden shortly before the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans. In support of this hypothesis, he pointed to the sources that indicate that the community practiced shared ownership of all their goods, and that new members were required to hand over their possessions to the community,14 and suggested that over time they could have accumulated considerable amounts of money and valuables.15 The decipherment of the opened scroll proved Kuhn’s hypothesis to be correct. The document turned out in fact to be an inventory of hidden valuables. An initial announcement of the contents of the Copper Scroll was issued by the Jordan Department of Antiquities on 1 June 1956.16 The brief statement disclosed that the document had been successfully opened, and that J.T. Milik had made a preliminary translation of the text. The contents were described as “a collection of traditions about the hiding place of ancient treasure”. A total of some sixty hoards were listed, the treasures mentioned containing of gold, silver, boxes of incense, and the like, and the hiding-places ranging geographically from Hebron to Mount Gerizim, although the majority are situated in the vicinity of Jerusalem. An excerpt of the text was given, covering four hoards 12  This question is discussed in Chapter 4. 13  Kuhn, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 201. Kuhn mentions the possibility, which he has discussed in a letter correspondence with de Vaux, that the original copper strip could have been inserted in a wooden frame and then fixed against a wall. However, Kuhn doubts that there would have been sufficient space for a frame, since the script goes almost to the edge of the sheets (“Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 201–02, note 1). 14  Kuhn, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 204–05. For the notion of communal ownership Kuhn refers to the Rule of the Community (1QS VI 19–20) and to Josephus’ description of the Essenes in B.J. 2.122. 15  A summary of Kuhn’s article appeared in German: Karl Georg Kuhn, “Die Kupferrollen von Qumrân und ihr Inhalt,” TLZ 79 (1954): 303–04. 16  The “official” statement is printed as an appendix to Wright Baker, “Notes,” 56.

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or caches.17 The announcement expressed surprise that the Essenes should be as concerned with stories of hidden treasure as to consider them worth engraving on copper. The text also highlighted the curious reference in the scroll to “a second copy of this book with explanations” (3Q15 XII 11–12). The values mentioned in the text (the numbers and weight of gold and silver talents, bars, etc.) were characterized as obviously fantastic. This feature and the remarkable depth at which some of the hoards are to be sought (16 to 18 feet) raise doubts about the “authenticity of the stories”. Milik, who had been entrusted by the organizers of the exploration that discovered the Copper Scroll with the task of deciphering and publishing the document, wrote an expanded version of the statement, which appeared in the Biblical Archaeologist in 1956.18 Here, he gave a brief and concise description of the scroll(s) and their contents: Twelve columns of text with the number of lines per column varying between 13 and 17. He also offered a paleographical dating of the script to the middle of the first century CE, and explained the basic structure of the text with its characteristic listing of hiding places, each item or entry consisting of (1) a locality in Palestine, (2) details describing a geographical or architectural point of reference, (3) the depth of the treasure beneath the surface, measured in cubits, and (4) the amount of the treasure.19 Milik noted the geographical distribution of the caches listed, which are concentrated on Judaea and more particularly Jerusalem, the Temple precincts, and the necropolis of the Kidron valley. He also called attention to the subterranean character of the hiding-places (“cisterns, tombs, pools, tombs, cairns, and such like”), and to the occasional vagueness of the description which is a characteristic feature of the document.20 He estimated (on the basis of the talent amounting to 33–34 kg in the Roman period) that the total weight of the treasures listed in 3Q15 would be more than 200 tons of silver and gold. The mere size of this amount, he stated, is in itself a compelling argument against viewing the text as a historical record of actual treasure deposits. Furthermore, he pointed to the literary characteristics of the document itself, which, together with the fabulous quantity of precious material, place the Copper Scroll “firmly in the genre of folklore”.21 The text can be best described as “a summary of popular traditions circulating among the folk of Judaea, put down by a semi-literate scribe”.22 17  The text is 3Q15 I 6–8; II 10–12; XI 1–4; XII 10–13. 18  Milik, “The Copper Document.” 19  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 62–63. 20  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 62. 21  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 63. 22  Milik, ibid.

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The author, in Milik’s view, must have been associated with the Essene community of Qumran, but his composition should not be regarded as an “official” Essene text. Rather, it must be understood as “a private effort, highly individual in character and execution, perhaps the work of a crank”.23 Milik cited a number of texts as parallels to the Copper Scroll, understood as a list of references to fictitious treasures, in a broad sense: Josephus has two accounts of attempts by later kings at looting king David’s tomb – a successful attempt by John Hyrcanus and an unsuccessful attempt by Herod the Great. The accounts testify to a Jewish tradition that the tombs of the great kings of the past contained extensive valuables: John Hyrcanus is reported to have taken treasures amounting to 3000 talents.24 In this early article Milik furthermore adduced two documents that have subsequently been very commonly referred to as possible parallels to 3Q15, but without naming any of them by name. Milik mentioned Egyptian texts containing lists of treasures buried in the “land of the Pharaohs”, and this reference is clearly to the medieval Arabic text Book of the Treasured Pearls and Hidden Secret on Indications, Cachettes, Burials, and Treasures, published by Ahmed Bey Kamal in 1907.25 The text records a large amount of hidden rtersures and gives instructions on how to ­retrieve them: In Biba, seek out a church which bears the name of Mary, you will recognize it from its two altars. Look between the two altars for a marble plaque with many inscriptions on it. Remove it, and beneath it you will find a cavity containing a thousand dinars, the vessels of the church, and precious deposits.26 Milik refers to this text with much more detail in his later text edition, and we shall take up this reference in Chapter 5. The last text mentioned by Milik is the description of hidden treasures found in the inscription of two marble plaques inscribed in Hebrew, where the references to the treasures are attached to the end of the Book of Ezekiel.27 The reference is here to the so-called Beirut 23  Milik, ibid. 24  The reference to looting of David’s tomb is to Josephus, A.J. 7.393; 13.249; B.J. 1.61 (Hyrcanus); A.J. 16.179–82 (Herod). These accounts are discussed below in Chapter 3 in connection with the references to tombs as hiding-places in the Copper Scroll. 25  Ahmed Bey Kamal, Livre des perles enfouies et du mystère précieux au sujet des indications des cachettes, de trouvailles et de trésors (Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 1907). 26  Kamal, Livre des perles, 8–9 (English translation mine). 27  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 64.

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plaques, which may have been retrieved from a tomb in Iraq, and which had been read and photographed by Jean Starcky some time before Milik’s publication. No date has been assigned to the plaques. At this point Milik was unaware that the text on the Beirut plaques is to a large degree identical with the medieval Jewish document Massekhet Kelim, a treasure inventory which must have circulated in Western Europe, and was published in 1876 on the basis of 17th century printed editions.28 By 1959 Milik had made the identification of the Beirut plaques with Massekhet Kelim, and published a text-critical edition using both recensions of the text.29 The medieval text is a narrative concerned with the hiding, carried out by certain prominent figures of the biblical past, of the sacred objects from Solomon’s temple, and the temple treasures in various places. Interestingly, Massekhet Kelim mentions the recording of the deposits on a bronze tablet: These are the holy vessels and the vessels of the sanctuary that were in Jerusalem and in every (other) place. Shimmur the Levite and his companions wrote them on a tablet of bronze, along with all the vessels of the most holy sanctuary which Solomon the son of David made. And in the place of Shimmur there were with him Hezekiah, Zedekiah, Haggai the prophet, and Zecharaiah the son of Berechiah son of Iddo the prophet.30 We shall return in detail to the relevance of Massekhet Kelim for our understanding of the Copper Scroll in Chapter 5. 3

Authentic or Fictitious Treasures?

As we have already seen, Milik shared his understanding of the Copper Scroll as a literary fiction with de Vaux and Lankester Harding. There were, however, other scholars at this early stage of research, still awaiting the publication of 28  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 64. The text of Massehket Kelim is now available in an English translation with introduction in James R. Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels (Massekhet Kelim),” in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, ed. Richard Bauckham et al. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 393–409. 29  Milik, “Notes d’épigraphie et de topographie palestiniennes,” RB 66 (1959): 550–75 (567–75). Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 279. Independently of Milik, the reference to Massekhet Kelim was made by L.H. Silberman, “A Note on the Copper Scroll,” VT 10 (1960): 77–79. 30  The translation of Massekhet Kelim is quoted from Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels.” See Chapter 5 for a more detailed discussion of the relevance of the text for 3Q15.

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the full text of 3Q15, who argued that the document must be interpreted as an “authentic” account of real, historical treasures. In a new article from 1956 Kuhn was expressly critical of the opinion that the account of 3Q15 is pure imagination.31 Kuhn made the important reservation that he did not have the entire text at his disposal, but pointed out that de Vaux’s theory seemed to have a difficulty explaining the use of copper, an expensive and durable material, requiring a team of craftsmen for fabricating the scroll. The document could hardly have been the product of a single (and single-minded) individual. Furthermore, it is not a valid argument against the authenticity of the treasure mentioned in 3Q15 that the caches are distributed over large parts of Palestine, for the Essenes had members all over the country, according to Josephus’ accounts. In contrast to his earlier assessment, however, Kuhn now pointed to the possibility that the treasure could have belonged to another group. The Essenes were renowned for their lack of interest in money and for their ability to keep silence, so perhaps they had been entrusted by some party outside the community with keeping the record of their hidden wealth. Kuhn mentioned the possibility that the catalogue could have a connection to treasures from the Jerusalem temple, and cited Josephus as evidence for the hiding of part of the Temple treasure. Kuhn admitted that the evidence was ambiguous – Josephus actually relates the burning and destruction of the Temple treasury.32 But if someone had in fact succeeded in hiding parts of the Temple treasure before or during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, it is likely that the event would have been kept secret, so Josephus could not have known about it. Kuhn also pointed to certain accounts in Josephus: Jewish prisoners handed over sacred treasures from the Temple to the Romans,33 and after the conquest of Jerusalem the Romans searched and found many precious objects in subterranean refuges where Jews had hidden.34 These accounts indicate that parts of the Temple treasure must have been removed before the destruction of the Temple. A positive view of the historicity of the Copper Scroll treasures was advanced by Allegro in his popular account from 1956 of the discovery of the scrolls from Qumran. The book only touched briefly upon the text in an appendix, but 31  Karl Georg Kuhn, “Der gegenwärtige Stand der Erforschung der in Palästina neu gefundenen hebräischen Handschriften 33. Bericht über neue Qumranfunde und über die Öffnung der Kupferrollen,” TLZ 81 (1956): 541–46. Kuhn quotes de Vaux for the viewpoint that the text represents “das ‘Phantasieprodukt eines Verrückten’” and lacks any historical value (Kuhn, “Der gegenwärtige Stand,” 544). I have not been able to verify the quotation, which could be a private communication. The wording is close to Milik’s formulation that the document was “perhaps the work of a crank” (Milik, “The Copper Document,” 63, cf. above). 32  B .J. 6.282. 33  B .J. 6.387–391. 34  B .J. 6.429–432.

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Allegro stated his viewpoint that the Copper Scroll “is indeed an inventory of the Sect’s most treasured possessions, buried in various locations.”35 André Dupont-Sommer also rejected Milik’s view that the treasure of the Copper Scroll is fiction. This hypothesis, he contended, is in absolute opposition to the context in which the manuscript was found, and to our knowledge of the Qumran community.36 Dupont-Sommer found it impossible to imagine that any community member would have indulged in a story of fictitious treasures, yet alone been able on his own to make all the practical steps necessary to produce a copy of the text on copper. The size of the sums mentioned in 3Q15, according to Dupont-Sommer, is in fact comparable to other large sums or treasures mentioned in ancient sources: Pompey is said to have exacted more than ten thousand talents after the siege of Jerusalem, and Crassus is reported to have carried off another two thousand talents left by Pompey, and gold worth eight thousand talents.37 As indications supporting the reliability of the records, Dupont-Sommer also cited the factual dryness of the style employed in 3Q15, and the extraordinary choice of a durable material.38 Dupont-Sommer held, in accordance with what Allegro hinted in his 1956 book, that the treasures referred to in 3Q15 must have belonged to the Essene community. The geography of the Copper Scroll reflects the distribution of Essene settlements in Palestine. Dupont-Sommer then went on to criticize Kuhn’s view that connects the treasures of 3Q15 with the Jerusalem temple, emphasizing that the Jewish authorities and the Essenes were in mutual conflict, and that, according to Josephus, the Temple treasure was destroyed or seized by the Romans. Nothing in the passages cited by Kuhn indicates any involvement of Essenes in hiding treasures from the Jerusalem temple. In addition to these objections Dupont-Sommer recalled the chronology of the destruction of the Qumran settlement, which took place in the summer of 68 CE, at a time when Jerusalem was still not under siege. In fact, at this stage of events the capital city would probably have appeared to most Jews to be the most secure refuge in the country.39

35  J ohn M. Allegro, The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Story of the Recent Manuscript Discoveries and their Momentous Significance for Students of the Bible (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1956), 184. Allegro adds that further information must await the release of the whole text of 3Q15. 36  André Dupont-Sommer, “Les rouleaux de cuivre trouvés a Qoumran,” RHR 151 (1957): 22–36. 37   Dupont-Sommer, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 28–29. The references are to Josephus, A.J. 14.78; 14.105. 38   Dupont-Sommer, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 28. 39   Dupont-Sommer, “Les rouleaux de cuivre,” 34–35.

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A slightly different hypothesis was advanced by Cecil Roth, who regarded the Qumran community as a Zealot group, and the Copper Scroll as an authentic inventory of the group’s possessions, which were hidden during the final phases of the First Revolt.40 Milik’s understanding of the Copper Scroll as a literary fiction, based on legendary traditions about the immense treasures of the First Temple, was, however, also supported by scholars in the field. A basically similar perspective on the document was voiced by Milik’s colleague on the DJD editorial team, Frank Moore Cross in his popular monograph on the Qumran scrolls from 1956. There Cross pointed to the dubious amounts of wealth and treasures mentioned in 3Q15, and the literary character of the description of caches: “Both the fabulous amounts of the treasures, and the vague or traditional character of their hiding places are sufficient evidence of the folkloristic character of the document”.41 The quantities seem suspiciously large even if it is assumed – as in Kuhn’s revised theory – that the reference was to the Temple treasure. Apart from the problems associated with the chronology of events if the Copper Scroll was indeed a list of Temple treasures hidden during the First Jewish Revolt (Qumran was raided by Roman troops in 68 CE) and the unlikeliness of Temple officials from Jerusalem entrusting their wealth to the Qumran community, it is, according to Cross, very difficult to regard the scroll as “in any sense official”. The significance of the costly material used for the Copper Scroll cannot in itself prove the document’s provenience from an official milieu, especially in view of the style of the description (“vague or traditional places of concealment (coupled with precise measurements!)”), the “vulgar dialect”, and the apparent clumsiness of the scribe. The conclusion that suggested itself to Cross is that the treasures of 3Q15 are legendary, and probably refer to the treasures of Solomon’s temple. Cross held that some of the hiding-places mentioned (like the monument of Absalom, the cairn of Achan, or Mount Gerizim), would indeed in the context of “folkloristic” traditions be appropriate places for such fabulous treasures of the past, and referred to the legends of the hiding of sacred objects of the First Temple in apocryphal texts and the account of holy vessels hidden by Moses at Mount Gerizim related by Josephus supporting his interpretation.42 40  Cecil Roth, The Historical Background of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Oxford: Blackwell, 1958), 44–45, 67. 41  Frank Moore Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies (New York: Doubleday, 1956), 16–17. 42  Cross, The Ancient Library, 17–8 (with note 29). The references are to SyrBar 6:7–10, and to Josephus, A.J. 18.85–87. These texts and their significance for understanding the Copper Scroll are discussed in Chapter 5.

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The same connection with the legends of the First Temple and its treasures extant in apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature was also advocated by Sigmund Mowinckel in an early essay on the Copper Scroll, in which he suggested that the text was akin to narratives on the hiding of the Temple treasures, which are to rest in the ground until the time of restoration.43 Interestingly, as Mowinckel expressly pointed out, he had reached his conclusions solely on the basis of the initial announcement by Lankester Harding and the Antiquities Department with its brief excerpt of text from 3Q15. Mowinckel had at the time not seen Milik’s article in Biblical Archaeologist, and his interpretation, which basically coincided with Milik’s, was thus an example of two scholars that have independently arrived at the same conclusions. Mowinckel actually regarded this coincidence as indirect evidence supporting the common assumption.44 Mowinckel pointed especially to the occurrence in the text excerpt from 3Q15 of incense, which suggests that the Temple treasure is meant. Mowinckel contended that the Copper Scroll must refer to the treasures of the First Temple, since we know from other Jewish sources that these treasures generated a world of legends and traditions. The Copper Scroll, then, should be regarded as a record of “secondary, non-genuine, legendary traditions” in broad accordance with the narratives known to us from apocryphal literature.45 Mowinckel held that this reading of 3Q15 is compatible with what is known about the community at Qumran, which can be shown to be acquainted with legendary and apocalyptic literature, and which “lived in an atmosphere of strong eschatological ideas and expectations”. Furthermore, they are also known to have had a great interest in the Temple service.46 The written record of these legendary traditions of the Temple treasures was probably committed to writing under the impression of the Roman War, which would have been perceived as “the last great tribulation”.47 An interesting feature of the document is its internal reference (mentioned in Harding’s announcement) to a second copy, which in Mowinckel’s view probably never existed – it was more likely a purely literary device, a “mythical original text” which may have been ascribed to one of the great prophets of the past.48

43  Sigmund Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll – An Apocryphon?” JBL 76 (1957): 261–65. 44  “Nevertheless, it may not be unimportant to see that two scholars, independently of each other, have reached exactly the same conclusions. This may be considered a corroboration of the soundness of the hypothesis” (Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll”, 261, note). 45  Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll,” 263. Mowinckel refers to 2 Macc 2 and SyrBar 6. 46  Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll,” 263–64. 47  Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll,” 264–65. 48  Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll,” 265.

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Milik’s view of 3Q15 as a document witnessing to legendary traditions was also accepted by Joachim Jeremias as the obviously most plausible interpretation of a text in which, as he stated in a brief article, “a fairy-tale world is unfolded”, and which aligns itself naturally with the world of powerful legends surrounding the mythical treasures of Solomon’s Temple and the hidden Ark of the Covenant.49 H.E. Del Medico in 1957 put forward a different, rather speculative, hypothesis regarding the function of the Copper Scroll.50 In his view, 3Q15 could not have been an inventory of real treasures, if only for practical reasons. The scroll could not have been opened very often, and if the manuscript had been produced in order to be concealed, a lighter and handier choice of material would have been expected. The purpose of making a copper scroll must indeed have been to put it on display. Del Medico suggested that the Copper Scroll served for the purpose of initiation rites, and pointed to the Damascus Document as evidence for an oath sworn by new community members “on the treasure of the sanctuary”.51 In accordance with his general – and rather controversial – interpretation of the Qumran writings Del Medico associated the rite not with the Essenes but with a sect of the second century CE. In this early phase of scholarly discussion, scholars were, for obvious reasons, unable to refer to a full published text of the Copper Scroll, but had to rely on the excerpts that had been released by de Vaux and Harding and later by Milik. It is interesting to see how scholars, despite the limited basis for interpreting the text, seem to quickly divide when it comes to the question of an authentic or a fictitious treasure. The arguments, repeated and varied slightly, for regarding the treasure account as authentic, are the factual and unimaginative, non-narrative style of the document, and the choice of such a precious material as copper for its fabrication. On the other hand, scholars regard the 49  Joachim Jeremias, “The Copper Scroll from Qumran,” ExpTim 71 (1959–1960): 227–28 (228). 50  H.E. del Medico, L’Énigme des Manuscrits de la Mer Morte. Étude sur la date, la provenance et le contenu des manuscrits découverts dans la grotte I de Qumrân suivi de la traduction commentée des principaux textes (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1957), 259–61; 551. 51  C D VI 16, in Del Medico’s translation: “et (en jurant) par le Trésor du Sanctuaire” (Del Medico, L’Énigme des Manuscrits, 260). It seems more natural, however, to understand the words of the text (‫ )בנדר ובחרם ובהון המקדש‬as an explanation of what makes “wealth” (‫ )הון‬unclean, cf. the translation by Joseph M. Baumgarten and Daniel R. Schwartz, “Damascus Document,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek Texts with English Translations. 2: Damascus Document, War Scroll, and Related Documents, ed. James H. Charlesworth, PTSDSSP 2 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995), 4–29 (23) (“… and to refrain from the wicked wealth (which is) impure due to oath(s) and dedication(s) and to (being) the wealth of the sanctuary …”).

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Copper Scroll as a legendary account because of its literary characteristics (vagueness coupled with apparently very precise descriptions of certain hiding places, vast amounts of gold and silver as well as sacred objects, reference to a second and more precise text, place-names associated with well-known traditions) and because of its supposed affinity to legendary motifs known from apocryphal and later writings. 4

The Publication of the Text

In 1959 Milik published a French translation of the entire text of the Copper Scroll, with brief notes on linguistic problems, and ample notes on the topography of the text.52 An English translation from Milik’s hand, and also with topographical notes, followed in 1960.53 Milik had in fact delivered his text for the editio princeps by 1959; the DJD volume was, however, not published until 1962.54 The year 1960 also saw the publication of Allegro’s alternative text edition, with drawings of each column, a transcription of the Hebrew text, an English translation with notes on readings, philological and other questions, and chapters on the finding and opening of the document, on the nature and background of the treasures described, and on the place-names and geography of the Copper Scroll.55 Allegro repeated and expanded his arguments for a real, historical treasure. The amounts of gold and silver mentioned in the Copper Scroll, Allegro held, should not be taken at face value. Rather, the values represent smaller values than those found in the Old Testament and in rabbinic texts.56 His basic argument is that the actual intended values have to be smaller 52  J.T. Milik, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân. Traduction et commentaire topographique,” RB 66 (1959): 321–57. 53  J.T. Milik, “The Copper Document from Cave III of Qumran: Translation and Commentary,” ADAJ 4–5 (1960): 137–55. 54  Cf. Milik’s remark in the provisionary translation of 1959: “Après trois ans, malgré d’autres travaux d’éditions également urgents (documents hébreux et araméens de Murabba‘ât, textes littéraires de la grotte 4 de Qumrân), l’édition de 3Q15 est prête et elle sera à l’impression quand paraîtra le present article” (Milik, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 321). Milik was therefore in fact the first to publish the entire text of 3Q15, not Allegro, as Émile Puech points out (Émile Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 172, note 15; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 5, note 15). 55  John M. Allegro, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll: The Opening and Decipherment of the Most Mysterious of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Unique Inventory of Buried Treasure (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd), 1960. In the American second edition of the book, Allegro had taken out the transcription (John M. Allegro, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll, rev. ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1964). 56  Allegro, The Treasure, 59–60.

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than those known from other sources, because otherwise the sums would be unrealistic, a line of thought hardly capable of convincing those who hold that the treasures are fiction. Allegro pointed, e.g., to the “two water pitchers” of 3Q15 VII 16, which are said to contain eighty talents of gold, and comments that if the values known from the Old Testament were meant, the pitchers “would have to be of a size capable of holding one and a half tons between them”.57 Since this is obviously not realistic, the values have to be downgraded. Also the “staters” (‫ )אסתרין‬mentioned in IX 3 (a coin representing the equivalent of the “half-shekel”) would make little sense, according to Allegro, among such vast amounts.58 In support of his case for downgrading the values of 3Q15 Allegro further argued that we have, in fact, “no certain knowledge what values were accorded the talent and its factors in Judaean common speech of the first century”.59 Allegro contended that the values usually assumed for the talents mentioned in the parables of Jesus in the gospels seem “abnormally large”.60 Allegro therefore suggested that we ought to downgrade the value of the talent mentioned in these texts to that of the “next denomination”, the maneh (Greek mina), which is officially the sixtieth part of a talent, and the value of the maneh to that of the shekel, the fiftieth part of the maneh.61 Allegro held – as he did in his earlier publication – that the Copper Scroll in fact records hidden treasures. However, in his edition he had changed his position and no longer regarded the treasures as belonging to the Essene community. Rather, they are the belongings of the Jerusalem Temple concealed and listed before the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the summer of 70 CE. Allegro speculated that in 68 CE the Zealots could have occupied the site of Qumran in connection with a more general series of Zealot raids against towns and villages in the southeast of the country, including, according to Josephus’ account, “holy places”.62 The main purpose of the campaign would have been the amassing of food and money needed for the continued war against the Romans. The assumed period of Zealot occupation at Qumran 57  Allegro, The Treasure, 59. However, in VII 16 Allegro’s reading ‫“( בכדין‬water pitches,” Allegro, The Treasure, 45) is untenable. The correct reading is ‫“( ככרין‬talents”). Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 291; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 190–91; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 68. 58  Allegro, The Treasure, 59. 59  Allegro, The Treasure, 59. 60  “The Unjust Steward (Mt 18:23f), for instance, could have held his own quite comfortably on Wall Street as far as his material resources were concerned, and the ‘good and faithful servant’ who speculated so successfully with his five talents would have needed a fair-sized wheelbarrow to bring his master the resultant four hundredweights of silver (Mt 25:14f)” (Allegro, The Treasure, 59). 61  Allegro, The Treasure, 59–60. 62  Allegro, The Treasure, 124–25. The Josephus reference quoted by Allegro is B.J. 4.408.

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must, according to Allegro, have been the time when they engraved and hid the Copper Scroll as an inventory of treasures from Jerusalem, which they deposited in various strategic places around Jericho and the Dead Sea. He interpreted the purpose of the deposit primarily as a religiously motivated act with the main point of hiding money and other objects that were dedicated to the temple.63 The Copper Scroll “is a record of such deposits of sacred material, tithe and tithe vessels, as well as silver and gold and precious vessels, sanctified by dedication or actual use in God’s service”.64 In his analysis of the toponyms of the Copper Scroll Allegro made a number of identifications, many of which differ from the suggestions made by Milik in his topographical commentary. Notably, he suggested identifying the place-name Secacah in 3Q15 with Khirbet Qumran, an assumption that has been taken up subsequently by many scholars.65 He often proposed different readings and interpretations of words and expressions in the text. His publication of an unofficial edition – at a time when Milik’s translation had already appeared, and his full edition was in fact ready to be printed – was met with severe criticism from his colleagues on the DJD editorial team. Additional animosity was undoubtedly due also to the polemics following some public statements by Allegro regarding the work of the team and by the fact that he organized expeditions to search for the treasures of the Copper Scroll at Qumran and elsewhere.66 Another voice among early researchers of 3Q15 for the authenticity of the treasures referred to was E.M. Laperrousaz.67 If the content were a popular tale without historical foundation, it would, according to Laperroussaz, have made little sense to undertake the effort of engraving the text on copper and hiding it in an isolated cave. He also pointed to the difference between the amounts stated in the Copper Scroll and the enumeration of myriads found in treasure legends such as the medieval Jewish text Massekhet Kelim, which Milik had adduced as a parallel to 3Q15. When a comparison is made with the sums recorded by Josephus for tributes imposed upon the Jews by Pompey (A.J. 14.78), 63  Allegro, The Treasure, 60–61, 120–29. 64  Allegro, The Treasure, 62. 65  Allegro, The Treasure, 70. The identification is accepted by Bargil Pixner, “Unravelling the Copper Scroll Code: A Study on the Topography of 3Q15,” RevQ 11 (1982–84): 323–36 (336); Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 188, note 210; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 53, note 210. 66  See de Vaux’s devastating recension of Allegro’s Copper Scroll edition in RB 68 (1961): 146–47. On the controversy surrounding Allegro’s contribution to the opening of the scrolls and his subsequent dealings with the document and his editorial colleagues, see Davies, “John Allegro and the Copper Scroll.” 67  E.M. Laperrousaz, “Remarques sur l’origine des rouleaux de cuivre découverts dans la grotte 3 de Qumrân,” RHR 159 (1961): 157–72.

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treasures seized by Crassus (A.J. 14.105), or offered to Pompey by Aristobulus (A.J. 14.34–37) the sums of the Copper Scroll do in fact seem rather modest. As opposed to the view supported by Kuhn and Dupont-Sommer that the treasures belonged to the Jerusalem Temple and were hidden during the First Revolt (66–70 CE), Laperrousaz suggested that the Copper Scroll refers to treasures of Bar Kochba and his administration. The hiding of 3Q15 in Cave 3 represents a second deposit at a later stage than the storing of jars and manuscripts belonging to the Qumran community in the same cave. In support of this hypothesis, Laperrousaz cited similarities in handwriting, orthography, and language between 3Q15 and the Murrabaʿat texts, and attempted to show how the geographical perspective of the Copper Scroll would fit the general background of the Second Revolt and the place-names of the Bar Kochba letters. Milik’s editio princeps of 3Q15 appeared in 1962.68 Building on and expanding his previous provisionary editions, Milik presented a transcription with notes on readings (which remain difficult in many places), translation and a full commentary on the text of 3Q15, dealing (in separate chapters) with the writing and other signs used, the orthography and language of the scroll, words and objects employed in the text, and the sites and monuments mentioned. A concluding chapter dealt with the author of the composition and his work. The scroll must have been written by a Jew who had not been educated in the rabbinic tradition, who knew neither the type of classical (biblical) Hebrew used in most Qumran texts nor the literary form of Mishnaic Hebrew. He was left, therefore, to write in his own dialect of spoken Mishnaic Hebrew. The text shows that the author must have had at least some knowledge of Greek. Milik identified the Jordan valley as the most probable origin for the author. The familiarity displayed in the text with the region around Jericho and the vicinity of Jerusalem supports the conclusion that the author lived in or near Jericho, and had visited Jerusalem on a regular basis.69 Nothing in the text indicates that the author had any affiliation to the Essene movement, and Milik was convinced that the Copper Scroll must have been deposited in Cave 3 at Qumran independently of the general manuscript deposit associated with the Essenes. This thesis, he claimed, is not contradicted by the archaeological evidence.70 He supported his argument for the non-Essene provenance of 3Q15 by pointing to the vast difference in orthography, scribal style, and literary character between this text and the rest of the Qumran documents.71 68  Milik, DJD 3. 69  Milik, DJD 3, 275–76. 70  Milik, DJD 3, 276–77. 71  Milik, DJD 3, 277–78.

Legend or History

21

In DJD 3 Milik described the structure of the individual descriptions of caches as tripartite, containing indications of the location, the distance, and the type and quantity of the valuables hidden in a given place (Milik termed the three elements “le lieu”, “les distances”, and “le genre et la quantité des trésors”).72 He counted 64 such descriptions or entries in the Copper Scroll. He further suggested that the sequence of entries is ordered according to a geographical structure consisting of six main groups. The first 5 items (I 1–15), according to Milik, form a group apart. The author begins with an item found in his own region (I 1–4), and then adds four disparate locations (I 5–15). Then follow items connected with Jerusalem and the Temple (II 1–III 13), the region of Jericho (IV 6–VII 16), the region to the south-east of Jerusalem (VIII 1–X 14), the eastern quarter of Jerusalem (X 15–XII 3), and finally a group of various locations (XII 4–13).73 As in his earlier publication, Milik referred to the Jewish medieval text Massekhet Kelim and the Arabic Book of the Treasured Pearls from Egypt as literary parallels to the catalogue of 3Q15. As mentioned above, Milik had initially become aware of the text on the Beirut plaques and referred to it in his first preliminary presentation of 3Q15 (from 1956) without identifying it with Massekhet Kelim.74 When DJD 3 was published, Milik had identified the text of the plaques with Massekhet Kelim and published a text-critical edition of the text in its double recension.75 In his DJD edition, he furthermore adduced an account in Sozomenos of the whereabouts of a treasure that is revealed in a dream.76 The treasures described in the scroll he held to be the treasures of the Temple as they were transfigured in popular imagination, where the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) was depicted in the legendary colors of the destruction of the First Temple. The apparent precision in numbers and measures exhibited by the author of 3Q15 is to be understood, in Milik’s view, as a literary device, resembling formally the precise numbers given in texts like the War Scroll and the New Jerusalem text.77 And Milik pointed again to the difference between the vast sums mentioned in 3Q15 and the actual findings of hoards from Palestine, which are invariably much more modest in size.78 72  Milik, DJD 3, 235. A more detailed discussion of the structure of the individual “entries” of 3Q15 is found in Chapter 5. 73  Milik, DJD 3, 278–79. 74  Milik, “The Copper Document from Cave III, Qumran.” 75  Milik, “Notes d’épigraphie et de topographie palestiniennes.” 76  Milik, DJD 3, 278–79. The reference in Sozomenos is found in his Historia Ecclesiastica, IX 14.382 (PG 67, 1628–30). 77  Milik, DJD 3, 281–82. 78  Milik, DJD 3, 283.

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The most likely date for the composition, according to Milik, is the period between the two Jewish revolts, when hopes of a reconstruction of the Temple were ardent in Jewish circles, as demonstrated by writings like Fourth Ezra and Second Baruch.79 In short, Milik’s comprehensive understanding of the Copper Scroll consists of two elements: (1) In view of its content and literary characteristics, 3Q15 should be interpreted as a record of legendary traditions. (2) The document should be regarded not as a part of the Qumran scrolls but as a text of different provenance, which happened to be deposited in the same cave as manuscripts belonging to the Qumran community, but at a later time and independently of the original scroll deposit. These two elements are obviously interrelated in Milik’s own presentation, but it may be worth noting that they are not intrinsically dependent on one another. 5

The Discussion Concerning the Language of 3Q15

Milik described the language of the Copper Scroll as a form of Mishnaic Hebrew, the spoken dialect of the Jordan valley.80 Milik’s description and categorization of the scroll’s language spurred a good deal of discussion. Definitions of “Mishnaic Hebrew” vary. Some scholars opt for a limited use of the term, restricting “MH” to cover the language of the Mishna (the dialect some prefer to label “Tanaaitic Hebrew”).81 Others use the term more broadly to cover a number of Hebrew dialects, sharing a number of traits that distinguish them from the Hebrew of the biblical writings. In his introduction to 3Q15 in DJD 3 Milik states explicitly that by MH he understands the Hebrew spoken in Judaea from the Persian period to the Second Jewish War.82 The earliest stages of MH are represented by the biblical book of Qohelet (and by elements of the language in the Song of Songs, Lamentations, Jonah, and Ben Sira), while the latest stage is that of the Mishna and other Talmudic writings. The language of 3Q15, then, reflects an intermediary stage in the development of MH, and from the perspective of the history of the Hebrew language, the text is important exactly because it throws light on 79  Milik, DJD 3, 283. 80  Milik, DJD 3, 221–27. 81  Cf. Ian Young et al., Linguistic Dating of Biblical Tetxs. 1: An Introduction to Approaches and Problems (Sheffield: Equinox, 2008), 223. Here, the language of the Mishna treaties, the Tosefta, and early Midrashim, is labelled “MH1”, while the later stage of the language, that of the Amoraim, is labelled “MH2”. 82  Milik, DJD 3, 222.

Legend or History

23

this period. Milik lists a group of sources reflecting more or less the same type of intermediary MH: (1) Certain literary texts from Qumran Cave 4; (2) Jewish inscriptions from the Roman period; (3) The Copper Scroll, and (4) Letters and contracts from Wadi Murabba‘at.83 The literary texts in MH from Qumran cited by Milik – still unpublished in 1961 when Milik’s edition of the Copper Scroll appeared – are the document later known as Miqşat Maʿaśe Ha-Torah or Halakhic Letter (4QMMT) and the Calendrical Texts/Mishmarot.84 Since the publication of DJD 3 the linguistic descriptions of these Qumran texts referred to by Milik as linguistically affiliated with MH have been nuanced somewhat, as the texts were published and analysed. Elisha Qimron, editor of 4QMMT with John Strugnell, maintains that the language of 4QMMT is not MH, although its vocabulary is closer to MH than to BH. The grammatical structure of 4QMMT, Qimron asserts, is basically the same as in other Qumran texts, and differs from that of MH.85 Another important document with regard to linguistic comparison with the Copper Scroll is the Temple Scroll, which Yigael Yadin published in 1983.86 This text, of course, was unknown to Milik in 1962. Yadin characterizes the language of the Temple Scroll as heavily influenced by MH (or “Rabbinic Hebrew”, which is Yadin’s term).87 Jonas C. Greenfield in his 1969 review of DJD 3 was rather critical of Milik’s description of the language of 3Q15 as a Mishnaic dialect. According to Greenfield, the nature of MH is not sufficiently described, and the Bar Kokhba 83  Milik, DJD 3, 222. 84  Milik designates the still unpublished six manuscripts of 4QMMT as “mišna-mišnf” (DJD 3, 222). In his preliminary understanding of the text, it represents an apocalyptic composition, in which the angels speaking in the first person plural give instructions regarding laws of purity, and the end of days, to a human visionary. 85  On the language and linguistic affiliation of 4QMMT see Elisha Qimron and John Stugnell, eds., Qumran Cave 4. V: Miqşat Maʿaśe Ha-Torah, DJD 10 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1994), 65–108. The Calendrical Texts/Mishmarot were published in Shemaryahu Talmon et al., eds., Qumran Cave 4. XVI: Calendrical Texts, DJD 21 (Oxford: Clarendon, 2001). There is no analysis of the linguistic affiliation of the Calendrical Texts as such in DJD 21, but the editors note the absence of a technical (= MH) use of the terms ‫משמרות‬/‫ משמר‬in the Qumran texts (DJD 21, 9). 86  Yigael Yadin, The Temple Scroll. Vol. 1–3 (Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society/The Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem/The Shrine of the Book, 1977–1983). 87  The influence of MH (or, in Yadin’s own terminology: “Rabbinic Hebrew”), according to Yadin, was due to the author’s tendency to employ words and structures of his own vernacular in spite of his intention to write in BH: “The wide employment of rabbinic Hebrew, in spite of the author’s own attempt to write in the style of the Bible, proves that many patterns of rabbinic Hebrew had already taken final shape at the time when the scroll was being composed” (Yadin, The Temple Scroll 1, 39). Se Yadin’s description of particular linguistic features of 11QTemple resembling MH (The Temple Scroll 1, 33–39).

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texts and the Qumran texts allegedly written in MH need to be more thoroughly investigated before anything definite can be said about their relationship to the language of the Copper Scroll.88 Greenfield also points out that Milik seems content to describe MH on the basis of the printed editions, which are based on much later medieval manuscripts, and use a standardized orthography and vocalization, not taking into account the extensive variation found in the early manuscript tradition.89 Such notes of caution have made their impact on further study of the language of 3Q15, but the basic impression that the Copper Scroll, like 4QMMT, is linguistically more closely related to MH than the remaining Qumran scrolls has been upheld by most scholars. Not atypical in this respect is Lawrence Schiffman’s formulation: “None of these documents can yet be called Mishnaic, but the Copper Scroll certainly comes as close as possible”.90 The differences between the language of 3Q15 and that of the majority of Qumran documents have often been noted. Shelomo Morag assigns the language the Copper Scroll to a specific category, beside that of “General Qumran Hebrew”, and calls this category “Copper Scroll Hebrew”.91 Morag makes a further distinction between this linguistic class and that of “Qumran Mishnaic” (represented, above all, by 4QMMT), thus emphasizing the peculiar and in some respects unique linguistic character of 3Q15. Notably, Elisha Qimron has argued that the language of 3Q15 should not be labelled “MH”. According to Qimron, the grammar of 3Q15, like the grammar of 4QMMT, “is basically identical with that of the other DSS, revealing no feature unique to MH”.92 This conclusion is obviously related to Qimron’s view of Qumran Hebrew as reflecting the spoken dialect of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period, while MH (a term he clearly prefers to define in a relatively strict manner) is – first and foremost, at least – the Hebrew dialect reflected in the Mishna. In Qimron’s opinion, these are different and linguistically distinguishable types of Hebrew.93 88  Jonas C. Greenfield, “The Small Caves of Qumran,” JAOS 89 (1969): 128–41 (137–38). 89  Greenfield, “The Small Caves,” 137. 90  Lawrence H. Schiffman, “The Architectural Vocabulary of the Copper Scroll and the Temple Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 180–95 (15). 91  Shelomo Morag, “Qumran Hebrew: Some Typological Observations,” VT 38 (1988): 148–64 (149). 92  Elisha Qimron, “The Nature of DSS Hebrew and its Relation to BH and MH,” in Diggers at the Well. Proceedings of a Third International Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira, ed. Takamitsu Muraoka and John F. Elwolde, STDJ 36 (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 232–44 (234). 93  “It is my conviction that the grammar of the DSS reflects the Hebrew of the period spoken in Jerusalem or in its vicinity. This grammar differs markedly from either that of MH or that of Tiberian BH” (Qimron, “The Nature of DSS Hebrew,” 232).

Legend or History

25

Several more specific studies have confirmed the basic notion of affinity between the language of the Copper Scroll and MH while at the same time adding nuances to the picture. Yohanan Thorion studied a number of linguistic characteristics of the Copper Scroll, and basically confirms the results reached by Milik.94 Al Wolters has pointed to the affinity between the lexicon of 3Q15 and that of MH, supplementing and expanding the evidence cited by Milik.95 Similarly, Fransisco J. Bedman’s analysis of the lexicon of 3Q15 also supports the notion of affinity between the scroll and MH.96 Bedman emphasizes that the Copper Scroll enlarges by more than 25% the list drawn up by Qimron of words mainly attested in Qumran texts and in Tannaitic and Amoraic literature.97 Less clear-cut are the results of the study by Piotr Muchowski, who examined a particular aspect of the language of 3Q15 (expressions of direction), concluding that the text is linguistically affiliated with the Bar Kochba letters but differs from what he terms “classical” MH (the language of the Mishna).98 Building on this and other recent studies, and attempting to make a renewed comprehensive statement regarding the language of 3Q15, I came to basically the same conclusion as Schiffman: The language of the Copper Scroll is closer to MH than to any other known type of Hebrew. In particular, the vocabulary of 3Q15 is strikingly similar to that of MH.99 The nature of the Hebrew in 3Q15 will be further discussed in Chapter 4.

94  Yohanan Thorion, “Beiträge zur Erforschung der Sprache der Kupferrolle,” RevQ 12 (1985– 86): 163–76. 95  Al Wolters, “The Copper Scroll and the Vocabulary of Mishnaic Hebrew,” RevQ 14 (1990): 483–95. 96  Fransisco Jiménez Bedman, “Lexical Analysis of the Copper Scroll from the Perspective of Mishnaic Hebrew,” in Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Proceedings of the 6th EAJS Congress, Toledo, July 1998. 1: Biblical, Rabbinical, and Medieval Studies, ed. Judit Taragona Borrás and Angel Sáenz-Badillos (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 65–71. Cf. Bedman, El Rollo de Cobre de Qumran (3Q15). Estudio Lingüístico. Tesis doctoral realizada por Don Francisco Jiménez Bedman bajo la dirección del Doctor Don Miguel Pérez Fernández, Catedrático de Lengua y Literatura Hebrea de la Universidad de Granada (Granada: Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 2000). 97  Bedman, “Lexical Analysis”, 69. Cf. E. Qimron, The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, HSS 29 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986), 98–104. 98  Piotr Muchowski, “Language of the Copper Scroll in the Light of the Phrases Denoting Directions of the World,” in Methods of Investigation of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Khirbet Qumran Site: Present Realities and Future Prospects, ed. Michael O. Wise et al., Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 711 (New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1994), 319–27. 99  Jesper Høgenhaven, “The Language of the Copper Scroll (3Q15): A Renewed Examination,” RevQ 27 (2015): 271–301.

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Continued Discussions on the “Authenticity” Question

With the text of the Copper Scroll available in critical and annotated editions the way was paved for further studies in its vocabulary and thought-world and for advancing and deepening scholarly understanding of single words and references. Ben-Zion Luria published a monograph on the Copper Scroll in 1964.100 He offered alternative drawings, a transcription and a translation into modern Hebrew of the text, as well as numerous suggestions for improved readings. He connected the treasures mentioned in 3Q15 with the theory that a third Jewish temple was established in the Bar Kochba period, and held that the treasures listed in the text would have belonged to that temple. A detailed study of central terms in the Copper Scroll was the article by Manfred R. Lehmann, who argued that 3Q15 exhibits a marked interest in consecrated objects.101 Lehmann focuses especially on the passage I 9–11: ‫בתל שבכחלת כלי דמע בל]?[גין ואפודת‬ ‫הכל של הדמע והאצר השבע ומעסר‬ ‫שני מפוגל‬

In the mound of Kohlit: Tithe vessels, flasks and ephods, the total of the tithe and the treasure of the seventh year, and the disqualified second tithe.102 Key words in this passage are “tithe vessels” (‫ )כלי דמע‬alongside “second tithe” (‫)מעסר שני‬, and a “treasure of the seventh (sabbatical) year” (‫)האצר השבע‬.103 According to Lehmann, the key term is the word ‫( אפודת‬I 9), which he interprets as meaning “redemptions”, deriving it from the root ‫פדה‬. In fact, Lehmann’s understanding of the word ‫ אפודת‬is hardly tenable; it seems 100   Ben-Zion Luria, ‫( מגילת נחושת ממדבר יהודה‬Jerusalem: Israel Bible Research Society (‫)החבורה לחקר המקרא בישראל‬/Kiryat Sefer, 1964). 101  Manfred R. Lehmann, “Identification of the Copper Scroll based on its technical terms,” RevQ 5 (1964–66): 97–105. 102  See Chapter 2 for a more detailed discussion of the reading and interpretation of this passage. 103  This is one of the cases where Allegro has the better reading. His rendering of ‫כלי דמע‬ as “tithe vessels” (Allegro, The Treasure, 33, with note 19) is preferable to Milik’s “vases d’aromates” (Milik, DJD 3, 285, cf. 250, 300). Furthermore, Allegro correctly identifies ‫ האצר השבע‬as “stored Seventh-Year produce” and ‫ מעסר שני‬as “second tithe”. Milik, who does not recognize the concentration of consecrated objects in this passage, fails to connect the numbers “seven” and “second” to the preceding word in both cases. For more details on these terms see Chapter 3.

Legend or History

27

both more natural and more satisfactory to interpret the word as “ephods”.104 However, in Lehmann’s view, the designation “redemptions” may cover practically all the items listed in the scroll, or at least any categories of taxes, gifts, tithes, and consecrations which are subject to redemption. In particular, Lehmann highlighted the references in 3Q15 to ‫חרם‬, “consecrated objects” (IX 10, 16; XI 7).105 The references to consecrated offerings point to the historical background of 3Q15, since, according to the Mishnah, the hiding of such consecrated objects, or their corresponding money value was necessary in the case where the Temple was not functioning. Such a situation existed in the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when hopes of a reconstruction of the Temple were still ardent. Lehman’s dating of the Copper Scroll, in other words, is in accordance with Milik’s general view. Such an expectation, in Lehman’s view, lies behind the hiding of accumulated stores of consecrated objects and money, which could be recovered and delivered to the sanctuary in the event of its rebuilding.106 While Lehmann’s reconstruction of the particular historical background of 3Q15 remains controversial, his interpretation of the terms ‫ כלי דמע‬and ‫ מעסר‬in the light of rabbinic literature has generally been accepted as valid, and represent an improvement in our understanding of the text over against Milik’s reading and interpretation of the same terms.107 While there was, as we have seen, a good deal of interest in discussing the linguistic issues, and some investigations of particular words in 3Q15 were carried out, scholarly attention to the Copper Scroll was sparse during the following years. In an overview article from 1968 Hans Bardtke could sum up the situation stating that the debate on the Copper Scroll had become almost silent since the appearance of DJD 3.108 This silence is due, in Bardtke’s opinion, less to a universal acceptance of Milik’s interpretation of 3Q15, and more to the fact that it seemed difficult to move beyond the alternative “historical record” 104  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 181–82, with note 120; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 33, with note 120. 105  Allegro’s rendering (“consecrated offerings”, The Treasure, 49, 53, with note 210) is preferable to Milik’s (“anathème”, DJD 3, 294, 297, cf. 249). Lehman (“Identification,” 102–3) also reads ‫ חרם‬in IX 10. Milik (DJD 3, 293) reads ‫חרב‬. The reading to be preferred is ‫מנחה רב‬ (“a large offering gift”). Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 197; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 82–83. 106  The interpretation of ‫ דמע‬in the light of rabbinic usage as “heave-offering” was supported by several scholars. Cf. Gad Ben-Ami Sarfatti, ‫אצלם“ – חידה החידות של מגילת הנחושת‬ ‫בתכן‬,” Leshonenu 36 (1971–72): 106–11 (107). 107  A more detailed discussion of the significance of these terms is found in Chapter 3. 108  Hans Bardtke, “Qumrān und seine Probleme. Teil II. 2. Die Kupferrollen,” TRu 33 (1968): 185–204 (201).

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or “folkloristic” document. Bardtke’s own position is to follow Milik with some reservations. The literary genre of the document is hard to explain in the light of parallels – Bardtke insisted on the strict and “restrained” style of the catalogue in comparison with the later parallels mentioned by Milik (Massekhet Kelim, Arab “Book of Pearls”, Sozomenos) and its apparently high degree of precision in describing the hiding places.109 Bardtke was particularly critical of Milik’s thesis that the Copper Scroll was a special later deposit, independent of the rest of the Qumran scrolls and the community that owned it. The possibility of a connection with the other Qumran manuscripts should at least be acknowledged in further research.110 Bardtke thus separated the two major elements of Milik’s position regarding 3Q15. Moreover, Bardtke pointed to the possibility that 3Q15 is a “cryptic” document in the sense that it was deliberately designed to be understood only by initiated readers.111 Bargil Pixner in a long article in 1983 attempted to present an alternative approach to the Copper Scroll, based on a new reading of its topography.112 In the introductory section he criticized Milik’s overall view of the text as literary fiction. Several issues are taken up here: Pixner finds Milik’s assumption of a second, independent deposit implausible in view of the physical condition of Cave 3 – it is difficult to imagine someone finding his way into this hidden cave without knowing the location.113 The differences in language and style between 3Q15 and other Qumran writings can be explained in terms of the purpose and subject-matter of the Copper Scroll being unique. The text was not meant to serve any “literary purpose” but was a “practical worksheet, an aidememoire”, which it was natural to write in ordinary, popular Hebrew.114 On the level of literary analysis Pixner pointed to the occurrence of Greek letters in 3Q15 I–IV – a feature left unexplained by Milik – as an indication that the catalogue is real rather than legendary. He tentatively suggested that the letters could represent abbreviations of Greek names, possibly the names of individuals who were responsible for certain possessions mentioned.115 The geographi109  Bardtke, “Qumrān und seine Probleme,” 200, 202. 110  Bardtke, “Qumrān und seine Probleme,” 202. 111  Bardtke, ibid. In his brief section on the Copper Scroll in his earlier book (Die Handschriftenfunde am Toten Meer: Die Sekte von Qumran (Berlin: Evangelische HauptBibelgesellschaft, 1958), 176–81). Bardtke had leaned towards accepting the catalogue as an authentic record, although he found Mowinckel’s reference to legends of temple treasures worth considering seriously. At that time the full text of 3Q15 had not yet been published. 112  Pixner, “Unravelling.” 113  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 334–35. 114  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 338. 115  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 335.

Legend or History

29

cal distribution of caches, in Pixner’s opinion, is evidence of a connection with the most important centres of the Essene movement: The hiding places are found in Jerusalem, the area around Qumran (called Secacah in 3Q15) and the area of Batanea on the slopes of the Yarmuk.116 Pixner rejected Milik’s identification of the toponym Kohlit with the ‘Ain Kahol of Massekhet Kelim.117 Pixner argued that ‫ כחלת‬was not a place-name but rather common term signifying a “community center” in any of the areas where Essene settlements existed.118 In his own reading of 3Q15 Pixner assigned considerable importance to geography as a structuring element in the document. The treasure catalogue, according to Pixner, “was composed on a definite geographical plan”.119 Pixner divided the text into five sections, dealing with the region at the “Essene gate” of Jerusalem (I 1–IV 5), the region of Jericho (IV 6–VII 16), the region of the Yarmuk river south of Damascus (VIII 1–X 4), the area around Jerusalem (X 5–XII 3), and divers locations in northern Palestine (XII 4–13). Pixner held the opinion that the geographical scheme of the Copper Scroll reflects the distribution of Essene settlements concentrated in three major areas, Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Yarmuk region, which Pixner equates with the “land of Damascus” known from the Damascus Document.120 These three regions were, according to Pixner, all characterized by having strong Essene settlements. In Jerusalem the Essenes had their centre on the southwestern hill, their agricultural holdings along the road to Bethlehem, and their burial place in the central section of the Kidron valley. In the region of Jericho the centre was Qumran (= Secacha of 3Q15) with a number of other holdings in more isolated places. And the Yarmuk region, where Pixner located a number of toponyms from 3Q15, must, he assumes, have been a third Essene

116  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 336. 117  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 337. Pixner’s representation of Milik’s argument here is hardly accurate. Milik, according to Pixner, “jumps to the strange conclusion, that since this story of a hiding place of temple treasure at ‘Ain Kahol is a legend, CS must be a legend because it mentions repeatedly a hiding place called Kohlit”. The identification of Kohlit of 3Q15 with the “fountain of Elijah” or ‘Ain Kahol at Mount Carmel mentioned in Massekhet Kelim (Milik, DJD 3, 281, cf. 274–5) is not, however, in Milik’s discourse, an independent argument proving the legendary character of the treasures in 3Q15. Milik based his understanding of the document on a number of literary traits found in the text. Massekhet Kelim and the Book of the Treasured Pearls are adduced as (more or less remote) analogies. See Chapter 5 for more details. 118  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 337, 343. 119  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 341. 120  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 350, 359–60.

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stronghold. The Copper Scroll records their possessions, which would have been hidden near places where the Essene presence was prominent.121 As regards the vast amounts of money and precious material listed in 3Q15, Pixner mentioned the possibility that some sort of code was used, while at the same time maintaining that the Essene community could in fact have accumulated considerable wealth over centuries, and is likely to have established a “counter bank” refusing to deal with the Jerusalem Temple and its treasury.122 It will be seen that Pixner seems to a great extent to regard the two elements in Milik’s interpretation – the legendary nature of the 3Q15 treasures and the assumption of an independent provenience and deposit for the document – as two sides of the same matter. Al Wolters has published a number of articles dealing with philological and semantic aspects of the text of 3Q15.123 In 1990 he devoted an article to the ongoing debate on the authenticity or legendary status of the Copper Scroll treasure.124 Stating the case for the authenticity of the treasure, in line with earlier scholars, Wolters outlined a sharp contrast between “folklore” and “apocalyptic” on the one hand and the text of the Copper Scroll on the other, and attempted at countering Milik’s claim that 3Q15 is thematically cognate to motifs from folklore as well as to motifs found in apocalyptic texts. Apocryphal legends of the Temple treasures, according to Wolters, invariably focus on the Ark of the Covenant and the other most sacred vessels – which are not mentioned in 3Q15 – and assign them to an unknown hiding-place in contrast to the many different locations designated in the Copper Scroll. 7

Newer Contributions and a New Text Edition

Renewed and growing interest in the Copper Scroll was reflected in the 1996 international symposium on the Copper Scroll, which was organized at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.125 For the occasion, Al Wolters prepared a reedition of 3Q15 in a handy format with a general introduction, a Hebrew text, and an English translation.126 In the introduction, 121  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 325–26, 359–60. 122  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 339–40. 123  Al Wolters, “Notes on the Copper Scroll,” RevQ 12 (1985–87): 589–96. 124  Al Wolters, “Apocalyptic and the Copper Scroll,” JNES 49 (1990): 145–54. 125  The contributions of this symposium are published in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies. 126  Al Wolters, The Copper Scroll: Overview, Text and Translation (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996).

Legend or History

31

Wolters states his inclination towards the theory that 3Q15 is a record of valuables from the Second Temple, hidden shortly before its destruction in 70 CE.127 At the conference a number of contributions were presented, some dealing with specific aspects of the language, vocabulary, or writing of the scroll, others covering broader or more fundamental issues. Ruth Fidler presented an investigation into the literary structure and composition technique of the document. She focused on the significance of the toponyms chosen by the author in view of their associations derived from their use in biblical literature. Fidler identified some striking deliberate examples of correspondence between the beginning and the end of 3Q15, and suggested that we should recognize inclusio as a literary composition strategy used by the author to highlight the contrast between the locations “Valley of Achor” (I 1) and Mount Gerizim (XII 4).128 These places, when considered against their scriptural connotations, have important elements in common, while, on the other hand, also forming a contrast: In the narrative of Josh 7 an illegitimate burial of consecrated treasures is related, with inevitable catastrophic consequences, and with a lasting effect “to this day” (Josh 7:21). Mount Gerizim, according to the conquest account in Josh 8:33, is associated with national blessing, and the Shechem area appears in the patriarchal narratives as a place where Jacob hid the foreign gods and earrings belonging to his household (Gen 35:4). The movement from the “valley of trouble” to the “sacred mount” can thus be described as progress, and suggests that these toponyms at the beginning and end of the Copper Scroll were deliberately chosen to form an appropriate framework for the entire text.129 Contributions by Hanan Eshel and Stephen Pfann highlighted the archaeological background of some of the scroll’s expressions, relating to water installations and aqueducts, and to storage jars.130 The discussion concerning the authenticity and possible historical background for the treasure deposits mentioned in 3Q15 was continued by several scholars. P. Kyle McCarter, building on Manfred R. Lehman’s earlier contribution, contended that the valuables represented a collection of religious offerings destined for the Temple and accumulated over a longer period, when 127  Wolters, The Copper Scroll, 17–18. The book, which is clearly intended to be a practical tool for reading the text, has neither notes on readings nor a commentary, which makes it difficult to evaluate many of the readings chosen. 128  Ruth Fidler, “Inclusio and Symbolic Geography in the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 210–25. 129  Fidler, “Inclusio,” 223. 130  Hanan Eshel, “Aqueducts in the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 92–107; Stephen Pfann, “Kelei Demaʿ: Tithe Jars, Scroll Jars and Cookie Jars,”, ibid., 163–79.

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Jerusalem was inaccessible as a result of the First Jewish Revolt.131 Lehmann also took up the discussion in an article he published in 1993.132 Here, Lehmann expands on his earlier interpretation, suggesting that after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE Jewish circles continued to collect Temple taxes and voluntary offerings as an “underground” operation in the hope that the Temple would soon be restored. Such accumulated funds were, he contends, hidden and stored for the day when they could again be properly delivered to the temple, and the scroll is an inventory of these valuables. Hartmut Stegemann, in his popular book on Qumran and the Essenes, accepted the Copper Scroll as authentic and considered it a record of holdings of the Jerusalem temple, stored away in view of the unstable situation immediately before the First Revolt. The deposit of the scroll in Cave 3, in Stegemann’s view, was unrelated to the rest of the Qumran scrolls.133 The authenticity of the Copper Scroll treasure deposits was also upheld by Lawrence H. Schiffman in his monograph from 1994 on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism.134 In an article from 1994 Wolters was able to sum up recent scholarly attitudes to the authenticity question by stating that “a scholarly consensus seems to be emerging that the Copper Scroll is an authentic record of ancient treasure, to be dated around 68 CE, and that its treasure belonged either to the sectarians of Qumran or the Temple in Jerusalem”.135 However, serious doubts regarding the assumption of a fixable background in some real historical deposit of valuables continued to be voiced. Leslaw Morawiecki in an article from 1994 questioned the common assumption that 3Q15 contains very precise numbers and measurements.136 Within a brief section of the document (I 4–8) a value of seventeen talents of silver stands 131  P  . Kyle McCarter, “The Mysterious Copper Scroll: Clues to Hidden Temple Treasure?” BRev 8/4 (1992): 34–41, 63–64 (63–4); “The Copper Scroll Treasure as an Accumulation of Religious Offerings,” in Wise et al., Methods of Investigation, 133–48. 132  Manfred R. Lehmann, “Where the Temple Tax Was Buried,” BAR 19/6 (1993): 38–43. 133  Hartmut Stegemann, Die Essener, Qumran, Johannes der Täufer und Jesus. Ein Sachbuch (Freiburg: Herder, 1993), 104–08. 134  Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls. The History of Judaism. The Background of Christianity. The Lost Library of Qumran (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society), 1994, 377–79. 135  Al Wolters, “History and the Copper Scroll,” in Wise et al., Methods of Investigation, 285– 98 (291). Cf. also Wolters, “The Copper Scroll,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: a Comprehensive Assessment, ed. Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 302–13. At the 1996 Manchester symposium, a vote was taken among the scholars present, and a clear majority held that the treasures of 3Q15 must have been real. Cf. George J. Brooke, “Introduction,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 1–9 (8). 136  Leslaw Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure: A Fantasy or Stock Inventory?” QC 4 (1994): 169–74.

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alongside a reference to “100 gold bars” without any indication of their weight or actual value, and a reference to 900 talents without specifying whether gold or silver is meant. Furthermore, the Copper Scroll lists numerous immeasurable quantities, gold and silver vessels, boxes filled with silver, etc. Morawiecki also pointed to the formulation “17 talents of gold and silver” as evidence that the author did in fact not intend to give the exact value of the treasure.137 Indefinite amounts are referred to in one entry in five, suggesting that the writer was not interested in stating the real value of the treasure at all. All this, according to Morawiecki, clearly indicates, “that the author’s intention was to rouse the reader’s imagination rather than to make an inventory of the value of the treasure”.138 Likewise, Jean-Baptiste Humbert has supported Milik’s position on the treasures as fictional, citing the immense sums of precious metal referred to in the document.139 The sacred and Jewish character of the deposits is manifest, according to Humbert.140 Humbert sees the Copper Scroll basically as an imaginary temple inventory. The background is Jewish legends of the lost treasures and sacred objects of Solomon’s temple. The purpose of the text is to reassure the believers of hope in spite of the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jewish nation. “Le message est une propaganda religieuse: tout n’est pas perdu puisque l’essentiel demeure caché”.141 Humbert points in particular to the extraordinary nature of the very last treasure listed in 3Q15, and interprets the doubling of the text itself here as an expression of a magic force: “Une puissance occulte est à l’oeuvre: la dernière cachette de l’inventaire ne contient rien d’autre qu’un Rouleau qui corrige celui-ci. Le mystère rebondit comme le future promis”.142 A comprehensive study of the Copper Scroll is Judah K. Lefkovits’ monograph from 2000, which, by its size and format, amounts to being another reedition.143 Basing himself on the earlier editions, Lefkovits presents the Hebrew text of the entire document, accompanied by extensive notes and commentaries, including a discussion of most proposed readings and their possible interpretations. Without being in itself an epigraphic study of the manuscript, Lefkovits’ 137  Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure,” 172. 138  Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure,” 173. 139   Jean-Baptiste Humbert, “Le Rouleau de cuivre de Qumran: Découverte et interpretation,” in Jordanie sur les pas des archéologues. Exposition présentée du 13 juin au 5 octobre 1997, Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe 1997, 89–97 (91). 140  Humbert, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 91 (“le caractère sacré et juif des dépôts est évident”). 141  Humbert, “Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 93. 142  Humbert, “Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 93. 143  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll.

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monograph also presents a significant number of suggested new readings, primarily based on the vocabulary of rabbinic literature. In his concluding discussion Lefkovits endorses the interpretation of the document as a “genuine document of actual wealth”, probably made for the Jerusalem high priest as a catalogue of hidden valuable possessions of the temple.144 The historical context must have been the turbulent years leading up to the First Revolt.145 More importantly, however, Lefkovits suggests a new interpretation for the abbreviation ‫ככ‬, which occurs often (30 times) in the Copper Scroll. While it has been generally assumed that ‫ ככ‬is an abbreviation for ‫“( ככרין‬talents”), Lefkovits suggests that ‫ ככ‬stands for ‫ כסף כרש‬or ‫כסף כרשין‬, “silver karsh”.146 Karsh is a Persian weight (equalling ten shekels) often used in the Aramaic texts from Elephantine.147 Lefkovits bases his argument largely on the observation that ‫ככ‬ seems, in a number of cases, to have been corrected by the scribe of 3Q15, who changed an original ‫ ככ‬into ‫ככרין‬.148 The fact that such corrections were made in certain cases but not generally carried through, suggests that there was a genuine difference of meaning between ‫ ככ‬and ‫ככרין‬. The correction would make little sense if the former was simply an abbreviation for the latter. This suggestion is, obviously, of considerable importance for the discussion regarding the amounts of value attached to the deposits referred to in the Copper Scroll. If we interpret the references to ‫ ככ‬as meaning not talents but silver karsh (a talent equalling 300 karsh), the total sum appears to be significantly smaller than many estimates, based on reading ‫ ככ‬as an indication of talents. I return to this question in Chapter 4. Steven P. Weitzman suggested in an article published in 2004 that the Copper Scroll should be understood in the light of the ancient Jewish legend of the hidden ark.149 Weitzman cites the Greek tradition about the Messenian mysteries related by Pausanias as a revealing analogy: According to Pausanias, 144  Lefkovits does not, however, attempt at engaging in a discussion with scholars who regard the record of hidden wealth as fiction. His statement (“The Copper Scroll does not contain any fables. The only issue cited by those who reject its authenticity is the enormous wealth listed in it” (The Copper Scroll, 461)) hardly does justice to the debate. 145  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 459–69. 146  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 471–88; cf. Lefkovits, “The Copper Scroll Treasure: Fact or Fiction. The Abbreviation ‫ ככ‬versus ‫ככרין‬,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 139–54. 147  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 479–80. 148  Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 474–75) notes that this is the case in at least seven occurrences of ‫ ככרין‬in 3Q15 (I 4; II 6; X 10; XII 1.3.7.9). 149  Steven P. Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery in the Copper Scroll,” in The Idea of Biblical Interpretation: Essays in Honor of James L. Kugel, ed. Hindy Najman and Judith H. Newman, JSJSup 83 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 239–55.

Legend or History

35

a Messenian leader, Aristomenes, on the eve of his people’s defeat by the Spartans and subsequent exile, learned from a prophecy that their eventual return depended on “a secret thing” in their possession, which had to be protected from destruction. Aristomenes buried the sacred object, the nature of which remains unclear in the narrative, in a secret place in Ithome under the protection of Zeus. Centuries later, when the Messenians were able to return to their home, another leader, Epiteles, had the hiding place revealed to him in a vision, and discovered the book (“some tin foil, very thin, rolled up like a book”) containing the mysteries, hidden in a bronze urn.150 The myth as transmitted by Pausanias connects an object – which probably had a physical existence at a certain time – with the idea of continuity with a mythical past. Weitzman suggests that the Copper Scroll records the hiding of existing objects from the Temple, and that the act of hiding was inspired by the legend of the hidden Ark, and should be interpreted as an attempt to secure the future restoration of the Temple and cult. The dichotomy between myth and history assumed in the scholarly discussion regarding the authenticity of the Copper Scroll treasures is too simplistic, since the text is an expression of “mythical reality”. By this, Weitzman means that myths could influence the ways people acted in the real world, while myths could also be reshaped by historical experience.151 Weitzman developed and refined his views further in an article published in 2015.152 Again, he introduces parallels from the Greek and Hellenistic world, following up on a suggestion made in the 1980s by David J. Wilmot.153 Wilmot pointed to temple inventory lists from the Greek world as analogies to the inventory of 3Q15. Temple inventories provide lists of valuables in a brief and formulaic language similar to that of the Copper Scroll, and they sometimes contain information about the location of the objects listed. However, Wilmot assumed that temple inventories were, by definition, always straightforward administrative, non-literary documents recording items that were actually found in the respective sanctuaries. The Copper Scroll, in Wilmot’s opinion, was to be understood as a similar non-literary text recording valuables that 150  Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery,” 245–47. The text from Pausanias can be found in: Pausanias’ Description of Greece II. Books II, IV and V. Translated by W. H. S. Jones and H. A. Ormerod, LCL (Cambridge: Harvard University Press; London: Heinemann, 1977), 284–317 (Descr. IV.20.4–26.8). 151  Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery,” 248. 152  Steven P. Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for: A New Approach to the Copper Scroll,” HTR 108 (2015): 423–47. 153  Wilmot died in 1986 before completing his doctoral thesis on the Copper Scroll. Some of his results were summarized in Michael O. Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 291–310.

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existed at the time the text was composed. Weitzman cites recent research on temple inventories demonstrating that their function was more complex, and that the dividing line between what was fictional and what was historical cannot be so easily drawn. Temple inventories serve not only to keep record of existing temple treasures but also to honour the gods and to elevate the glory of temples.154 Furthermore, there was a widespread practice in the ancient Greek world of recording treasures that had been lost or damaged. This feature was important in order to retain accountability with respect to temple personnel, and to sustain the credibility of the temple as an institution.155 Weitzman focuses particular attention on the Lindian Chronicle, a Greek text inscribed on a marble stele dating from 99 BCE, and originally placed at the temple of Athena Lindia in the acropolis of Lindos. This text combines narrative elements with elements of a temple inventory, and can be demonstrated to record both legendary gifts to the temple and gifts which may or may not have existed at the time the inscription was made. The style of the Lindian Chronicle can be seen from the description in the text of a votive gift to Athena made by Alexander the Great: King Alexander, caltrops. On which had been inscribed, ‘King Alexander having overcome in battle Darius and becoming lord of Asia, offered sacrifice to Athena the Lindian according to an oracle during the priesthood [held] by Theugenes the son of Pistokrateus.’ These things the public records of the Lindians contain. And he also dedicated armour, on which there is an inscription (LC XXXVIII).156 Weitzman suggests that the Copper Scroll shares some basic features with this Greek document. He also cites the literary character of the Jewish medieval text Massekhet Kelim, which Milik had adduced as a document showing similarities to 3Q15.157 Weitzman’s point is that we have no means to determine how many of the treasures listed in the Copper Scroll that might have had a real historical existence at some stage. What is important, however, is to recognize the existence in ancient literature of a particular “category of cultic treasure between our categories of the real and the mythical – missing treasure, a treasure that 154  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 433–36. 155  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 438–39. 156  The translation is quoted from Carolyn Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle and the Greek Creation of the Past (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 41. See Chapter 5 for a fuller discussion of the Lindian Chronicle and its relevance for 3Q15. 157  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 433, 441.

Legend or History

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had been destroyed, lost, or removed from the temple”.158 The treasures listed in 3Q15 should be viewed not as a mere literary fiction, but rather as belonging to the category of treasures believed to be real but not available for immediate inspection.159 In this way, understanding the Copper Scroll in the context of comparable ancient texts may help the interpreter to find a way that leads “beyond the sharp binary between myth and reality”.160 In 1988 a new series of photographs of the Copper Scroll were taken by Bruce and Kenneth Zuckerman of the West Semitic research project as part of the preparatory work for a planned new edition of the Copper Scroll under the Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls project.161 From 1994 to 1996 the manuscript itself underwent extensive conservation and restoration work carried out at the Valectra laboratory of Électricité de France. In the course of the conservation process, X-ray photographs were taken of the various sections of the scroll from different angles, providing a highly improved base for epigraphical analysis of the manuscript. Furthermore, a mould was produced of the segments, reflecting precisely their dimensions and surface. Based on these new images in combination with the already existing photos and a collation of the original, Émile Puech was able to establish a new edition of 3Q15, which appeared in 2006.162 An English version of Puech’s updated edition was published in 2015.163 The 2006 text new edition prepared by Puech provides a markedly improved textual basis for the continued reading and discussion of the Copper Scroll. Puech offers a comprehensive and thorough presentation and discussion of readings that are difficult and disputed readings in the scroll. Based on the investigation carried out by means of the now available new photos, he is able, in numerous cases, to establish the correct readings and bring old disputes to rest. A considerable number of difficult cases remain open to various interpretations, but a vast amount of suggested readings can now be excluded, paving the way for a more focused and well-informed discussion of the extant text. 158  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 445. 159  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 447. 160  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 441. 161  See Marilyn J. Lindberg and Bruce Zuckerman, “When Images Meet: The Potential of Photographic and Computer Imaging Technology for the Study of the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 45–57 (46–47). 162  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre.” Puech had already published some important results of his reexamination of the manuscript (Émile Puech, “Quelques résultats d’un nouvel examen du Rouleau de cuivre (3Q15),” RevQ 18 (1997): 163–90; “Some Results of a New Examination of the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 58–89). 163  Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited.

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In his general introduction, Puech takes up the discussion concerning authentic or fictitious treasures. He opts for the former solution, holding that the amounts mentioned in 3Q15 (which he estimates at a sum of some 4000 talents) are not unrealistically high when compared to other records of treasures in contemporary sources.164 Puech regards the composition as a part of the Qumran scrolls and advocates for an origin within the Qumran Essene community. The geographical outlook of the text reflects the existence and distribution of Essene settlements in ancient Palestine. Puech rejects Milik’s identification of Kohlit with the place named ‘Ain Kahol in Massekhet Kelim, situated near Mount Carmel. Instead, he tentatively suggests an identification with Tell es-Sultan at Jericho. This site would fit both the items mentioned (including water installations) and the geographical sequence of toponyms in the Copper Scroll. Furthermore, the identification is in agreement with the reference in the Talmud (b. Qidd. 66a) to “Kohlit in the desert”.165 Puech supports the interpretation of Greek letters as abbreviations of proper nouns, and clearly regards their existence as an indication of the historical nature of the inventory.166 Puech assumes that there is a geographical order structuring the sequence of cache descriptions in 3Q15. He recognizes two major groups of items. The first section (I 1–IV 2) is the only part of 3Q15 where Greek abbreviated names occur, and should be treated as a group apart. The items described here belong to the Valley of Achor, to Kohlit, and to the Temple area in Jerusalem. The following section (IV 3–XII 13) resumes the same geographical sequence, beginning with Kohlit, and moving again to the Valley of Achor. The toponyms of 3Q15, according to Puech, cover areas around Sokokah-Jericho and TekoaBethlehem-Jerusalem. Both areas are connected through the Kidron Valley.167 While Puech made a strong case for interpreting the Copper Scroll as grounded in historical events, and for regarding its deposits as authentic,168 a different approach to the question of the historical setting of the Copper Scroll was taken in an article by Hanan Eshel and Zeev Safrai from 2007.169 Eshel and Safrai, like Milik, point to the medieval text Massekhet Kelim as the most obvious parallel to the treasure catalogue of the Copper Scroll, and to the 164  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 174; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 11. 165  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175, note 49; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 13–14, note 49. 166  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 174–75; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 12–13. 167  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 15. Cf. Puech, “Some Results,” 82–88. 168  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 173; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 8. 169  Hanan Eshel and Zeev Safrai, ?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, Cathedra 103 (2007): 7–20.

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literary and fictitious nature of the document, which should be read against the background of Jewish traditions (witnessed in the intertestamental writings, in Josephus, and in Rabbinic texts) of the hiding of valuables from the First Temple. These traditions are associated with an apparently widespread idea of the Second Temple as not being the “ideal” sanctuary, and that a full restoration of a Temple fulfilling all demands for a proper cult was yet to be expected. The geographical outlook of the Copper Scroll is revealing, according to Eshel and Safrai, because it locates the hidden treasures primarily in the Judaean Desert, which is the area inhabited by the Qumran community itself. This view of 3Q15 stands in contrast to competing traditions which have the treasures from Solomon’s Temple hidden in Babylon or in Jerusalem; and based on Josephus’ account of Pilate’s assault on a Samaritan multitude of people gathered to experience the revelation of the sacred vessels hidden by Moses we may assume that there was an early Samaritan tradition that insisted the sacred vessels were hidden at Mount Gerizim.170 The geography of the Copper Scroll functions as an indirect claim of legitimacy for the Qumran community. The significance of place-names with a scriptural background for understanding the symbolic geography of 3Q15, a topic investigated by Ruth Fidler in her contribution to the Manchester volume, was taken up and carried further in my article from 2009.171 Here I tried, very much in line with the approach by Eshel and Safrai, to state the case for viewing 3Q15 as a literary text with the place-names as an important structuring element.172 A newly discovered inscription from the church of St Anne in the old city of Jerusalem was published by Puech in 2016.173 On a stone, which now forms part of the main entrance, but which could have been reused from the small northern reservoir, two inscribed lines are found, reading ‫יצחק חקק וטח חסן‬, which may be translated to: “Isaac inscribed (this), and hid a treasure”. For this short inscription, which may with good reasons be dated to the first century CE, Puech suggests a connection with the reference in 3Q15 to a treasure hidden “in 170  A  .J. 18.85–89. According to the later Samaritan Chronicle II the High Priest Uzzu hid the sacred vessels in a cave at Mount Gerizim. Cf. John Day, “Whatever Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?” in Temple and Worship in Ancient Israel: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar, ed. John Day (London: T&T Clark, 2007), 250–69 (250–51). On this tradition, see also Chapter 5. 171  Jesper Høgenhaven, “Geography and Ideology in the Copper Scroll (3Q15) from Qumran,” in Nordic Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Proceedings of the Nordic Qumran Network 2003– 2006, ed. Anders Klostergaard Pedersen et al., STDJ 80 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 83–106. 172  The article by Eshel and Safrai was unknown to me at the time. 173  Émile Puech, “Les inscriptions hébraïques du domaine de Sainte-Anne de Jérusalem,” RB 123 (2016): 230–38.

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the House of the Two Reservoirs, in the reservoir when you enter at the smallest basin” (‫האשר(ו)חין באשוח בבואתך לימומית שלו‬/‫בבית א‬, XI 12–14). The cache is said to contain tithe vessels and aromatics. The existence of the inscription, and the possibility that it was inscribed by an Essene during the turbulent period before the Roman siege of Jerusalem, may certainly be interpreted as an indication that the depositing of valuables referred to in the Copper Scroll should be viewed against a historical background, and Puech cites the discovery as an argument in favour of the authenticity of the treasures and deposits.174 8

The Present State of Research

The present state of scholarship on the Copper Scroll is characterized by the availability (since 2006) of a new and well-established text edition including good and reliable photographs. This means that the discussion can to a large degree move away from focusing on readings and concentrate instead on the interpretation and understanding of the text as a whole. A remarkable tendency over the past decades has been a general shift among scholars writing on 3Q15 towards regarding the text as an “authentic” record of hidden valuables emerging from some particular historical situation which must have created the need for establishing such a catalogue of large treasures, actually hidden, or destined to be hidden in various places. The debate on the “authenticity” of the deposits recorded in the Copper Scroll has been going on since the first preliminary publications of its contents, but during the early years of scholarship, there was more widespread support for understanding the text as a literary fiction. The movement in favor of regarding 3Q15 as an authentic document does in some sense seem to run counter to the more general tendencies in recent scholarship to be skeptical of the historicity of ancient texts, tendencies which have for instance been very distinctively felt in the field of biblical studies. In recent years, however, several scholars have given new attention to the indications in the scroll that point in the direction of 3Q15 as a literary product. Significantly, scholars like Fidler and Weitzman have focused on literary aspects of the text without necessarily denying the real historical background of the text or declaring the records to be mere fiction. Weitzman, in particular, has very explicitly advocated for an interpretative approach to 3Q15 that moves beyond the dichotomy between the real and the fictitious. Interestingly, in the early days of Copper Scroll research a pattern could be seen emerging, as far as diverging perspectives on the historicity of the Copper Scroll valuables are concerned; and the ongoing debate has to a large extent 174  Puech, “Les inscriptions,” 237.

Legend or History

41

confirmed this pattern: Polish and French scholars opt for reading 3Q15 as fiction, while the majority of German and British scholars tend to view the text as founded in historical reality. Possibly, some underlying differences between scholarly traditions play a part here, German and British scholarship being in general more historically oriented. Israeli and American scholars are divided on the issue, and some prominent French scholars, notably Puech, have strongly favored a historical interpretation of 3Q15. The language and linguistic affiliation of 3Q15 have been objects of a particular discussion among scholars. Milik’s characterization of the Copper Scroll as a document written in an early form of Mishnaic Hebrew has been challenged and to some extent nuanced, but the notion of a closer relationship between the language of 3Q15 and MH than between MH and most Qumran writings has generally been upheld. Generally speaking, Milik’s edition remains important, even if his interpretations have been refined and modified on a number of specific points. In particular, a more precise understanding of technical terms used in 3Q15 – such as ‫“( כלי דמע‬tithe vessels”) – has been achieved. The literary character and the modes of expression of the Copper Scroll have attracted increased interest in recent years. Still, however, our understanding needs to be refined and deepened with respect to, e.g., explaining the geographical perspective of the text and its connections to ancient Jewish writings. A more comprehensive examination of the literary structure and outlook of the text remains a desideratum. 9

Key Questions for Understanding 3Q15

Against the background of the above survey of scholarship on the Copper Scroll, we may highlight some basic questions of special importance for understanding this text. First, there is the question of the date and provenance. The Copper Scroll was discovered by archaeologists in situ in Cave 3, but it has been disputed whether 3Q15 could have belonged to the same deposit as the other Qumran manuscripts and the artefacts associated with them, or was placed in the cave independently from those findings, at a different occasion. This question pertains to the proper context for understanding 3Q15 – should we regard the text as belonging to the Qumran collection of manuscripts? Here, it is necessary to pay attention to the archaeological data and their interpretation. Intimately connected to the provenance issue is the question of date and authorship. By means of paleography, it is possible to obtain a well-established date for the scroll as artefact, and in the particular case of the Copper Scroll there seem to be good reasons to assume that the literary composition of the text and the actual manufacturing of the scroll were closely connected events,

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and one would have followed upon the other. The question of authorship and origin of 3Q15 is more complicated, and depends, to a great extent, on the interpretation of the text itself. An assessment study of the Hebrew language of the text and its relations to other kinds of ancient Hebrew may be of some significance, but can hardly in itself be a clear indication, e.g. regarding the background of the text inside or outside the Qumran community. The literary genre and structure of 3Q15 have also been extensively debated. Many scholars have argued that the scroll is a “list” or a “catalogue” intended for practical purposes. According to their view, the valuables recorded in the text must reflect a historical reality. Others have viewed the Copper Scroll as a “literary” text in the sense that it was deliberately designed to affect the readers’ imagination and their perception of the world. If this is the case, then the very features that lead scholars to regard 3Q15 as a practically intended “list” – the brevity and general sparsity of textual elements, the lack of any real narrative – appear as the form chosen exactly to support the credibility and persuasiveness of the text. The Copper Scroll consists only of brief descriptions of caches, because this is the appropriate form for an instruction to retrieve hidden treasures. The fact that so many readers have regarded the document as factual would thus confirm the efficacy of its chosen style. The question has to do with the context in which the text is to be understood: Do we interpret 3Q15 in the light of intertextual links and connections, e.g., to the Hebrew Scriptures, Qumran texts, “sectarian” and others, and other ancient Jewish writings? Or does it make better sense to understand the Copper Scroll as a documentary text primarily referring to external realities, which may be explored by means of archaeological and historical research? The much-debated problem of historical reference, or the authenticity of the deposits referred to in 3Q15, is, as will be evident, closely related to these literary questions. It should be emphasized, however, that a literary and a historical perspective on the text are not by necessity mutually exclusive. A central question, then, which links up with all the preceding questions, concerns the function and purpose of the Copper Scroll. Who wrote it, and to what purpose? Even if no definitive answers may be available, it is certainly important to consider what can, and what cannot be asserted with respect to the historical and literary background of the text.

chapter 2

A Walk on the Wild Side: A Suggested Reading of 3Q15 This chapter contains a suggested reading of the Copper Scroll as a literary text. In the following pages, I present my reading of the Hebrew text of 3Q15, section by section, along with an English translation. In the interpretation following each section, I attempt to retrace the steps and movements of the text itself, tracking the landscape unfolding before our eyes as the text introduces us to shifting images of geographical scenes and localities. Any reading of a text necessarily begins with certain assumptions regarding the text and what it will have to say to its readers. During the process of reading, the reader may to some extent be prompted to modify or correct his or her initial assumptions. When I assert that I attempt to read the text of 3Q15 as a literary text, I suggest that the text is not only an understandable and in some sense coherent system of signs that can be meaningfully interpreted. Rather, I assume that the text is intended to “do” something to its readership. This means to convey meaning, whether in the form of a tangible “message” or in the vaguer shape of evoking certain emotions and intellectual notions, and of affirming or challenging certain ways of perceiving the world. My assumption here is that the text does so primarily by creating a series of images, and that the sequence and the structure in which the images are presented are of significant importance for the way in which they are meant to be appreciated. Reading with a literary method, then, means paying attention to the form and contents of the text, to its overall structure, and to the specific images and signs that constitute the world of the text. A literary reading furthermore implies that the reader attempts to assess what the text is meant to achieve by employing this particular structure and creating this specific world of images. A perception of the structure takes its point of departure in observing the division of the physically visible columns of the Copper Scroll and the divisions suggested by the graphical organization of the text. Further material aspects of 3Q15 will be treated in Chapter 4. A literary reading of 3Q15 in this very broad and basic sense must be carried out against the background of a general awareness of the cultural and historical setting of this ancient Jewish document. The text contains numerous references to places, institutions, and phenomena belonging to the cultural world of ancient Judaism, which can only be properly understood when they are © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_004

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related to ancient Jewish culture. Based on what we know about that culture, it is reasonable to assume that the implied author as well as the implied reader of 3Q15 must have some degree of familiarity with texts and/or traditions of the Hebrew Bible and with parts of the literature that was later assigned to the categories Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. We have no means of knowing the exact extent of that familiarity, or whether in a particular case it would have comprised a particular text or tradition. In general, however, we should not rule out the possibility that allusions to or echoes of traditional literature could have played a part – quite possibly an important part – in ­creating i­ mages belonging to the world of the text. In order to make sense of the text, a literary reading of 3Q15 needs to rely on some notion of how the text is structured, and how its sections and parts relate to one another. As we have seen in the outline of research history in Chapter 1 the structure of 3Q15 has been a much-debated issue among scholars who have studied the text. It is generally agreed, however, that the text consists of a number of smaller units, each of which describes the location of certain hidden valuables (a cache), and gives instructions to retrieve the treasure from its hiding-place. As a general rule, the manuscript itself has made these units graphically visible, leaving the remaining part of lines blank after each unit. This convention was followed except in two cases (I 6 and XII 1). This organization of the text conveys the impression of a “list” or “catalogue” with smaller units juxtaposed, and, accordingly, scholars have often labelled these units “items” or “entries”. Several suggestions have been made as to the organizing principles for the sequence of hiding-places, and, in particular, scholars have attempted to establish an order based on the geographical names in the text. The geographical designations are clearly an important structuring element in 3Q15. In most cases the “entries” of 3Q15 have a toponym at the beginning, followed by a description of how the cache found at this place is to be located. Toponyms frequently control several cache descriptions, thus organizing these into groups of caches located at the same place. When considering how the text is organized, awareness of the communicative situation envisaged in the text is equally important. The frequently occurring imperative forms of verbs indicate that the text is addressed to a “you”-addressee (in the second person singular): The verb form that keeps recurring in 3Q15 is the imperative ‫“( חפור‬dig!”).1 In two instances (VII 6; IX 1) we have the imperative ‫משח‬ 1  The word ‫( חפור‬with defective spelling ‫ חפר‬VI 9, 12) is read here as an imperative form (“dig X cubits”), following Milik. It may also be read as a passive participle (“buried at X cubits”), following Puech. Interpreting the form as an imperative would seem to accord well with the single occurrence of a finite verb in the jussive preceded by the negation ‫( אל‬VIII 3).

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(“measure!”).2 In one place (VIII 3) we find a the second person masculine jussive preceded by a negation, expressing a negative command: ‫“( אל תבק[ם‬do not destroy them!”).3 There is, in other words, a commanding or ordering “voice” behind the text, a voice instructing the “you”-addressee to measure out a certain distance between named localities, dig a certain amount of cubits at a specific place, etc. The text, then, envisages a situation in which the hidden treasures are to be reclaimed and recovered by this “you”-figure. The addressee, however, remains anonymous, as does the “voice” giving out the instructions. Nowhere in 3Q15 does the implied speaker disclose himself, e.g., by speaking in the first person.4 The second person singular is not only implied by the imperatives but also occurs in the form of suffixes attached to verbs in the infinitive: (‫בבואך‬, “as you enter”, X 5) or to verbal nouns with similar meaning: (‫בבואתך‬, “when entering”, IV 3; XI 13). Similarly, we have ‫“( ירידתו מלמעלא‬when going down from above”, describing how the addressee is to approach the cache in a dovecote, X 1–2). These expressions corroborate the impression that the addressee is in fact being directed by the commanding voice to undertake a number of movements: He must walk through the landscape from one place to another in a sequence determined for him by the instructing voice, and perform certain acts upon arrival at the various locations: Here he is told to dig, measure, and enter buildings, monuments or caves, in order to retrieve the objects described. This aspect of 3Q15 implies some affinity with a prescriptive text, a manual or an instruction. At the same time, the sequence of references to places and sites

2  This is Milik’s understanding of ‫( משח‬DJD 3, 231). Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 191; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 43) understands the word as a noun (“distance”). 3  See below on the reading in VIII 3. 4  Al Wolters (“History and the Copper Scroll”) has argued that in fact a first person singular occurs in three places in the Copper Scroll: In III 9 he reads ‫“( לבושי‬my garments”). The correct reading, however, is ‫“( ולבשין‬and garments”), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 186; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 46. In VIII 3 Wolters reads ‫“( וספרי‬and my scrolls”), but this reading is untenable; the reading is ‫“( וספרין‬and books”), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 193; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 70. The third place where Wolters finds a first person suffix is XI 9, where he reads ‫“( טהורתי‬my pure things”) for ‫“( שטח‬spread out”) or ‫“( טחור‬of purity”), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 203; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 100. Wolters understands these words with a first person suffix as referring to the author, whom he identifies as “a high-ranking religious official, perhaps the High Priest” (Wolters, “History and the Copper Scroll,” 293). Even though I cannot agree with any of these readings (and hold that there are no extant expressions of a first person in the text) Wolters is, in my opinion, certainly right in stressing the authority of the speaking “voice” of 3Q15.

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which the addressee is to visit and enter in order to retrieve the valuables hidden there recall the itinerary as a generic model for the text.5 Within the world created by the text the anonymous voice speaks with authority, and possesses comprehensive knowledge: Not only does he know the exact whereabouts of all the concealed valuables, and is able to give specific information as to where they can be found and retrieved. He also possesses the insight that informs him when the time has come for giving the instructions needed to the addressee. In principle, the text could be understood as instructions spoken by the divine voice in the first person. However, since there are no explicit hints guiding the reader in that direction, a more natural understanding is that the speaking voice represents a wisdom teacher or guide, authorized to give commands and instructions, directing the movements and actions of the addressee. In the following presentation and reading of 3Q15 I have tentatively divided the text into four larger sections ((1) I 1–IV 12; (2) IV 13–VIII 3; (3) VIII 3–XII 4; (4) XII 4–13), each main section comprising a number of sub-sections, which I will number in the following. The division is provisory, based on the distribution of geographical names and the itinerary model as a key to understanding the addressee’s imagined movement from location to location, and to perceiving the sequence of place-names and locations mentioned in the text. As for the places mentioned, we must assume that the references may be informed by the author’s knowledge of the actual landscapes, roads, and places of Palestine in antiquity, and possibly also mediated by traditional and literary notions concerning the significance of, and interrelation between, these places. This entails that the suggested division of the text should remain open to revisions and modifications, as the reading proceeds. We should bear in mind that we cannot always know whether the physical or the symbolic geography controls the references in the text, or, indeed, whether such a distinction would have made any sense to the ancient author or reader. At the end of this chapter, based on the suggested reading, I will take up again the question of the structure of the text, and discuss the proposed model in relation to previous suggestions made by scholars as to the structure of 3Q15. The text and translation given in the following are deeply dependent on the text established in Émile Puech’s 2006-edition. For questions of readings, and for more thorough analyses of vocabulary and historical background of terms and names, the reader is referred to this edition, and, when relevant, to Milik’s 5  On the itinerary genre and its variability in various types of texts in the ancient Near East, see Angela R. Roskop, The Wilderness Itineraries. Genre, Geography, and the Growth of Torah (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2011), especially 50–82.

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editio princeps. Giving the text and translation here is merely for the convenience of the reader. I do not attempt to discuss extensively readings that have been suggested in earlier scholarship, or to cover any important issues of the text adequately, but limit myself to questions that are directly relevant for my understanding of 3Q15. To support an easier overview, toponyms are set in bold types, while other designations of location are in a light font/italics. 1

First Main Section (I 1–IV 12)

1.1

Point of Departure: the Valley of Achor (I 1–8) I

‫בחריבה שבעמק עכור תחת‬ ‫המעלות הבואת למזרח אמות‬ ‫אריח ארבעין שדת כסף וכליה‬ ΚΕΝ ‫משקל ככרין שבעשרה‬ ‫בנפש בנדבך השלישי עשתות‬ ‫⟨ בבור הגדול שבחצר‬100⟩ ‫זהב‬ ‫הפרסטלון בירך קרקעו סתום בחליא‬ ‫נגד הפתח העליון ככרין תשע מאת‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

In the small ruin which is in the Valley of Achor under the steps which go eastward, forty cubits:6 a box of silver, in total a weight of seventeen talents. KEN In the tomb in the third layer of stones, 100 gold bars. In the great cistern which is in the courtyard of the peristyle at the side of its floor, sealed in the wall opposite the upper opening, 900 talents (I 1–8). A remarkable aspect of the Copper Scroll is the fact that it does not contain anything like an introduction, a prescript or a prologue of any kind that would have somehow explained or clarified the communicative situation to the reader: What is the scene envisaged, who is the speaker, and who is the addressee, etc.? Instead, the text sets out by taking us in medias res, and presents us with 6  The word ‫( אריח‬I 3) is not translated here. It might well have been a mistake (dittography) by the engraver, cf. the following word ‫( ארבעין‬Milik, DJD 3, 229, 284–85). It is also possible to understand ‫ אמות אריח‬as “half brick-cubits”, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 179–80; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 27–28.

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the first of a series of descriptions of locations where hidden treasures are to be found (I 1–4). It is exactly this feature of the Copper Scroll which has lead many scholars to the conclusion that it is a non-literary document, a “list” or an “inventory”. I shall return to the discussion regarding the genre of 3Q15 in Chapter 4. At this point the text has not yet made it clear that an addressee is spoken to (in the second person singular, as the imperative forms which occur later in the text show) or shed any light on the speaking voice. All we are able to gather from the beginning is the fact that the speaker possesses a detailed and exact knowledge concerning the locations and the amounts of the hidden valuables described. The location to which the addressee is first directed is the Valley of Achor or the “Valley of Trouble” (‫)עמק עכור‬. The place-name recalls the conquest narratives of the Book of Joshua and the traditions of treason and breaches of the covenant that in the past threatened to disturb God’s plan to fulfil the promises he had made to the patriarchs of Israel (Josh 7; 15:7). Modern identification attempts have focused on alternative locations, with a majority of scholars pointing to El-Buquei‘ah. Others, based on a tradition reflected in Eusebius and Hieronymus, have pointed to Wadi Nuwe‘imeh further to the north and closer to Jericho and Gilgal.7 As we shall see, the latter identification would seem to fit more smoothly into the geographical sequence of 3Q15, especially if the placename Kohlit is identified with Tell es-Sultan. The name occurs again in IV 6 with the variation ‫עמק עכון‬, the “Valley of Achon”, which seems to be a direct play on the personal name known from Josh 7.8 The “Valley of Achor” is primarily known as the scene of the narrative of Achan’s theft in Josh 7. At the end of the episode, the narrator makes an explicit connection between the name given to the valley and the events just related: In Josh 7:25 Joshua emphatically uses the verb ‫ עכר‬twice in his condemnation of Achan: ‫“( מה עכרתנו‬why did you bring trouble on us?”) and ‫“( יעכרך יהוה‬the Lord is bringing trouble on

7  The Valley of Achor is mentioned as a locality near the northern boundary of Judah’s territory in Josh 15:7. Identification with El-Buquei‘ah was suggested by Martin Noth (“Das Deutsche Evangelische Institut für Altertumswissenschaft des heiligen Landes. Lehrkursus 1954,” ZDPV 71 (1955): 1–59 (42–55), and accepted by Frank Moore Cross and Józef T. Milik, “Explorations in the Judaean Buqê‘ah,” BASOR 142 (1955): 5–17 (17). Cf. Avraham Negev (ed.), Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land (Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Publishing House, 1972), 11; Carloyn J. Pressler, “Achor,” ABD 1: 56; Frank Moore Cross, “Buqei’a, El,” NEAEHL 1: 267–69 (267). Wadi Nuwe‘imeh was suggested by Hans Walter Wolff (“Die Ebene Achor,” ZDPV 70 (1954): 76–81). Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 179; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 26–27) supports the latter identification. 8  Cf. Fidler, “Inclusio,” 221.

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you”!). Here, in other words, the name of the valley is associated with Achan and interpreted as “Valley of Trouble”.9 In this place a costly treasure was once buried and hidden by Achan who had stolen precious objects from the consecrated spoils gained at the conquest of Jericho (Josh 7). At the end of the biblical narrative Achan and his household, including his animals, his tent, and all his belongings, were stoned and burned, and a heap of stones erected as a permanent memorial of the event (Josh 7:26). Prominent motifs in the Achan narrative are the illicit and disastrous hiding of treasures that constitute parts of the ‫חרם‬, and the burial of precious objects in the ground. According to the biblical text, it would seem that these objects were eventually buried with Achan and his family below the heap of stone, even though this is not explicitly stated in the narrative.10 The incident is important within the framework of the Deuteronomistic presentation of the Israelite conquest of Cana’an.11 The Valley of Achor occurs twice in prophetic texts (Isa 65:10; Hos 2:17). In both references the place is the object of a transformation performed by God, leading to restoration and hope for his people. Hos 2:17 has a direct reference to the symbolism inherent in the name. The Valley of Achor/Valley of Trouble shall be made into a “door of hope” (‫)לפתח תקוה‬. The symbolic meaning of the place-name Achor in the Copper Scroll will be discussed in Chapter 3. Without any introductory remarks the text sets out describing what meets the addressee upon entering this place: In the valley lies a small ruin (‫)חריבה‬, the abandoned remnants of some once-standing architectural structure. The nature or purpose of the ruin is not specified – in the context, it serves primarily as the point of orientation for locating the “steps” or “stairs” (‫“ )מעלות‬leading east”, which, as the preposition ‫ ב‬suggests, are found inside or in immediate connection with the ruin. Again, there is no indication in the text as to the character or function of the steps mentioned, or to the way in which they are 9  Cf. J. Alberto Soggin, Joshua: A Commentary (London: SCM), 1972, 92–94. The connection between the perpetrator’s name and the place-name is further strengthened in 1 Chron 2:7 where the name appears as “Achar, the troubler of Israel” (‫)עכר עוכר ישראל‬. The name form Αχαρ is used throughout Josh 7 in part of the LXX tradition and in the Peshitta. 10  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 263; Fidler, “Inclusio,” 221, note 43. 11  The Achan episode seems also to play a prominent part in the rewriting of the Joshua narrative found in 4QApocryphon of Joshuaa (4Q378). In 4Q378 6i an admonition by Joshua is apparently related to Achan’s transgression, and interprets the incident as the entire nation’s gulit. See Carol Newsom, “G. Apocryphon of Joshua,” in Qumran Cave 4: XVII. Parabiblical Texts, Part 3, ed. George J. Brooke et al., DJD 22 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996), 237–88 (247–48). Cf. Ariel Feldman, The Rewritten Joshua Scrolls from Qumran, BZAW 438 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2013), 37–40. Newsom links the admonition to the Israelites’ rebellion in the wilderness rather than the Achan episode.

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connected to the little ruin. Since the building is presently in a state of decay, it is possible that the steps, being part of the ruin, are not leading anywhere, and for that reason simply designated as “leading east”. At any rate, it is below those steps that the first treasure is found, a box containing seventeen talents of silver. The Greek letters KEN interrupts the description at this point (I 4). They seem here to serve the function of marking an end to the first cache entry in the text. The letter combination also creates a sense of alienation, presenting itself to the reader as a riddle, the meaning of which cannot be immediately perceived. The Greek letter combinations in 3Q15 I–IV are most likely to be interpreted as abbreviations for personal names; but the text gives no hint as to the significance of these abbreviations within its semantic system.12 The abrupt appearance of this riddle in the middle of the readable Hebrew text signals to the reader that there is more to the text than meets the eye, an additional layer of significance, which requires special knowledge or attention and perhaps even some particular initiation or instruction enabling the reader to decode the meaning of this otherwise opaque sign. For a more comprehensive discussion on the possible significance of the Greek letter combinations in 3Q15, the reader is referred to Chapter 4. There is no mention of any new place-name in the following (I 5–6), and it is therefore natural to assume that the addressee is still assumed to be walking inside the ruins of the Valley of Achor or perhaps in their immediate vicinity in the valley laden with the memories of past troubles. Here the addressee is directed to a tomb (‫ )נפש‬with no further specifications given. The reference is clearly to a sepulchral monument of some sort. A treasure of 100 gold bars is said to be hidden in the “third layer of stones” (‫ )בנדבך השלישי‬of this structure. It is difficult to know how the author of the text would have imagined the concealment of this huge amount of gold between the bricks of a wall inside the tomb.13 However, the very idea of 100 gold bars conveys a vivid image of splendid richness and purity, which stands in contrast to the sepulchral structure with its connotations of death and ritual impurity. The third cache that the addressee is to seek out (I 6–8) is a great cistern (‫בבור‬ ‫ )הגדול‬located within a courtyard with a peristyle (‫)שבחצר הפרסטלון‬. Again no place-name is mentioned. Indeed, the architectural feature mentioned seems 12  For possible names that could be abbreviated KEN, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 180; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 28. For a more comprehensive discussion of the possible significance of the Greek letter combinations in 3Q15, see Chapter 4. 13  The same observation is made by Eshel and Safrai, (?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, 12).

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to represent a sufficient specification of the structure referred to. In the context it seems most plausible that the site indicated is still to be sought within the greater area of the Valley of Achor.14 If a structure within the Valley of Achor is referred to, it is tempting to ask if this place is also in ruins, but the text makes no statement to that effect, although the designation “peristyle” evokes the impression of a beautiful and impressive edifice, whether abandoned or still in use. The addressee is directed to seek the treasure near the bottom of the cistern, “at the side of its floor” (‫)בירך קרקעו‬, sealed in the inner wall of the cistern. The impressive sum of 900 talents can be recovered here, an operation which obviously requires that the cistern is empty. This detail could support the notion of an abandoned structure, where the cistern no longer functions as a water supply. The treasures said to be concealed in or near the Valley of Achor (a box of silver, 800 gold bars, and 900 (silver) talents), while not corresponding to the treasure stolen by Achan in the Joshua narrative (a cloack, 200 silver shekels, and a gold bar (Josh 7:21)), might still be understood as echoing the biblical account. The term ‫חרם‬, which figures prominently in the Achan story (Josh 71.11–13.15), is not used in this passage in 3Q15, but the word occurs in two other places in the Copper Scroll (IX 16; XI 7). The connection to the conquest traditions, implicit in the place-name Valley of Achor, might indicate an association between the treasures and the Israelites’ booty of war. The Mound of Kohlit (I 9–12)

1.2 I

‫בתל של כחלת כלי דמע בל[?]גין ואפודת‬ ‫הכל של הדמע והאצר השבע ומעסר‬ ‫שני מפוגל פתחו בשולי האמא מן הצפון‬ Χ ΑΓ)?(‫יל‬/‫אמות שש עד מקרת הטבו‬

9

10 11

12

14  The fact the text does not leave the rest of the line blank at this point but continues the description may speak in favour of an immediate association of the building with the preceding description. Alternatively, a well-known location somewhere else, for which the reference to a “peristyle” would suffice as designation, could be intended, possibly the Temple area, as Milik (DJD 3, 271) suggested. If this is the case, we have here the first of a series of references in the Copper Scroll to the Temple of Jerusalem where the exact place-names are left out. Cf. Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 180–81; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 30) who finds Milik’s identification more plausible than assuming a reference to some important building in Jericho. Pixner (“Unravelling,” 342) contends that the reference is to a court inside the “Essene Quarter” of Jerusalem.

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In the mound of Kohlit: Tithe vessels, flasks and ephods, the total of the tithe and the treasure of the seventh year, and the disqualified second tithe. Its opening is at the northern end of the channel, six cubits in the direction of the frigidarium of the bath. ΧΑΓ (I 9–12). This part of the text is governed by a new geographical name, Kohlit, which the addressee is now to enter, leaving the Valley of Achor/Valley of Trouble behind. The toponym ‫ כחלת‬is the most frequent geographical name in the Copper Scroll, in itself an indication of the importance of this place, which figures prominently both in the first (I 9–12) and last column of the text (XII 10–13). It is not immediately clear to the modern reader where this place is located or what sort of area is referred to. Kohlit is not mentioned in any scriptural or Qumran text. Apart from 3Q15 a few references to a place called ‫כוחלית‬ are found in the Talmud, where “Koh(a)lit in the wilderness” (‫)כוחלית שבמדבר‬ plays a role in a narrative relating to the reign of Alexander Jannaeus.15 None of these occurrences offer many hints for modern attempts at identification, and suggestions have gone in widely different directions. Keeping the itinerary model in the text in mind, the location of Kohlit depends on the identification of the Valley of Achor: If the valley is identified as Wadi Nuwe‘ime, Puech’s suggestion that Kohlit could be Tell es-Sultan north of Jericho is preferable to other proposals made for identifying this place.16 It is noteworthy, at any rate, 15  According to b. Qidd. 66a king Yannai went to Koh(a)lit in the wilderness and conquered sixty towns. After his victory an episode follows where an elder (Judah ben Gedidiah) pledges with the king to give up the office of High Priest, for a rumor says that Yannai’s mother had once been taken captive. The king, apparently enraged by the allegation, decides to have all the sages of Israel put to death. In the other Talmudic references ‫ כוחלית‬is the absolute noun in the construct chain ‫“( אזוב כוחלית‬Kohalit hyssop”). See m. Parah 11:17; m. Neg. 14:6; b. Sukkah 13a; b. Ḥul. 62b, cf. Sipre on Num 19:6. The expression ‫ אזוב כוחלית‬could also be understood as “blue hyssop” (‫ כוחלית‬can be interpreted as an adjective), but the designations of the other “hyssops” mentioned in the relevant passages (“Greek hyssop”, “Roman hyssop”, “wilderness hyssop”) rather support the interpretation of the word as a toponym. Cf. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 75. 16  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175, note 49; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 13–14, note 49. Milik (DJD 3, 274–75, 280–81) ingeniously connects Kohlit in 3Q15 with ‘Ein Kohel at Mount Carmel mentioned in Massekhet Kelim. Cf. James R. Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels,” 400, with note 22. Pixner (“Unravelling,” 337) sees in ‫ כחלת‬not a toponym but a technical term for “the monastic centre of an Essene settlement”. Stephen Goranson (“Further Reflections on the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies (226–32), 227–28) places Kohlit (which he understands as a district rather than a town or village) in the Transjordan. Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 75) is inclined to accept this location for Kohlit (or “Kahelet”), if the identification with the toponym in b. Qidd. is accepted. Boas Zissu (“The Identification of the Copper Scroll’s Kahelet at ‘Ein Amiya in the Samaritan Desert,” PEQ 133 (2001): 145–58) has argued that Kohlit/Kahelet is to be equated with the

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that the first entity immediately associated with Kohlit is a devastated site, characterized as a “mound” or “heap of ruins” (‫)תל‬. The term in itself connotes desolation and abandonment.17 Hidden in this ruined site is a large quantity of sacred objects – tithe vessels, flasks, ephods, and offerings of specified categories. The character of the treasure at this cache is rather different from the silver and gold mentioned at the previous sites. The enumeration here contains several technical priestly terms (“tithe vessels” (‫)כלי דמע‬, “ephods” (‫)אפודת‬, “seventh year treasure” (‫)האצר השבע‬, “disqualified second tithe” (‫מעסר שני‬ ‫))מפוגל‬, and the sacred objects referred to are very clearly associated with the Temple.18 The “treasure of the seventh year” (‫ )האצר השבע‬must be the produce ‘Ein Samiya valley in the desert of Samaria. This identification is to a large extent dependent on reading ‫“( שבינח‬which is in Janoah”) in XII 10 for ‫( שכנה‬Cf. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 427). Janoah is then identified as the town mentioned in Josh 16:5–7, but as Puech has shown, the reading is impossible (Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 206; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 112). 17  Joshua is said to have made the city of Ai into “a heap of ruins forever” (‫וישימה תל עולם‬, Josh 8:28). 18  In the Hebrew Bible ‫ דמע‬is found only once, in Exod 22:29 (‫)מלאתך ודמעך לא תאחר‬, where it is rendered “the outflow of your presses” (‫ )דמעך‬alongside “the fullness of your harvest” (‫)מלאתך‬. The LXX renders: ἀπαρχὰς ἅλωνος καὶ ληνοῦ σου. The word ‫ מלאה‬seems to overlap in meaning with ‫ תרומה‬and ‫ מעשר‬in Num 18:27–28. In rabbinic texts ‫דמע‬ is treated as a synonym for ‫ תרומה‬and ‫ראשית‬, meaning primarily the priestly share of produces. Lehman, “Identification of the Copper Scroll,” convincingly demonstrated the technical meaning of terms for sacred objects in 3Q15. Milik (DJD 3, 250, 300) interpreted ‫ דמע‬as “aromatic spices”, while acknowledging that the word in rabbinic texts is the equivalent of ‫תרומה‬, “heave offering”, a sense also attested in Qumran Hebrew. Milik, however, held this specific sense to be secondary, and maintained that in the context of 3Q15 the meaning of ‫ דמע‬is “aromatics”. Allegro (The Treasure, 137) translated ‫ כלי דמע‬as “tithe vessels” with reference to the rabbinic usage, where ‫ דמע‬is a form of ‫תרומה‬, the share of the produce set aside for the priests. This understanding of the term based on the usage in Mishnaic Hebrew has gained general scholarly support, and is strongly supported by the context in which the term occurs in 3Q15. ‫ כלי דמע‬in 3Q15 may designate vessels used to store tithe, or vessels which are themselves identified as tithe. ‫כלי דמע‬ ‫ בלגין‬is most plausibly understood as a description with a beth essentiae followed by the word ‫( לגין‬a loan from Greek (λαγυνος)), “flasks” or “bottles”. Lehman (“Identification of the Copper Scroll,” 98) adduces the parallel from m. Terumot IX 5 ‫מאה לגין של תרומה‬ (“100 lagenae of the heave-offering”). The feminine plural ‫( אפודת‬I 9) “ephods”, seems to have a specialized meaning (“close-fitting covering”) in Exod 28:8; 39:5; Isa 30:22 (Cf. 4Q365 12b iii 5). Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 181; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 32–34) points to the possibility of an alternative reading ‫“( ואפורין‬jars”). Puech tentatively suggests retaining the biblical meaning “decorations of gold”, referring to objects belonging to the Temple, but is more inclined towards interpreting ‫ אפודת‬as a parallel to “flasks”, meaning “amphors”. Lehman (“Identification of the Copper Scroll,” 99) understands the word ‫ אפודת‬to mean “redemptions” (from the root ‫)פדה‬. For a fuller treatment of the terms including relevant Talmudic references cf. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 508–15.

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of the sabbatical year (known in Mishnaic Hebrew as ‫)שביעית‬.19 The text seems to operate with a “treasure” of this produce turned into money. In the same context belongs the “second tithe” (‫)מעשר שני‬, which, according to the law in Deut 14:22–26, should be consumed by the owner in Jerusalem or turned into money and spent there. The tithe is described as having been “disqualified” or “rendered rejectable” (‫מפוגל‬, a pual participle of the verb ‫ )פגל‬without any explanation as to the purpose or circumstances of such a process.20 The significance of these and other sacred objects mentioned in the Copper Scroll is taken up in Chapter 3. The image presented to the reader of this impressive accumulation of precious consecrated gifts destined for the Temple at this ruined and abandoned place outside the holy city is in itself remarkable, and stirs the imagination of the reader. The very presence of these sacred objects in such an unlikely place may be an indication of an abnormal situation, since the Jerusalem Temple is obviously the natural and logical location for such things. The impression conveyed is that the Temple has ceased to function normally, and that the costly objects destined for the Temple must have been removed and placed elsewhere as a result of some kind of urgent practical necessity. The description of how to access these valuables makes it clear that they have been deliberately stored away and hidden. The addressee can only find the entrance because it is indicated to him that he is to seek it at the northern end of a water installation at a certain point in the direction of a frigidarium. Whether or not the water installations mentioned are supposed to be in active use, is not indicated in the text, but since they are clearly associated with the “mound”, it is most likely that they do not serve their proper function, but now simply represent identifiable points of orientation in a landscape of ruins and architectural remnants. The detailed instructions as to the location of the entrance serve to underline the knowledge of the instructive voice speaking through the text. Once again, the end of the description is marked by a combination of Greek letters: ΧΑΓ. The riddle and the alienation it generates are reasserted, and a sense of the mysterious or only indirectly attainable knowledge achieved.21 19  The construction in 3Q15 with the masculine form ‫ השבע‬is slightly surprising, since “year” (‫ )שנה‬is feminine, but could be explained as a case of the ordinal number being replaced by a cardinal number turned into a substantive (Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 182; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 35). Another explanation is that ‫ שנה‬could have been perceived by the author as a “double gender noun” (Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 80). 20  Cf. Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 83), who points out that a second tithe piggul would have to be burned, which would make the hiding and registration of the hiding-place of such a piggul pointless. 21  The best option here is the Greek name ΧΑΓειρας, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 182; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 36. This name also occurs in Josephus, B.J 5.474.

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A Walk on the Wild Side

When read with attention to the images conveyed in these initial entries of the Copper Scroll, the text manages by means of a few strokes to evoke a picture of a desolate land, laden with memories of past glory and misery, with the Temple not functioning, and with sacred objects belonging to the Temple service presently hidden in unlikely devastated places. A prevailing state of destruction and chaos emerges, visualised in the form of a landscape with scattered ruins and remains of buildings and aqueducts presently not connecting what they were meant to connect, or functioning as they were intended to do. This impression is, of course, strengthened by the simple fact that the text mentions no persons at any of these locations. A sense of hope, however, is conveyed by the fact that the precious treasures of the sanctuary must have been deliberately and wisely stored away in time, presumably in anticipation of the disasters to come. The voice whose commands and directions are now leading the addressee from place to place represents a powerful and present wisdom in essential continuity with the wisdom of the past that was able to secure the treasures. This tone of hope would seem to echo vaguely past prophecies of redemption, some of which speak directly of the Valley of Achor/Valley of Trouble itself. The Staircase of Manos (I 13–II 2)

1.3 I

II

‫ךא לסמל‬/‫ בשוא המסבא של מנס בירד‬13 ‫ גבה מן הקרקע אמות שלוש כסף ארבעין‬14 ‫ [כ]כר‬15 ‫בבור המלח שתחת המעלות‬

ΗΝ ⟨42⟩ ‫ככרין‬

1 2

In the cave of the spiral staircase of Manos, in the descent to the left at a height of three cubits from the bottom – forty talents of silver. In the salt pit which is under the stairs – 42 talents. ΗΝ (I 13–II 2). The addressee now moves on to collect more valuables from a staircase building or a cave. The name “Manos” (‫ )מנס‬appears to be a toponym, but could also be understood as a personal name. The designation is not known from other sources.22 Whether “the spiral staircase of Manos” is closely connected 22  Milik supposes that Manos could be situated in the Jordan valley in the vicinity of Deir ’Allâ. The suggestion is based, primarily, of his reading ‫“( המעבא של מנס‬la fonderie de

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to the previously mentioned place Kohlit (I 9), or whether it should be understood as indicating a geographical change of scene, we cannot know. The cache described in II 1–2, which is not associated with any geographical name, but simply refers to “the salt pit” (‫)בבור המלח‬, clearly seems to be governed by the preceding reference to the “staircase of Manos”. The place is identified by means of an architectural detail, a spiral staircase, which could be a well-known installation or a part of some renowned natural cave or building, and the location of the salt pit “under the stairs” (‫ )שתחת המעלות‬would seem to place this hiding-place in close association with the spiral staircase, probably belonging to the same construction. There are no indications as to the functionality or possible devastation of the locations here apart from the fact that the addressee obviously needs precise directions to gain any orientation in these confusing surroundings. The Greek letter combination ΗΝ concludes the passage.23 First Visit to Jerusalem (II 3–12)

1.4 II

‫במערת בית המדה הישן ברובד‬ ΘΕ ‫השליש{ל}⟨י⟩ עשתות זהב ששין וחמס‬ ‫בצריח שבחצר מ(ב)תי העצין ובתכו‬ ‫בור בו כלין וכסף ככרין שבעין‬ ‫בבור שנגד השער המזרחי‬ ‫רחוק אמות ח[[מ]]ש עסרא בו כלי ן‬ ΔΙ ‫ובמזקא שבו ככרין עסר‬ ‫בבור שתחת החומא מן המזרח‬ ‫בשן הסלע בדין של כסף ש‬ ‫ש‬ ‫באתו תחת הסף הגדול‬

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

In the cave of the old washer’s house in the third layer of stones – sixty-five gold bars. ΘΕ In the vault which is in the court of the wood storehouses, and in the middle of it there is a cistern – in it there are vessels and silver, 70 talents.

Manos”, cf. 1 Kings 7:46), which he associates with the material remains of metal production in the area (Milik, DJD 3, 259, 300). The reading, however, is ‫“( מסבה‬spiral staircase”, a word attested in 11QTemple XXX 4–XXXI 8 (XLII 8) and in the Mishna (m Mid. 4:5)), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 182; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 36. 23  For suggested names see Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 183; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 39.

A Walk on the Wild Side

57

In the cistern which is opposite the eastern gate at a distance of fifteen cubits – vessels, and in the channel which is there – ten talents. ΔΙ In the cistern which is below the wall on the east side in the spur of the rock – six bars of silver. Its entrance is under the large threshold (II 3–12). The series of locations mentioned here seem to take the addressee to Jerusalem, which, however, is not mentioned by its name. In fact, all the points of reference in this section of the text – “the old washer’s house”, “the court of the wood storehouses”, “the eastern gate”, “the wall on the east side” – point in the direction of the Temple area. In other words, the addressee – and the implied reader – is supposed to make the inference from the references to buildings and installations that the Temple area in Jerusalem is the scene envisaged. That the holy city and the Temple are not mentioned explicitly in the text here is a curious fact indeed. This silence in 3Q15 is all the more conspicuous since this first visit paid by the addressee to Jerusalem sets the tone for the visits which will follow. Jerusalem is never mentioned by its name or any other name in the text. No reason is given for this phenomenon, but the context speaks in favour of understanding the silence as an expression of a situation where the holy city cannot, or should not, be named. We have already seen that the Temple does not seem to be functioning, and now we get the impression that the Temple and the entire city are deserted or barred, or possibly controlled by enemies. The non-mentioning of Jerusalem even conveys an impression that the addressee’s entering the city has a clandestine or perhaps dangerous aspect, although the text never directly states this. The symbolic meaning of the – unnamed – city of Jerusalem is discussed in Chapter 3. The treasures hidden here are all placed in underground locations – in caves and vaults located under certain buildings which serve as points of orientation, and in cisterns and channels situated opposite the eastern gate and below the wall on the east side. The valuables hidden here belong to different categories: A significant amount of gold – 65 gold bars – is found in a cave associated with the “old washer’s house”.24 The vault of the court of wood storehouses 24  The reading of ‫ מדה‬is open to alternative interpretations, since the dalet may also be read as resh, and the he as het. Wolters (“The Copper Scroll and the Vocabulary of Mishnaic Hebrew,” RevQ 14 (1980–1990): 483–95 (491)) has suggested reading ‫ המדח‬as a defective spelling of ‫המדיח‬, “washer”. The “Washer’s Chamber”, he suggests, is the equivalent of the ‫( בית המדיחין‬m. Tam. 4:2) or ‫( לשכת המדיחין‬m. Mid. 5:3), which belonged to the Temple. ‫ המדח‬could also be understood as “washing”; or it could mean “tribute” – a “house of tribute” might also very plausibly be seen as an installation belonging to the Temple (Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 183; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 39–40). Another possible reading would be ‫“( מרה‬master”, “teacher”). The reading ‫“( ישו‬Jeshu”/“Jesus”) for ‫ישן‬, suggested

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contains a coin hoard of 70 silver talents and an unspecified number of “vessels” (‫)כלין‬.25 Of the water installations mentioned one holds a number of “vessels” and the more modest sum of ten talents, while the other has six silver bars. The expression “vessels” (‫ )כלין‬here is possibly an abbreviated version of the more common term “tithe vessels” (‫)כלי דמע‬. We have in other words again a considerable amount of sacred objects including numerous vessels destined for the Temple service, but according to the text these valuables have been hidden away in water installations or buried in the ground close to or inside the Temple area itself. The significance of this is further developed and discussed in Chapter 3. This section has the Greek letter combinations ΘΕ and ΔΙ.26 Retreat to Kohlit (II 13–15)

1.5 II

‫בברכא שבמזרח כחלת במקצע‬ ‫הצפוני חפור אמות {אמות} ארב‬ ‫ע‬ ⟩22⟨ ‫ככרין‬

1 3 14 15

In the pool which is to the east of Kohlit, at the northern corner: Dig four cubits – 22 talents (II 13–15). Now after this first entry into Jerusalem the text returns to the area of Kohlit, where the addressee is instructed to dig four cubits down within a pool, which is obviously not filled with water. Here, for the first time, a direct command in the form of an imperative (‫ )חפור‬occurs. The treasure retrieved here is a rather inconspicuous amount of 22 unspecified talents. The position of Kohlit at this by Pixner (“the laid-out house (= carpeted divan) of Yeshu” (“Unravelling,” 344–46)) is materially impossible, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 183; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 40. 25  The reading of II 5 is disputed. For ‫בתי‬, the scribe seems in fact to have written ‫מתי‬. Milik (DJD 3, 286) corrects the mem to a bet. The “wood storehouses” could be plausibly identified with the wood storage buildings (‫ דיר העצים‬or ‫ )לשכת העצים‬of the Temple mentioned in the Mishnah (m. Mid. 2:6b). Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 272; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 123. If the reading mem is retained, the most natural interpretation is a personal name: ‫( מתי‬Mattai) or possibly, if the following he is not the article, ‫( מתיה‬Mathiah). But in that case “wood” (‫ ))ה( עצין‬would have to signify a hidden treasure (“in the court of Mattai/ Mathiah – wood”), which appears unlikely in the context of 3Q15. On the possible readings and meanings, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 184; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 41. 26  Possible Greek names are listed in Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 184; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 40, 42.

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point between the addressee’s two visits to Jerusalem supports understanding Kohlit as a sort of station or “gateway” to the holy city, from which entries into Jerusalem can be ventured. This observation on the structure of the itinerary in 3Q15 does not imply that Kohlit has to be located near Jerusalem. The identification of Kohlit with Tell es-Sultan is perfectly compatible with the notion inherent in our text that the addressee passes through Kohlit before or after visiting the unnamed Jerusalem. In this case, the addressee could be imagined, plausibly enough, as travelling between Jerusalem and the Jericho area. 1.6

Second Visit to Jerusalem (III 1–13) III

‫בחצ[ר של]דיאט תחת הפנא הדרו‬ ‫מית אמות תשע כלי כסף וזהב ש ל‬ ‫דמע מזרקות כוסות מנקיאו‬ ‫ת‬ ‫קסאות כל שש מאות ותשע‬ ‫ה‬ ‫תחת הפנא האחרת המזרח‬ ‫ית חפר אמות שש עסרה כס ף‬ ΤΡ ⟨40⟩ ‫ככ‬ ‫בשית שבמלה מבצפונו‬ ‫כלי דמע ⟨ו⟩לבושין ביאת‬ ‫א‬ ‫תחת הפנא המערבית‬ ‫ב{|}קבר שבמלה ממזרחו‬ ‫בצפון אמות תחת המ‬ ⟨14⟩ ‫דף(?) שלוש ככ‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 2 13

In the courtyard of the tribunal (?) under the southern corner nine cubits down: Tithe vessels of silver and gold, sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars, in total six hundred and nine. Under the other, eastern corner dig six cubits: silver, 40 talents. TP In a pit which is in the Millo on its northern side – tithe vessels and garments. Its entrance is below the western corner. In a tomb which is in the Millo on its eastern side to the north, three cubits under the cover stone – 14 talents (III 1–13). A new series of caches in Jerusalem are described here, and the addressee must be imagined as making a new visit to the city. Again, there is no explicit reference in the text to the addressee entering Jerusalem – this second visit to the holy city happens as silently as the first one. Again, treasures are to be retrieved

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from underground hiding-places – under the southern and eastern corner of a courtyard, and in two locations (a pit and a tomb) in the area designated the “Millo” (‫)מלה‬. The first location mentioned (III 1) seems to be the courtyard of a building. I follow Puech’s suggestion to read ‫בחצ[ר של]דיאט‬, Greek δίαιτα (without the final vowel) meaning a prison or governmental building, a “tribunal” or the like.27 The assumption that a locality at or near the Temple area in Jerusalem is intended, is supported by the nature of the treasure found under the building, since it consists of sacred objects. As for the “Millo”, the most plausible interpretation of this name is that it designates the supporting terraces of the Temple and palace compound in Jerusalem.28 The addressee, in other words, is again imagined moving from place to place in or close to the Temple area, with buildings (or remains of buildings, if we are to envisage the area as devastated, something which is not made clear in the text) serving as orientation points. The first treasure (III 1–4) consists of consecrated vessels, used for the Temple service but clearly not presently in use, since they are to be recovered from under the “southern corner” of a courtyard nine cubits down. The text mentions “tithe vessels of gold and silver” (‫ )כלי כסף וזהב של דמע‬and a vast number (609) of “sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars”. At the “other, southern corner” of the same courtyard, the addressee is to retrieve a hoard of 40 silver talents (III 5–7). The last caches in this series, which are to be retrieved at two locations in the Millo, in a pit and under the “cover stone” (‫ )מדף‬of a tomb or possibly an ossilegium (III 8–13), also contain tithe vessels and “garments”

27  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 185; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 44–45. 28  The reading and interpretation of ‫ מלה‬is disputed. Materially it is possible to read either he or het as the last letter. I follow here the reading of Milik (DJD 3, 272–73, 282) and Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 185–86; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 46). Apart from the question of reading he or het as the third letter, word division is also disputed here. Allegro (The Treasure, 37, 142), Pixner (“Unravelling,” 347), and Al Wolters (The Copper Scroll, 36) read in both cases ‫שבמלחם‬. In l. 11, however, mem definitely belongs to the following word. It is most probably to be associated with the biblical toponym ‫( המלוא‬2 Sam 5:9; 1 Kings 9:15.24; 2 Kings 12; 21; 1 Chron 11:8; 2 Chron 32:5), which designates an architectural construction in Jerusalem, and is ususally interpreted as a term for the supporting terraces which secure the palace and Temple of the city of David. A connection with the toponym ‫ בית מלוא‬in the vicinity of Schechem (Jud 9:6.20) is less likely. According to Milik (DJD 3, 272–73) the name was later carried on as a designation for the terrace construction of Herod’s temple.

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(‫ )לבושין‬in an unspecified number.29 In the context, the garments intended are most plausibly understood as sacred or priestly garments. The finding of sacred vessels here corroborates the impression that the Temple is not functioning, since sprinkling bowls and sacrificial bowls have been hidden away deep down in secret places – associated with burials and ritual impurity – which can only be identified by means of specific instructions to the addressee. On the significance of sacred objects as treasures, see the discussion in Chapter 3. The descriptions of the two locations here are separated by yet another Greek letter combination: TP.30 There and Back Again: Kohlit, Valley of Achor, Asla, Kohlit (IV1–12)

1.7 IV

‫בבור הגדול שב[צפון כ]חלת בעמוד‬ Σ Κ [◦◦] ⟨14⟩ ‫בצפונו ככ‬ ‫באמא הבאה ל[בר]כא בבואת ך‬ ‫אמות ארבע[ ע]סרה כס ף‬ ⟩55⟨ ‫ככ‬ )‫בין שני הכינין שבעמק עכון(ר‬ ‫באמצען חפון(ר אמות שלו‬ ‫ש‬ ‫שם שני דודין מלאין כסף‬ ‫בשית האדמא שבשולי הע‬ ‫צ‬ ‫לא כסף ככ מאתין‬ ‫בשית המזרחית בצפון כח‬ ‫לת כסף ככ שבעין‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

In the large cistern which is to the [north of K]ohlit, in the pillar north of it – 14 ta[lents]. ΣΚ In the canal leading to the po[ol], as you enter – fourteen cubits: Silver, 55 talents.

29  For the reading ‫ לבושין‬cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 185–86; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 46–47. The exact meaning of the word ‫“( מדף‬cover stone (of an ossilegium or another cavity connected with a tomb?)”? “ossuray cover”?) is difficult to make out in the context. In Mishanic Hebrew ‫ מדף‬has the meaning “indirect contact”, “uncleanness of minor degree”. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 246, Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 186; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 47. 30  Suggestions for Greek names in Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 185; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 46.

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Between the two cavities which are in the Valley of Achon, in their midst, dig three cubits, there are two cooking-pots full of silver. In the earth pit which is at the end of Asla – silver, two hundred talents. In the eastern pit which is to the north of Kohlit – silver, 70 talents (IV 1–12). After his second tacit visit to an unnamed Jerusalem the addressee is now directed back to the area in and around Kohlit – in IV 1 the toponym has to be partly restored, but the restoration certainly suggests itself, and has the support of the editions (both the editio princeps and Puech). This restoration is further corroborated when we consider the recurrent function of Kohlit as the lace from which the addressee enters Jerusalem, or to which he returns thence. Here the addressee is to recover a treasure, modest in size (14 talents), hidden in a pillar north of a large cistern (IV 1–2). The image conveyed is suggestive: It leaves us with the impression of a solitary pillar (‫ )עמוד‬left as a remnant of past architectural glory now long gone and fallen into desolation in a deserted landscape. At the end of the description of this cache the Greek letters ΣΚ are inserted.31 After this there are no further Greek letter combinations in 3Q15. A second somewhat larger sum (55 silver talents) is located inside a water canal, again very possibly not in use any longer (IV 3–5). From Kohlit the route leads once again to the Valley of Achor/Achon (‫עמק‬ ‫)עכון‬, which was the first geographical place mentioned in 3Q15. We get the impression that now the addressee is to retrace his steps in the opposite direction from the direction he followed when he went from the Valley of Achor/Achon to Kohlit (IV 6–7). In the valley this time he is to dig up two cooking-pots (‫)דודין‬ full of silver to be found between two “cavities” (‫)כינין‬.32 Moving away again from the valley the addressee passes a location named Asla (‫)העצלא‬, and “at its end” (‫ )שול‬retrieves two hundred talents of silver from a pit (IV 9–10).33 To the north of Kohlit, which the addressee passes again on the way towards the valley of Secacah, a smaller amount of silver talents (70) is to be retrieved, likewise from a pit IV 11–12).

31  See for suggestions Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 50. 32  The word is read ‫ בינין‬by Milik (DJD 3, 242, 288) and ‫ בדין‬by Allegro (The Treasure, 39, cf. 143) and interpreted as “tamarisks”, “buildings”, or “oil-presses” (‫)בדין‬. The feminine suffix in the following line, however, militates against this reading. Reading the word as ‫ כינין‬is preferable, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 187; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 51. 33  The topnonym ‫ העצלא‬is not documented elsewhere. Milik (DJD 3, 263) tentatively suggests that the location could be Wadi el-Asla in the Judaean Desert.

‫‪63‬‬

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‫)‪Second Main Section (IV 13–VIII 3‬‬

‫ ‪2‬‬

‫)‪In and around Secacah (IV 13–VI 10‬‬

‫ ‪2. 1‬‬

‫‪ 13‬‬ ‫‪1 4‬‬

‫ביגר של גי הסככא חפור ‬ ‫אמת כסף ככ ⟩‪ ⟨12‬‬

‫ ‪1‬‬ ‫ ‪2‬‬ ‫‪ 3‬‬ ‫‪ 4‬‬ ‫‪ 5‬‬ ‫‪ 6‬‬ ‫‪ 7‬‬ ‫‪ 8‬‬ ‫‪ 9‬‬

‫ברוש אמת המים ש[במערב ה(?)] ‬ ‫סככא מן הצפון תח[ת האבן] ‬ ‫הגדולא חפור אמ[ות שלו(?)] ‬ ‫ש כסף ככ ⟨‪ ⟩7‬‬ ‫בסדק שבסככא מזר ‬ ‫ח‬ ‫אשו{|}ח שלומו כאלין של ‬ ‫דמע ובתכן אצל ‬ ‫ם‬ ‫מעל החריץ של שלו ‬ ‫מ‬ ‫ו (?) עד הרגב הגדו ל‬ ‫אמות ששין חפור אמות ‬ ‫שלוש כסף ככ ⟩‪ ⟨23‬‬ ‫בקבר שבנחל הכפא ‬ ‫בבואה מירחו לסככא ‬ ‫חפון(ר) אמות שבע ככ ⟩‪ ⟨32‬‬

‫‪ 10‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬‬ ‫‪ 12‬‬ ‫‪ 13‬‬ ‫‪ 14‬‬

‫ ‪1‬‬ ‫ ‪2‬‬ ‫ ‪3‬‬ ‫‪ 4‬‬ ‫‪ 5‬‬ ‫‪ 6‬‬ ‫‪ 7‬‬ ‫‪ 8‬‬ ‫‪ 9‬‬

‫‪ 10‬‬

‫[ב] מערת העמוד של שנ י‬ ‫[ה]פתחין צופא מזרח ‬ ‫[ב]פתח הצפוני חפו ר‬ ‫[א]מות שלוש שם קל ל‬ ‫בו ספר אחד תחת ו‬ ‫ככ ⟩‪ ⟨42‬‬ ‫במערא של הכנא ‬ ‫של הרגב הצופ ‬ ‫א‬ ‫למזרח חפר בפתח ‬ ‫אמות תשע ככ ⟩‪ ⟨21‬‬

‫‪IV‬‬

‫‪V‬‬

‫‪VI‬‬

‫‪In the mound of the valley of Secacah, dig one cubit: 12 talents of silver.‬‬ ‫‪At the head of the aqueduct, which is [to the west of] Secacah, from‬‬ ‫‪the north, unde[r] the large [stone], dig t[hree c]ubits: 7 talents of silver.‬‬

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In the fissure which is at Secacah, to the east of Solomon’s reservoir, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them. Above Solomon’s trench sixty cubits towards the great boulder, dig three cubits – 23 talents of silver. In the tomb which is in the torrent of Kippa on the way from Jericho to Secacah, dig seven cubits – 32 talents. In the cave of the pillar with two openings, facing east, at the northern opening, dig three cubits – an urn with a book in it, under it 42 talents. In the cave at the base of the boulder facing east, at the entrance dig nine cubits – 21 talents (IV 13–VI 10). The geographical name Secacah (‫ )הסככא‬is clearly the common point of orientation for a new series of instructions to the addressee, covering seven different caches, primarily located in the vicinity of water installations associated with king Solomon. The treasures themselves are hidden in other parts of the landscape – under a stone, in a “fissure” in a rock, towards a boulder, in caves, and in a tomb. The addressee approaches Secacah through the “valley of Secacah” (‫)גי הסככא‬, retrieving first a treasure located at the “mound” (‫ )יגר‬of the valley (IV 13–14), then moving to the “aqueduct” (‫ )אמת המים‬west of Secacah (V 1–4), and then entering the area of Secacah itself, to retrieve the valuables hidden there in the vicinity of the water-installations (V 5–11). The designation ‫( נחל הכפא‬V 12–14) may be interpreted as a toponym (“the torrent of Kippah”) or as a reference to a detail of the landscape (“the torrent of the rock”).34 At any rate, the place is located between Jericho and Secacah, which connects it to the preceding group of caches near or at Secacah. The passage describes an approach “from Jericho to Secacah” (‫בבואה מירחו לסככא‬, V 13). The addressee may be imagined as having left Secacah and now approaching again from a different direction – the road from Jericho – or we may simply have a description of the road with the larger city, Jericho, mentioned as the point of departure, in which case the addressee might actually now be moving in the direction of Jericho from Secacah. The following stations on the addressee’s way are not expressly connected with any toponym, and maybe we should imagine them as located in an empty landscape. Here the addressee is directed towards an isolated pillar with a cave in its immediate vicinity and then to a cave “at the base of the boulder” also seems to be located somewhere in the open landscape, devoid of signs of civilized life or human activity.

34  Milik (DJD 3, 264) thinks of Wadi Kuteif. Allegro (The Treasure, 144) identifies ‫נחל הכפא‬ with Wadi Qumran. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 189; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 59.

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The biblical place-name Secacah (‫סככה‬, Josh 15:61–62) has been identified with one of the Iron Age fortresses of the Buqeiah valley, possibly – if the list in Josh 15:61–62 runs from north to south – the largest of these, Khirbet esSamrah.35 Many scholars – following Allegro’s lead – identify “Secacah” of 3Q15 with Khirbet Qumran.36 The four references to Secacah in this section of the text seem to place it in the general region of Jericho and in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, and in the context of manuscripts from Qumran, this identification with Khirbet Qumran is certainly the most plausible suggestion.37 In Josh 15:61–62 Secacah is assigned to the area of Judah, and characterized as one of six cities “in the wilderness” (‫)במדבר‬. Secacah is here associated with the conquest of the Promised Land, and Jericho, which is mentioned in V 13 as another point of orientation, plays a crucial part in the conquest narrative in Joshua: The Israelites are able to successfully conquer Jericho after the Achan incident in the Valley of Achor (Josh 8). Connotations for these toponyms in 3Q15, could, like those of the Vally of Achor, indicate the tradition of the Israelites’ conquest of the land. Within the geographical framework of 3Q15, at any rate, Secacah and the surrounding area seem to be perceived as a wilderness or desert area. In Chapter 3, I will return to the symbolic significance of the desert in the context of 3Q15. The passage, however, also associates the water installations in this area with king Solomon: “Solomon’s reservoir” (‫אשוח שלומו‬, V 6) and “Solomon’s trench” (‫החריץ של שלומו‬, V 8).38 It is difficult to assess exactly which connotations the references to Solomon are meant to evoke: The primary association could be the legendary wealth of Solomon (1 Kings 5:1–14, 10:1–29). The reference to his name might also recall the narrative traditions in a broader sense, 35   Khirbet-es-Samrah, situated approximately 7 km to the southwest of Khirbet Qumran, has also been identified with the “City of Salt” (‫)עיר המלח‬. Cf. Cross and Milik, “Explorations in the Judaean Buqê’ah,” 15–16. The identification of Qumran and the “City of Salt” was suggested by Martin Noth, “Das Deutsche Evangelische Institut für Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes. Lehrkursus 1954,” 42–55; “Der alttestamentliche Name der Siedlung auf chirbet ķumrān,” ZDVP 71 (1955): 111–23. 36  Cf. Allegro, The Treasure, 144; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 188, with note 210; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 53, with note 210. Cf. Zecariah Kallai, Historical Geography of the Bible (Jerusalem: Magnes; Leiden: Brill, 1986), 396; Hanan Eshel, “Aqueducts in the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 92–107 (101–02). Eshel suggests that the aqueduct mentioned in V 1 is the aqueduct leading to Khirbet Qumran, as Milik (DJD 3, 263) had already proposed. 37  I retain here the conventional spelling “Secacah”. The vocalization found in the LXX (Σοχόχα) comes closer to the original pronunciation. 38  Milik (DJD 3, 264) holds that these names were given to the water installations (reservoir and principal canal) of Khirbet Qumran after the abandon of the place by the Essenes.

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including the notable shortcomings of the Solomon figure in Kings: Solomon is portrayed an example of great wisdom (1 Kings 3; 5:1–14; 10:1–13) and a temple builder (1 Kings 6–8) but also as an instigator of idolatrous cults (1 Kings 11:1–13). I will return to the significance of well-known figures from literary traditions about Israel’s past in Chapter 3. The image of the Secacah area in 3Q15 remains somewhat ambiguous. On the one hand the remains of edifices and architectural structures, primarily water installations, connote the memory of the great king Solomon and a past time of wealth and splendour. On the other hand, the place appears in its present state to be desolate, the once impressive structures now serving merely as orientation points in the landscape where the treasures are concealed – not inside the architectural structures mentioned but rather in natural cavities near them. The first point of orientation to be sought out by the addressee in the valley of Secacah is a “mound” or “heap of stones” (‫)יגר‬.39 The last finding-place in this area is a tomb situated on the road between Jericho and Secacah. These landmarks support the general impression of a deserted area. The reference (as in IV 1) to a sole “pillar” (“the cave of the pillar”, ‫מערת העמוד‬, VI 1) conveys the same impression of architectural remains from a bygone time of splendour and glory. The heap of stones may be said to recall the heap of stones in the Valley of Achor, connoting the treason, and subsequent ignominious death and irregular burial of Achan (Josh 7). The symbolic meanings of these place-names and descriptions will be treated in Chapter 3. The treasures to which the addressee is directed within the Secacah area are generally of a modest size – ranging from 7 to 42 talents, some silver, some unspecified, and an “urn with a book in it”. If the conquest narratives are hinted at, the treasures recorded in this passage could be regarded as booty of war from ancient times. The modest sums may be regarded as fitting for an area characterized as “wilderness”. Interestingly, at one cache (the “fissure” to the east of Solomon’s reservoir, V 5–7) we have a reference to tithe vessels, providing a link to the sacred objects associated with caches in or near Kohlit and Jerusalem.

39  Eshel (“Aqueducts,” 102) claims that ‫ יגר‬in 3Q15 (IV 13; VI 14; VIII 8) means “‘a dam’, where an aqueduct started”. This translation was suggested by Luria, ‫מגילת נחושת ממדבר יהודה‬, 83. I find this difficult to accept in every case especially in view of the biblical use of the word. And cf. Puech’s observation (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 194, note 298; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 73, note 298) that “a dam can be swept away by the torrent, and the treasure would vanish with it!”

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A Walk on the Wild Side

Between Secacah and the Kidron Valley (VI 11–VIII 3)

2.2 VI

VII

VIII

‫במשכן המלכא בצ ד‬ ‫המערבי חפר אמות‬ ⟨27⟩ ‫שתים עסרה ככ‬ ‫ביגר שבמגזת הכוהן‬

1 1 1 2 13 14

]‫הגדול חפור [ אמו‬ ‫ת‬ 1 ⟨22⟩ ]    [‫תשע ככ‬ 2 ‫באמא של קיב[וץ המים ש]ל‬ 3 ‫האשוח הצפו[ני‬ 4 ‫בארבע רוח[ות מרוח הג]דול‬ 5 ‫משח אמות עסרין[ ואר]בע‬ 6 ‫ככרין ארבע מאות‬ 7 ‫במערא שאצל המקר[ה(?) ]של‬ 8 ‫בית הקץ חפור אמות שש‬ 9 ‫ בדין של כסף שש‬10 ‫בדוק תחת פנת המשט⟨ו⟩ח‬ 11 ‫ המזרחית חפור אמות שב‬12 ‫ע‬ ⟨22⟩ ‫ ככ‬13 ‫על פי יציאת המים של הכו ז‬ 14 ‫ בא חפור אמות שלוש עד הטור‬15 ‫⟨ זהב ככרין שתים‬80⟩ ‫ ככ‬16 ‫[בא]מא שבדרך מזרח בי‬ ‫ת‬ ‫[ה]אוצר שמזרח אחי‬ ‫ה‬ )?(‫רקע[ם‬/‫כלי דמע וספרין אל תב‬

1 2 3

In the Queen’s Abode, on the west side, dig twelve cubits – 27 talents In the heap of stones which is at the ford of the High Priest, dig … nine [cubit]s: 22 talents. In the canal of the [water gather]ing to the norther[n] reservoir of … at the four sides [at the gr]eater … measure out twenty-fo[ur] cubits – four hundred talents. In the cave which is near the frigidari[um of] the house of Hakkoz, dig six cubits – six silver bars.

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chapter 2

In Dok, below the eastern corner of the spreading place, dig seven cubits – 22 talents. Above the mouth of the water outlet of Koziba, dig three cubits in the direction of the parapet – 80 talents, two talents of gold. In the [aque]duct which is on the road to the east of the treasure house which is east of (the house of) Ahiyah – tithe vessels and books, do not destroy them! (VI 11–VIII 3) It is difficult to know whether “the Queen’s abode” (‫משכן המלכא‬, VI 11) refers to a further locality between Jericho and Secacah, or whether the designation takes the addressee to a different realm. The same may be said of the entry located at the “ford of the High Priest” (‫מגזת הכוהן הגדול‬, VI 14–VII 2), which must be located somewhere at the Jordan river. These places could be stations passed between Secacah and Jericho, or they could be imagined on a route from Jericho to the Jordan, where the next suite of locations (VII 3–12) could also be sought. The Queen’s abode in all probability refers to a sepulchral monument significantly situated as a station on the addressee’s way through the unstructured and empty land (VI 11–13). The “queen” mentioned is not named. She might be the Egyptian queen of king Solomon, which would provide a link to the water installations associated with Secacah. The monument to Solomon’s queen would then bring the legendary riches and splendour of Solomon to mind and possibly also the tradition that Solomon was lead to adultery through his marriages with foreign princesses.40 The cache of 27 talents, however, is not overwhelming in size. The following landmark – the ford of the High Priest (VI 14–VII 2) – has somewhat different connotations, echoing the narratives of the Israelites entering the Promised Land and crossing the Jordan, carrying the Ark of the Covenant with them (Josh 3–4).41 The place thus connotes hope for a new 40  This identification is far from certain. Allegro (The Treasure, 150) was prepared to identify the monument either with some locality in Jerusalem believed to have been the dwelling of Solomon’s Egyptian queen, or with the tomb of Helena of Adiabene to the north of the city. Puech (“Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 190; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 61) tentatively suggests a hitherto undiscovered mausoleum of Queen Alexandra Salome. 41  Even though no “high priest” is mentioned either in the biblical narrative or in Josephus’ rendering of the tradition (A.J. 5.16–19), it is clear from other passages in Josephus that in his view Eleazar, son of Aaron, was “high priest” (ἀρχιερεὺς) at the time of the conquest. Josephus relates Eleazar’s death including his title “high priest” (ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς), and noting that he left the priesthood (τὴν ἱερωσύνην) to his son Pinehas (A.J. 5.119). Cf. Josephus’ account of the succession of high priests (A.J. 5.361–362).

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beginning, perhaps even some notion of a symbolic new entry into the Promised Land. The landmark to be aware of here is a “mound” or a “heap of stones” (‫)יגר‬, as in IV 13, perhaps recalling both the lasting memorial set up by the Israelites after their crossing of the Jordan (Josh 4:9) and the monument created by Joshua at the place on the Western bank where the Israelites camp for the first time, which the Book of Joshua identifies as Gilgal (Josh 4:20).42 The treasure here is also modest: 22 talents. Again, spoils of war from the time of the conquest could be hinted at. In the next description of a cache in a water canal containing 400 talents (VII 3–7) a toponym seems to have been lost in one of the lacunae. I follow Puech’s restoration in the first lacuna, and his suggestion that the place-name would have filled the second lacuna. Puech suggests reading in l. 4: ‫האשוח‬ ‫“( הצפו[ני של ירחו‬the northern reservoir of Jericho”).43 In fact, a location in or near Jericho would fit in very well here, if the addressee had been directed from the Jericho area to some location at the Jordan river (perhaps Gilgal) and was now moving back to Jericho again. Now the addressee is instructed to continue his walk, reaching a location named “the house of Hakkoz” (‫בית הקץ‬, VII 8–10). This designation in all probability recalls the priestly family mentioned several times by the Chronicler (Ezra 2:61–63; 8:33; Neh 3:4.21; 7:63–65; 1 Chr 24:10). According to Ezra 8:33 the weighing and recording of the “the silver, the gold, and the vessels” (‫הכסף והזהב‬ ‫ )והכלים‬belonging to the Temple are given to Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz. This tradition, associating the Hakkoz family with the handling and measuring of sacred valuables, could be the point of departure for associating them with a hidden treasure.44 Six silver bars are to be retrieved from a cave 42  The crossing of the Jordan is enhanced in 4QApocryphon of Joshua. See 4Q179 12 (Newsom, DJD 22, 270–71; Feldman, The Rewritten Joshua Scrolls, 845–87. The miraculous element of the crossing is also emphasized in Josephus (A.J. 5.16–19). 43   Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 190–91; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 63–64. Eshel (“Aqueducts,” 103–05) suggests restoring in l. 3 either ‫“( באמא של קי[פרוס‬in the aqueduct of Cypros”) or ‫“( באמא של קי[דרון‬in the aqueduct of Kidron”). If the second suggestion is followed, the aqueduct could be the southern aqueduct leading water from the Kidron valley to Hyrcania, and the “reservoir” (‫ )אשוח‬mentioned in the passage could be the big pool north of the bridge west of Hyrcania. Milik (followed here by Eshel and others) reads in l. 4 ‫( האשוח הצפו[ני הגד]ול‬Milik, DJD 3, 291). Milik bases his reading of waw and lamed at the end of the line on a detached fragment not reproduced in the photos. However, as Puech has shown, this fragment would be better placed at the end of l. 5 (Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 191, note 252; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 64, note 252). 44  The sources seem to place the Hakkoz in or near Jericho, and Milik (DJD 3, 265) tentatively locates their residence at Tell el-Kos on the northern side of Wadi Kelt at modern Jericho.

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near the frigidarium of what is apparently imagined as a residence of some luxury, although in the context it may be in a state of abandonment. But it makes sense in the context to think of the residence of the priestly Hakkoz family as an (once) impressive structure. The next station reached by the addressee, Dok, holds a treasure of 22 talents (VII 11–13). In 1 Macc 16:11–15 the “little stronghold” Dok (τὸ ὀχυρωμάτιον τὸ καλούμενον Δὼκ) is the scene of a treachery committed by Ptolemy, governor of the plain of Jericho, who has his father-in-law, the high priest Simon, and two of his sons murdered at a banquet. Ptolemy is reported to have possessed “a large store of silver and gold” (ἀργύριον και χρυσίον πολύ, 1 Macc 16:11), but is not apparent that the reference in 3Q15 is related to the narrative.45 We should probably seek both the house of Hakkoz and Dok close to or in Jericho – the addressee is now moving back from the Jordan towards the Dead Sea. The addressee then passes Koziba (‫)הכוזבא‬, a place probably to be equated with the biblical toponym Chezib (‫כזיב‬, Gen 38:5) or Cheziba (‫כזבא‬, 1 Chron 4:22), and possibly also with the name Achzib (‫אכזיב‬, Josh 15:44; Mi 1:14). Koziba may echo other stories of the past, which have only survived as fragments in known texts, but apparently they have to do with evil deeds motivating God’s punishment and doom according to Israel’s prophets (Mi 1:14).46 Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre”, 191–92; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 65. P. Kyle McCarter, who argues that the valuables of 3Q15 were historically an accumulation of Jewish religious offerings, connects the thesis with the role of the Hakkoz family as Temple treasurers (P. Kyle McCarter, “The Mysterious Copper Scroll,” 41, 63; “The Copper Scroll Treasure,” 140. However, it remains doubtful whether any historical reconstruction can be based on the tradition. Cf. Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 192; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 66) who mentions the possibility that the Hakkoz family could have followed the rejected High Priest (the “Teacher of Righteousness” of the Qumran community) in voluntary exile. The Hakkoz family is mentioned alongside other priestly families in the Qumran Mishmarot (4Q320 1 i 7; 4Q321 1 i 7; iii 8; iv 3; 4Q321a 3 5; 4Q325 1 6; 4Q329 1–2 3). The name can be plausibly restored in 4Q320 1 iii 3; 4Q321 1 ii 8, iii 3; 2 I 9; 4Q321a 1 i 4; 2 5; 4Q324a 1 ii 4; 4Q328 1 6. There is also a reference (without much context) in a Greek documentary text from Murabba‘ât (Mur 92 ii 6). Cf. Pierre Benoit et al., eds., Les grottes de Murabba‘ât, DJD 2 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961), 222–23. 1 Macc 8:17 relates that a member of this family is sent to Rome as envoy from Judas Maccabeus. A Jericho property of this family seems probable, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 192; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 66. 45  In Josephus’ account (A.J. 13. 239; B.J. 1.56) of the episode the fortress near Jericho to which Ptolemy retires is called Dagon (Δαγὼν). Dok has been identified with Jebel Qarantal to the northwest of Jericho, where the spring ‘Ayn Dûq could have preserved the name. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 265; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 192; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 65, 67. 46  The prophecy of doom in Mi 1:14 seems to play on events associated with the village of Achzib/Chezib that are no longer identifiable. Francis I. Anderson and David Noel Freedman (Micah, AB 24E (New York: Doubleday, 2000, 234–35) think of events related to

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The significance of these literary connotations of the place-names is taken up and discussed in Chapter 3. In the narrative texts the place is linked to the Judah and Tamar story (Gen 38:5), to the conquest of the land (Josh 15:44), and to the return from the exile (1 Chr 4:22).47 The addressee is to dig up 80 talents (presumably silver) and two gold talents (VII 14–15). When the location Aḥiyah is reached (VIII 1–3), a “treasure house” (‫בית‬ ‫ )האוצר‬emerges as the point of orientation. The actual hiding-place, however, is a nearby aqueduct. The place-name could be an abbreviation for “the house of Aḥiyah” (‫)בית אחיה‬, which would make it parallel to “the house of Hakkoz” (VII 8–10).48 It may be named after the Levite connected with king David’s reign, who had “charge of the house of God and the treasures and the dedicated gifts” (‫על אוצרות בית האלהים ולאוצרות הקדשים‬, 1 Chr 26:20). The reference would then have a similar status as the reference to the priestly Hakkoz family, connoting, in a general fashion, the memory of vast riches of the past, and, in this case, of a Levite family associated in particular with the handling of Temple treasures. This cache holds tithe vessels (‫ )כלי דמע‬and books (‫)ספרין‬, which the addressee is explicitly admonished to treat carefully during the act of retrieving them from the water installation. The negated jussive ‫אל תבקע[ם‬ (“do not destroy them!”) is conspicuous in the context, and carries considerable weight.49 It is the only example in the Copper Scroll of an explicit instruction not to do something specific – damage the books. The attention of the addressee and of the reader is thus drawn to the occurrence of books in this cache as a particularly important finding to be carefully handled. In Chapter 3 I will discuss the meaning of books as treasures in 3Q15. The sacred objects at this place fit in well with the traditions attached to Aḥiyah.

the “Syro-Ephraimite war” (735–733 BCE). A location in Wadi Kelt would fit the context in 3Q15 (Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 67). 47  On the wording and meaning of 1 Chron 4:22 cf. Thomas Willi, Chronik. 1. Teilband: 1. Chronik 1,1–10,14, BKAT XXIV/1 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 2009), 136–37. 48  Cf. Puech’s translation “à l’est de (la maison de) Aḥiyah” (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 192–93), “to the east of (the house of) Aḥiyah” (The Copper Scroll Revisited, 69). 49  This is the reading established by Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 193; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 70–71) over against Milik’s reading ‫“( תבס אל‬Ne te les approprie pas !” DJD 3, 292–3). Puech’s earlier reading ‫( ם[תדק‬from ‫דקק‬, “crush” (Puech, “Quelques résultats,” 169) he now regards as impossible (Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 71, note 291).

‫‪72‬‬

‫‪chapter 2‬‬

‫ ‪4‬‬ ‫ ‪5‬‬ ‫‪ 6‬‬ ‫‪ 7‬‬ ‫‪ 8‬‬ ‫‪ 9‬‬

‫)‪Third Main Section (VIII 4–XII 3‬‬

‫ ‪3‬‬

‫)‪Through the Kidron Valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11‬‬

‫ ‪3.1‬‬

‫בגי החיצונא כתב חר ‬ ‫ת‬ ‫על האבן חפור אמות שבע ‬ ‫עסרא תחתיה כס ף‬ ‫וזהב ככ ⟩‪ ⟨17‬‬ ‫ביגר של פי צוק הקדרו ן‬ ‫חפור אמות שלוש ככ ⟩‪⟨7‬‬

‫‪ 10‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬‬ ‫‪ 12‬‬ ‫‪ 13‬‬ ‫‪ 14‬‬ ‫‪ 15‬‬ ‫‪ 16‬‬

‫בשלף של השוא הצופא‬ ‫מערב בדרום בצריח‬ ‫הצופא צפון חפור אמות‬ ‫עשרין וארבע ככ ⟩‪⟨66‬‬ ‫ברוי של השוא בצריח שבא חפור ‬ ‫אמות אחת עסרה ‬ ‫כסף ככ ⟩‪ ⟨70‬‬

‫ ‪1‬‬ ‫‪ 2‬‬ ‫ ‪3‬‬ ‫ ‪4‬‬ ‫ ‪5‬‬ ‫ ‪6‬‬ ‫ ‪7‬‬ ‫ ‪8‬‬ ‫ ‪9‬‬ ‫‪ 10‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬‬ ‫‪ 12‬‬ ‫‪ 13‬‬ ‫‪ 14‬‬ ‫‪ 15‬‬ ‫‪ 16‬‬ ‫‪ 17‬‬

‫בשובך שבשר(ו)לי הנטף משח משר(ו)ל ו‬ ‫אמות שלוש [[עש]]רא שתין חפורות בשעת שבע ‬ ‫בדין אסתרין ארבע ‬ ‫בחבלת השנית בצריח הצופא‬ ‫מזרח חפור אמות שמונא‬ ‫ומחצא ככ ⟩‪⟨23 1/2‬‬ ‫בצריחי החורין ברוח הצופא דרום‬ ‫בזרב חפור אמות שס עסרה‬ ‫ככ ⟨‪⟩22‬‬ ‫בקומעה כסף מנחה ר ‬ ‫ב‬ ‫בקול המים הקרובין לכפת ביב ‬ ‫מרחב לפיהם חפור אמות ‬ ‫שבע ככ ⟨‪ ⟩9‬‬ ‫בשית שיבצפון פי הצוק של בית ‬ ‫תמר בצחיאת גר פלע ‬ ‫כל שבה חרם ‬ ‫בשובך שבמצדנא בתח[ום ה] ‬

‫‪VIII‬‬

‫‪IX‬‬

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X

‫דרום בעליאה השנית ירידתו‬ ⟨9⟩ ‫מלמעלא ככ‬ ‫בבור גר מזקות שרוי מהנח ל‬ ⟨12⟩ ‫הגדול בקרקעו ככ‬ ‫באשוח שיבית הכרם בבוא ך‬ ‫לסמול וג(א)מות עסר כס ף‬ ‫כר(כ)רין ששין ושנין‬ ‫ב בצריח מעינ ו‬/‫בים של גי איך‬ ‫אבן שחורא אמות שתי ן‬ ‫הי הפתח ככרין שלש מאות‬ ‫זהב וכלין כופרין עסרין‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

In the Outer Valley (is) an engraved inscription on the stone. Dig seventeen cubits. Below it is silver and gold – 17 talents. In the heap of stones at the mouth of the Kidron, dig three cubits: 7 talents. In the uncultivated land of Shaveh, facing west on the south (side) in the vault facing north, dig twenty-four cubits – 66 talents. In the cultivated land of Shaveh, in the vault which is there, dig eleven cubits – 70 talents of silver. In the dovecote which is on the edge of Natoph, measure out thirteen cubits from its base: There are two pits in the rock – seven bars, four staters. In the second terrace in the vault facing east, dig eight and a half cubits – 23 1/2 talents. In the vaults of the Horim on the side facing south in the channel, dig sixteen cubits – 22 talents. In the hole there is a large quantity of silver from offering. At the waterfall near the curve of the pipe in the wide space before it, dig seven cubits – 9 talents. In the pit which is to the north of the entrance of the narrow pass of Beth Tamar in the rocky ground of Pela‘- everything which is there is consecrated. In the dovecote which is in Masadona, in the southern district on the second floor when going down from above – 9 talents. In the replastered cistern which canals feed from the great stream at its bottom – 12 talents.

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In the reservoir which is at Beth ha-Kerem, as you enter, ten cubits to the left – silver, sixty-two talents. In the water (tank) of the Valley of Job (?) in the vault at its spring (is) a black stone (at) two cubits. It is the opening: 300 talents, gold, and vessels, twenty cups (VIII 4–X 11). The stages which the addressee is now directed to follow seem to be located along a route that leads up the Kidron Valley approaching Jerusalem. The reference to the “Outer Valley” (‫ )גי החיצונא‬in VIII 4 probably refers to the southernmost part of the Kidron.50 The addressee’s walk up the Kidron begins at what is described as a conspicuous landmark, a stone with an engraved inscription, which serves as a point of orientation enabling the addressee to recover a cache of 17 talents of silver and gold (VIII 4–7). We are told nothing about the contents of the inscription, but its mere existence at the “Outer Valley” marks this route as linked to written traditions of the past. Something similar can be said about the second landmark of the Kidron valley, which is a “heap of stones” (‫יגר‬, VIII 8, the same expression as in IV 3; VI 14),51 clearly reminiscent of the “heap of stones” at the ford of the High Priest (VI 14–VII 1). The treasure to be recovered here consists of only 7 talents. But the text signals that the addressee now enters a route full of memories of the past, associated with written records. The Kidron valley is a remarkable place in itself. Designated in the narratives of the kings of Judah as the place where illegitimate cultic objects were repeatedly deposited and destroyed (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4–12; 2 Chron 15:16; 29:16; 30:14), the valley connotes impurity and death, an impression reinforced by its function as a burial place. In these written traditions, the Kidron, apart from the dead bodies, also receives the ashes and dust of burnt idols. The Kidron, however, is also, from a different perspective, a place of hope: This location, according to the narratives, once saw decisive action by the good kings of Judah, striving to correct the practices of adultery and illegitimate cult prevailing in the land. And in the prophetic tradition a future redemption of

50  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 268, and the cautious remark by Puech: “Le Cédron pourrait être visé ici, mais rien ne permet de s’en assurer”, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 193, note 297; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 72, note 297 (“The Kidron could also be in mind here but there is nothing to confirm this”). Allegro (The Treasure, 153–54) identifies the location with the Tyropoeon Valley, connecting the name ‫ גי החיצון‬with the “Valley of Vision” (‫ )גיא חזיון‬of Isa 22:1.5. 51  Eshel (“Aqueducts,” 102), who holds that the meaning of ‫ יגר‬here is not “heap of stones” but “dam”, identifies the “dam of the Kidron cliff” with the dam where the aqueduct leading to the fortress Hyrcania started.

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the area is predicted, turning impurity into sacred space (Jer 31:38–40). These motifs will be discussed in Chapter 3. Passing through the Kidron valley towards Jerusalem the addressee reaches the land of Shaveh, where he is to retrieve silver talents from underground vaults (VIII 10–16). Two caches (holding 66 unspecified talents and 70 silver talents) are located in this area in what is designated as “the uncultivated land” (‫ )שלף‬and “the cultivated land” (‫)רוי‬, respectively.52 The name Shaveh is found in Gen 14:17, where ‫“( עמק שוה‬Valley of Shaveh”) is the place where Abram is met by Melchizedek after having defeated king Chedorlaomer and his allies. The narrator adds that this valley is the same as “the King’s Valley” (‫)הוא עמק המלך‬, which is often identified with the Kidron. The Kings’ Valley, according to the narrative in 2 Sam 18:18 is the place where Absalom erected his monument, which is mentioned in X 12. Furthermore, in the Genesis Apocryphon in the context of the narrative of Abram defeating the kings an additional identification is made with Beth-ha-Kerem, which is the location mentioned in X 5–7. These identifications in ancient Jewish sources corroborate the impression that we should indeed imagine the sequence of locations here in 3Q15 as reflecting the addressee’s approaching Jerusalem through the Kidron.53 Further along the route towards the city the addressee is to recover two treasures from a dovecote near Natoph and from a vault, apparently a natural hiding-place in the rocky landscape nearby.54 Natoph is hardly in the Kidron 52  This is the most meaningful interpretation of the two terms, which then seem to designate the upper “fallow terrain” and the lower, irrigated part of the Shaveh. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 194, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 74. 53  For the identifications, cf. Puech, “Le roulau de cuivre,” 194; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 73–74. 54  Natoph (‫ )הנטף‬can be plausibly identified with the village of Netophah (‫)נטפה‬, mentioned in lists of Judaeans returning from exile in Ezra 2:22 and Neh 7:26. Various identifications of the place have been suggested, e.g., ‘Ayn en-Natoph in Wadi Khareitun between Herodion and Tekoa. See Milik, DJD 3, 268; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 195; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 76, and cf. Randall W. Younker, “Netophah (Place),” ABD 4: 1086. There is no compelling reason not to retain the best documented meaning of the word ‫“( שובך‬dovecote”) here. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 195; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 76–77. Milik (DJD 3, 238–39) while considering the meaning “dovecote”, decides, based on the context, in favour of a more specialized meaning “hole/opening in an aqueduct”. Dovecotes are amply documented in ancient Palestine. They could be constructions of wood or stone, or cut or hewn out in the rock. Cf. Gustaf Dalman, Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina. Band VII: Das Haus, Hühnerzucht, Taubenzucht, Bienenzucht, Schriften des Deutschen Palästina-Instituts 10/Beiträge zur Förderung christlicher Theologie, 2. Reihe, 48 (Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1942), 263–90. For more recently discovered material, see the references in Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 195, note 318; The Copper Scroll Revisited,

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valley, and the practical reason for the addressee apparently being directed to leave the valley here may be that the Kidron is not passable at all locations. This could have prompted the itinerary to include some locations outside the valley, before sending the addressee back into the Kidron before reaching the inner part of the valley with Absalom’s Hand and the Spring of Siloam. The first hoard of Natoph, located in two pits in the rock near the dovecote, contains seven bars, presumably of silver, and four staters, and the second hoard in the vault comprises 23 1/2 talents of silver (IX 1–6).55 Three caches seem to be associated with a location named “the vaults of the Horites” (‫ – )בצריחי החורין‬two of the hoards are modest amounts of unspecified talents, the third consists of a “large quantity of silver from offering” (‫)כסף מנחה רב‬. The “vaults” are most likely to be understood as burial chambers, whether natural or man-made.56 Horites (‫ )החורין‬is a nomen gentilicum in biblical texts,57 and the designation was probably associated with the root ‫“( חור‬cave”). The Horites, accordingly, were perceived as giants of the past dwelling in caves.58 The fact that no architectural structures are mentioned as the addressee walks on, conveys an image of a rough uncultivated landscape with only natural points of orientation – a “hole” (‫)קומעה‬,59 and a “waterfall” (‫)קול המים‬. The most interesting of the treasures to be retrieved here is the “gift of offering” consisting in a large but unspecified amount of silver (IX 10). The term ‫ מנחה‬seems here to signify a

76–77, note 318. Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 274) mentions the possibility that dovecoteshaped burial chambers or catacombs could be intended. 55  I follow Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 194–95; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 76–77) in reading ‫“( חפורות‬pits”) in IX 2. The word ‫ אסתרין‬is a Greek loanword (στατήρ) known also from Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic (‫)אסתיר‬. The exact value in the context of 3Q15 is difficult to assess. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 253; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 282–83. 56  This seems to be the significance of ‫ צריחים‬in 1 Sam 13:6. 57  Gen 14:6 includes the Horites among the peoples defeated by Chedorlaomar. In Deut 2:12 the Horites are driven out of their former dwelling-places (the mountains of Se’ir) by the descendants of Esau. 58  This suggestion was made by Joachim Jeremias, “Remarques sur le Rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân,” RB 67 (1960): 220–21. Jeremias, however, locates the area to Beit Gubrin in the south of Judah. Jeremias’ suggestion was accepted by Milik (“Observations,” RB 67 (1960): 222–23), who had tentatively located ‫ בצריחי החורין‬at the necropolis southeast of Jerusalem (Milik, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân,” 353). In his text edition – which had been prepared before the publication of Milik’s note in 1960 – Milik prefers the reading ‫ =( בצריחי החורון‬Beth-Hôron, DJD 3, 268, 293–94). Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 196, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 80–81. 59  The reading of the word ‫ קומעה‬and the interpretation as a “hole” of some sort has been convincingly established by Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 196; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 81–82).

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voluntary offering donated to the sanctuary.60 In Chapter 3 I will discuss the meaning of sacred objects among the valuables in 3Q15. The next station on the addressee’s route, Beth-Tamar, is probably to be identified with Ba’al-Tamar (Jud 20:3) and not with the southern boarder fortress Tamar (1 Kings 9:18; Ezek 47:19; 48:28).61 Whether ‫ פלע‬here is a toponym or not, is difficult to assess, but the name clearly designates a locality within the perimeter of Beth-Tamar. The retrieving of “consecrated” valuables, the nature of which remains unspecified, may possibly vaguely connote the conquest stories with their emphasis on the inviolable ‫חרם‬. The meaning in the context of 3Q15 (IX 16; XI 7), however, is clearly “consecrated objects”.62 As the addressee moves on, he is directed to a second dovecote, situated in Masadona (‫)מצדנא‬, which literally means “a small fortress” (IX 17–X 2). The name is not attested elsewhere as a toponym, and could also designate a building or structure in the area of Beth-Tamar. It holds two caches with nine and twelve talents, the first in the dovecote, and the second in a plastered cistern fed by canals, which the addressee must enter in order to retrieve the treasure.63 The addressee is then directed to enter a water reservoir at Beth ha-Kerem, where he is to retrieve a sum of sixty-two silver talents. As mentioned above, the Genesis Apocryphon identifies Beth-ha-Kerem with the Valley of Shaveh/ the Kings’ Valley. This identification would provide a link to the reference to Absalom’s monument (X 12) and strengthen the impression that the addressee is supposed to be making his way up the Kidron valley. Beth-ha-Kerem is most

60  The reading ‫ מנחה רב‬is preferable to ‫“( מנח הרב‬a large amount of silver is deposited”, Milik, DJD 3, 294, cf. 254) and ‫“( מן החרם‬from the consecrated offerings”, Allegro, The Treasure, 49). Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 197; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 82–83. 61  Milik (DJD 3, 267) identifies Beth-Tamar with Ba’al-Tamar (Jud 20:3) at Tell-el-Ful, but as Puech (“Le rouleau de cuivre,” 197; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 84–85) remarks, if ‫פלע‬ means “fissure, crevasse”, there is “no true gorge in the vicinity” of that location. But Pela‘ may also be a proper name. The Tamar mentioned in Ezek 47:19 (LXX 47:18); 48:28 as the eastern boundary of the restored Israel, and “Tamar in the wilderness in the land” (‫ )תמר במדבר בארץ‬in 1 Kings 9:18 (‫ תמר‬is the Ketib. Qere and 2 Chron 8:3 has “Tadmor” (‫ ))תדמר‬probably refers to a fortress in the Negev, which is less likely to be intended here. 62  In Mishnaic usage ‫ חרם‬is either consecrated to the priests, in which case it cannot be redeemed for money, or dedicated for the repair and maintenance of the Temple, in which case redemption is possible. Cf. Lehman, “Identification of the Copper Scroll,” 102–03; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 296. Milik’s translation of ‫“( חרם‬anathème”), based on the biblical usage (Milik, DJD 3, 249, 295, 297) is not appropriate in the context of 3Q15. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 197; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 85. 63  In X 3 ‫“( רוי‬watered”, “fed”) is the preferable reading, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 198; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 87. Milik (DJD 3, 295) reads the qal perfect ‫רוו‬.

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often identified today with Ramat Rahel, which would still be on the way to Jerusalem.64 The following station is a cache found in a water tank, presumably abandoned and empty, in the Valley of Job, contacting a treasure of gold and sacred vessels (X 8–11). The Valley of Job (‫)גי יאב‬, otherwise unknown, could be associated with Bir Ayyoub in the Kidron.65 The treasure comprises sacred objects; here as in II 6 “vessels” (‫ )כלין‬should probably be understood as an abbreviation of the term “tithe vessels” (‫)כלי דמע‬.66 Third Visit to Jerusalem: the Inner Kidron Valley (X 12–16)

3.2 X

‫תחת יד אבשלום מן הצ ד‬ ‫ז(ר) רג(א)מות שתין עסרה‬/‫המערבי חפו‬ ⟨80⟩ ‫ככ‬ ‫ביציאת(?) המים [[של]]שלוח ולתחת‬ ⟨17⟩ ‫השקת ככ‬

1 2 13 14 15 16

Under Absalom’s Hand on the western side, dig twelve cubits – 80 talents. At the spring of Siloam and under the water outlet – 17 talents (X 12–16). Now the addressee seems to have reached the inner part of the Kidron Valley. Still, the name of the holy city is not mentioned; but the landmarks he is now instructed to seek out – Absalom’s Hand and the spring of Siloam – clearly locate the scene to the valley beneath the city and the Temple compound. 64  Cf. Randall W. Younker, “Beth-Haccherem (Place),” ABD 1: 686–87, where alternative suggestions for identification are mentioned. In Jer 6:1, in the context of a threat of woe and destruction approaching from the north, Beth-ha-Kerem appears in a parallelism with Tekoa as a watch post told to raise a signal, as the evil closes in on Jerusalem. In a less dramatic setting the name occurs in Neh 3:14 (the son of a ruler of the district of Beth-ha-Kerem rebuilds the Dung Gate). In Josh 15:59 LXX Καρὲμ is included in a list of cities belonging to the tenth district of Judah. 65  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 199; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 89. The reading of the toponym in X 8 is difficult. The scribe seems in fact to have written ‫ איך‬with a final kaf, which may, however, be interpreted as a mistake for beth. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 300–01. 66  Allegro (The Treasure, 51, 162, cf. 140) understands ‫ כלין כופרין‬as “serving vessels” in analogy with the “bowls” of gold and silver (‫ כפורי זהב‬and ‫ )כפורי כסף‬of Ezra 1:10. Alternatively, the expression could mean “vessels for (the day of) atonement”. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 199; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 90–91.

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The two installations the addressee is told to visit here carry a lot of symbolic weight. Absalom’s Hand (‫)יד אבשלום‬, which is the location of a hoard of 80 talents (X 12–14), connotes a narrative tradition concerned with internal strife and civil war between king David and his son. The account in 2 Sam 18:18 of the monument in the King’s Valley that Absalom erected for himself, and which is known as ‫“ יד אבשלום‬to this day” (‫)עד היום הזה‬, follows immediately upon the passage dealing with the death and burial of Absalom resulting from his unsuccessful rebellion. Joab’s soldiers throw the body of Absalom away in the forest into a deep pit (‫)אל הפחת הגדול‬, and pile a very large heap of stones on top of it (2 Sam 18:17). In the narrative the pile of stones in a sense mirrors the self-glorifying monument. The monument of Absalom, then, reflects his ominous self-glorification, and at the same time ironically recalls his ignominious death and irregular burial.67 The significance of these motifs in the context of 3Q15 will be taken up in Chapter 3. The spring of Siloam, from which the addressee is to recover the more modest sum of 17 talents (X 15–16), is another well-known biblical place loaded with symbolic significance. The connotations are both positive and negative, and the location may be said to represent, in a condensed form, the double significance shared by the Kidron valley. The waters of the spring symbolize God’s continued support for his city, the Temple, the elect people, and the Davidic dynasty, but can also be interpreted as echoing the prophetic announcement of doom against an unfaithful and rebellious people (Isa 8:6). A more developed discussion of these motifs will be found in Chapter 3.

67  In Josephus’ account of Absalom’s burial we find the motifs of monument and death creatively combined: The armour-bearers of Joab, after throwing Absalom’s body in the pit, threw stones into the pit until it was filled up and assumed the form and size of a tomb (ὥστε άναπληρωθῆναι καὶ τὸ σχῆμα τάφου καὶ μέγεθος λαβεῖν, A.J. 7.242). This further detail would seem to emphasize the extraordinary and irregular form of the burial, and moreover constitute an ironic contrast to the following account of the monument Absalom had set up for himself while he was still alive. This monument, according to Josephus, was a marble column (στήλην λίθου μαρμαρινου), situated two stades away from Jerusalem. Absalom called it “his own hand” (ἣν προσηγόρευσεν ἰδίαν χεῖρα, A.J. 7.243). This detail may be compared to the LXX, which also has Absalom himself naming the monument the “hand of Absalom” (καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν στήλην Χεὶρ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης, 2 Sam 18:18 LXX).

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Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7)

3.3 X XI

‫בגנת צדוק בארבע‬ ‫ת‬

17

‫מקצועות זהב כלי דמע בתכן אצל‬ ‫ם‬ ‫מתחת פנת האסטאן הדרומית‬ ‫בקבר צדוק תחת עמוד האכסדרן‬ ‫כלי דמע סוח דמע סנה בתכן אצל‬ ‫ם‬ ‫בהכסח ראש הסלע הצופא מערב‬ ‫נגד גנת צדוק תחת המסמא‬ ‫ה‬ })‫גדולא שבשולו הו חרם {ב(ק‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

In the courtyard of Zadok at the four corners – gold, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them. Under the southern corner of the portico in the tomb of Zadok under the pillar of the vestibule – tithe vessels of pine, tithe of sene with their reckoning beside them. In the scarp at the top of the rock facing west opposite the courtyard of Zadok under the large slab which is at its base – it is consecrated (X 17–XI 7). With the spring of Siloam the addressee has again reached the vicinity of the holy city. The next three caches are held together by their location in or near the tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7). The description of the sepulchral monument connotes an impressive structure of considerable dimensions, including a vestibule (‫)אכסדרן‬, and a courtyard (‫)גנה‬. The tomb of Zadok seems clearly to be located in the Kidron valley not far from the spring of Siloam.68 The 68  A tradition documented in Vitae prophetarum relates that Isaiah was buried close to the tomb of the kings behind the “tomb of priests” to the south (ὄπισθεν τοῦ τάφου τῶν ἱερέων ἐπὶ τὸ μέρος τὸ πρὸς νότον) in the Kidron valley. Cf. Eberhard Nestle, “Die dem Epiphanius zugeschriebenen Vitae Prophetarum in doppelter griechischer Rezension,” in E. Nestle, Marginalien und Materialen, Tübingen: J.J. Heckenhauer’sche Buchhandlung, 1893 (1–64 [the section has its own separate page numbering]), 16–17. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 271; Joachim Jeremias, Heiligengräber in Jesu Umwelt (Mt. 23,29; Lk. 11,47). Eine Untersuchung zur Volksreligion der Zeit Jesu (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1958), 62–64. Anna Maria Schwemmer (Vitae Prophetarum, JSHRZ 1 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 1997), 56) also explicitly connects the “tomb of the priests” with the reference in 3Q15 to the “tomb of Zadok”. This tradition appears to make a connection between the location of Isaiah’s tomb (and that of the priests) and the pool of Siloam. In Vitae prophetarum it is further

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“portico” (‫ )אסטאן‬mentioned could be understood with Milik as the “portico of Solomon” (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12) which crowned the eastern wall of the Temple precinct.69 In that case the portico belonging to the Temple area serves as an indication of the location of the sepulchral monument in the valley beneath the southern corner of this structure.70 Inside the sepulchral compound at the corners of its courtyard the addressee must retrieve a treasure of gold and tithe vessels or possibly “tithe vessels made of gold” (‫)זהב כלי דמע‬.71 A second cache is located in the vestibule under a pillar, consisting of tithe vessels destined to contain valuable aromatics.72 The third hoard mentioned in association with the tomb of Zadok is situated outside the tomb “at the top of the rock” which lies opposite the monument. The tomb serves here as a point of orientation for describing the whereabouts of the rock. The nature of the treasure is not mentioned, but it is described as having been consecrated (‫)חרם‬, like the likewise unspecified treasure at Beth-Tamar (IX 16). Again, the term ‫ חרם‬may connote the idea of war spoils, although there is no reference here to the Conquest narratives. In Chapter 3 I will discuss in more detail the occurrence of sacred objects in 3Q15. The sepulchral edifice of the eponymous high priest Zadok is the architectural structure in the Copper Scroll described with most visual details, singling it out as a place of a special importance. The position assigned to the monument of Zadok within the itinerary structure of 3Q15 also testifies to its importance: The addressee has reached the inner part of the Kidron valley and is now situated right beneath the sanctuary. The amassing of sacred objects at this particular hiding-place is also significant. The tomb of Zadok appears to guarantee the legitimacy of the vessels hidden there and the continuity with recorded that the tomb of the kings was built by Solomon, who used the place for storing the gold and aromatics from Ethiopia (τὸ χρυσίον τὸ ἐξ Αἰθιοπίας καὶ τὰ ἀρώματα). 69  Milik, DJD 3, 273. 70  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 201; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 95–96. 71  The expression may be compared to “tithe vessels of silver and gold” (‫כלי כסף וזהב של‬ ‫דמע‬, III 2–3). 72  The exact identification of these aromatics is open to discussion. Milik (DJD 3, 251) identifies ‫ סוח‬as “le sapin de Cilicie” (abies Cilicica) and ‫ סנה‬as “le séné” (cassia Senna). Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 201–02; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 96–97. Bedman (“Los términos ‫ סוח‬y ‫ סנה‬en el Rollo de Cobre (3Q15),” Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos: Sección Hebreo 45 (1996): 27–35 (29–31); cf. Bedman, El Rollo de Cobre, 194–96) has proposed to read ‫ סוח‬as an orthographic variant of the MH word ‫“( סיעה‬followers”, with elision of the guttural). Bedman holds that ‫ סיעה‬should be understood in conjunction with the word ‫סנה‬, which he interprets as a variant for ‫“( סנא‬adversaries”). Both the reading and the interpretation of XI 4 (“tithe of followers and tithe of adversaries”) seem unlikely, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 201–02, note 428; The Copper Scroll Revisted, 97, note 428.

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the sacred past of the cultic tradition they represent. At the same time, the fact that the objects destined for the Temple have now been stored away in the High Priestly ancestor’s tomb testifies to a prevailing disturbance of the sacred and cultic order, a discontinuity or breach with the tradition which seems to imply that there is at present no legitimate cult in the Temple. Whether this is due to the Temple lying in ruins, or to the present cult being illegitimate or to different reasons is not stated in the text, but it would certainly make sense to see the importance of this place in connection with the role assigned to Zadok as a priestly ancestor in a number of texts from Qumran.73 This motif will be further discussed in Chapter 3. This final visit to Jerusalem could be interpreted as highly symbolic in the sense that it takes the addressee to an area dominated by the impressive structure of the tomb of Zadok, the venerable ancestor of the Zadokite High Priests. Here, right beneath the Temple compound, he is to retrieve a concentration of sacred valuable objects destined for the Temple, to which Zadok’s tomb forms a contrast. The tomb could be seen as representing a sort of alternative sacred place. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tombs and Monuments below the Temple Compound and Elsewhere (XI 8–XII 3)

3.4 XI

⟨40⟩ ‫בקבר שתחת הסבין ככ‬

‫בקבר בני העם [[ש]]טח (?) ירחו‬

XII

8 9

‫אר(?) דמע סוח‬/‫בו כלי דמע א[[ר]]ז‬ ‫בתכן אצלן‬ ‫האשר(ו)חין באשוח‬/‫בבית א‬ ‫בבואתך לימומית‬ ‫שלו כלי דמע(?) [[א(?)]]לאה דמע סירא‬ ‫בתכן אצלן‬ ‫במבא רוב[ד]בית המשכב המערבי‬ ‫טיף על מ[ערה]כס[ף(?) ככרין(?)]תשע מאות‬

1 0 1 1 12 1 3 1 4 1 5 16 1 7

‫⟩ ככרין ששין ביאתו מן המ[[ע]]רב‬5⟨ ‫זהב ככ‬ ‫תחת האבן השחורא כוזין תחת סף‬ ⟨42⟩ ‫הכוך ככרין‬

1 2 3

73  Cf. Philip R. Davies, “Zadok, Sons of,” EDDS 2: 1005–07.

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In the tomb which is below the colonnades – 40 talents. In the tomb of the common people spread out to Jericho – in it are tithe vessels of cedar, tithe of pine with their reckoning beside them. In the House of the Two Reservoirs, in the reservoir when you enter in the smallest basin – tithe vessels of [a]loes, tithe of bush with their reckoning beside them. At the western entrance of the terrace of the tomb, there is a stone platform above a ca[vity] – sil[ver]: nine hundred talents, gold: five talents. Sixty talents, at its entrance from the west, under the black stone – j­ uglets, under the threshold of the burial chamber – 42 talents (XI 8–XII 3) The next hiding-places give the impression of being situated in the immediate vicinity – a further tomb below the colonnades of the Temple precinct contains 40 talents, and a tomb of the common people spread out to Jericho holds more tithe vessels (XI 8–11). The “colonnades” (‫ )הסבין‬mentioned here were identified by Milik as the “pinnacle of the Temple” (το πτερυγιον του ιερου) of Matt 4:5; Luke 4:9.74 The notion of a further tomb situated beneath the Temple compound is supported by the close association with the tomb of Zadok in the Kidron Valley. The following cache to be reached should in all probability be sought in the same vicinity, in the Kidron, close to the aforementioned tombs (XI 5–9). The reading of the third word of XI 9 is notoriously difficult. I follow here Puech’s suggestion that the intended word after ‫ בני העם‬is the verb ‫שטח‬, “spread out” or “be spread out”, understanding the reference to be to families residing for longer periods in Jerusalem or in Jericho.75 These would be families belonging to the “common people” (‫ )בני העם‬who did not possess a family tomb in

74  Milik, DJD 3, 273. The reading ‫ סבין‬is not certain. It is possible to read ‫“( סכין‬projections”, “overhangings”, or “bushes”), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 202; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 99. 75  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 202–03; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 100–01. As Puech points out, there would have been sufficient space at the end of l. 9 to write ‫חובו‬, if those four letters were to be understood as one word. The necropolis in Jericho testifies to Jerusalem families possessing a winter residence in Jericho and a sepulchral monument there. Milik (DJD 3, 259, 271, 274, 296–97) reads ‫“( בקבר בני העבט הירחי‬dans le tombeau des Fils du … de Yeraḥ”), suggesting that ‫ עבט‬could signify an occupation. Allegro (The Treasure, 53, 165) reads ‫“( בקבר בני העם טהור חובו‬in the grave of the common people who (died) absolved from their purity regulations”, including the first two letters of l. 10 to form the word ‫חוב‬, “obligation”, “debt”).

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Jerusalem.76 Here again the treasure to be recovered consist of consecrated objects, tithe vessels destined for valuable aromatics. The house of the two reservoirs (‫ )בית האשרוחין‬is also designated as the hiding-place of sacred objects (XI 12–15). Milik understood the building referred to as a reference to Bethesda known from the New Testament (John 5:2) and from Josephus.77 A tradition documented in Eusebius identified the place with the “Sheep Pool”, and excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century have confirmed the existence of two pools with five porticos at the site of the later St Anne’s church.78 The recently discovered inscription from St Anne’s church might indirectly confirm this identification.79 In other words, the addressee must at this point have left the Kidron valley to seek out the location, but the distance is not great. Whether we should connect the locality envisioned in 3Q15 with the scene of the healing and conversation in John 5 remains uncertain. It is interesting, at any rate, that the cache here again holds sacred objects, tithe vessels for aromatics like the hiding places near Zadok’s tomb. The terrace mentioned next could be located in the valley of Kidron like the rest of the sepulchral monuments mentioned in this part of the text (XI 16–XII 3). It is also possible, however, that we should seek this monument in the immediate vicinity of Bethesda.80 There are three caches in this area holding silver talents, gold talents, juglets, and unspecified talents.81 The location 76  In itself, the designation ‫ קבר בני העם‬is reminiscent of the reference in 2 Kings 23:6, where Josiah is reported to have cast the dust of the burnt and destroyed Ashera upon the graves of the common people (‫ )על קבר בני העם‬in the Kidron Valley. This reference is recalled by Allegro, The Treasure, 165. 77  On the identification and excavation of Bethesda, cf. Joachim Jeremias, The Rediscovery of Bethesda (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; Louisville: New Testament Archaeology, 1966). Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 271–72. 78  The manuscript tradition in John 5:2 and in Josephus is divided as to the place-name. Most modern commentators and text editions regard Βηθζαθα as the original form of the toponym in John 5:2. Various manuscript traditions have Βηθεσδα, Βηθζαθα, Βηθσαιδα, or Βελζεθα. Cf. Rudolf Bultmann, Das Evangelium des Johannes, KEK 2 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1978), 179, note 7. Klaus Wengst (Das Johannesevangelium. 1. Teilband: Kapitel 1–10, Theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 4/1 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2000), 182–83) regards Βηθεσδα as the original form, and finds that this reading is confirmed by the place-name in 3Q15. It remains unclear whether or not Josephus (B.J. 2.328, 530; 5.149, 151, 246) refers to the same locality as the place depicted in John 5:2. Βεζεθὰ, which seems to be the preferable reading in Bellum, may refer to a suburban area to the north of Jerusalem. Once (B.J. 5.151) Josephus explains that the Greek meaning is “new city” (βεζεθὰ … ὃ μεθερμηνευόμενον Ἑλλάδι γλώσσῃ καινὴ λεγοίτ’ ἂν πόλις). 79  Cf. Puech, “Les inscriptions,” 237. 80  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 272. 81  For the reading ‫ כוזין‬in XII 2, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 205; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 107.

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­mentioned in XI 16 (‫ )בית המשכב‬could designate a tomb or possibly a triclinium, which could be imagined as a part of a larger sepulchral monument.82 4

Fourth Main Section (XII 4–13)

4.1

Away to the North: Gerizim, Beth-Shan, Bezek (XII 4–9) XII

‫רהב גריזין תחת המעל{ה}א של השוח[[ה]] העליונא‬ ⟨60⟩ ‫שדא אחת וכל כליה וכסף ככ‬ ‫בפי המבוע של בית שם כל[[י]] כסף וכלי זהב‬ ‫של דמע וכסף הכל ככרין שש מאות‬ ‫כוך‬/‫בביבא הגדולא של הבזך כלבית הבזך‬ ‫⟨ מנין עסרין‬71⟩ ‫הכל משקל ככרין‬

4 5 6 7 8 9

At Mount Gerizim under the step of the upper pit – one chest and all its vessels, and silver, 60 talents. At the mouth of the spring of Beth-Sham – tithe vessels of vessels of silver and tithe vessels of gold, and silver, in all six hundred talents. In the large pipe of Bezek, near the house of Bezek/the burial chamber – in total a weight of 71 talents and twenty minas (XII 4–9). The localities forming the conclusion of the text take us – and the addressee – somewhat abruptly away from Jerusalem. Here, the scene has shifted to the north of the country, and the addressee is directed to visit three named places – Mount Gerizim, Beth-Sham, and Bezek. In the structure of 3Q15 the text here makes a very significant shift. Up to this point the localities which the addressee has been directed to visit have been presented in a sequence that could very naturally and plausibly be understood as a series of stations constituting an itinerary. In other words, the reader could imagine the places visited along a route followed by the addressee, moving from one place on to the next. This structure seems here to break down, with the reference to three scattered localities in Northern Palestine. Mount Gerizim (‫ )הר גריזין‬is a place with a great symbolic significance, linked to the conquest narrative where the divine blessing over Israel was once 82  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 204, note 468; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 105, note 468. Milik (DJD 3, 272) thinks of a triclinium associated with Temple feasts (“un triclinium pour les banquets sacrés”).

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proclaimed after the Israelites had overcome the evil introduced by Achan in the Valley of Achor, and finally conquered Ai (Deut 11:29; 27:12; Josh 8:33). The reference would therefore seem, in a sense, to counterbalance the negative connotations of the Valley of Achor/Achon (I 1; IV 6).83 It may therefore be more than a coincidence that Mount Gerizim figures here near the end of the text as the opening of a final series of hiding-places, just as the valley of Achor was the first location mentioned at the beginning of the text. The symbolic meaning of Achor and Gerizim will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 3. Mount Gerizim was also the location of the Samaritan sanctuary, and there are some indications that in Jewish and Samaritan traditions Gerizim was as a hiding-place for sacred vessels.84 The “vessels” of the chest (‫ )כליה‬mentioned could be consecrated objects, but there are no direct hints at this, and quite possibly the reference is simply to the contents of the chest.85 From Gerizim, the mountain of divine blessing the addressee moves on to Beth-Sham (‫ בית שם‬should in all probability be understood as a variant form of the well-known biblical ‫)בית שאן‬.86 The rejected king Saul’s dead body was once hung up against the city wall of Beth-Shan by the victorious Philistines before the Israelites retrieved and burned his remains and mourned the dead king (1 Sam 31:10–13). This incident took place at the transition between a period of trouble, divine rejection, and defeat at the hands of Israel’s enemies, and the new era under the elect king David. The place is, in other words, associated with both memories of past troubles and with hopes of renewal and restoration.87 The treasure hidden here consists of costly consecrated objects of silver and gold and the considerable sum of 600 silver talents. The toponym Bezek (‫ )בזך‬could with a high degree of plausibility be understood as a variant of the biblical place-name ‫( בזק‬Bezek). This requires the assumption of an interchange between kaf and qof, which can be attested in other instances.88 Bezek is situated in the north between Gerizim and Bet-Shan, so 83  Cf. Fidler, “Inclusio,” 223. 84  Josephus relates that the pretension of a Samaritan leader to show to the Samaritans the sacred vessels hidden by Moses at Mount Garizim led to an uprising that was crushed by Pilate (A.J. 18.85–89). See Chapter 5 on this incident and later Samaritan traditions concerning holy vessels at Mount Gerizim. 85  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 205; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 108–09. 86  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 229, 261–62: Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 205; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 109. 87   Beth-Shan is also in a sense negatively linked to the conquest narratives, since, according to Jos 17:11; Jud 1:27, this Canaanite city was one of the places the Israelites did not succeed in capturing. 88  Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 429) mentions the example ‫“( כובע‬helmet”) versus ‫קובע‬. Milik (DJD 3, 269, 298, 301) reads ‫ ברך‬and ‫בית הברך‬. He interprets the word ‫ ברך‬as a

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the place could be passed by the addressee heading back towards Kohlit and the south. Like Mount Gerizim and Beth-Sham Bezek is linked to the conquest narrative and traditions of Israel taking possession of the Promised Land (Jud 1:4–7), and also provides a link to the Saul narrative (1 Sam 11:8). 4.2

Final Destination: Return to Kohlit (XII 10–13) XII

‫בשית שכנה בצפון כחלת פתחא צפון‬ ‫וקברין על פיה משנא הכתב הז‬ ‫א‬

‫ופרושה ומשחותיהם ופרוט כל‬ ]‫אחד באח[ד‬

10 11 12 13

In the pit which is situated89 to the north of Kohlit, its opening to the north with tombs at its opening – a duplicate of this document with its explanation and their measurements and the inventory of everything, item by item (XII 10–13). Kohlit is the last place the addressee is to approach after his detour to reach the Northern sites. To the north of Kohlit he is to enter a pit surrounded by tombs, a condensed image of the state of the landscape he has traversed on his long walks. Inside the pit at Kohlit is the last item listed in the Copper Scroll, the duplicate scroll with explanation, measurements, and an inventory of everything. It is highly remarkable in itself that the final item listed in this long enumeration of hidden treasures of gold, silver, and precious materials is a book scroll. In the context, it is very tempting to assign a symbolic significance to this book. defective spelling of the qal passive participle (= ‫ברוך‬, “blessed”), and understands “The Blessed One” as a designation for Abraham. The places intended could be Hebron and Mamre. This ingenious suggestion is difficult to maintain in view of the frequent references to Hebron in ancient texts. The designation would be unattested elsewhere. It is possible to read ‫“( בית הכוך‬the tomb”) instead of ‫בית הבזך‬. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 205–06; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 111. 89  The simplest way to understand the word ‫ שכנה‬is the relative pronoun followed by a qal perfect feminine singular of ‫“( כון‬which is situated”), cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 206; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 111–12. Al Wolters has suggested reading ‫ שית שכינה‬as “the cavern of the Shekinah”, with the implication that the divine presence, the Shekinah, in the eyes of the ancient author, “has been temporarily removed to an alternative sanctuary” (Al Wolters, “The Shekinah in the Copper Scroll. A New Reading of 3Q15 12.20,” in The Scrolls and the Scriptures. Qumran Fifty Years After, ed. Stanley E. Porter and Craig A. Evans, JSPSup 26/Roehampton Institute London Papers 3 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 382–91 (390).

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It would seem to represent what the instructing voice has represented to the addressee during his journey – an authoritative source of wisdom and knowledge in continuity with the wisdom of the past, conveying insight into the precious valuables which lay buried beneath the ground, invisible to the eye but attainable to one who listens to the instructing voice of wisdom.90 At last, the addressee has reached the end of his journey through a disturbed and troubled land, a land carrying great promises of the past and a glorious hope for the future. The landscape, which the text presents to the reader, as the journey is completed, is a landscape of ruins and mounds, abandoned buildings and aqueducts fallen out of use. The itinerary of the Copper Scroll, however, does not lead the addressee, or its reader, through a walk of despair. There is more to this landscape than meets the eye at first glance. Beneath the surface the hidden treasures are available, ready to be retrieved at the command of the voice representing knowledge and wisdom of times and places. 5

Overview and Synthesis

In the preceding literary analysis of 3Q15 I have attempted to track the steps of the addressee of the text, as he is directed by a commanding and instructing voice through a sequence of places and locations, from which he is to retrieve a number of hidden treasures of various sorts. This reading was based on the assumption that the structure of the text is determined by the combination of two elements – the distribution of geographical names and the itinerary model. The sequence of geographical designations, each of which often govern a series of cache descriptions, depends on the reader being guided by the context. For this system of description to work, the reader is presumed to make a connection between the different locations, connecting the preceding cache with the following by assuming that they are close or, at least, that they are situated in natural sequence from a point of view of a person moving from one location to the next. This coherence is exactly what the itinerary model provides, based as it is on the notion of a human journey through a landscape made up of successive locations. The arrangement of locations, therefore, cannot be arbitrary but must exhibit a high degree of continuity associated with the (real or assumed) interrelations between the places described.

90  Comparing the value of wisdom to precious metals is a well-known motif in wisdom literature, cf. Prov 3:14–15; 8:11; Job 28.

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The reading suggested here, I believe, will have at least provisionally confirmed that the text of 3Q15 can be interpreted along these lines. The sequence of places, for the most part, make very good sense within an itinerary structure. The provisory division of the text into sections was also largely confirmed: The journey which the addressee is commanded to undertake begin in the Valley of Achor, where the first three caches are located (I 1–8). From there, he moves on to Kohlit to retrieve an impressive amount of consecrated valuables (I 9–12). The next location, the staircase of Manos, could be situated in the vicinity of Kohlit or on the way from Kohlit to Jerusalem (I 13–II 2). The next series of locations point unambiguously to Jerusalem and the Temple area, which is however, not mentioned by name (II 3–12). What is described here, in other words, is the addressee’s first visit to Jerusalem. He retreats from the holy city to Kohlit, which is the place he appears to depart from and return to when going to and from Jerusalem (II 13–15). From Kohlit, the addressee makes a second entry into Jerusalem (III 1–13), this time to retrieve a number of hidden sacred objects. After this second visit the addressee is instructed to return once more to Kohlit, and to retrieve two treasures located here or in the vicinity. He then goes back to his first location, the Valley of Achor. From the Valley of Achor the addressee passes Asla on his way back to the vicinity of Kohlit. This sequence, then, seem most naturally to describe a detour that has the addressee tracing his steps back to the Valley of Achor and then back again to Kohlit area (IV 1–12). If this reading of the text, based on an itinerary model, is accepted as plausible, we may regard I 1–IV 12 as the first main section of 3Q15: The addressee here moves between the Valley of Achor and Jerusalem, with Kohlit as the most prominent intermediary stage. From the perspective of Palestinian topography, if the Valley of Achor is to be identified with Wadi Nuwe‘imeh in the direction of Jericho, Kohlit would have to be situated in the same direction from Jerusalem, and Tell es-Sultan would be the obvious logical identification, as Puech has suggested. The addressee, then, should be imagined as making his first journeys to Jerusalem from out of the Jericho area. From Kohlit the addressee is now told to go to the area in and around Secacah, retrieving valuables from various locations, many of which are associated with water installations (IV 13–VI 10). The most remarkable finding in this area is an urn containing a book (VI 4–5). There is also an instance of sacred objects (“tithe vessels”, V 6–7) found here. Secacah is clearly the main point of orientation within this part of the itinerary, but the direction in which the addressee is instructed to move is more difficult to ascertain. Since a location on the way from Jericho to Secacah is mentioned (V 13), it is possible that the direction towards Jericho is intended at the end of the sequence. The following

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series of locations (VI 11–VIII 3) should probably also be perceived as stations on the addressee’s journey, but they are somewhat difficult to place in a known or imaginary landscape. The “Queen’s Abode” (VI 11–13) could be passed between Secacah and Jericho, or on the way from Jericho to the Jordan, where the “ford of the High Priest” (VI 14–VII 2) must be located. The four geographical names that follow (House of Hakkoz, Dok, Koziba, and (house of) Aḥiyah, VII 3–VIII 3) should, according to the itinerary model, be situated along the addressee’s way from the Jordan River to the Kidron valley. The treasures to be retrieved from these locations include at the last cache a number of tithe vessels and books, which the addressee is instructed to treat with care (VIII 3). This part of the text is the most difficult to get hold of from a geographical point of view, although it seems clear that Secacah must be located somewhere near the Dead Sea (whether the place is identical to Qumran or not). There is a good case, then, for viewing the area to the northwest of the Dead Sea, Jericho and a location at the lower part of the Jordan River as the scene for this sequence of locations. The final row of toponyms (VII 3–VIII 3) would be most naturally sought along the way south towards the entrance of the Kidron valley, which is where the next part of the text takes us (VIII 4). Within the overall framework of 3Q15, we could regard the whole of IV 13–VIII 3 as another main section of the text. The section that follows reflects the addresee’s movement up the Kidron valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11), beginning at the Outer Valley, and ending at the Valley of Job, which we must seek near the inner part of the Kidron before reaching the sites mentioned subsequently (X 12–XI 7). While this part of the text seems indeed to be governed by the addressee’s approach through the Kidron, some of the localities mentioned are admittedly not easy to fit into this model. If we are to identify Natoph (IX 1–6) as Netopha, this would take us away from the route through the Kidron here, and we would have to assume that the addressee was directed to make a detour further south. There is a good case for identifying Shaveh (VIII 10–16), Beth-ha-Kerem (X 5–7), and the Valley of Job (X 8–11) as stations in or near the Kidron, and equally possible to locate the Vaults of the Horites (IX 7–13) and Masadona (IX 17–X 4) in the same area. The case of Beth-Tamar (IX 14–16) is less clear, and depends on the identification. The addressee’s entry into the Kidron passes by an inscription (VIII 4–5). Among the treasures to be retrieved along this part of the route we find an offering gift (‫ )מנחה‬of silver in or near the Vault of the Horites (IX 10), and an otherwise unspecified treasure that is consecrated (‫חרם‬, IX 16). A series of hiding-places in the inner part of the Kidron Valley (X 12–XII 3) reflects what could be described as the addressee’s third and final visit to

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Jerusalem. Caches located at Absalom’s Hand and the spring of Siloam are to be retrieved first (X 12–16). The most prominent site in this part of the text is undoubtedly the sepulchral monument of Zadok, which is the hiding-place, or point of orientation for three caches including tithe vessels for aromatics (X 17–XI 7). More sepulchral monuments, in all likelihood situated in the same vicinity, hold various valuables, including tithe vessels. They are described as situated beneath the Temple area. Consecrated objects are also to be retrieved from the cache located in the House of Two Reservoirs, possibly to be identified with biblical Bethesda, although the site could also be sought in the inner Kidron Valley as the rest of the locations mentioned here (XI 8–XII 3). From the perspective of the general structure of 3Q15, we might regard VIII 4–XII 3 as one large section, describing the addressee’s approach to Jerusalem via the Kidron, and his scrutiny of tombs and monuments in the inner part of the valley. In the final section of 3Q15 the scene changes rather abruptly: The addressee is instructed to seek out three places in Northern Palestine (Mount Gerizim, Beth-Sham, and Bezek, XII 4–9) holding each one cache. Tithe vessels are to be retrieved from the hoard at Beth-Sham. From the north the addressee is then finally directed back once more to Kohlit where the last treasure to be recovered turns out to be a duplicate of the text itself (XII 10–13). This analysis and summary has shown, I believe, that the itinerary model is indeed meaningful and helpful with respect to understanding the structure and content of 3Q15. Based on this model as the key to reading the sequence of geographical locations described in the text, we may now modify the provisional division into sections, and regard it as made up of four major patterns of the addressee’s movements through the country: 1) An initial round of movement departs from the Valley of Achor, and focuses on Jerusalem, which is entered twice, with Kohlit as an intermediary station, and with the valley of Achor passed once more towards the end of the circle (I 1–IV 12). 2) A journey through the vicinity of Secacah near the Dead Sea takes the addressee to the Jericho area and the Jordan river, then back to the south through Judaean desert (IV 13–VIII 3). 3) Through the Kidron Valley (and nearby localities) the addressee advances towards Jerusalem, with the tomb of Zadok and associated locations as the goal (VIII 4–XII 3) 4) A journey through locations in Northern Palestine finally leads back to Kohlit (XII 4–13).

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Different Scholarly Opinions Regarding Structure in the Copper Scroll

The model tentatively proposed here should, it must be stressed, remain open to conjecture if toponyms or other place designations in the text are given different interpretations from the ones assumed here. It is fruitful to compare it to other suggestions by scholars as to the geographical structure in 3Q15. In fact, the model suggested here does not differ very radically from Émile Puech’s analysis of the structure. Puech regards the structure of 3Q15 as basically bipartite: The first section (I 1–IV 2), which is the only part of 3Q15 that has the Greek abbreviations, should be treated as a group apart. The items described here belong to the Valley of Achor, to Kohlit, and to the Temple area in Jerusalem. The following section (IV 3–XII 13) resumes the same geographical sequence, beginning with Kohlit, and moving again to the Valley of Achor. The toponyms cover areas around Sokokah-Jericho and Tekoa-BethlehemJerusalem. Both areas are connected through the Kidron Valley.91 A schematic overview of Puech’s analysis would look like this: 1) Introductory group of locations (with Greek letters) (I 1–IV 2) Valley of Achor I 1–8 Kohlit I 9–II 2 Temple area, Jerusalem II 3–IV 2 2) Main group of locations (IV 3–XII 13) Kohlit IV 3–5 Valley of Achor IV 6–8 Wadi Asla IV 9–10 North of Kohlit IV 11–12 Secacah – Jericho IV 13–VIII 7 91  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 14–16. Cf. Puech, “Some Results,” 82–88.

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Kedron – Tekoa – Kerem South of Jerusalem VIII 8–X 16 Around Jerusalem X 17–XII 3 Various locations XII 4–13 This analysis differs on a number of points from the division proposed by Milik in DJD 3: The first 5 items (I 1–15), according to Milik, form a group apart. The author begins with an item found in his own region (I 1–4), and then adds four disparate locations (I 5–15). Then follows items connected with Jerusalem and the Temple (II 1–IV 5), the region of Jericho (IV 6–VII 16), the region to the south-east of Jerusalem (VIII 1–X 14), the eastern quarter of Jerusalem (X 15– XII 3), and finally a group of various locations (XII 4–13).92 A rather different geographical scheme was suggested by Pixner: The treasure catalogue of 3Q15, according to Pixner, “was composed on a definite geographical plan”.93 Pixner divides the text into five sections, dealing with the region at the “Essene gate” of Jerusalem (I 1–IV 5), the region of Jericho (IV 6–VII 16), the region of the Yarmuk river south of Damascus (VIII 1–X 4), the area around Jerusalem (X 5–XII 3), and divers locations in northern Palestine (XII 4–13). Pixner holds the opinion that the geographical scheme of the Copper Scroll reflects the distribution of Essene settlements concentrated in three major areas, Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Yarmuk region, which Pixner equates with the “land of Damascus” known from the Damascus Document.94 However, it seems highly unlikely that we should locate any of the places mentioned in the text outside Palestine.95 To mention but one conspicuous example, the location of Kohlit becomes more understandable if we think of this place as being located, in the author’s view, on the way to and from Jerusalem. That is where the addressee passes Kohlit, or, at any rate, that is where the place is listed in his sequence of names. This is certainly the case the three first times Kohlit is mentioned: In I 9 Kohlit occurs between the valley of Achor (which is the area envisaged in I 1–8) and the staircase of Manos (I 13), which may be a part of the scenery associated with Kohlit. Then the addressee, leaving Kohlit behind, pays a visit to the Temple area of Jerusalem (II 3–12), and after that returns to Kohlit again 92  Milik, DJD 3, 278–79. 93  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 341. 94  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 350, 359–60. 95  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 176; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 18.

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(II 13–15). Significantly, a second visit to Jerusalem seems to follow immediately upon this stay in Kohlit which is once again, made the point of departure for entering Jerusalem and the Temple area (III 1–13). From Kohlit the addressee then goes back to the Valley of Achor/Achon (IV 6), and, passing the place Asla on the way (IV 9), again comes close to Kohlit (IV 11) before moving on to Secacah (IV 13). Wherever Kohlit is to be sought on a map of ancient Palestine, in the world of 3Q15 it is a place located on the way in or out of Jerusalem. For our understanding of the sequence of places, this is important information. The structure which I suggest here, then, is in accord, at a general level, with the known geography of ancient Palestine, and the itinerary model would indeed to a great extent reflect a realistic notion of how a person could be imagined moving from place to place through the landscape. The division of the text also seems to reflect literary concerns. As Puech has pointed out, the geographical sequence, which is interpreted here as reflecting a movement towards Jerusalem seems to repeat itself in the text.96 Form a literary point of view, section 1 (I 1–IV 12) could be understood as a prologue, in which the addressee’s approach to Jerusalem is prefigured, section 2 would then be an interlude that takes the addressee to other places (IV 13–VIII 3), and section 3 (VIII 4–XII 3) would constitute the main part of the text in which through a long journey the goal (Jerusalem) is reached. Section 4 (XII 4–13) then is an epilogue with a different end point (Kohlit): 1)

2) 3)

First Main Section (I 1–IV 12) 1.1. Point of Departure: The Valley of Achor (I 1–8) 1.2. The Mound of Kohlit (I 9–12) 1.3. The Staircase of Manos (I 13–II 2) 1.4. First Visit to Jerusalem (II 3–12) 1.5. Retreat to Kohlit (II 13–15) 1.6. Second Visit to Jerusalem (III 1–13) 1.7. There and Back Again: Kohlit, Valley of Achor, Asla, Kohlit (IV 1–12) Second Main Section (IV 13–VIII 3) 2.1. In an around Secacah (IV 13–VI 10) 2.2. Between Secacah and the Kidron Valley (VI 11–VIII 3) Third Main Section (VIII 4–XII 3) 3.1. Through the Kidron Valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11) 3.2. Third Visit to Jerusalem: The Inner Kidron Valley (X 12–16) 3.3. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7) 3.4. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tombs and Monuments below the Temple Compound and elsewhere (XI 8–XII 3)

96  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 15.

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Fourth Main Section (XII 4–13) 4.1. Away to the North: Gerizim, Beth-Shan, Bezek (XII 4–9) 4.2. Final Destination: Return to Kohlit (XII 10–13) Conclusions

To sum up, we have seen in this chapter that a literary reading of the Copper Scroll, which is based on an understanding of the text as an itinerary, describing, or rather, prescribing, the movements of an addressee trough a landscape of different places from which he is to retrieve and collect a series of valuables, does indeed make good sense of the text. Such a reading is able to disclose a meaningful sequence in the geographical designations found in 3Q15, which also seems to reflect to a great extent the actual historical geography of Palestine. Indeed, the structure proposed here does not differ radically from the suggestions made by previous scholars. Furthermore, certain important aspects of the landscape described in 3Q15 have emerged. The general impression conveyed through the images presented in the text is one of abandoned places, ruined buildings, water installations that have fallen out of use, in short a land in a stay of decay and desolation. This impression is corroborated by the fact that no people are mentioned – the only personal names that occur in the text, designate figures of the distant past. A particularly disturbing feature is the significant number of indications that the Temple is not performing its functions. This can be seen, above all, from the references to objects that clearly belong in the Temple, but are nevertheless described as being stored away in various non-sacred locations, some even associated with burial and ritual impurity. The text seems, in other words, to work with a set of contrasts between sacred and non-sacred space, and to indicate that their relationship has been disturbed or even turned around. At the same time, the overview and knowledge possessed by the instructing voice, and the fact that the sacred objects and other treasures are now to be reclaimed, in accordance with his instructions, seem to offer a perspective of consolation or hope for the implied reader.

chapter 3

A Map of Meanings: Places and Items in the Copper Scroll In Chapter 2 I attempted to demonstrate that it makes good sense to read the text of 3Q15 in accordance with an itinerary model, which proved to be a key to understanding the geographical sequence of descriptions. The purpose of this chapter is to corroborate and further develop the thesis that the Copper Scroll can be plausibly understood as a literary text displaying a meaningful overall structure and employing various literary devices as a way of communicating its contents to the reader. In this chapter, we shall describe and map the locations mentioned in 3Q15, and the various valuables and hiding-places recorded in the text, with respect to their inherent symbolic meanings, and the inter­relations between them. Insights from landscape theory will be employed with the purpose of better understanding the landscape depicted in the Copper Scroll. Based on the itinerary model, the text may, as we saw in Chapter 2, be divided into four main sections ((1) I 1–IV 12; (2) IV 13–VIII 3; (3) VIII 4–XII 3; (4) XII 4–13). I suggest that even though 3Q15 is clearly not a narrative text, the sequence of movements of the addressee prescribed and depicted reflect a logic and a progression which go beyond the immediate, geographical level. In the following, I analyse the roles of central place-designations within this structure, and, in particular, their interrelated meanings. The locations that the addressee of 3Q15 is instructed to visit, and where he is told to retrieve hidden valuables, can be shown to carry symbolic meanings associated with their background in literary traditions. The logic and progression reflected in the text become more transparent and understandable, when we consider the symbolic meanings that these places connote. The systems and relations of meanings in 3Q15 can be more fully understood when we examine the nature, and symbolic value, of the treasures themselves, notably those described as sacred objects. Meanings and symbolism also seem to be inherent in the descriptions of hiding-places – buildings, architectural remains, water installations, tombs, and underground locations. All these meanings contribute to the image created by the Copper Scroll of a landscape laden with symbolic significance, linking it to certain perceptions of the past, present, and future.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_005

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The Structure of 3Q15: a Logic Beyond Geographical Sequence?

In Chapter 2 we took some initial steps towards grasping the structure of 3Q15, based primarily on our reading of the text in accordance with an itinerary model. This model seemed to suggest itself intuitively, given the instructions to the addressee to move about, and the sequence of geographical names and place-descriptions that dominate the text. I pointed – following the lead of earlier scholars – to a division of the text into four main sections as helpful to understand how the itinerary model organizes the descriptions of hidingplaces into sequences. The division may be summarized as follows: 1) Prologue (I 1–IV 12) 1.1. Point of Departure: The Valley of Achor (I 1–8) 1.2. The Mound of Kohlit (I 9–12) 1.3. The Staircase of Manos (I 13–II 2) 1.4. First Visit to Jerusalem (II 3–12) 1.5. Retreat to Kohlit (II 13–15) 1.6. Second Visit to Jerusalem (III 1–13) 1.7. There and Back Again: Kohlit, Valley of Achor, Asla, Kohlit (IV 1–12) 2) Interlude (IV 13–VIII 3) 2.1. In an around Secacah (IV 13–VI 10) 2.2. Between Secacah and the Kidron Valley (VI 11–VIII 3) 3) Central Section: Journey to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) 3.1. Through the Kidron Valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11) 3.2. Third Visit to Jerusalem: The Inner Kidron Valley (X 12–16) 3.3. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7) 3.4. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tombs and Monuments below the Temple Compound and elsewhere (XI 8–XII 3) 4) Epilogue (XII 4–13) 4.1. Away to the North: Gerizim, Beth-Shan, Bezek (XII 4–9) 4.2. Final Destination: Return to Kohlit (XII 10–13) As noted above, this model would also seem to reflect a meaningful literary structure: Section 1 (I 1–IV 12) has the function of a prologue, containing a prefiguration of the addressee’s approach to Jerusalem (which is the central theme unfolding in section 3) and also of the addressee’s journey to Kohlit (reached as the final destination in section 4). Section 2 we could describe as an interlude taking the addressee to a number of other places (IV 13–VIII 3). Section 3 (VIII 4–XII 3) is the central section, which takes up and acts out the main theme of the text: A long journey takes the addressee to the goal (Jerusalem). Section 4 (XII 4–13) constitutes an epilogue, in which a new journey (to the North) is

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undertaken, and a different end point (Kohlit) is reached. The basic movements characterizing each of the four sections, may be visually presented on schematic maps of Palestine (Figures 1–4). It has often been pointed out that 3Q15 does not contain any narrative framework. No personal agents are described as performing actions of any sort. The Copper Scroll depicts a world of landscapes, sites, monuments, and things. Many of the monuments and landmarks and all the hidden treasures, however, are man-made, products of culture and art, and testify to the achievements and glory of people of past times. The only explicit contemporary human presence in the text is, in fact, the instructing voice. Implicitly, the addressee is also envisaged as present.1 The instructing voice leads the addressee on a journey through the landscape of places, monuments, and hidden valuables, which connect the present with the past. It is reasonable, then, to look for meaning associated with the relationship between present and past, and to assume that the journey is intended to accomplish something important in terms of a shift or change from the present to the future. 2

Understanding the Depiction of Landscape in 3Q15

The intimate connection between the perception of landscapes, roads, and places and the movements and sensations of the human body has been acknowledged and taken as a point of departure in recent theories on landscape.2 Landscapes are not merely external realities that can be separated from the way humans experience and perceive them. In order to understand the role of landscape in 3Q15, the phenomenology of landscape developed by Christopher Tilley is heuristically useful. Tilley’s work is particularly relevant in this context, because it very explicitly addresses the aspect of landscape as human perception and construction. Tilley has attempted to develop a phenomenology of landscape taking his point of departure from the observation that places are, first and foremost, something experienced and constructed by humans. 1  In fact, all the personal names mentioned in 3Q15 would seem to designate persons of past times. 2  Cf. Tim Ingold’s distinction between “mapping” and “mapmaking” and again between “wayfinding” and “navigation” (Tim Ingold, The Perception of the Environment: Essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill (London/New York: Routledge, 2000), 219–42). “Mapping” and “wayfinding” are intrinsically linked to the physical, bodily movement through a particular landscape, tracing and retracing one’s steps and the steps and paths of one’s predecessors: “For those who know a country, in short, the answers to such basic questions as ‘Where am I?’ and ‘Which way should I go?’ are found in narratives of past movement” (ibid., 237).

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Section 1. Prologue: approach to Jerusalem Map by Erik Goosmann

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Section 2. Interlude: Secacah and the Kidron valley Map by Erik Goosmann

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Section 3. Central section: journey to Jerusalem Map by Erik Goosmann

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Section 4. Epilogue: new journey to the north, return to Kohlit Map by Erik Goosmann

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As Tilley observes, “people are immersed in a world of places which the geographical imagination aims to understand and recover – places as contexts for human experience, constructed in movement, memory, encounter and association”.3 Tilley focuses on the twofold meaning inherent in the concept of “landscape”: The term signals two fundamental ways in which humans relate to their environment – they experience and perceive their surrounding, and at the same time they continually shape and reshape it.4 “Landscape”, then, has both ontological and cognitive connotations, and it is precisely this double meaning that renders the term useful. It includes the physical and visual form of the earth as an environment as well as mental images and representations created by human experience in a dialectical relation to the physical and visual setting.5 Since human activities take place in a dialectical relation to landscapes, the landscape becomes “embedded in the social and individual times of memory”.6 According to Tilley, memories of previous activities in and passages through the landscape are a part of its present interpretation, influencing and modifying the construction of sense and meaning. Tilley further emphasizes the connection between landscape and narrative: “If stories are linked with regularly repeated spatial practices they become mutually supportive, and when a story becomes sedimented into the landscape, the story and the place dialectically help to construct and reproduce each other”.7 As Tilley formulates it, places like people have biographies.8 This perspective on landscape as experienced physically and perceived mentally, and shaped through present and past human activities is important for understanding the itinerary structure of 3Q15. Milik, in his first preliminary presentation of the text of 3Q15 in 1960, stated that once the place-names in the Copper Scroll had been properly identified, the next step was “to try to pin them down to the map of Roman Palestine and Jerusalem”.9 Milik’s assumption, followed subsequently by many scholars 3  Christopher Tilley, A Phenomenology of Landscape: Places, Paths and Monuments (Oxford: Berg, 1994), 15. 4  For the perspective offered by Tim Ingold, see his The Perception of the Environment. 5  Tilley, A Phenomenology of Landscape, 25. Ingold also, in his understanding of “landscape”, rejects the notion of a dichotomy between inner and outer worlds, external objective reality and human perception. Cf. Ingold, The Perception, 191 (“the landscape, I hold, is not a picture in the imagination, surveyed by the mind’s eye; nor however is it an alien and formless substrate awaiting the imposition of human order”). 6  Tilley, A Phenomenology of Landscape, 27. 7  Tilley, A Phenomenology of Landscape, 33. 8  Tilley, ibid. 9  Milik, “The Copper Document,” 143.

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working on 3Q15, was that the toponyms and geographical designations found in the text simply reflect the contemporary geographical reality. The placenames are in a certain sense objective facts that can be adequately depicted by locating them on a modern map. Tilley’s approach may help us recognize the complex perception of landscape in 3Q15. The itinerary structure does not only mirror factual geographical locations and distances. It is also formed by the way the places mentioned and the movements between them have been experienced and recorded by humans in the past. Landscape theories have often primarily focused on prehistoric and preliterary experiences and constructions of landscapes In the case of 3Q15 we are dealing with landscape as portrayed in a written text, which draws extensively on older literary traditions. What we find here, in other words, is landscape mediated through literature, not a direct experience of landscape in its physical or mental dimensions. Memories and narratives inscribed into the landscape include traditions, oral and written, of previous generations. When places are linked through an itinerary as in 3Q15, connotations linked to these traditions are activated in the reader’s mind, enabling him to transcend his own time, and perceiving of himself as connected to past experiences as well as future expectations. We have already seen that the basic structure of the text mirrors a progression of movements or a logic of transition. 3Q15 enables its reader to imagine the addressee’s journey unfolding in place and time. This becomes all the more apparent if we trace the movements of the addressee between the most important locations, and connect them to the overall structure. We arrive at the following scheme: 1) Prologue: Prefigurations of journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor Kohlit Jerusalem (1st time) Kohlit Jerusalem (2nd time) Kohlit Valley of Achor Kohlit 2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah Desert of Judah 3) Central Section: Journey to Jerusalem thorugh the Kidron Valley (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron Jerusalem (3rd time) 4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Kohlit

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As this overview illustrates, there is a high degree of inner logic in the structure of the text, and of the addressee’s movements as they are ordered by the instructing voice. The structure of the journey, however, has a certain complexity to it. The third and central part of the text (3) depicts the addressee’s journey up through the Kidron Valley to Jerusalem, while the Epilogue (4) sends the addressee on a second journey through localities in Northern Palestine and then back again to Kohlit, which turns out to be the final destination reached at the very end of the text. The Prologue (1) prefigures both journeys, the central ascent to Jerusalem, and the final movement towards Kohlit. This overall structure is significant for the relations between the locations of the text, and their roles within the whole. As places to be reached by the addressee’s movement, Jerusalem and Kohlit are correlated, and within the structure of the text they would also seem to be in a certain sense “competing” for the position as goal or destination. In this respect, it is important to note that Kohlit is not only the last target to be reached, but also the very first place to which the addressee is told to go, departing from the Valley of Achor at the very outset of his journey. The journey, then, in the end takes the addressee back, not to the Valley of Achor, where he begun but to the first place he visited, Kohlit. Thus, the journey to Jerusalem, while clearly necessary and central within the overall framework, is encompassed by, and inserted into the overall framework of the text depicting a journey to Kohlit. Jerusalem and Kohlit are, in other words, firmly interrelated within the text’s logical structure. We would therefore expect there to be a semantic correlation and interplay between Jerusalem and Kohlit, the two places standing in mutual opposition, while at the same time performing analogous roles as alternating destinations. It is of some importance for the positions of Jerusalem and Kohlit that in the Prologue (1) Kohlit is always the place from which the addressee must leave, and to which he returns on his way in or out of Jerusalem, while in the Epilogue (4) Kohlit has become the final destination. This change would seem to support a notion that Kohlit in some sense “replaces” Jerusalem as the addressee’s goal in the end. The Valley of Achor, on the other hand, appears only in the Prologue (1), where it is the point of departure, to which the addressee returns shortly before the end of this part of the text. His retracing his steps to the valley here may be seen as a sign that his intended journey has not yet been achieved. After the Prologue (1), there is no return to this place, which, accordingly, comes across at the end as a place to be left behind and in the end not visited again. As opposed to both Jerusalem and Kohlit, Secacah is the location around which the movement of the addressee in the Interlude (2) evolves. In this part of the text Secacah is not so much a destination as a point of orientation, around which the addressee is ordered to move about in what appears

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to be a circling movement through the Secacah area, an area clearly associated with the Desert of Judah. We may thus with good reason characterize the movements prescribed in the Interlude as a “roaming in the desert”. This role played by Secacah and the Desert over against Jerusalem and Kohlit indirectly confirms the impression that the movements described in the Interlude (2) are not determined by any as no clear sense of direction, as we remarked above. The addressee seems to be moving about in the Secacah area but not to be approaching a definite destination. Secacah could in this sense be termed an “anti-destination”, and it is certainly clearly opposed to both Jerusalem and Kohlit as destinations within the framework of 3Q15. The addressee’s roaming in the desert, it should be noted, is no less a part of his necessary movement explicitly prescribed by the instructing voice than the journeys to Jerusalem and Kohlit. The entire passage through the landscape described in 3Q15 constitutes the indispensable way for the addressee to go. The characteristic phases of this passage – two initial entries into Jerusalem, passing Kohlit every time, a circling roaming in the desert around Secacah, the ascent towards Jerusalem for the third time, and the visit to the North before finally reaching Kohlit – have to be retraced in order for the addressee to achieve his final goal. At the end of the passage, it turns out that the goal, from a different perspective, was always very close. Ruth Fidler has demonstrated that there are elements of a narrative logic in 3Q15, and that literary devices and compositional techniques do in fact play a significant role in the structure and contents of the text.10 Fidler focuses primarily on the scripturally based connotations of the geographical names found at the beginning and at the end of the text. She points to a number of recurrent terms in the first and last columns (I and XII) of 3Q15: We find the place-name ‫ כחלת‬both at the beginning and end of the scroll (I 9; XII 10). Other features shared by the opening and closing sections of the text are the references to hiding-places under “stairs” (‫תחת המעלות‬, I 1–2; ‫תחת המעלא‬, XII 4), and the mention of “tithe vessels” (‫כלי דמע‬, I 9; XII 6–7), of a “chest” (‫ שדא‬I 3; XII 5), and of the “weight” (‫משקל‬, I 4; XII 9) of the treasures. “Summarizing statements regarding the treasure” (employing the term ‫ כל‬I 10; XII 7) is a further common trait.11 There is also a certain correspondence between some of the numerals in the beginning and end of the scroll: The figure 900 (the highest number mentioned in 3Q15) is found in I 8 and XI 17.12 These similarities 10  Fidler, “Inclusio.” 11  The term “summarizing statement regarding the treasure” is borrowed from Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 246. Cf. Fidler, “Inclusio,” 215, note 27. 12  Fidler, “Inclusio,” 214–17.

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and textual links between the opening and the closing sections of 3Q15 lead to the assumption that the author intended some sort of literary inclusio. If the beginning and end were structured and shaped to form an inclusio, it is plausible to assume that these sections both refer and relate to the whole of the contents of the document. Fidler goes on to examine the toponyms ‫עמק עכור‬ (I 1) and ‫( הר גריזין‬XII 4). When their scriptural connotations are taken into account, these place-names have important elements in common, while, at the same time, they also form a contrast: The Valley of Achor is associated, in the conquest narratives of the Book of Joshua, with a disastrous event, leading to divine wrath and punishment (Josh 7), while Mount Gerizim connotes divine blessing for Israel (Josh 8). The text of 3Q15, in other words, would seem to indicate some kind of transition from curse to blessing, reflected in the movement from one symbolically important place to another. Fidler’s study shows not only that an examination of the Copper Scroll with focus on literary devices makes excellent sense, but also that it may be a fruitful endeavour to look for a literary structure in the text as a whole, and to enquire after elements of meaning linked to the literary features. 3

The Symbolic Meaning of the Places in 3Q15

We may summarize the basic relation between the places discussed and their status in the text in the following way: Valley of Achor Place to leave (Prologue) Kohlit Place to pass with Jerusalem as destination (Prologue); Final destination (Prologue, Epilogue) Jerusalem Destination (Prologue, Central Section) Secacah/Desert of Judah Place to roam about (Interlude) Kidron Place to pass through with Jerusalem as destination (Central Section) Northern Palestine Places to pass through with Kohlit as the final destination (Epilogue) The significance of these locations and the relations between them become clearer when we consider their inherent symbolic or metaphorical value. Symbolic meaning for places like those mentioned in 3Q15 may have several contexts and sources. As far as the geographical names of 3Q15 are concerned, their occurrence and connotations in literary tradition, primarily in biblical sources and in other texts from Qumran provides the most important and

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most readily documentable background for their possible range of symbolic significances. Jerusalem, although not mentioned by name anywhere in 3Q15, is clearly a location of central importance within the structure of the text. This place carries all the weight of its scriptural and traditional importance as the central sacred place of Israel. The role played by the city in 3Q15 could, however, also be expected to be influenced by the highly diverse sets of connotations assigned to Jerusalem in a number of texts from Qumran as the centre of sin presently dominated by illegitimate priests and rulers, and as the holy city to be restored at the end of days in an idealized form.13 In several Qumran compositions Jerusalem is depicted as the privileged sacred place over against the rest of the country, but the current state and maintenance of this sacred space is problematized and called into question.14 The Valley of Achor, by contrast, is associated in biblical tradition with a disastrous event of the narrated past (Achan’s theft and the Israelites’ defeat at Ai) leading to divine wrath and punishment, and finally to expiatory action and reconciliation (Josh 7). In some prophetic texts, however, the Valley of Achor occurs as an object of blissful divine transformation (Isa 65:10; Hos 2:17). Kohlit (not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible at all) and Secacah (mentioned only in the list in Josh 15:61–62) are apparently less heavily laden with traditional meaning.15 Nevertheless, their position within the structure of 3Q15 and their correlations to other place-names in the text would also seem to lend a degree of symbolic significance to these places. Thus, both Secacah and Kohlit are, in the text’s understanding, located in the desert. In this sense, they stand in opposition to Jerusalem, which is the central civilized urban centre. At one level, Jerusalem, with its temple and traditional religious significance, represents sacred space, while the wilderness is, by contrast, characterized as profane space. At a different level, however, the desert also carries the symbolic weight of the wilderness narratives in the Pentateuch, where the non-civilized space outside the Promised Land is the place where God is encountered by Israel, and where he makes his covenant with the Israelites, thus transforming them into God’s 13  See Émile Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” RevQ 25 (2011–12): 423– 38; George J. Brooke, “Moving Mountains: From Sinai to Jerusalem,” in The Significance of Sinai: Traditions about Sinai and Divine Revelation in Judaism and Christianity, ed. George J. Brooke, Hindy Najman, and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, TBN 12 (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 73–89; Alison Schofield, “Re-Placing Priestly Space: The Wilderness as Heterotopia in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in vol. 1 of A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C. VanderKam, ed. Eric F. Mason et al., JSJSup 153/1 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 469–89. 14  This is very significantly the case in the Temple Scroll and 4QMMT. Cf. Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” 332–35. 15  Cf. Chapter 2.

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people. Viewed from the perspective of these narrative traditions, the wilderness, though it is a desolate and dangerous place, is also characterized as the sacred space par excellence.16 Within the overall logical sequence of 3Q15, the significance of the addressee’s roaming in the desert seems to be characterized by a certain ambiguity. His prescribed movements around the desert area could be understood as mirroring the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness. It is a necessary stage, which he has to pass through, but it does not, at least not at the direct, tangible level, bring him closer to a final destination. The structural interrelation of places in 3Q15 is highly interesting with regard to the role assigned to Jerusalem. By insisting on Kohlit as the final destination of the addressee’s second journey, the text seems in a certain sense to deconstruct or at least problematize the notion of Jerusalem as the goal of pilgrimage central to so many biblical and post-biblical Jewish traditions. In 3Q15 the ascent to Jerusalem, while constituting an important and indispensable central part of the addressee’s passage through the land (Journey to Jerusalem (4)), is not the final goal of his quest. Two other prescribed journeys are, it would appear, equally important and indispensable for the addressee to undertake: His roaming through the Desert of Judah (Interlude (2)), and his final journey, through locations of Northern Palestine, to the much less wellknown or traditionally celebrated Kohlit (Epilogue (4)). The text, then, may be read as suggesting a transformation of the traditional, scripturally supported idea of Jerusalem as the central holy place. In the end, a different journey with a different goal seems to replace this notion, or at least to supplement it in a significant and indispensable manner. The conspicuous fact that 3Q15 never mentions the holy city by its name may be viewed in the light of this transformation suggested by the text. The omission of the name “Jerusalem” or any other specific name for the city could also have to do with the ambivalent status of Jerusalem mentioned above.17 The Kidron Valley, through which the addressee is to approach Jerusalem in the central section of the text (Journey to Jerusalem (4)) is associated, in the literary sources, with impurity and in particular with the destruction and disposition of illegitimate cultic objects (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4–12; 2 Chron 15:16; 29:16; 30:14). The Kidron Valley, like the Valley of Achor, also figures in texts that speak of a hope of future restoration and cleansing (Jer 31:38–40). 16  Cf. Alison Schofield, “The Wilderness Motif in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Israel in the Wilderness: Interpretations of the Biblical Narratives in Jewish and Christian Traditions, ed. Kenneth E. Pomykala, TBN 10 (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 37–53 (42–44). 17  The Temple Scroll, like 3Q15, never mentions Jerusalem by name. Cf. Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” 433.

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As for the places in Northern Palestine mentioned in the Epilogue (4), Mount Gerizim is linked to the conquest narrative and the proclamation of divine blessing over Israel after the Israelites’ expiation of Achan’s sin and their conquest of Ai (Deut 11:29; 27:12; Josh 8:33). Beth-Sham (= Bet Shan) is associated with the hanging up of Saul’s dead body at the point of transition between a period of divine rejection and defeat and the new era under David (1 Sam 31:10–13). And Bezek is, like the other destinations in the North, associated with the conquest narrative and the Israelites’ entering the land (Jud 1:4–7). We may now inscribe the symbolic values of the central locations and their interrelation as a second layer of meaning into the scheme we arrived at earlier: 1) Prologue: Prefigurations of the addressee’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor Place to leave (Divine punishment, Hope for the future) Kohlit Transitory place Jerusalem – unnamed (1st time) Intermediary destination Kohlit Transitory place Jerusalem – unnamed (2nd time) Intermediary destination Kohlit Transitory place Valley of Achor Place to leave (Divine punishment, Hope for the future) Kohlit Transitory place/Intermediary destination 2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah “Anti-destination”/Transitory place Desert of Judah Transitory place 3) Central Section: Journey through Kidron to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron Transitory place (Impurity, Hope of restoration) Jerusalem – unnamed (3rd time) Intermediary destination

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4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Mt Gerizim Transitory place (Divine Blessing, Conquest) Beth-Sham Transitory place (Defeat, transition) Bezek Transitory place (Conquest) Kohlit Final destination This schematic overview may serve to highlight how the text, in fact, seems to deliberately transform a traditional notion of pilgrimage with the Jerusalem Temple as destination. In the Prologue (1) Jerusalem is a goal to be reached in two actions, but immediately left again. The city remains unnamed, and the Temple should in all probability be imagined as not functioning, with sacred objects destined for temple service buried beneath it and in many other nonsacred places mentioned in 3Q15. Kohlit is a place passed through on the way in and out of Jerusalem. In the Journey to Jerusalem (3) the city, still unnamed, is the destination achieved, this time through the Kidron Valley. When the addressee reaches Jerusalem for the third time, the temple area is not entered, but the central location, which is explicitly named, is the tomb of Zadok, where precious sacred objects are hidden, and which can be seen as contrasting with the temple. In the Epilogue (4) Jerusalem is not mentioned at all, and Kohlit has now become the final destination of the addressee’s journey. The impression that the movements through the landscape of 3Q15 also mirrors a symbolically significant wandering through the landscape shaped by literary tradition gains additional confirmation when the occurrence of geographical names in literary sources, and their connotations, are taken into account. We have already seen (Chapter 2) how a majority of the place-designations employed in 3Q15 are documented in extant ancient Jewish sources. Many locations mentioned in the text seem to be echoing motifs from literary traditions. Above all, the conquest narratives are indirectly activated in 3Q15, and some of the treasures recorded could be associated with war booty from the legendary times when the Israelites gained control of the land with divine support. Several place-names recall episodes from Israel’s past that involve crimes or breach of covenant, provoking divine anger and punishment. There is a certain focus on impurity, and several instances of people dying ignominiously and receiving irregular burials are apparently connoted. However, there are also place-names that echo divine promises of an eschatological redemption

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of the Promised Land. In some cases, the reference seems to be to legendary riches associated with particular persons (Solomon, Ahiyah, the Hakkoz familiy). Some place-names are associated, in the sources, with the creation of physical monuments said to have persisted down through the ages. In several cases, a place-name would seem to reflect more than one of these traditional motifs. Schematically, then, we may group the place-designations of 3Q15 according to associated motifs in the literary traditions in the following way: Conquest of the Promised Land: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Secacah (IV 13; V 2.5.13), Jericho (V 13; XI 9), Ford of the High Priest (VI 14–VII 1), Koziba (VII 14–15), Beth-Tamar (IX 14–15), Beth-ha-Kerem (X 5), Mount Gerizim (XII 4), Beth-Sham (XII 6), Bezek (XII 8) Crime/breach of covenant and ensuing divine anger/punishment: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Secacah (IV 13; V 2.5.13), Dok (VII 11), Koziba (VII 14–15), Kidron (VIII 8), Beth-Tamar (IX 14–15), Absalom’s Hand (X 12), Siloam (X 15), Beth-Sham (XII 6) Ignominious death/irregular burial: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Dok (?) (VII 11), Absalom’s Hand (X 12), Beth-Sham (XII 6), Bezek (?) (XII 8) Expectation/hope of future redemption: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Kidron (VIII 8), Beth-Tamar (IX 14–15), Mount Gerizim (XII 4) Hiding/handling of riches: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Solomon’s reservoir (V 6), Solomon’s trench (V 8), Beth-ha-Koz (VII 9), Dok (VII 11), Ahiyah (VIII 2), Valley of Job (X 8) Existence of monument/memorial: Valley of Achor (I 1; IV 6), Ford of the High Priest (V 14–VII 1), Absalom’s Hand (X 12) Divine blessing and support: Kidron (VIII 8), Siloam (X 15), Mount Gerizim (XII 4) If we insert these connotations and meanings into our schematic overview of the structure of 3Q15, the result looks like this:

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1) Prologue: Prefigurations of the addressee’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor Place to leave (Divine punishment, Hope for the future) Lasting monument Kohlit Transitory place Jerusalem – unnamed (1st time) Intermediary destination Temple area Fallen out of proper function Kohlit Transitory place Jerusalem – unnamed (2nd time) Intermediary destination Temple area Fallen out of proper function Kohlit Transitory place Valley of Achor Place to leave (Divine punishment, Hope for the future) Kohlit Transitory place/Intermediary destination 2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah area “Anti-destination”/Transitory place Solomon’s reservoir Solomon’s trench Past riches and glory Judean Desert Transitory place Queen’s Abode Past riches and glory Ford of High Priest Conquest Lasting monument House of Hakkoz Past riches and glory Koziba Past disobedience Ahiyah Past riches and glory

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3) Central Section: Journey through Kidron to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron Transitory place (Impurity, Hope of restoration) Beth Tamar Conquest Conflict Beth ha-Kerem Conquest Valley of Job Past riches Perseverance Absalom’s Hand Conflict, ignominious death and burial Lasting monument Siloam Divine support Past disobedience Jerusalem – unnamed (3rd time) Intermediary destination Tomb of Zadok Priestly legitimacy Past riches and glory Hope of restoration 4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Mt Gerizim Blessing, Conquest Beth-Sham Defeat, transition Bezek Conquest Kohlit Final destination This overview illustrates the extent to which the addressee’s journeys, and in particular, his roaming in the desert and his journey through the Kidron valley towards Jerusalem, represent a walk through traditions of the past, connoting past glory and past disobedience and sin, but also hope of restoration. The restoration theme is intimately associated with his visit to the tomb of Zadok, which, as opposed to the unnamed and no longer functioning Temple,

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represents an alternative sanctuary. However, the tombs of Jerusalem are not the final destination. This in the ends turns out to be the unlikely Kohlit, not named in any prominent literary tradition. 4

Distribution of Sacred Objects

The system of meanings and contrasts becomes more apparent when we consider the distribution of sacred objects among the hidden valuables in 3Q15. Their distribution as described in the Copper Scroll supports the notion already inherent in the logical structure of the text: The status of Jerusalem as sacred space is problematized or at least modified during the movements depicted in the text. We will first examine the key terms for sacred objects used in the Copper Scroll, and then look more closely at their distribution on various locations. A number of objects are designated as utensils destined for Temple service: ‫“( מזרקות כוסות מנקיאות קסאות‬sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars”, III 2–4). These terms are well-known in this sense from biblical texts.18 The most frequently used term for sacred objects in 3Q15, however, is ‫כלי דמע‬, which is rendered here as “tithe vessels”.19 In a few cases, ‫ כלין‬is used alone, and seems to be an abbreviation of ‫כלי דמע‬. This is probably the case in II 6–8 and in X 10–11, where the “vessels” are specified as “cups” (‫ככרין שלש מאות זהב וכלין‬ ‫“( כופרין עסרין‬three hundred talents, gold, and vessels – twenty cups”).20 ‫ כלי דמע‬in the Copper Scroll could be vessels used to store tithe or consecrated objects, or vessels which are themselves identified as tithe, the latter option being the more most plausible in III 2–4: ‫“( כלי כסף וזהב של דמע‬tithe vessels of silver and gold”). The interpretation of ‫ כלי דמע‬as a term for the tithe itself is clearly applicable where the material of the tithe is specified: ‫כלי דמע‬ ‫“( סוח דמע סנה בתכן אצלם‬tithe vessels of pine, tithe of sene with their reckoning beside them”, XI 4).21

18  The term ‫“( מזרק‬sprinkling bowl”) is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible (Ex 27:3; 38:3; Nu 4:14; 2 Kings 25:15 etc.). ‫ מנקיות‬/“sacrificial bowls”) occurs Ex 25:29; 37:16; Nu 4:7; Jer 52:19. 19  See Chapter 2, note 17, for a discussion of the meaning of ‫כלי דמע‬. 20  Allegro (The Treasure, 51, 162, cf. 140) understands ‫ כלין כופרין‬as “serving vessels” in analogy with the “bowls” of gold and silver (‫ כפורי זהב‬and ‫ )כפורי כסף‬of Ezra 1:10. Alternatively, the expression could mean “vessels for (the day of) atonement”. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 199; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 90–91. 21  Both ‫“( סוח‬pine”) and ‫“ סנה‬sene”) seem to refer to valuable aromatic products, although the exact identification is open to discussion. Cf. Chapter 2, note 65 for a discussion.

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In five cases the reference to the “tithe” objects is followed by the expression

‫אצלם‬/‫( בתכן אצלן‬V 7; XI 1.4. 11.15). Milik understands the beth as the preposition, and ‫ תכן‬as the biblical word token, “measure”, “quantity” (Exod 5:18; Ezek 45:11)

in the specific sense “a small quantity”, “a small distance”. Accordingly, he translates the phrase “tout près de là”, and regards it as the beginning of a description of a hidden treasure, which is then situated “very close” to the preceding cache.22 Many scholars hold, however (following an original suggestion by Gad Ben-Ami Sarfatti) that the word should be read ‫כתבן‬, “their document”, referring to a written statement of contents accompanying the consecrated materials.23 This understanding makes sense since in each case the phrase follows the designation “tithe vessels” (‫ )כלי דמע‬and does indeed seem to be closely connected to these objects. It is possible, though, as Puech has shown, to retain the reading ‫ בתכן‬and understand the word ‫ תכן‬as meaning “(their) reckoning/ quantity”.24 The term ‫ חרם‬is used twice in 3Q15 (IX 16; XI 7). The nature or quantity of the objects is not defined in either case. The meaning of ‫ חרם‬is most probably “consecrated objects”, in all probability property donated to the Temple. However, since a number of place-names seem to connote the conquest narratives known from the Book of Joshua, ‫ חרם‬may also connote the tradition of war booty being “consecrated”.25 Once the Copper Scroll mentions a “gift of offering” consisting of silver in an unspecified amount: ‫“( כסף מנחה רב‬silver, a large gift of offering”, IX 10). The term ‫ מנחה‬seems here to signify a voluntary offering donated to the sanctuary.26 Further designations for sacred objects in 3Q15 are: ‫( אפודת‬I 9), which could mean “ephods” or “priestly garments”, based on the biblical usage. The context in 3Q15 seems to require a term for a sacred object here.27 In the same context we find the expression ‫“( האצר השבע‬treasure of the seventh year”),28 and

22  Milik, DJD 3, 254. 23  Gad Ben-Ami Sarfatti, ‫”בתכן אצלם“ – חידה החידות של מגילת הנחושת‬, Leshonenu 36 (1971–1972): 106–11. Cf. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 546–53. 24  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 188–89; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 56. In XI 4, where Milik reads ‫ ותכן אצלם‬without the beth (DJD 3, 254, 296) we probably have a cursive beth and not a waw. The reading should be ‫ בתכן אצלם‬as expected. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 202; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 93. 25  See on the term ‫ חרם‬in 3Q15 Chapter 2, note 62. 26  The reading ‫ מנחה רב‬is preferable to ‫“( מנח הרב‬a large amount of silver is deposited”, Milik, DJD 3, 294, cf. 254) and ‫“( מן החרם‬from the consecrated offerings”, Allegro, The Treasure, 49). Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 197; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 82–83. 27  Cf. Chapter 2, note 14. 28  Cf. Chapter 2, note 18.

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the “second tithe” (‫)מעשר שני‬, which is described as having been “disqualified” (‫)מפוגל‬.29 We cannot know for certain, in every case, if the technical meanings of the terms used in 3Q15 for sacred objects of various types and functions are the same as in later Jewish sources. However, the amount of valuables directly associated with the world of the Temple and the priestly service is impressive and leaves little doubt as to the general connection (whether real or imagined) between the hidden treasures and the Temple of Jerusalem. The distribution of these Temple objects corroborates the impression that an inversion of sacred and profane space has taken place: Deposits consisting of sacred objects associated with the temple are concentrated in Jerusalem in two types of locations: They are said to be buried beneath the Temple area or its surroundings (II 1–4.9). And they are found in the tomb of Zadok and the surrounding tombs, and in the house of two water reservoirs (XI 1–7. 10–11. 14–15). The third largest accumulation of sacred objects is situated in Kohlit (I 9–11). There are also sacred objects located in tombs and other places near Zadok’s tomb (XI 10–11), on the way to Jerusalem in the Kidron valley (IX 10.16; X 11), and, on a smaller scale, at two specific points in the Judaean desert (Secacah, to the east of Solomon’s reservoir, V 5–7; to the east of the treasure house to the east of Ahiyah, VIII 1–3). If we look more closely at the nature of sacred objects in these locations, we find that the hiding-place close to the Temple area “in the courtyard of the tribunal under the southern corner” (III 2–4) holds the largest amount of objects unambiguously identified as Temple utensils: ‫כלי כסף וזהב של דמע מזרקות כוסות מנקיאות קסאות הכל שש מאות ותשעה‬

(“tithe vessels of silver and gold, sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars, in total six hundred and nine”, III 2–4). The presence in an underground hiding place of these objects, which are destined for the sacrificial service, to be handled by priests, and which have their proper place inside the sanctuary, is a clear indication that the Temple is not functioning properly. The tomb of Zadok and the other tombs in the same area holds numerous sacred valuables: In the sepulchral monument of Zadok three caches are described, containing: (1) ‫“( זהב כלי דמע בתכן אצלם‬gold, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them”, XI 1), (2) ‫“( כלי דמע סוח דמע סנה בתכן אצלם‬tithe vessels of pine, tithe of sene with their reckoning beside them”, XI 4), (3) ‫חרם‬ 29  Cf. Chapter 2, note 19.

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(“consecrated (objects)”, XI 7). The distribution also speaks in favor of viewing the tomb of Zadok as a symbolic replacement of the Temple. The enumeration of sacred objects hidden at Kohlit comprises: ‫כלי דמע בלגין‬ ‫“( ואפדות הכל של הדמע והאצר השבע ומעסר שני מפוגל‬tithe vessels, flasks, and ephods, the total of the tithe and the treasure of the seventh year, and the disqualified second tithe”, I 9–11).30 The large amount of sacred objects at Kohlit confirms this location as a non-sacred place which is turned into sacred space. Perhaps it is noteworthy that the sacred Temple utensils – objects which are meant to reside permanently in the Temple for sacrificial use there by the priests are described as hidden in Jerusalem close to the Temple. Various types of consecrated gifts, which are meant to be brought into the sanctuary from the outside on a regular basis, are described as buried in different locations, with Zadok’s tomb and Kohlit as the most conspicuous “replacements” for the Temple. This distribution again seems to Significantly, these consecrated gifts are found – not within the Temple area but in the Kidron valley on the way to the holy city and in the tomb of Zadok. Inscribed into our schematic overview the distribution of sacred objects (in italics) appears as follows: 1) Prologue: Prefigurations of the addressee’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor Kohlit  Tithe vessels, flasks, ephods, 2nd year treasure, 2nd tithe (I 9–11) Jerusalem – unnamed (1st time) Kohlit Jerusalem – unnamed (2nd time)  (Tithe) vessels (?) (cisterns, court of wood storehouses, cistern opposite eastern gate, II 6–8)  Tithe vessels (of silver and gold), sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars (courtyard under southern corner, III 2–4) Tithe vessels, garments (Millo, III 9) Kohlit Valley of Achor Kohlit 30  The term that follows the reference to ‫ כלי דמע‬in I 9 (‫ )כלי דמע בלגין‬is most naturally read as a description of the “tithe vessels” with a beth essentiae followed by the word ‫לגין‬, a loan from Greek (λαγυνος), “flasks” or “bottles” for wine. Cf. Chapter 2, note 17.

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2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah  Tithe vessels with reckoning (east of Solomon’s reservoir, V 5–7) Desert of Judah  Tithe vessels, books (east of treasure house, east of Ahyiah, VIII 1–3) 3) Central Section: Journey through Kidron to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron Offering gift of silver (hole at vaults of Horrites, IX 10)  Consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬entrance of pass of Beth-Tamar, IX 16) (Tithe) vessels (?) (Valley of Job, X 11) Jerusalem – unnamed (3rd time)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬tomb of Zadok, XI 1–7)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (Tombs, XI 10–11)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (house of two reservoirs, XI 14–15) 4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Tithe vessels (of gold and silver) (Beth-Sham, XII 6–7) Kohlit The presence of these precious consecrated gifts at ruined and abandoned places and in tombs outside the Temple is in itself a sign of an abnormal situation, the Temple being the natural and logical location for such things. The impression conveyed is that the Temple has ceased to function in the expected and normal way, and that the costly objects destined for the Temple have been removed and placed elsewhere as a result of some grave necessity. A tone of hope, however, echoing past prophecies of redemption, including also the Valley of Trouble itself, lies in the fact that the precious treasures of the sanctuary must have been deliberately and wisely stored away in time in anticipation of the disasters to come. The voice whose commands and directions are now leading the addressee from place to place represents an essential continuity with this wisdom of the past.

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Books as Objects to Be Retrieved in 3Q15

For understanding the structure of 3Q15, and the significance of the locations and the addressee’s journey through or towards them, it is highly illuminating to consider the references to books or scrolls as hidden objects. We have already seen how references to “tithe vessels” (‫ )כלי דמע‬or “tithe” (‫ )דמע‬were, in five cases (V 7; XI 1.4. 11.15) followed by the expression ‫אצלם‬/‫“( בתכן אצלן‬with their reckoning beside them”). Further references to written documents include: ‫“( קלל בו ספר אחד‬an urn with a book in it”, VI 4–5); ‫“( כלי דמע וספרין‬tithe vessels and books”, VIII 3); ‫משנא הכתב הזא ופרושה ומשחותיהם ופרוט כל אחד ואחד‬ (“a duplicate of this document with its explication and their measurements and the inventory of everything, item by item”, XII 11–13). The final mention – at the very end of the text – text of a “duplicate” or a “second copy” of this document is very conspicuous indeed, this book being the last treasure to be recovered by the addressee at Kohlit, the final destination of his quest. Such references to other works – whether actually available or not, and whether existing or fictitious – would seem typical for a literary work.31 In fact, the text of 3Q15 seems in a certain sense to deconstruct itself by pointing, at the very end of the text, to a second document with explanation, measurements, and details for each item. This reference to a second text gives every impression of being a literary device meant to maintain an air of factual reliability and accuracy while at the same time undermining any attempts to pin the contents of the document down to external facts or findings.32 The place of this “second copy” as the final treasure to be found and recovered by the addressee also supports the notion conveyed by the text that knowledge and insight are of crucial importance within its universe. Knowledge is represented in the text through the authoritative instructing “voice”, which knows every detail of where the treasures are hidden, and how they are accessible, and which possesses insight into the right time for their recovery. The book at the end of the addressee’s journey can be seen as another symbolic representation of this fundamental knowledge and insight – it is explicitly said to be a duplicate of the text itself, containing the explanation, measurements,

31  Cf. Hanan Eshel and Zeev Safrai, ?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, Cathedra 103 (2007): 7–20 (11). 32  On the nature of this “second copy” of the text, see Paul Mandel, “On the ‘Duplicate Copy’ of the Copper Scroll (3Q15),” RevQ 16 (1993–1995): 69–76. Mandel convincingly argues that an actual “copy” (with identical contents) is meant in 3Q15 XII 10.

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and inventory of all the items referred to by the instructing “voice”– which in a sense becomes the final or ultimate goal of the quest for hidden treasures. Another reference to “books” that is remarkable in the context of 3Q15 is found in VIII 3, at the end of the interlude (2). The location is an aqueduct to the east of the “treasure house east of the house of Ahiyah”, which seems, according to the itinerary model, to be situated in the desert associated with Secacah, before the addressee is to enter the valley of Kidron and ascent towards Jerusalem. The passage is marked by the unique occurrence of a negative command or prohibition in the form of a negated jussive: VIII, 1–3

‫[בא]מא שבדרך מזרח בית‬ ‫[ה]אוצר שמזרח אחיה‬ )?(‫רקע[ם‬/‫כלי דמע וספרין אל תב‬

In the [aque]duct which is on the road to the east of the treasure house which is east of (the house of) Aḥiyah – tithe vessels and books, do not destroy them! The importance of the “books” or “scrolls” (‫ )ספרין‬mentioned here – we are told nothing of their character or contents – as a valuable object not to be damaged is very clearly underlined. If books are indeed symbolic of knowledge and insight, it may be significant that these books occur immediately before the texts makes its transition to the Central section (3), where the movement of the addressee, after his roaming in the desert in the Interlude (2), is now directed toward a definite goal, Jerusalem. In fact, the very next entry, which marks the beginning of the Central section, carries on the theme of writing, referring to an “engraved inscription” (‫ )כתב חרת‬on a stone, apparently situated in the outer part of the Kidron Valley (VIII 4–5). The third reference to a “book” or “scroll” is found in VI 5: The location here is the “cave of the pillar” (‫ )מערת העמוד‬near Secacah, and the finding here of an urn with a book in it, and money beneath it certainly gives a “literary” flavour to the imagery of retrieving treasures in the desert. Whether the “book” (‫)ספר‬ mentioned here should be taken to be the same as the “second copy” in XII 10 is impossible to say with certainty, but it is clearly possible.33 The significance of a book as the final treasure to be found in 3Q15 may have several elements. At a general level, books and written records are symbolic of 33  This suggestion was made by Eshel and Safrai, ‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו‬, 11.

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wisdom and knowledge, and the book to be found at the end of the addressee’s journey could represent knowledge as the final goal of his quest. More specifically, books are objects that would, under normal circumstances, be at home in the Temple, which, at least in the narrative tradition, is viewed a place where books were kept and sometimes temporarily lost and forgotten, as is the case with the law recovered during repair work according to 2 Kings 22. The sanctuary is certainly the obvious place where records of tithes would be expected to be produced and kept. In other words, the book at Kohlit may also represent a link to the Temple and be associated with the authority that the various sacred objects seem to connote ion 3Q15. The references to books (bold and italic types) would thus seem to fit well into the structure of 3Q15:

1) Prologue: Prefigurations of the addressee’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor Kohlit  Tithe vessels, flasks, ephods, 2nd year treasure, 2nd tithe (I 9–11) Jerusalem – unnamed (1st time) Kohlit Jerusalem – unnamed (2nd time)  (Tithe) vessels (?) (cisterns, court of wood storehouses, and opposite eastern gate, II  Tithe vessels (of silver and gold), sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars (courtyard under southern corner, III 2–4)  Tithe vessels, garments (Millo, III 9) Kohlit Valley of Achor Kohlit 2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah  Tithe vessels with reckoning (east of Solomon’s reservoir, V 6–7)  Urn with book (pillar cave, VI 4–5) Desert of Judah  Tithe vessels, books (east of treasure house, east of Ahyiah, VIII 1–3)

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3) Central Section: Journey through Kidron to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron  Offering gift of silver (hole at vaults of Horrites, IX 10)  Consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬entrance of pass of BethTamar, IX 16)  (Tithe) vessels (?) (Valley of Job, X 11) Jerusalem – unnamed (3rd time)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬tomb of Zadok, XI 1–7)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (Tombs, XI 10–11)  Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (house of two reservoirs, XI 14–15) 4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Tithe vessels (of gold and silver) (Beth-Sham, XII 6–7) Kohlit  Duplicate of this document with explanation, measurement, and inventory (XII 11–13) The distribution of the books representing wisdom and knowledge makes the significance of the addressee’s journeys clearer. Kohlit is the last place he is to reach. To the north of Kohlit he is to enter a pit surrounded by tombs, a condensed image of the state of the landscape he has traversed on his long walks. Inside the pit at Kohlit is the last item listed in the Copper Scroll, the duplicate scroll with explanation, measurements, and an inventory of everything. Symbolically, this book seems to represent what the instructing voice has represented to the addressee during his journey – an authoritative source of wisdom and knowledge in continuity with the wisdom of the past, and oriented towards an eschatological renewal of God’s relation with his people. 6

Gold, Silver and Other Valuables

We need now to examine briefly the remaining treasures mentioned in 3Q15 and their nature when viewed in relation to what the sacred objects and books have already taught us about the significance of the text’s logical structure.

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The valuables fall into a few main groups: Most commonly mentioned is silver and gold in the form of talents, bars, or unspecified amounts. In a considerable number of instances, though, the metal is not specified, and only the amount is mentioned. Talents of silver are recorded 14 times in 3Q15. The lowest sum mentioned is “seven talents”, hidden at an aqueduct near Secacah (V 3), and the highest sum “nine hundred talents.” This sum occurs twice – it is found in a cistern in the Valley of Achor almost at the beginning of the text (I 6–8), and an identical sum is located in a tomb in Jerusalem (XI 17). Silver bars occur twice, both times in the amount of “six silver bars” (‫בדין של כסף שש‬, II 11; VII 10). Here, the size or weight is not stated. Silver in unspecified form and amount is mentioned three times in 3Q15: ‫“( שני דורין מלאין כסף‬two cooking-pots full of silver”, IV 8); ‫“( כסף מנחה רב‬silver, a large gift of offering”, IX 10); ‫כלי כסף וכלי זהב של דמע‬ ‫“( וכסף הכל ככרין שש מאות‬vessels of silver and vessels of gold belonging to the tithe, and silver, in total six hundred talents”, XII 6–7). Gold talents are referred to only once in 3Q15: ⟨5⟩ ‫“( זהב ככ‬gold, 5 talents”, XII 1). Gold bars are mentioned twice: ‫⟨ עשתות זהב‬100⟩ (“100 gold bars”, I 5–6); ‫“( עשתות זהב ששין וחמש‬sixty-five gold bars”, II 4). There is a single instance of gold in unspecified form and amount: ‫“( זהב כלי דמע בתכן אצלם‬gold, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them”, XI 1). Silver and gold are mentioned together in four cases: ‫⟩ זהב ככרין שתים‬80⟨ ‫ככ‬ (“80 talents, two talents of gold”, VII 16), ⟩17⟨ ‫“( כסף וזהב ככ‬silver and gold, 17 talents”, VIII 6–7); ‫“( ככרין שלש מאות זהב וכלין כופרין עסרין‬three hundred talents, gold, and vessels – twenty cups”, X 10–11); ‫כלי כסף וכלי זהב של דמע וכסף‬ ‫“( הכל ככרין שש מאות‬vessels of silver and vessels of gold belonging to the tithe, and silver, in total six hundred talents”, XII 6–7). In 27 cases an amount of talents is mentioned, but the metal remains unspecified. Sums vary from “seven talents” (VIII 9) to “nine hundred talents” (I 8). In one case the amount is given as a combination of “bars” and “staters”: ‫“( שבע בדין אסתרין ארבע‬seven bars, four staters”, IX 2–3).34 Once, we find a combination of “talents” and “minas”: ‫⟩ מנין עסרין‬71⟨ ‫“( הכל משקל ככרין‬in total a weight of 71 talents and twenty minas”, XII 9). The above-mentioned types of valuables are distributed over all types of hiding-places and locations in the text. Many scholars have attempted to calculate the value of the collected treasures. It should be borne in mind,

34  The word ‫ אסתרין‬is a Greek loanword (στατηρ) known also from Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic (‫)אסתיר‬. The exact value in the context of 3Q15 is difficult to assess. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 253; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 282–83.

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however, that a significant number of the caches described contain immeasurable amounts, gold and silver bars with no dimensions or weights given, gold and silver vessels, and boxes full of silver, where the intended value cannot be estimated.35 The intention of the text does not seem to be to inform the reader of accurate values but to convey, at a more general level, the impression of impressive sums of gold and silver. We may inscribe the most conspicuous sums mentioned in the Copper Scroll into our scheme (valuables given in bold and italic types): 1) Prologue: Prefigurations of the addressee’s journeys to Jerusalem and to Kohlit (I 1–IV 12) Valley of Achor 100 gold bars (I 6) 900 talents (?) (I 9) Kohlit  Tithe vessels, flasks, ephods, 2nd year treasure, 2nd tithe (I 9–11)  Jerusalem – unnamed (1st time) Kohlit Jerusalem – unnamed (2nd time) 65 gold bars (old washer’s house II 4)  (Tithe) vessels (?) (cisterns, court of wood storehouses, and opposite eastern gate, II 6)  Tithe vessels (of silver and gold), sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars, in sum 609 (talents?) (courtyard under southern corner, III 2–4)  Tithe vessels, garments (Millo, III 9) Kohlit Valley of Achor 2 cooking-pots full of silver (IV 8) Asla 200 talents of silver (IV 9–10) Kohlit

35  This aspect of the descriptions is rightly emphasized by Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure,” 169–74.

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2) Interlude: Roaming in the Desert (IV 13–VIII 3) Secacah  Tithe vessels with reckoning (east of Solomon’s reservoir, V 6–7) Urn with book (pillar cave, VI 4–5) Desert of Judah 400 talents (canal, VII 7) Tithe vessels, books (east of treasure house, east of Ahyiah, VIII 1–3) 3) Central Section: Journey to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) Kidron Offering gift of silver (hole at vaults of Horrites, IX 10)  Consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬entrance of pass of BethTamar, IX 16) (Tithe) vessels (?) (Valley of Job, X 11)  Jerusalem – unnamed (3rd time) Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning consecrated objects (‫( )חרם‬tomb of Zadok, XI 1–7) Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (Tombs, XI 10–11) Tithe vessels, aromatics, with reckoning (house of two reservoirs, XI 14–15) 900 talents of silver (at tomb, XI 17) 4) Epilogue: Journey through Northern Palestine to Kohlit (XII 4–13) Northern Palestine Tithe vessels (of gold and silver) (Beth-Sham, XII 6–7) Kohlit Duplicate of this document with explanation, measurement, and inventory (XII 11–13) The largest sums mentioned are associated with the Valley of Achor at the beginning of the text (I 9), and with the tombs of Jerusalem (at the end of the Journey through the Kidron to Jerusalem (3), XI 17). We further find that there is a relatively even distribution with considerable amounts of valuables found in all parts of the addressee’s journeys, supporting the notion that no part of the quest can be dispensed with – the entire passage through the land described is necessary in order to retrieve what would otherwise be lost.

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7

127

Buildings, Architectural Remains, and Water Installations as Hiding-Places

Valuables are described in 3Q15 as hidden in and near buildings, monuments, water installations, and in what appear to be naturally formed hiding-places in the landscape. The first locality mentioned in the text is the “little ruin” (‫)חריבה‬ situated in the Valley of Achor (I 1). The brevity of the description at this point does not permit the reader to form a more specific image of the edifice or edifices envisioned here. The term itself is, however, suggestive conveying the notion of a desolate, abandoned place. This impression is strongly supported by the use of the cognate word ‫“( חרבה‬ruin”) in the Hebrew Bible, where it designates the state of the land of Judah and Jerusalem after God’s devastating punishment (‫והנם חרבה היום הזה ואין בהם יושב‬, Jer 44:2). Likewise, turning cities and sanctuaries into a ‫ חרבה‬forms a part of divine threatening of doom against Israel or against foreign nations (Lev 26:31; Ezek 25:13). The desolate places (‫ )חרבות‬may also be the places that Yahweh will eventually restore to their former glory (Isa 52:2; Ezek 36:10.33). The prominent place of this first description lends plausibility to the assumption that the landscape imagined in the Copper Scroll is generally characterized by desolation; and the impression is reinforced by the fact that the next sequence of caches, located at Kohlit, is introduced by a reference to a “mound” or “heap of ruins” (‫תל‬, I 9). The connotations of the term are again desolation and abandonment: Joshua is said to have made the city of Ai into “a heap of ruins” forever (‫וישימה תל עולם שממה עד‬ ‫היום הזה‬, Josh 8:28). In general, monuments and edifices are not described in any great detail in 3Q15. The impression conveyed is that certain remarkable features or structures of the buildings referred to are singled out for the sake of identification. This has to do with the itinerary structure of the text. The addressee is envisioned as moving from place to place, and the landmarks necessary for his orientation are pointed out to him, as he is directed around by the anonymous commanding and instructing voice. The “courtyard of the peristyle” (‫חצר הפרסטלון‬, I 7) apparently a part of the little ruin in the Valley of Achor or closely associated with it, is such a conspicuous and recognizable detail, and the same goes for the “spiral staircase of Manos” (‫המסבא של מנס‬, I 13), which seem to be located at or in the vicinity of Kohlit. Particular buildings mentioned as hiding-places include a number of edifices associated with the Temple of Jerusalem: The “old house of tribute” (or “the old washer’s house”, II 3), the “wood storehouses” (II 5), the “tribunal” (III 1) are all buildings directly connected with the Temple. Likewise, the “house of the two reservoirs” (XI 12) is clearly situated in the vicinity of the Temple area.

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Architectural structures belonging to the Temple compound are the gates and walls mentioned in II 7.10, and the colonnades (‫ )הסבין‬of XI 8. In IX 1.17 valuables (bars, staters, and talents of unspecified metal) are hidden in a “dovecote” (‫)שובך‬.36 Several hiding-places in 3Q15 are described as situated in or near water installations. ‫“( בור‬cistern”) is mentioned seven times as a hiding-place (I 6; II 1.6.7.10; IV 1; X 3). The word seems to designate an installation holding water – or designed to hold water – except once, where it is specified as a ‫בור המלח‬, “salt pit” (II 1). It is interesting to note that in some cases these water cisterns are described as containing treasures in a way that seems to imply that they are no longer filled with water. This is most obvious in the case of the “great cistern of the courtyard of the persistyle” (I 6–8), where 900 talents are said to be sealed in the wall “at the side of its floor” (‫)בירך קרקעו‬. Here, for obvious practical reasons, the directions given to the addressee who is to retrieve the valuables from the cistern, must mean the installation is presently empty. ‫“( ברכא‬pool”) occurs once as the actual hiding-place (II 13), whilst in IV 3 it is part of a description, the hiding-place being the “canal” (‫ )אמא‬leading to the ‫ברכא‬. ‫“( אמא‬canal”, a word attested in Mishnaic Hebrew but not in Biblical Hebrew or Qumran texts) figures as a hiding-place or as a point of orientation in I 11; IV 3; V 1; VII 3; VIII 1. In IV 3; VII 3; VIII 1 the canals are described as the actual places where valuables are hidden, again raising the question of whether we should possibly imagine these installations as having fallen out of use. It is conceivable, and indeed likely, that some of the water installations described in the text are reminiscent of aqueducts and reservoirs that once existed and could be observed in the landscape at the locations mentioned in the scroll. Hanan Eshel has made a number of plausible suggestions regarding the use in the text of 3Q15 of existing aqueducts leading to Khirbet Qumran and to the fortress Hyrcania.37 The aqueduct of Secacah referred to in V 1–2 could reflect the aqueduct leading to Khirbet Qumran, and the installations described in VII 3–4 (a “canal of water” (‫ )אמא‬and a “reservoir” (‫ )אשוח‬could be interpreted as referring to one of the impressive aqueducts leading to Hyrcania and a big pool west of the fortress.38 36  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 238–39; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 195; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 76–77; Dalman, Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina 7, 263–90. On the meaning of ‫ שובך‬here, cf. Chapter 2, note 54. 37  Eshel, “Aqueducts,” 101–02, 107. 38  Eshel, “Aqueducts,” 97, 105.

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129

Water installations represent, in the context of the Copper Scroll, visible and remarkable points of orientation in the landscape described. Their suitability as hiding-places may have to do with their visibility – they are easily recognized and at the same time able to conceal unseen valuables. There are several hints that these installations (or at least some of them), when used as hiding-places, do not function any longer, thus contributing to the general impression of a desolate landscape depicted in the Copper Scroll. 8

Tombs, Burial Places, and Sepulchral Monuments

A considerable number of hiding-places in the Copper Scroll are associated with tombs and burial places. This is explicitly the case in I 5: ‫בנפש בנדבך‬ ‫“( השלישי‬in the sepulchral monument in the third layer of stones”). A more detailed description is given of the hiding-place in III 11–12: ‫בקבר שבמלה ממזרחו‬ ‫“( בצפון אמות תחת המדף שלוש‬in the tomb which is in the Millo on its eastern side to the north, three cubits under the ossuary cover”). In V 13 the description is more general: ‫“( בקבר שבנחל הכפא‬in a tomb which is in the torrent of Kippa”). In all these instances, the tombs are designated as the actual hidingplaces: the valuables are to be sought and recovered from their present location inside the tombs in question. In XI 3–7 we have an extensive description of what appears to be a larger sepulchral construction, the “tomb of Zadok” (‫קבר צדוק‬, XI 3), which includes a “vestibule” (‫ )האכסדרן‬with a “pillar” (‫ )עמוד‬as well as a “courtyard” (‫גנת צדוק‬, XI 6). There is a cache located within the monument under the pillar and another cache which is situated outside the tomb “at the top of the rock” which lies opposite the monument. In the latter case the monument serves as a point of orientation for describing the whereabouts of the “rock” in question. The detailed description of the sepulchral edifice of the eponymous High Priest singles it out as a place of a special importance in the context of 3Q15. The amassing of sacred objects at this particular hiding-place is also significant. The tomb of Zadok represents an aspect of continuity with the sacred tradition, while at the same time, the fact that the objects destined for the Temple have been concealed in the tomb reveals discontinuity in the sense that there seems to be no legitimate cult in the Temple at present. This may be due to the Temple lying in ruins, or to the present cult being illegitimate for different reasons. Following this description the next reference is more laconically to “the tomb beneath the colonnades” (‫בקבר שתחת הסבין‬, XI 8). Here again, the cache is situated within the tomb itself. This is also the case with the following

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reference to “then tomb of the people spread out to Jericho” (‫בקבר בני העם‬

‫שטחה ירחו‬, XI 9).

In XI 16 “the terrace of the tomb” (‫ )רובד בית המשכב‬indicates in a more general sense the location of a cache, which is found “at the entrance” (‫ )במבא‬of the terrace. Likewise, the very last hiding-place described in 3Q15 is located to a “pit” (‫ )שית‬to the north of Kohlit “with tombs at its opening” (‫וקברין על פיה‬, XII 11). To these eight instances, where tombs or burial places are directly mentioned as hiding-places or points of direction for locating the hiding-place in question we may add the reference to the “hand of Absalom” (‫תחת יד אבשלום‬, X 12), which seems also to have the character of a sepulchral monument. Furthermore, “the Queen’s abode” (‫במשכן המלכא‬, VI 11) may with great plausibility be understood as referring to a sepulchral construction. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the references to underground “vaults” (‫צריחין‬, II 5; VIII 11.14; IX 4.7; X 8) may in some, if not all, cases indicate burial installations. Tombs and burial places as hiding-places for valuables, in particular the riches associated with renowned figures of the past (real or mythical), is a common motif in antiquity, and this widespread tradition may certainly have influenced the description of caches in the Copper Scroll independently of the particular connotations of tombs within the general intellectual framework of the text. The motif is documented in an episode related by Josephus in Antiquities as well as in the Jewish War: John Hyrcanus, when besieged by Antiochus, opens the tomb of David, the richest of all kings, and retrieves 3000 talents. Josephus relates the incident several times; in one report Hyrcanus spent the money from David’s tomb to pay off Antiochus and make him lift the siege, while in another version the sum made Hyrcanus rich enough to hire foreign troops, as the first of the Jewish kings, while also supplying Antiochus’ army generously with all they needed.39 Josephus emphasizes that David’s and Solomon’s coffins with their remains were not touched at this occasion, since they were buried under the earth and invisible to intruders.40 Josephus, in fact, ascribes a similar attempt at collecting valuables from David’s tom to Herod. In his detailed account of Herod’s nightly raid Josephus 39  In A.J. 7.393 the theft from David’s tomb is primarily directed at paying Antiochus to end his siege, while in A.J. 13. 249 Hyrcanus appears to be gaining wealth for himself and his projects. In the account in B.J. 1. 61 both motifs are combined, and Josephus explicitly states that Hyrcanus used one part of the money retrieved from the tomb to bribe Antiochus, and another part for hiring mercenaries for himself. Josephus states that Hyrcanus opened “one of the chambers” of the tomb of David (ἀνοίξας ἕνα οἷκον τῶν ἐν τῷ Δαυίδου μνήματι, A.J. 7.393). 40  A .J. 7.393.

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131

states that he found no money but golden furniture and precious goods, which he seized. Herod then intended to carry out a more thorough search of the sepulchral monument. The occurrence of a supernatural event, killing two of Herod’s guards by a flame bursting out mysteriously when they attempted to go further into the sepulcher complex, stopped Herod from reaching the bodies of David and Solomon.41 The two related incidents – Herod is said to have been directly inspired by the tradition of Hyrcanus’ earlier success – are different in their form and contents. Nothing stops Hyrcanus, who, after all, shows some moderation in so far as he leaves the bodies of the deceased kings inviolate and goes strictly for the money, while Herod, driven by excessive greed, has to be stopped by a divine manifestation. Josephus relates that this very incident marks the beginning of deterioration in the state of affairs in Herod’s own household.42 The association of hidden valuables with tombs and burial places is a noticeable feature of the description in 3Q15. The connotations seem to have several layers: At a general level, the repeated references to tombs contribute to the impression of a desolate and deserted state of affairs in the sites and the landscape the text presents to its readers. Burial places generally connote death and impurity. This aspect may be of some importance within the context of the Copper Scroll, where it is apparently supported by similar connotations of death and impurity carried by some of the toponyms in the text. As we observed in Chapter 5, most conspicuously in the case of the Valley of Kidron, the idea of uncleanness associated with the location in biblical texts was based both on the function of the valley as a graveyard and on its role as a dumping place for idols and illegitimate religious objects. These aspects were repeatedly emphasized in references to the Kidron Valley in both narrative and prophetic texts in the Hebrew Bible. In prophetic traditions, a future cleansing and redeeming of this realm of impurity is expected in connection with a general eschatological restoration of Israel. Similar connotations were seen to characterize the Valley of Achor, a place-name thoroughly associated with Achan’s offence and the ensuing disaster for Israel. The stoning and burning of Achan and his belongings, and the inhumation of the offender beneath a pile of stones, is related to the impurity theme, and at the same time represents an expiatory 41  “He was intent upon making a more careful search, penetrating farther and breaking open the coffins in which the bodies of David and Solomon lay. But as two of his bodyguards were destroyed, it is said, by a flame that met them as they entered (φλογὸς ἔνδοθεν εἰσιοῦσιν ἀπαντώσης), the king himself became frightened, and as a propitiation of the terror (τοῦ δέους ἱλαστήριον) he built at the entrance (of the tomb) a memorial of white marble, which was a huge expense” (A.J. 16.179–182 [Marcus, LCL]). 42  A .J. 16.188.

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act of punishment and cleansing. In this case also a future transformation of the ominous location into a place of hope at the time of the eschatological restoration is hinted at in biblical prophetic traditions. Likewise, the reference to the monument of Absalom is associated with the offences, punishment, and irregular burial of a prominent figure from tradition. In the narrative texts, an impurity motif is clearly present in the presentation of Absalom’s fate. At a more specific level, some of the tombs and monuments mentioned are associated with persons known from literary traditions, their presence in the text of 3Q15 providing a link with literary traditions about Israel’s past. This is the case with the tomb of Zadok (XI 3–7) and with the monument of Absalom (X 12), possibly also with the “Queen’s abode” (VI 11). The tombs of David and Solomon, which play such an important role in Josephus’ narrative, do not figure in the text of 3Q15. The tomb of Zadok is the sepulchral monument which receives the most detailed description in the text, leaving us with the impression of an impressive structure. The prominent place of Zadok in the context of the Copper Scroll is probably not primarily motivated by a notion that the priestly ancestor was associated with particular riches, but more with his cultic and hierarchical function as founder of the legitimate high priestly line. The figure of Absalom is not linked to an idea of wealth or great treasures of the past but to the specific narrative of rebellion, civil war, divine punishment, and ignominious death and burial. In the case of the “Queen’s abode” a connection with the legendary riches of king Solomon is conceivable, if the queen was thought of as the Egyptian queen of king Solomon, as Allegro has suggested.43 The actual treasure hidden there, however, is relatively modest in size (27 talents of unspecified material. The frequent references to burial places in the Copper Scroll contribute in a general sense to the impression created also by the multiple references to underground installations: Retrieving the valuables described in the text is equivalent to entering a world of the dark and unseen, and, accordingly, it requires special knowledge and specific directions as provided by the instructing voice behind the text. 9

Underground Hiding-Places

Many of the valuables designated in the Copper Scroll are imagined as buried or concealed in subterranean installations. Several terms for these subterfuges are used: 43  Allegro, The Treasure, 150. Cf. Chapter 2.

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‫“( מערא‬cave”) is mentioned as a hiding-place in II 3; VI 1.7; VII 8; XI 17). The word is common in both Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew. In most cases natural caves seem to be envisaged, although in II 3 (‫ )במערת בית המדה הישן‬the “cave” is associated with a “house”, thus leading the associations in the direction of a cellar construction (although the house may, obviously, be imagined as built on top a natural cave). In VI 1 (‫ )ב]מערת העמוד‬the “cave of the pillar” may be a natural cave identified by an architectural detail, apparently a solitary pillar easily recognizable in the landscape, a detail which could easily be perceived as part of a ruin or ruin complex. ‫“( צריח‬vault”, “underground chamber”) is a frequent reference in 3Q15 (II 5; VIII 11.14; IX 4.7; X 8). The word is found a couple of times in the Hebrew Bible (Jud 9:46.49; 1 Sam 13:6) but does not occur in other Qumran texts or in Mishnaic Hebrew.44 These underground installations may be man-made, and possibly intended for burials, but is difficult to say if the word itself would necessarily connote this use. It would be plausible to understand the “vaults” as burial chambers in the case of IX 7 (“the vaults of the Horites”, ‫ )צריחי החורין‬and possibly X 8 (a “vault” in the Valley of Job). ‫“( שית‬pit”) is used of hiding-places III 8; IV 9.11; IX 14; XII 10. In one instance the place is specified as an “earth pit” (‫שית האדמא‬, IV 9), while in IX 14 the pit appears to be connected with the “rocky ground of Pela’” (‫)בצחיאת גר פלע‬. ‫“( שוא‬cavity”) is mentioned as a hiding-place once (I 13). The word can be read as either ‫ שוא‬or ‫שיא‬. It seems to designate an architectural structure connected with the “staircase of Manos”, and it can be interpreted as an underground “cave” (‫שוא‬, the masculine form corresponding to biblical ‫ )שואה‬or cellar or as a “tower” (‫)שיא‬.45 ‫“( כינה‬cavity”, “chamber”) occurs once in the dual form ‫( שני הכינין‬IV 6).46 The exact nature of these installations – situated in the Valley of Achon – is not clear from the context.

44  Cf. Schiffman, “The Architectural Vocabulary,” 191. The meaning of ‫ צריח‬in Biblical Hebrew has been disputed. Some scholars take it to mean a “tower” or an “upper chamber”. In 1 Sam 13:6 it seems clear that subterranean refuges are meant. The passage narrates how the Israelites, in view of the advancing Philistines, went and hid themselves ‫במערות ובחוחים ובסלעים ובצרחים ובברות‬. Here apparently the natural hiding-places ‫“( מערות‬caves”), ‫“( חוחים‬holes”), and ‫“( סלעים‬rocks”) are mentioned first, and the manmade underground installations ‫“( צרחים‬vaults” or “tombs”) and ‫“( בורות‬cisterns”) thereafter. 45  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 241; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 91–92; Schiffman, “Architechtural Vocabulary,” 192; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 182–83; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 36–37. 46  The word is read ‫ בינין‬by Milik (DJD 3, 242, 288) and ‫ בדין‬by Allegro (The Treasure, 39, cf. 143) and interpreted as “tamarisks”, “buildings”, or “oil-presses” (‫)בדין‬. The feminine suffix

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From an intuitive point of view caves and underground passages are natural hiding-places for objects which those who hide them wish to remove securely from the reach and sight of people pursuing or enquiring after them. In addition, such underground locations are generally a popular subject of imagination and folklore. Subterranean refuges are a natural place to expect treasures to be stored away, and in many narratives, such locations provide obvious opportunities for people to hide from enemies and from various disasters and dangers. As dark, hidden and unseen places, underground installations possess an immediate appeal to imagination. They are also easily associated with certain aspects of mythology and religious worlds of thought, in particular with notions of death and the netherworld. In later – medieval and modern – folklore concerned with Jerusalem the existence of subterranean installations connecting certain sites with other important places is an important element. N.L. Hughes Vincent relates how, during the Islamic period, the Haram in Jerusalem was popularly believed to be connected to Hebron or to Mecca via mysterious underground roads.47 The mythological aspect of imagination relating to underground locations is evident from the statements found in rabbinic literature to the effect that Jerusalem has direct access to Gehenna through the Hinnom Valley.48 Josephus, in his account of the Roman siege of the holy city in the Jewish War, repeatedly refers to subterranean refuges, caverns, and vaults under the city.49 Josephus introduces the underground subterfuges of Jerusalem in connection with his grim presentation of the reign of famine and death in the besieged city: The Jewish rebel leaders (“the tyrants” (οι τυραννοι) in Josephus’ language) set their hope to the “underground passages” (των υπονομων), where they expect to hide, in the following line, however, militates against this reading. Reading the word as ‫ כינין‬is preferable, cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 187; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 51. 47  Cf. N.L. Hughes Vincent, Jérusalem de l’Ancien Testament. Recherches d’archéologie et d’histoire (Paris: Libraire Lecoffre; J. Gabalda et Cie Éditeurs, 1954), 269. 48  ‫והאמר רבי מריון אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי ואמרי לה תנא רבה בר מריון בדבי רבן יוחנן בן זכאי‬ ‫שתי תמרות יש בגי בן הנום ועולה עשן מביניהן וזו היא ששנינו ציני הר הברזל כשירות וזו‬ ‫היא פתחה של גיהנם‬   Said R. Marion said R. Joshua b. Levi, and there are those who state that Rabba bar Mari repeated in the name of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, “There are two palms in the Valley of Hinnom, and a pillar of smoke ascends from between them, and this is the matter in connection with which we [have learned to] repeat: Thorn-palms of the Iron Mountain are valid, and this is the very doorway to Gehenna (b. ʿErubin 19a)”. The translation is that by Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary 5 (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2005), 124. 49  Cf. Jonathan J. Price, Jerusalem under Siege: The Collapse of the Jewish State 66–70 C.E., BSJS 3 (Leiden: Brill, 1992), 173, note 36, 286–90.

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and hold out until the Romans after having conquered and destroyed the city, will be gone again.50 This motif is elaborated in Josephus’ account of the final stages of the siege: When the Romans are closing in on the city, raising banks and preparing for the final attack, some of the rebels retire from the city walls to the citadel, while others go down into the subterranean vaults: Of the rebels, some already despairing of the city retired from the ramparts to the Acra, others sunk down into the mines (οἱ δ᾿έγκατεδύοντο τοῖς ὑπονόμοις).51 The act of disappearing out of sight is depicted almost as a final ominous descent into a netherworld associated with death and shame, into which the rebels “sink down”. As the Romans begin to penetrate into the city, the remaining rebels, overcome by fear and panic, give up the fighting and seek refuge in the caverns.52 Subsequently, the Romans stage a systematic underground search, revealing a world of death and horror: More than two thousand dead people, most of them victims of the famine, are found in the caverns under the city.53 So horrible was the stench from the bodies which met the intruders, that many instantly withdrew, but others penetrated further through avarice, trampling over heaps of corpses; for many precious objects were found in these passages (πολλὰ γὰρ τῶν κειμηλίων ἐν ταῖς διώρυξιν ἑυρίσκετο), and lucre legalized every expedient.54 Josephus’ account combines the image of the subterfuges as places of death and decay with the motif of caves as hiding-places for valuables. As a postlude to his account of the siege and capture of the city, he records that the tyrant Simon had retreated into the underground passages with some faithful friends and a team of stone-cutters equipped with the necessary tools (καὶ σὺν αυτοῖς λιθοτόμους τε καὶ τὸν πρὸς τὴν ἐργαςίαν επιτήδειον) and provisions for many days. Finally, however, after the end of the siege and after having exhausted their provisions, the party appears out of the ground in the place where the Temple had stood. Simon is recognized and taken prisoner by the Romans. 50  51  52  53  54 

 .J. 6.370. B B .J. 6.392 (Marcus, LCL). B .J. 6.401–402. B .J. 6.429–430. B .J. 6.431–432 (Marcus, LCL).

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His emergence from the ground leads to the discovery and capture of a large number of rebels in the subterranean passages.55 Regardless of historical facts, Josephus seems here also to use the motif of the city’s underground locations to underline his view of the rebellion and siege: The dark and secret character of the subterranean locations convey an impression of the rebels and their tyrannous leaders as people belonging to the dark realm, and their reliance on these refuges at the culmination of conflict shows them as cowards running for shelter instead of fighting to their death when put to the ultimate test.56 At a more general level, Josephus’ accounts probably also mirror current popular traditions concerning the underground installations of Jerusalem city. The Copper Scroll would seem to draw on similar traditions, extending the notion to comprise an underground world of ancient Palestine accessible from a great variety of points for the person who is being given the necessary information by the knowing authoritative voice behind the instructions of the text. The mysterious and secret atmosphere surrounding the hidden treasures and their recovery is underlined by the references to this subterranean world that can be properly penetrated and explored only by those given knowledge regarding its entries and contents. 10

Patterns of Meaning Associated with Hiding-Places in 3Q15

Against the background of the above survey of hiding-places in 3Q15 we may sum up some fundamental patterns of meaning that seem to based upon their nature and connotations. The text apparently works with a number of contrasting notions associated with the landscape the addressee is passing through. These are: Desert City/civilisation (Place of desolation – place of transition) (Place of life – place of sin/ punishment) Profane space – Sacred space Sacred space – profane space Ruins, installations in disuse, drought Remembrance, hidden valuables, insight 55  B .J. 7.26–36. 56  This motif is underlined by means of the early introduction of the subterfuges into the narrative: The rebels are mentally seeking the caverns even before the final phase of the enemy’s siege has begun. The subterranean darkness is reflected, as it were, in the dark and unreliable minds of the rebels.

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Temple not functioning Tomb of Zadok holding sacred objects Death, impurity  Hidden treasures underneath visible surface Past glory – present desolation Past glory – hope of restoration Returning to Tilley’s insight in the double significance of “landscape” as something experienced, imagined, and constantly reshaped by humans, the landscape of the Copper Scroll may be described as embedded in traditions of the past, particularly those recorded in biblical literature. Above all, the conquest narratives of the Promised Land are present in the itinerary of 3Q15, but also stories of sin and transgressions (perpetrated by individuals or the Israelite people) and divine punishment. While it is difficult, in every single case, to ascertain how much of the narrative background is echoed in the place-names mentioned in the text, the notion that stories may be sedimented into the landscape, and that landscapes have biographies, supports the interpretation that the landscape described in 3Q15 carries significance associated with narratives and traditions of the past. The landscape through which the addressee of 3Q15 is told to pass, links past and present, and evokes hopes for a future redemption. The addressee’s journey becomes a journey through past traditions and a present state of desolation and decay. We notice in particular the ambivalent significance of desert space over against the civilized space associated with cities and city life: The double status of the desert mirrors the narratives of the Pentateuch. The “wilderness” is a threatening and dangerous place the Israelites have to pass through on their way to the Promised Land, but also a place of transition, where their identity as God’s people is established.57 Likewise, cities are life-sustaining places, but also the centres whence sin and transgressions emerge, and, accordingly, the objects of divine punishment. The commanding voice of 3Q15, then, leads the addressee out on a journey through a disturbed and troubled land, carrying great promises of the past and a glorious hope for the future. The landscape that is shown to us, as the journey proceeds, is one of ruins and mounds, abandoned buildings, aqueducts fallen out of use, tombs, and subterranean caves. The itinerary of the Copper Scroll, however, does not lead the addressee, or its reader, through a walk of despair. There is more to this landscape than meets the eye at first glance. Beneath the surface the hidden treasures lie ready to be retrieved at the command of the voice representing knowledge and wisdom of times and places. When the time 57  Cf. Schofield, “The Wilderness Motif,” 44.

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has come, the journey will eventually end. The traveller will reach his destination, and be prepared to retrieve the treasure of wisdom towards which the quest has led him. The walk of the addressee, as we have seen, seems to mirror the movements of the Israelites during their wandering in the wilderness and during their conquest of the Promised Land. The desolate and ruined landscape, through which the addressee is instructed to walk, could also be seen as a metaphor for the present situation of God’s people.58 The valuables the addressee is to retrieve could symbolize those members of the people who are to be rescued and restored. At the same time, the text contains certain hints that the journey performed by the addressee is also a journey towards insight and wisdom. The instructing voice is construed in the text as possessing a knowledge that the addressee needs in order to find his way through the landscape of hidden treasures. 11

Conclusions

The aim of this chapter was to corroborate the case for reading 3Q15 as a text that remains true to its own style and format as an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures, thus deliberately affecting the reader’s imagination. This was achieved by means of demonstrating, building on and further developing the observations made in the previous chapter (2), that the text of the Copper Scroll exhibits a deliberately designed logical literary structure. The sequence of places seems to be controlled by an itinerary model. The addressee is commanded by an (anonymous) instructing voice to move from place to place in four rounds of movements, presented in the four main sections of the text. In Chapter 2 I had suggested a provisory division of the text into four main sections, a division that could also be supported by observations made by previous scholars. Now I attempted to show that this division reflects a logical sequence or progression of movements through a landscape described in the text. Section 1 (Prologue, I 1–IV 12) significantly prefigures both the addressee’s journey to Jerusalem (Section 3), and his final journey to Kohlit (section 4). Section 2 (Interlude, IV 13–VIII 3) describes the addressee moving through places in the desert of Judah. Section 3 (Journey to Jerusalem, VIII 4–XII 3) 58  This metaphorical use of the land would resemble the employment of similar imagery of a ruined and deserted city and sanctuary as symbols of the present state of God’s chosen people found in Qumran compositions as Tanhumim (4Q176), Apocryphal Lamentations A (4Q179), and Apocryphal Lamentations B (4Q501). See further in these texts and their relevance for the Copper Scroll in Chapter 5.

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traces the addressee’s long journey through the Kidron Valley to the holy city. And, finally, section 4 (Epilogue, XII 4–13) describes a new journey to places in Northern Palestine, with Kohlit as the destination. The distribution of the most important place-names, and their interposition within the overall structure of 3Q15, corroborate this interpretation, in particular when their inherent traditional and symbolic value is taken into consideration. In order to get a better understanding of the landscape depicted in 3Q15 and the significance of the itinerary model and its stations, drawing on Christopher Tilley’s theory of landscape as something experienced and shaped by humans proved heuristically useful. The point of departure for the addressee’s journey is the Valley of Achor, mentioned only in the Prologue, as a place to be left behind. In biblical tradition, the Valley of Achor connotes the narrative of Achan’s sin, and of God’s punishment of his disobedient people. The status of Jerusalem within the logical structure of 3Q15 is ambiguous: The city is never mentioned by name, and the text depicts the city and the Temple as not functioning. The sacred objects belonging to the Temple have been scattered and concealed, some beneath the Temple area, and others in different places. The unnamed holy city is the destination of the addressee’s journey in section 3 (Journey to Jerusalem), but the final destination achieved at the end of 3Q15 is the otherwise unknown place Kohlit. Jerusalem, while carrying all the importance of religious tradition, is presented in 3Q15 as a place presently not fulfilling its proper function. In a certain sense, therefore, the text would seem to replace or at least to modify significantly the inherited notion of Jerusalem as the goal of pilgrimage. The movements prescribed for the addressee in the Interlude (2) may be appropriately designated as a roaming in the desert”. In this section there seems to be no clear destination – Secacah is mentioned several times not as a goal but rather as a place the addressee is to move around in several rounds, an “anti-destination”, as it were. The impression of a meaningfully structured sequence of movements in the Copper Scroll is further strengthened when the distribution of valuable objects on the various locations is considered. A considerable number of sacred objects unambiguously associated with the Temple are described as hidden beneath the Temple area or its surroundings. A large amount of sacred items are located in the tomb of Zadok and surrounding tombs. The third largest accumulation of sacred objects is situated in Kohlit. During the situation with the Temple and Jerusalem are not accessible or functioning, the tomb of the legitimate high priestly ancestor Zadok would seem in a sense to symbolically replace it as an alternative sanctuary. The references to books or scrolls as treasures to be retrieved, and, in particular, the reference to a “second copy” of the text itself which is found in the very last entry of the document (at the final destination Kohlit), confirm the notion of a deliberately structured whole, and

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indicate that the goal of the addressee’s journey should be associated with wisdom and knowledge. Furthermore, books are objects that would, under normal circumstances, be at home in the Temple. At a symbolic level, the book found at the end of the journey represents what the instructing voice has represented to the addressee during his journey – an authoritative source of wisdom and knowledge in continuity with the wisdom of the past. The books could be understood as symbolic representations of the values traditionally associated with Temple and cult. As far as valuables of gold and silver are concerned, the largest sums referred to are located in the Valley of Achor and with the tombs of Jerusalem. Considerable amounts of valuables are, however, found in all parts of the addressee’s journeys. A survey of the nature of hiding-places described in the Copper Scroll confirms the impression that the landscape of the text is characterized by decay and desolation. Buildings, architectural remains, and water installations appear to have been abandoned, or fallen out of use. The frequent references to underground installations (natural and man-made) and to tombs and sepulchral monuments corroborate this general impression, while also providing perspectives associated with cultic impurity, and with popular traditions regarding the character of these places. The instructing voice of 3Q15, then, can be understood as leading the addressee on a long journey through the Promised Land, a landscape replete with echoes of the biblical past, but presently marked by abandonment and desolation. The long journey includes a period in the desert as well as an ascent through the Kidron Valley towards the unnamed city of Jerusalem. The ascent ends not at the Temple – which is perceived as not being functional – but at the tomb of the high priestly ancestor Zadok. In the end, the addressee is lead to Kohlit, where he is to recover, as the final treasure, sources of wisdom and knowledge. The journey through a desolate landscape reflected in 3Q15 may have several layers of symbolic meanings at the same time. The necessity for the addressee to follow the instructions given to him by the commanding voice in the text shows that the voice represents a higher degree of knowledge, which the addressee must seek, through obeying the voice, tracing the locations, and retrieving the valuable objects as commanded, to attain. The journey of the addressee seems also partly to mirror the wanderings of the Israelite people in the past. And the deserted landscape itself could also be read as a metaphor or symbol for the broken and afflicted people of God. Their present state is portrayed as a situation of despair and destruction, but beneath the surface the valuable elements of the people lie hidden, waiting to be found and brought to light by the acts of those possessing wisdom and insight.

Chapter 4

What is Real? The Copper Scroll as a Material Artefact In the preceding chapters (2 and 3) I have stated reasons for interpreting 3Q15 as a text written in accordance with the format and style of an instruction to retrieve hidden treasures, describing a journey through a desolate and abandoned land with the aim of recovering the treasures hidden underground, and, in the end, to reach wisdom and insight. In this chapter I confront this understanding with the material reality of the Copper Scroll. The scroll is an existing object grounded in reality. Certain people at a certain point of history put considerable effort into manufacturing this remarkable, magnificent, and costly artefact, and they definitely must have done so with a specific purpose in mind. Material aspects of the Copper Scroll play a prominent part in the ongoing discussion regarding the literary character of the text and its connection to historically identifiable contexts. In the case of the Copper Scroll, there would seem to be a particularly close correlation between the scroll as an artefact and the literary contents of the text. The choice of copper as writing material is a highly unusual and conspicuous feature of the manuscript. It seems natural to assume, as scholars have generally done, that this choice of material must have been directly linked to the purpose and function of the text. Furthermore, the arrangement of the text with “entries” or “sections” clearly indicated by leaving the remaining part of the line blank after the end of a section and beginning the new section on the next line would seem to reflect in a material, externally visible manner how the text was meant to be read and used. In previous research, as we saw in Chapter 1, much attention has been given to the question of the historical reliability of the records of deposits in 3Q15. Scholars have made appeal to various – and very different – criteria for settling the question. The material state of the Copper Scroll, its date, material, and organization, have been adduced as evidence either for or against the historicity of the recorded treasures. The literary form of the text and, in particular, its “list”-format has also been cited as a criterion for determining if the valuables were authentic or not. Furthermore, scholars have debated whether 3Q15 was deposited in Cave 3 at Qumran together with the other manuscripts, or whether 3Q15 could represent an independent deposit, and the possible connection between the scroll and the Qumran community. This question has also © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_006

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been linked directly to the historicity debate; many scholars have found it difficult to reconcile an authentic treasure list with their notion on the Qumran community. For details regarding the material conditions of the Copper Scroll, the reader is referred to the 2006 edition. This work contains a detailed description of the extensive restoration work carried out by the laboratory of EDF-Valectra in 1994–1995, and a detailed report on the state of preservation of the scroll segments prior to the process, including excellent photographs of the segments and the copper replicas that were produced as a part of the restoration and documentation.1 In this chapter I focus on issues that are relevant for our understanding and interpretation of 3Q15. In the following, I examine briefly the material state and character of the Copper Scroll, the available archaeological data pertaining to the provenance of the scroll, and its relation to the other manuscript deposits in Cave 3. An assessment of the script follows, building, primarily, on the comprehensive analysis undertaken by Frank More Cross for the editio princeps, and exploring the implications of the paleography for the date of the scroll. Some observations are made regarding the nature and historical affiliation of the Hebrew language used in the Copper Scroll. Next, I discuss the possible background for the use of copper, an unusual material, for manufacturing this manuscript. This aspect leads to a more general discussion of the intention and function of the Copper Scroll in its assumed original historical setting. In this context, I discuss various aspects of previous scholarly proposals to regard 3Q15 as a “list”, “catalogue”, or “inventory”. Such a categorization was often thought to have a direct bearing on the issue of the original purpose of the text. In order to put this discussion on firm ground, I analyze the literary form of 3Q15 at the micro-level of single “entries” describing the locations of treasures. The notion of 3Q15 as a “list” or “catalogue”, and its relevance for understanding the function of the scroll, is discussed critically in the light of observations borrowed from genre theory. Finally, I reassess the key arguments that scholars have put forward in the debate on the authenticity or historicity of the deposits described in 3Q15. Following the lead of recent scholarship, I suggest a fresh perspective, taking us beyond the dichotomy between “authentic” or “fictitious” accounts, and bearing in mind 1  Daniel Brizemeure and Noël Lacoudre, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân: Interventions conduites par EDF par le laboratoire EDF -Valectra et propositions de traitement de conservation-restauration,” in Brizemeure et al., Le Rouleau de cuivre de la grotte 3 de Qumrân (3Q15), Cf. Régis Bertholon, Noël Lacoudre and Jorge Vasquez, “The Conservation and Restoration of the Copper Scroll from Qumran,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 12–24.

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the historical realities of the time when the scroll must have been composed and manufactured. 1

The Material State of the Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll, after its opening and after the restoration and conservation work carried out in the 1990s is housed in the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman.2 The segmented scroll consists of 23 segments of slightly variable size (length between 28 and 29 cm, their diameter between 5 and 12 cm).3 The metal now exhibits various nuances of green with black, red-brown and reddish parts. Some of the rivets are preserved, in some cases only the holes remain. The script is readable on the inner side of the half-cylindrical segments. Milik, in his editio princeps, signals the loss of a few detached fragments, which he had transcribed at an early stage of his research, but which could no longer be found in 1959.4 Originally the manuscript formed one large copper strip consisting of three sheets that were riveted together at the edges. One of the sheets was separated from the other two by accident at some later stage. We cannot be certain what caused the break, but the obvious occasion would have been the time when the scroll was being rolled up.5 There is a square hole near the edge of segment 1, which contains the beginning of the first column of the scroll.6 Some scholars have suggested that the hole was intended for fastening the entire scroll to a wall, possibly by means of a string through the hole. De Vaux, in his initial report on the finding of the Copper Scroll, launched the idea that the scroll was meant for some kind of public display.7 Wright Baker notes, in his description in DJD 3, that the “peg hole” at the leading edge might have been intended for hanging up the scroll. He adds, however, that this would have meant that the lines of script would have been displayed vertically rather than horizontally, thus ­rendering the 2  By courtesy of the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan I had the opportunity to study the Copper Scroll during a sojourn in 2005. I was given excellent working opportunity by the curators of the museum, and was able to study the manuscript extensively at a close distance. 3  Cf. Brizemeure and Lacoudre, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân,” 5. 4  Milik, DJD 3, 212. 5  Brizemeure and Lacoudre, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân,” 5; Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 172. 6  The hole is clearly visible on planche CCXII in Brizemeure, Lacoudre, and Puech, Le Rouleau de cuivre II, 233. 7  De Vaux, “Exploration,” 557–58.

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reading of the manuscript difficult.8 There is no corresponding “peg hole” at the other extreme end of the scroll. Milik suggested that the hole at the beginning of the scroll was associated with the writing process: It might have served to fix the copper strip to a wooden support before engraving the script.9 Puech has pointed to another possibility: The hole could have been intended for fastening a leather string to keep the scroll together in the manner known from leather manuscripts.10 The material findings, then, do not allow for an unambiguous conclusion, but there is no clear evidence that the scroll was originally meant to be placed in a visible spot for display. It is more plausible to assume, with Puech, that the scroll was from the beginning intended to be treated in analogy with the well-known leather scrolls, and rolled up for storage. This interpretation of the square hole is in accordance with the general character of the Copper Scroll as a kind of imitation of the more usual leather scroll format. 2

The Deposit of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 and Its Relation to Other Qumran Scrolls

In his preliminary report on the discovery of the copper scrolls in Cave 3, Roland de Vaux did not convey any hints that these manuscripts could have been placed in the cave at a time different from the time of the other manuscript deposits made in Cave 3. H.H. Rowley in 1959 briefly mentioned the idea that the Copper scroll might represent a later, independent deposit, and this position was taken up by Milik in his 1962 editio princeps.11 Here, Milik advances an archaeological argument in support of his viewpoint, recalling the fact that the copper scrolls in Cave 3 were found in the anterior part of the cave at some distance from the rest of the manuscript fragments discovered there.12 8  Henry Wright Baker, “Notes,” in DJD 3, 203–10. The notion that the Copper Scroll was intended for public display was recently taken up by Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 432–33. 9  Milik, DJD 3, 216. 10  Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 173, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 6–7. Cf. Tov, “Some Palaeographical Observations,” 290. 11  H.H. Rowley [review of F.M. Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies, 1959], JSS 4 (1959): 84–86 (86). Milik, DJD 3, 277. 12  “… rappelons que les deux roulaux se trouvaient déposés en avant de la grotte, à une certaine distance d’où proviennent tous les fragments manuscrits. Sans être décisif, cet indice est en faveur de deux dépôts indépendants et séparés par un laps de temps” (Milik, DJD 3, 277). This formulation should be compared to de Vaux’s description of the discovery of the two copper scrolls in the same DJD volume: “Ils étaient déposés l’un sur l’autre contre la paroi rocheuse … à l’angle nord de la chambre arrière de la grotte; la partie

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In the introduction to Milik’s edition de Vaux states that the archeological evidence is inconclusive in this respect, and that the possibility of a later deposit cannot be ruled out.13 De Vaux’s position here is basically the same as he had expressed a little earlier in his 1959 Schweich lectures on the archaeology of Qumran. In the published lectures de Vaux cautiously remarks that the plausibility of a later second deposit of manuscripts in the Qumran caves would have to be demonstrated in each case with arguments based on internal and external criticism as well as on the location of the manuscript in question in the cave relative to the other documents found there. In fact, the Copper Scroll, according to de Vaux, is the only case where such an assumption could be made “avec une apparence de raison”.14 In fact, in his preliminary description of cave 3 (1953), de Vaux stated explicitly that the jars (which are of the Qumran type) found in the cave, when they were standing, must have almost touched the low ceiling of the cave.15 This description makes the assumption of a secondary deposit in the very same cave extremely difficult.16 The main reasons for Milik to assume a later deposit of 3Q15 are clearly based on the contents and nature of the text, which he regards as unrelated to the Qumran community. It seems at least a reasonable possibility that de Vaux changed his mind regarding the second deposit hypothesis, under the influence of Milik’s literary and historical argument. Even though the archaeological evidence cannot be said to rule out this position completely, it certainly speaks more in favour of a simultaneous deposit of manuscripts in cave 3. Indeed, the assumption of a single deposit of manuscripts would appear to be the simpler solution deserving preference in view of the lack of any clear indications to the contrary. antérieure de celle-ci c’est effondrée: un énorme bloc est tombé du plafond très peu en avant des rouleaux et c’est une chance qu’ils aient été préservés. Ils étaient un peu à l’écart de la masse des jarres et des couvercles brisés et on n’a recueilli dans leur voisinage aucun fragment écrit sur peau ou sur papyrus” (Roland de Vaux, “Introduction,” in: DJD 3, 210–02 (201)). 13  “Ces indices archéologiques ne suffisent pas à prouver que les roulaux ont été déposés après la poterie et les autres textes mais ils ne s’opposent pas à une telle conclusion” (Roland de Vaux, “Introduction,” 201). 14  “La chose serait à prouver chaque fois par la critique interne et externe du manuscrit et par sa situation dans la grotte en relation avec les autres documents. Je ne voix qu’un seul cas, pour lequel ces circonstances extraordinaires puissent être invoquées avec une apparence de raison: c’est le rouleau de cuivre inscrit de la grotte 3 … La démonstration n’est pas décisive mais l’archéologie, comme on vient de le dire, n’y ferait pas d’objection sérieuse” (Roland de Vaux, L’Archéologie et les manuscrits de la Mer Morte., 83–84). 15  “Lorsque les jarres étaient entières, ells touchaient presque le plafond, qui est très bas au-dessus du cailloutis” (De Vaux, “Exploration,” 555). 16  Cf. Puech, “Le roulaeu de cuivre,” 176; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 17.

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The Paleography, Script, and Date of the Copper Scroll

Many scholars have noticed the unusually high number of scribal errors and the generally irregular, or, as it has often been described, even “clumsy” character of the handwriting. This is how Wright Baker described the handwriting and engraving technique in DJD 3: In general the lettering of the scrolls has been clumsily performed. the small straight punch used has sometimes been much too long to give the shape of the curves without the appearance of undesirable tangent lines; in many cases the punch has made a number of separate and rather random impressions instead of being allowed to follow and extend an impression already made, and the blows seem to have been of varying intensity. If a wooden base had been used during the inscribing, the presence of knots may have caused irregularities.17 There are also examples of letters being cramped together and reduced in size, apparently to save space. This is particularly visible in the last column (XII) of the scroll, where the scribe may have feared to run out of space but ended up with almost a third of the column blank.18 It is equally possible, of course, that the scribe had decided in advance, possibly for reasons of convention or aesthetics, to leave the bottom of the final column blank.19 These features may testify to the scroll being the work not of a trained scribe but of an artisan without writing skills, possibly copying the text from a manuscript on leather or papyrus. The irregularities of the writing may also reflect the unusual nature of the material.20 The process of engraving the writing on copper could well have been an innovative “experiment”. The organization of the script in lines and columns with upper and lower margins, and the final rolling up of the scroll, whether immediately following upon the completion of the engraving process or introduced at a later stage, point to the scroll representing an imitation, as it were, of the leather scroll transferred to a different material.21 17  Wright Baker, “Notes,” in DJD 3, 203–10 (209). 18  Cf. Wright Baker, “Notes,” 209. 19  This is the opinion of Milik (DJD 3, 215), who compares the treatment of the final column with the broad right margin of the first column of the scroll. 20  Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 216. 21  Cf. Kuhn’s characterization of the manuscript as “une imitation décidée des rouleaux de cuir ordinaires, qui applique au matériau cuivre le même format et la même façon d’écrire” (Kuhn, “Les rouleaux de cuivre de Qumrân,” 201. See also Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 173; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 7.

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The scroll has no line ruling, and lines are accordingly somewhat irregular. In general, very little if any space is left between words, mostly the words are written more or less in scriptio continua. Often, words are begun on one line and finished on the next, a rather unusual feature in Qumran manuscripts. Little if any distinction is made in the script of 3Q15 between medial and final forms of the letters mem and sade.22 Occasionally, medial forms of nun and pe are likewise used in final position.23 A division of the text into separate “entries” is made graphically visible in the columns of the scroll. New entries begin at the beginning of a new line, even when the preceding entry did not fill out the previous line. There are only two exceptions to this rule in 3Q15: In I 6 and in XII 1 the new entry begins in the middle of the line without any preceding vacat or similar separation marker. Milik, in connection with the English translation he published in 1960, offers a provisionary paleographic description of 3Q15. The script, according to Milik, is of the semi-formal type (i.e., a simplified formal hand with occasional formal letters). A similar script type is found in the ossuaries up to the Second Jewish Revolt. Milik lists some characteristics: Yod, waw, sometimes zain and less frequently resh (cursive form) are expressed by a simple vertical stroke; beth, kaph, sometimes mem, are very much alike; he and heth are almost identical (also taw, since the characteristic left “foot” of this letter is not always clearly represented).24 It has been suggested that more than one scribe or craftsman could have contributed to the production of the Copper Scroll. Lika Tov in an article in 2002 suggested that as many as 25 different hands could have been involved.25 Puech, however, holds that only one engraver was at work from the beginning to the end.26 The generally irregular character of the script of 3Q15 could in itself account for the differences between the ways various letters are represented in different parts of the document. Though we cannot entirely rule out the possibility that there was more than a single scribe at work, the paleographical findings do not necessitate this conclusion. 22  I have not made any attempt to reproduce this in transcriptions of the Hebrew text in this volume. I use final forms conventionally for mem and sade in final position. 23  See VIII 6 (pe); XI 3 (nun). 24  Milik, “The Copper Document from Cave III of Qumran,” 138. 25  Lika Tov, “Some Palaeographical Observations Regarding the Cover Art,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 288–290. David J. Wilmot (as quoted by Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 292) holds that the Copper Scroll was produced by four different scribes. The involvement of several scribes is also assumed by Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 453–54, 476, 479). 26  Puech, “Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 172, note 11; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 3, note 11.

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In Milik’s editio princeps Cross contributed a paleographical description of the script, which he characterizes as a Herodian “vulgar semiformal”. He notes the sporadic occurrence (especially in the later columns of the manuscript) of cursive forms. Although the phenomenon is also found occasionally in other “vulgar semiformal” manuscripts, Cross mentions the possibility that in the case of 3Q15 the scribe or engraver may have copied his text from a Vorlage written in a cursive hand, and this could be the source of the cursive forms (which would then represent occasional slips or blunders).27 Cross further notes that there is in the case of 3Q15 a number of available dated inscriptions to which the script can be compared. Cross lists three such examples of comparable epigraphic material: (1) The so-called Queen Helena Inscription from the Tombs of the Kings in Jerusalem (dated to ca. 56 CE), which, in Cross’ words, “exhibits forms virtually identical with those of the Copper Document.” (2) The Uzziah Plaque (an inscription on a marble tablet discovered by E. Sukenik in 1930 in the Russian Orthodox Convent on the Mount of Olives, dated to ca. 50 CE). (3) The Dositheus ossuaries, discovered near Jerusalem in 1926. Both the Uzziah inscription and the funerary inscriptions are, according to Cross, “equally close in typological development and script style”.28 The vulgar semiformal hands are, according to Cross, difficult to date with great precision. On the basis of his detailed description of the letters of 3Q15, however, he concludes that the handwriting of the Copper Scroll must belong to the second half of the “Herodian” period (25–75 CE). Without being able to determine with certainty whether the text was inscribed before or after the Fist Jewish revolt, Cross states as his opinion: “At all events, a date in the last two or three decades before the First Jewish revolt appears to the writer to be most likely, judging on the basis of typological data alone”.29 27  Frank Moore Cross, “Excursus on the Palaeographic Dating of the Copper Document,” in DJD 3, 217–21 (217). 28  Cross, “Excursus”, DJD 3, 217. The sarcophage attributed to Queen Helena of Adiabene (with the inscription ‫מלכת‬/‫צדה מלכתה‬/‫ )צדן‬was originally discovered and excavated in 1863 by Louis Félicien de Saulcy (F. de Saulcy, Voyage en Terre Sainte, Tome 1 (Paris: Libraire Académique Didier et Cie, 1865), 374–98). The inscription is now conveniently available in Hannah M. Cotton et al., Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palestinae. Jerusalem, part 1: 1–704: a multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2011), 165–67. The Dositheus ossuaries were published in E.L. Sukenik, “A Jewish Hypogeum near Jerusalem,” JPOS 8 (1928): 113–21. Cf. Cotton et al., Corpus Inscriptionum, 397–404. The Uzziah plaque was published by E.L. Sukenik, “Funerary Tablet of Uzziah, King of Judah,” PEQ 63 (1931): 217–21. Cf. Cotton et al., Corpus Inscriptionum, 603–04. 29  Cross, “Excursus,” DJD 3, 219.

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Interestingly, Milik suggests a slightly later date for the handwriting, between 30 and 130 CE, and preferably in the second half of that period.30 Cross’ suggestion, however, which is based on extant comparable and archaeologically dated inscriptions should carry most weight in this context. The typology of the script, in other words, speaks in favour of a date around the middle of the first century CE. Significantly, this date is in harmony with the terminus ante quem indicated by the archaeological circumstances of Cave 3. If we assume that the scroll was hidden in the cave along with the rest of the manuscripts, a date before the destruction of the Qumran settlement (68 CE) must be posited for the deposit. This, obviously, is the date of the fabrication of the actual scroll, and not necessarily also the date of the literary composition engraved on it. Supposedly, in the particular case of the Copper Scroll one could argue that the employment of copper as writing material is so unusual and presumably so intrinsically connected with the purpose and function of the literary composition that the production of the text and the fabrication of the physical manuscript are likely to have been parts of the same process. This would mean that the date of the manuscript would be very close to the date of the actual composition. However, the premises for such an assumption remain speculative, and we have no means of knowing the date of the Vorlage, from which the text of 3Q15 was copied. An earlier version of the text also engraved on metal could have existed, or the idea of creating a manuscript of copper could be an innovation at some stage in the development and tradition of the text.31 4

The Greek Letters in 3Q15

A conspicuous feature of 3Q15 is the occurrence of clusters of two or three Greek letters which occur in the first four columns. They are the following: ΚΕΝ (I 4), ΧΑΓ (I 12), ΗΝ (II 2), ΘΕ (II 4), ΔΙ (II 9), ΤΠ (III 7), ΣΚ (IV 2). The Greek letters occur invariably at the end of lines, near the left end of the columns or somewhat further right, depending, apparently, on where the 30  “Du point de vue typologique l’écriture du catalogue des trésors est ‘hérodienne évoluée’: le document se situe par consequent au premier siècle de notre ère ou au début du siècle suivant, entre 30 et 130 après J.-C. en chiffres ronds, avec préférance pour la seconde moitié de cette période” (Milik, DJD 3, 217). 31  The fact that the text of 3Q15 does itself refer to a second copy (XII 10–13) should perhaps warn us against assuming too close a connection between the particular physical manuscript and the literary composition.

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Hebrew text of the line ends; the Greek script is separated from the Hebrew script by a certain distance. In every case the Greek letters stand at the end of a descriptive section or “entry” in the text focusing on some particular hidingplace. These letters are limited to cols I–IV and occur with varying frequency: Two letter groups in column I, three in column II, one in column III, and the last occurrence in IV 2. The Greek letters clearly do not form known words (in Greek or any known ancient language), but appear more likely to be abbreviations of some sort. Matthew Richey recently carried out a fresh study of the Greek letters in the Copper Scroll in the broader context of an examination of the use of Greek in Qumran texts generally.32 Here he notes that the distribution of Greek letters apart from being confined to the first four columns of the scroll, does not appear to follow any discernible pattern related to the hiding-places mentioned. The place-name Kohlit occurs twice in association with Greek letters (I 9; IV 1), but the same toponym also occurs later in the scroll without any such letters attached (II 13; IV 11–12; XII 10).33 Likewise, it is difficult to point to any common factor specific to the valuables found in the passages where the Greek letters occur at the end: These are described as talents, a chest of silver, cultic objects, and gold bars. In other words, the conclusion reached by Richey that there is “no uniform context in which the Greek letters appear” seems inevitable.34 Two main interpretations have been proposed by scholars regarding the Greek letters in 3Q15: They have been interpreted either as symbols standing for numerical values or as abbreviations representing personal names. Reading the Greek letter combinations as numerical symbols was suggested by Edward Ullendorff in 1961.35 This interpretation, whether based on the numerical values of Greek letters in a known system or on an assumption that Greek letters were substituted for letters of the Hebrew alphabet, faces the difficulty that the resulting numbers do not correspond to the numbers mentioned in the preceding Hebrew text of 3Q15. As Richey notes, there is no

32  Matthew Richey, “The Use of Greek at Qumran: Manuscript and Epigraphic Evidence for a Marginalized Language,” DSD Discoveries 19 (2012): 177–97 (189–95). 33  Richey, “The Use of Greek,” 192. 34  Richey, “The Use of Greek,” 192. 35  Edward Ullendorff, “The Greek Letters of the Copper Scroll,” VT 11 (1961): 227–28. Interpreting the Greek signs as numbers was also supported by Barbara Thiering (“The Copper Scroll: King Herod’s Bank Account?” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 276–87 (287)). In Thiering’s view, the figures refer to deposits of Greek coins kept separate in the hiding places.

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demonstrable way to bring numerical values derived from the Greek letters into correspondence with the values mentioned in the scroll’s Hebrew text.36 Pixner suggests regarding the Greek letters as abbreviations of Greek personal names, and points to names found in Josephus’ works which would correspond to the letters of 3Q15 (Κεν(εδαιος), Χαγ(ειρας), Ην(ναφην), Θε(βουτις), Δι(οφαντος)/Δι(ογενες), Τρ(υφον), Σκ(οπας)). Pixner holds that the names would have designated persons who were responsible for the treasures in question, and notes that all the treasures marked with Greek letters are situated in the vicinity of Jerusalem.37 This interpretation of the letters as abbreviated names was supported by Klaus Beyer and tentatively by Lefkovits.38 Goranson has made the – speculative, as he readily admits – suggestion that the Greek letters which mark some of the deposits listed in the beginning of the Copper Scroll, could represent codes (possibly abbreviated personal names) referring to the removal or withdrawal of these deposits. Perhaps these items were moved to safer places, and Goranson mentions the possibility that the scroll was not engraved at one sitting, the earliest items representing the earliest deposits. The silver chest mentioned in I 3 could even be identical to the chest of XII 5. Another possibility is that these particular caches were at some stage discovered by Romans or other outsiders.39 Stegemann, who accepts the interpretation of the letters as abbreviated personal names, identifies two of the letter-groups (ΚΕΝ in I 4 and ΧΑΓ in I 12) as members of the royal family from Adiabene, Kenedaios and Chageiras who are known from Josephus.40 The royals of Adiabene had converted to Judaism and kept a palace in Jerusalem, and Josephus reports that members of the family participated in the First Jewish revolt.41 The names, in Stegemann’s opinion,

36  Richey, “The Use of Greek,” 194. 37  Pixner, “Unravelling,” 335. 38  Beyer (“*hCU = 3Q15: Die Kupferrolle (kurz vor 70 n. Chr.),” in: Beyer, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer samt den Inschriften aus Palästina, dem Testament Levis aus der Kairoer Genisa, der Fastenrolle und den alten talmudischen Zitaten. Ergänzungsband (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), 224–33) tentatively fills out the Greek letters with names in a manner slightly different from Pixner. Their respective suggestions are conveniently listed in a chart in Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 500. See for an overview and discussion Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 498–504. 39  Goranson, “Further Reflections on the Copper Scroll,” 231–32. 40  Kenedaios (Κενεδαιος) is mentioned as being among the officers most distinguished for valour on the Jewish side in B.J. 2.520. B.J. 5.474 mentions Chageiras (Χαγειρας or Κεαγιρας in different manuscript traditions), son of “Nabataeus from Adiabene” as bravely setting fire to Roman siege machines. 41  Josephus’ account of the conversion of the Adiabene royal house is told in A.J. 20.17–96.

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designate the persons to whom the deposits in question belong.42 Stegemann regards 3Q15 as an inventory that lists deposits belonging to the Temple treasury, which were removed from the Temple and concealed in various places before the Roman siege of Jerusalem during the First Jewish revolt.43 Recently, Puech supports the interpretation of Greek letters as abbreviations of proper nouns, and regards their existence as an indication of the historical nature of the inventory.44 Several, in Richey’s terminology “more idiosyncratic” suggestions have been made regarding the significance of the Greek symbols of the scroll.45 Luria interpreted the Greek in accordance with his general theory that a third Jewish Temple was established in the Bar Kochba period, and that the Copper Scroll catalogues treasures belonging to the Bar Kochba temple. In Luria’s opinion, the Greek letters in the first four columns are symbols standing for the main branches of Bar-Kochba’s Temple budget.46 Lehmann regards the Greek letters ΧΑΓ in I 12 as a transliteration of the Hebrew word ‫“( חג‬festival”, “pilgrimage feast”).47 However, the Greek letters cannot generally be convincingly explained as abbreviations of Hebrew words. More recently, Weitzman has pointed to the use of “letter-labels” in Greek temple inventories as a possible analogy: Individual letters or letter combinations would correspond to tags or labels attached to objects in the temple for identification.48 This hypothesis, while interesting, is not entirely convincing: It seems difficult to match the idea of letter labelling with the specific objects referred to in the text of 3Q15 preceding the Greek letters (“a box of silver”, I 3–4; various sacred objects including “the disqualified second year tithe”, I 9–12; “forty-two talents”, II 1–2; “sixty-five gold bars”, II 4; “ten talents”, II 9; “forty talents”, III 7; “fourteen talents”, IV 2). Like other interpretations offered, Weitzman’s suggestion does not explain why these letter combinations were used only in the first part of 3Q15. As a possible relevant context for understanding the employment of Greek in 3Q15, Richey notes the occurrence of Greek letters as a part of the “cryptic” writing in the astrological/physiognomic text 4Q186.49 Here, the two Greek capital letters alpha and beta are used (for Hebrew aleph and beth) between 42  Stegemann, Die Essener, Qumran, Johannes der Täufer und Jesus, 107. 43  Stegemann, Die Essener, 106. 44  Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 12–13. 45  Richey, “The Use of Greek,” 193, note 56. 46  Luria, ‫מגילת נחושת ממדבר יהודה‬, 58. 47  Lehman, “Identification of the Copper Scroll,” 105, note 6. 48  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 431. 49  Richey, “The Use of Greek,” 189–90, note 45.

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153

Hebrew square letters (together with the paleo-Hebrew characters gimel, he, waw, yod, lamed, mem, samekh, sade, resh, taw). The “encrypted” effect in 4Q186 is achieved by means of reversing the direction of writing, and mixing paleo-Hebrew and Greek letters in with the standard Herodian square characters. Apparently, there is no discernible system behind the use of different alphabets – the scribe seems occasionally to substitute a Greek alpha for aleph or a paleo-Hebrew samekh for the square letter. The substitutions, however, appear mainly in clusters within the same lines. This technique of writing has no parallel in other Qumran manuscripts.50 While the ultimate purpose of using this peculiar system in 4Q186 remains unknown to us, the technique appears to be too simple to have functioned as an actual “code” intended primarily to prevent the text from being read by uninitiated readers. Indeed, the employment of the mixed and reversed script may have been first and foremost a matter of scribal convention associated with particular types or genres of texts. It could, obviously, have functioned as a means of conveying a certain sense of the esoteric or mysterious which may have been ascribed to texts dealing with astrology and/or physiognomy such as 4Q186.51

50  There seems to be only one other Qumran manuscript employing mixed scripts in the running text, namely 4QcryptC Unidentified Religious Text (4Q363a). The text uses the palaeo-Hebrew script (note also the dots that function as word dividers) and characters unknown to us that have been called “Cryptic C” script. Only a photograph has been published of 4Q363a, see Moshe Bernstein et al., eds., Qumran Cave 4. XXVIII: Miscellanea, Part 2, DJD 28 (Oxford: Clarendon, 2001), Plate XLIII. In 4Q298 (4QCrypt A. Words of the Maskil to All Sons of Dawn) the superscript is written in standard square letters, while the rest of the document is written in the so-called “Cryptic A” script (See Stephen Pfann, “A. Words of the Maskil to All Sons of Dawn,” in Qumran Cave 4. XV: Sapiential Texts, Part 1, ed. Torleif Elgvin et al., DJD 20 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1997, 1–32 (+ plates I–II). In one fragment of 4Q173a 4 the divine name “El” is written with unusual characters that possibly represent Greek alpha and lambda. Cf. Emanuel Tov, “Letters of the Cryptic A script and paleo-Hebrew letters used as scribal marks in some Qumran scrolls,” DSD 2 (1995): 330–39 (334). The practice of writing the divine name in paleao-Hebrew characters different from those of the surrounding text is amply testified in Qumran manuscripts. On the “cryptic” scripts at Qumran generally see Stephen Pfann, “The Writings in Esoteric Scripts from Qumran,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Fifty Years after Their Discovery 1947–1997. Proceedings of the Jerusalem Congress, July 20–25, 1997, ed. Lawrence H. Schiffman et al. (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2000), 177–189. See also the list in Emanuel Tov, Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert, STDJ 54 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 203–04. 51  No similar scribal conventions were, however, used in the case of the physiognomic text 4Q561 (4QHoroscope ar, written in Aramaic), which is written in regular square characters. See Émile Puech, ed., Qumrân Grotte 4. XXVII: Textes Araméens. Deuxième partie.

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Understanding the Greek letters in 3Q15 as abbreviated Greek (or Judaeo-Greek) personal names, then, does seem to be the least unsatisfactory solution, although it entails no answer to the question how these names relate to the remaining text. Perhaps a comparison with the use of Greek letters in 4Q186 may, after all, offer the most convincing clue. In this astrological text the purpose of introducing Greek letters into the script seems to be not so much to establish a proper code (rendering the text incomprehensible to outsiders) as to convey an impression of the mysterious and esoteric, and the Greek script in the Copper Scroll could serve a similar purpose. In other words, the symbols may be primarily intended a means of supporting a more general idea of the manuscript as containing secrets not immediately available to everyone. This does not necessarily mean that the Greek letters are intrinsically meaningless. If, as is most probably the case, they are abbreviations of names, the persons referred to could well have been (real or fictive) persons carrying some significance within a system of meaning connected to the scroll’s contents. The most plausible assumption seems to be that there is some connection between the person named at the end of a description in 3Q15 I–IV and the specific treasures contained in that description. Scholars have made different conjectures as to the exact nature of this connection – the persons named have been regarded as people who were specifically entrusted with the hiding and/or surveillance of this particular treasure, or they have been seen as the owners or donators of the valuables in question, or people holding some other function with regard to the valuables mentioned. If the Copper Scroll primarily lists hidden treasures associated with the Temple, whether the First or Second Temple is intended, perhaps the most natural understanding of abbreviated names connected to different groups of valuables is that they are the names of persons who made donations – of gold, silver, or precious sacred objects – to the Temple. In the context of 3Q15, these donators could be real, historical persons or they could be fictitious characters, indeed, both categories could be represented. This theory, it should be admitted, provides no good reason why these abbreviations in Greek were only included in the first four columns of the text. 5

The Hebrew of 3Q15

Since the first publication of the Copper Scroll (DJD 3, 1962), the nature and linguistic affiliation of its Hebrew has been a subject of scholarly interest and 4Q550–4Q575a, 4Q580–4Q587, et appendices, DJD 37 (Oxford: Clarendon, 2009), 303–21 (+ planche XVI).

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155

debate. Milik, in his editio princeps defines the Hebrew of the Copper Scroll as a dialect of Mishnaic Hebrew. The text, according to Milik, was written in a language spoken by Jews during the Roman period in the central and coastal areas of Palestine.52 This understanding of the language of 3Q15 has been challenged in the light of the subsequent publication of the Qumran manuscripts in their entirety, and of the continued investigation into the language of these texts.53 The orthographic system of 3Q15 shows some similarities with certain Qumran manuscripts – especially the great Isaiah Scroll, 1QIsaa, with which 3Q15 shares a preference for aleph as a final mater lectionis, but conclusions are hard to draw on this basis. The treatment of pronouns and suffixes in 3Q15 reveals that the scroll is not affiliated with the “Qumran scribal school”. The representation of personal pronouns and suffixes differs from the Qumran system, since the characteristic long forms are not attested in 3Q15 at all. In this respect, the practice of 3Q15 is more akin to the systems known from Biblical Hebrew and Mishnaic Hebrew. The frequency of the pronouns ‫ ש‬and ‫ של‬constitutes an important point of contact with Mishnaic Hebrew as well as with the language of the Bar Kochba texts. The plural form is usually ‫ין‬-, which again represents a similarity to Mishnaic Hebrew. The verbal system is scarcely documented in 3Q15, and conclusions must be made with great caution. The use of the infinitive and verbal nouns, however, to denote time corresponds to Biblical Hebrew rather than Mishnaic Hebrew usage. Numerals in 3Q15 are generally treated in a way similar to that found in certain parts of the Hebrew Bible (allegedly “late” books like Ezra, Daniel), with the noun in the plural preceding the numeral. This usage differs from the more common order in Biblical Hebrew, Qumran Hebrew, and Mishnaic Hebrew. The Temple Scroll has both constructions. In my previous analysis of the Hebrew of 3Q15, I found that the most conspicuous affinity to Mishnaic Hebrew is found in the vocabulary of 3Q15. In many cases, it could be shown that Biblical Hebrew and Qumran Hebrew has alternative lexemes which are used to cover the meanings of lexemes shared by 3Q15 and Mishnaic Hebrew. Analysing the ways in which direction and orientation is expressed in the Copper Scroll when compared to other sources (as done by Piotr Muchowski),54 yields useful insight into similarities and differences between the language of 52  Milik, DJD 3, 227. 53  I have attempted a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the language of 3Q15 in Høgenhaven, “The Language of the Copper Scroll (3Q15).” For more details cf. Francisco Jiménez Bedman, El Rollo de Cobre. 54  Piotr Muchowski, “Language of the Copper Scroll.”

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3Q15 and other types of Hebrew. Here again, there are points of contact with more than one group of sources, but the frequency of adjectives of direction, a feature shared with Mishnaic Hebrew, is rather conspicuous. The absolute use of nouns of direction (without an initial preposition) is common to 3Q15 and the Bar Kochba texts. The preference for adjectives in 3Q15 and in Mishnaic Hebrew distinguishes their usage from that of Biblical Hebrew, where a noun of direction in the absolute state in a construct chain performs the same function (Compare ‫שער הדרום‬, “the south gate”, Ezek 40:38, and ‫יסוד דרומי‬, “the southern base”, m. Mid. 3:2b). A detailed analysis shows that there are indeed important points of contact between the language of 3Q15 and Mishnaic Hebrew, but that there are also overlaps with Biblical Hebrew (and to a lesser degree with Qumran Hebrew) as well as certain features peculiar to the Copper Scroll. No conclusions regarding the date of the text can be drawn on the basis of the linguistic findings, but they are certainly compatible with the date suggested for the scroll by the palaeographical observations. 6

Numerals and Numerical Symbols

Numbers are expressed in two ways in the Copper Scroll: The text uses Hebrew numerals or a set of numerical symbols. Basically, the two ways of expression would seem to be interchangeable. The numerical symbols used were listed by Milik,55 and have been conveniently described by Lefkovits, to whom the reader is referred for a more comprehensive overview.56 Here we may briefly note that the symbols seem to follow a system which is also documented in a wide variety of ancient texts including Qumran and Murabba‘at texts, Elephantine and other ancient Aramaic documents, and Palestinian Jewish ossuary inscriptions: The symbols represent the following values: One half is expressed through a sign resembling a final pe (possibly an abbreviation for the Aramaic word ‫)פלג‬. Units are represented by vertical lines, sometimes connected at the bottom. The number ten has its own symbol, the number twenty is represented as two tens. Likewise, there is a symbol for 100. When numerals rather than symbols are used, the usual order is for the noun (in the plural) to precede the numeral: ‫“( אמות שש עסרה‬sixteen cubits”, II 6).57 This differs from the construction prevailing in Biblical Hebrew, where the 55  See Milik, DJD 3, 221. 56  Cf. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 489. 57  Cf. Høgenhaven, “The Language of the Copper Scroll (3Q15),” 283–84.

What is Real ?

157

noun (in the singular or the plural) follows the numeral: ‫“( שבעים נפש‬seventy souls”, Exod 1:5), ‫“( חמשים צדיקים‬fifty righteous”, Gen 18:24). The construction with a noun in the plural followed by a numeral also occurs in Biblical Hebrew, in particular in what some scholars label “Late Biblical Hebrew” (‫השבעים ששים‬ ‫ושנים‬, “the sixty-two weeks”, Dan 9:26).58 In Mishnaic Hebrew the order is the same as in Biblical Hebrew with the numeral preceding the noun (in the singular or in the plural): ‫“( עשרים ושתים אמה‬twenty-two cubits”, m. Mid. 3: 6b), ‫ארבע‬ ‫“( אמות‬four cubits”, m. Mid. 4:7a).59 7

Special Abbreviations

The most common abbreviation in 3Q15 is ‫ככ‬, which occurs as a unit in which valuables are counted. Most scholars (following Milk and Allegro) have understood this as an abbreviation for the plural ‫ככרין‬, “talents”. This assumption is supported by the occurrence of the unabridged form ‫ ככרין‬apparently in the same place and function as the abbreviation ‫ככ‬. Lefkovits has made the interesting suggestion that ‫ ככ‬is not an abbreviation for ‫ ככרין‬but for ‫ כסף כרש‬or ‫כסף כרשין‬, “silver karsh”.60 Karsh, a Persian weight equalling ten shekels, is amply documented in the Aramaic texts from Elephantine.61 Lefkovits bases his argument largely on the observation that in a number of cases ‫ ככ‬seems to have been subject to scribal correction, changing an original ‫ ככ‬into ‫ככרין‬.62 The fact that such corrections were made in certain cases but not generally carried through, suggests that there was a genuine difference of meaning between ‫ ככ‬and ‫ככרין‬, in other words that the former 58  Cf. Elisha Qimron, The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 85–86; Wilhelm Gesenius, Hebräische Grammatik völlig umgearbeitet von E. Kautzsch (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1985), 454. 59  There are a few exceptions from the usual order in 3Q15. We find – as in Biblical Hebrew – the numeral followed by the noun in the singular: ‫“( ארבעין [כ]כר‬forty talents”, I 14–15) and the numeral followed by the noun in the plural: ‫“( שבע בדין‬seven bars”, IX 2–3, immediately followed by the prevailing construction: ‫“( אסתרין ארבע‬four staters”). The Temple Scroll has examples of the BH (and MH) order: ‫“( שבעה שבעועת‬seven weeks”, 11QTemple XIX 12), but the order prevailing in 3Q15 also occurs: ‫“( כבשים בני שנה שבעה‬seven male lambs a year old”, 11QTemple XXV 13). 60  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 471–88; cf. Lefkovits, “The Copper Scroll Treasure: Fact or Fiction. The Abbreviation ‫ ככ‬versus ‫ ”ככרין‬in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 139–54. 61  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 479–80. 62  Lefkovits (The Copper Scroll, 474–75) notes that this is the case in at least seven occurrences of ‫ ככרין‬in 3Q15 (I 4; II 6; X 10; XII 1.3.7.9).

158

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could not have been simply an abbreviation for the latter. Lefkovits supports his argument by observing that in several cases where ‫ ככ‬has not been corrected to ‫ככרין‬, there would have been sufficient space for the additional letters, if they had been required. In other words, whenever corrections were actually made, they were intentional and testify to a distinction in meaning between ‫ ככ‬and ‫ככרין‬.63 He also holds that the corrections seem to have been made by a different scribe, and conjectures that the person who engraved the original text would have been deliberately kept ignorant of the exact weights of the valuables listed, while the corrector would have been “a more trusted second person”.64 The suggestion has been accepted by Puech in his Copper Scroll edition, and it is certainly possible to make a reasonable case for it. Nevertheless, it presupposes a relatively high degree of consistency in the Copper Scroll, which, however, can be shown to be rather inconsistent in similar matters. Lefkovits points to the relevant analogy with the indiscriminate use of numbers written out in full and numerical symbols used in the scroll.65 Another reason that in my view speaks in favour of retaining the interpretation of ‫ ככ‬as an abbreviation for ‫ ככרין‬is that the two elements seem to be absolutely interchangeable: Compare ‫“( וכסף ככרין שבעין‬and silver, seventy talents”, II 6) to ‫כסף ככ שבעין‬ (“silver, seventy talents”, IV 12). Furthermore, if the abbreviation ‫ ככ‬meant “silver karsh”, the specification ‫“( כסף‬silver”) would seem rather superfluous. In one case, ‫ ככ‬does indeed seem to signify “talents” of gold: ⟨5⟩ ‫“( זהב ככ‬gold, 5 talents”, XII 1). Or it may represent talents of gold and silver: ⟨17⟩ ‫כסף וזהב ככ‬ (“silver and gold, 17 talents”, VIII 6–7).66 However, this again depends on the degree of consistency we can expect from the text; and Lefkovits does have a point, since only some, but not all instances of ‫ ככ‬were corrected to ‫ככרין‬. This speaks in favour of a difference of meaning between the two. 8

The Use of Copper for Preserving the Text of 3Q15

The use of copper sheets for writing is without parallel in the context of the Qumran scrolls. The purpose and significance of committing a text to this unusual medium is an intriguing question. Scholars have pointed to the durable 63  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 476–77. 64  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 476. 65  Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 479. 66  It should perhaps be observed that Lefkovits’ reinterpretation of the abbreviation ‫ ככ‬is explicitly motivated by a concern that the amount of the treasures becomes unrealistically high, if the interpretation “talents” (some 3660 talents of silver, gold and unspecified metal) is retained (Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 471–72; “The Copper Scroll Treasure,” 144).

What is Real ?

159

character of the copper as well as to the purity associated with metal. Distant analogies in the form of texts written on copper, bronze or similar durable material can be found in various contexts. Writing on tablets is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, the most conspicuous example being the stone tablets (‫לחת אבן‬, Exod 31:17) of the law given to Moses. There are other occasional references to written “tablets”, apparently with the purpose of preserving the inscribed message as a durable testimony for a longer period: This seems to be the function of the “large tablet” (‫ )גליון גדול‬in Isa. 8:1, whatever the format and material of this tablet is supposed to be.67 In Isa 30:7 the purpose of writing the message on a “tablet” (‫ )לוח‬and – in a parallel statement – inscribing it in a book (‫ )ספר‬is explicitly said to be the preservation of the testimony for posterity (‫)ותהי ליום אחרון לעד עד עולם‬. A similar function with focus on the readability is assigned to the tablets (‫ )לחות‬of Hab. 2:2. The aspect of durability and stability seems also to be the most important element in the image of “tablets” of the heart (Prov 3:3; 7:3). As de Vaux noted in his first preliminary report on the Copper Scroll, ancient Roman texts written on bronze tablets suggest themselves as a parallel. Callie Williamson in 1987 carried out a survey of inscribed Roman bronze tablets and the ideas behind the practice of engraving texts on bronze in Roman antiquity.68 Her results are highly interesting: The main purpose of engraving legal texts on bronze tablets seems to have been ideological rather than practical. The Romans used bronze tablets for religious and legal texts, including treaties, statutes, and edicts. The employment of bronze tablets and their deposition in sanctuaries and public places served, primarily, to create an impression of permanence and authority.69 The original point of departure for this practice, which became traditional and well established over centuries, seems to have been the traditional use of inscriptions on bronze for religious texts.70 As Williamson points out, there would appear to be a certain contradiction involved, since the texts inscribed on bronze were not, in fact, always on the same level with respect to their contents, function and periods of validity. While treaties were regarded as perennial, at least in principle, statutes and edicts were frequently replaced, altered, or abrogated, especially during the late Republican period. Nevertheless, the traditional practice of putting up bronze tablets continued.71 67  The exact meaning of the word ‫( גליון‬which occurs only Isa 3:23 (possibly meaning “mirror”) and Isa 8:1) is uncertain. Cf. Hans Wildberger, Jesaja. 1. Teilband: Jesaja 1–12, BKAT X/1 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1980), 311–12, 315. 68  Callie Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze: Roman Legal Documents on Bronze Tablets,” ClAnt 6 (1987): 160–83. 69  Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze,” 169–70, 172. 70  Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze,” 174–78. 71  Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze,” 173–74.

160

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It is significant that the symbolic publication of Roman legal texts in the form of bronze tablets was clearly not primarily intended for reading or consultation. In fact, they are often very difficult to read, and regularly hung up in places more or less out of sight or reach as far as the general public was concerned.72 For information on the contents of legal texts, the populace would rely on oral proclamations, and the elite would consult more easily accessible archives consisting of papyrus and parchment texts.73 The importance of bronze tablets rests not on their readability or availability, but rather on their existence as symbols of authority and validity. This insight from the ancient Roman world should be kept in mind as an indication that even in the case of the Copper Scroll the choice of material could have served more ideological and symbolic purposes rather than simply being dictated by a practical intention of making the text available or readable. It is noteworthy, however, that the bronze tablets known from Roman antiquity, even if their primary purpose is symbolic or ideological, are not detached from their historical situation. The text engraved on them reflects the actual wording of treaties, statutes, and edicts; and the text would also be found in archives, written on more easily readable materials like(parchment or papyrus) which could be consulted for reading and examination. The possible analogy of Roman texts, in other words, may speak in favor of ascribing a symbolic significance to the use of copper, but it cannot be cited as a decisive argument supporting an interpretation of the text that separates it from its historical context. As mentioned above, scholars have discussed whether the Copper Scroll, in its original state, could have been intended for public display more or less in analogy with the Roman texts on bronze. However, the analogy with the leather scroll format strongly suggests that the scroll was intended for reading in the normal way of a manuscript, and that it was produced more or less as an “imitation” of the leather scrolls, and designed to be rolled up for storage. If this is the more likely interpretation of the scroll as an artefact – that it was meant, for practical purposes, to be treated as far as possible in analogy with the more familiar leather scrolls – we cannot hope to gain much information regarding the more specific function of the text from its materiality. The analogy with the Roman bronze tablets, which were manufactured and engraved exactly in order to be put on display, becomes a more distant one, perhaps pertaining primarily to the symbolic significance of using a durable material to perpetuate the validity and authority of the engraved contents.

72  Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze,” 162–64. 73  Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze,” 164.

161

What is Real ?

9

The Structure of “Entries” in 3Q15

As we have seen, a division of the text into separate “entries”, each of which describes a hiding-place or cache, is graphically visible in the Copper Scroll itself. Scholars disagree slightly with regard to the exact number of sections or entries. Milik holds that the entire catalogue is made up of 64 entries. Allegro divides the text into 61 items, while Lefkovits counts only 60 items. The reason for these different counts lies in the analysis of certain passages. Thus Milik has a different understanding from that of Allegro and Lefkovits as regards the unit II 7–9: ‫בבור שנגד השער המזרחי‬ ‫רחוק אמות ח[[מ]]ש עסרא בו כלין‬ ΔΙ ‫ובמזקא שבו ככרין עסר‬

In the cistern which is opposite the eastern gate at a distance of fifteen cubits – vessels, and in the channel which is there – ten talents. ΔΙ74 In Milik’s analysis II 7–8 and II 9 constitute two separate sections, while Allegro and Lefkovits interpret II 7–9 as one section.75 A similar difference of opinion manifests itself with respect to XI 16–XII 3: ‫במבא רוב[ד ]בית המשכב המערבי‬ ‫טיף על מ[ערה ]כס[ף(?) ככרין(?) ]תשע מאות‬ ‫⟩ ככרין ששין ביאתן מן המ[[ע]]רב‬5⟨ ‫זהב ככ‬ ‫תחת האבן השחורא כוזין תחת סף‬ ⟨42⟩ ‫הכוך ככרין‬

At the western entrance of the terrace of the tomb, there is a stone platform above a ca[vity] – sil[ver]: nine hundred talents, gold: five talents. Sixty talents, at its entrance from the west, under the black stone – juglets, under the threshold of the burial chamber – 42 talents.

74  For the reading and interpretation of the passage, cf. Chapter 2. 75  Milik, DJD 3, 286. Allegro, The Treasure, 35. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 126.

162

Chapter 4

Milik divides this passage into three different sections, while Allegro and Lefkovits regard the same lines as one section.76 The difference in counting between Allegro and Lefkovits is due to their analysis of the passage III 1–7: ‫בחצ[ר של ]דיאט תחת הפנא הדרו‬ ‫מית אמות תשע כלי כסף וזהב של‬ ‫דמע מזרקות כוסות מנקיאות‬ ‫קסאות כל שש מאות ותשעה‬ ‫תחת הפנא האחרת המזרח‬ ‫ית חפר אמות שש עסרה כסף‬ ΤΡ ⟨40⟩ ‫ככ‬

In the courtyard of the tribunal (?) under the southern corner nine cubits down: Tithe vessels of silver and gold, sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars, in total six hundred and nine. Under the other, eastern corner dig six cubits: silver, 40 talents. TP Allegro understands the last three lines (“Under the other eastern corner …”, III 5–7) as a separate entry, while Lefkovits regards the entire passage as one entry.77 Milik, in his editio princeps, notes that in each description of the author of 3Q15 has attempted to reduce the information he conveys to a strict minimum of stereotyped expression, a simplicity which renders the descriptions formally similar to descriptions of hidden treasures of most times and places.78 Milik describes the basic structure of the descriptions as consisting of nominal phrases in a tripartite scheme, giving indications regarding location, distance, and the quantity of the treasures. Milik further notes that the extremely concise style of the author usually does not leave room for any explicit expression of the movements to be undertaken by the addressee from one place to another or of the measurements he is supposed to make. The essential act of “digging” to retrieve the valuables is expressed by means of the imperative (‫)חפור‬, which may, however, also be implicit.79 The majority of descriptions, 76  Milik, DJD 3, 297–98. Allegro, The Treasure, 53–54. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 399. 77  Allegro, The Treasure, 37; Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll, 138. 78  Milik, DJD 3, 278. 79  Milik notes that the imperative is present in about half of the descriptive units in 3Q15 (23 out of the 64 entries he counts). In two cases (VII 6; IX 1) the imperative is ‫“( משח‬measure out!”) rather than ‫חפור‬.

163

What is Real ?

according to Milik, consist of three elements: (1) Locations (“le lieu”) which may be one or several indications, generally in a sequence where the indications become increasingly specific. (2) Distances (“distances”), with indications (approximate or precise) concerning the distance of the hidden treasure from certain points of orientation, and the depth at which it is buried (measured from some point or from the surface (usually implicit)). (3) The type and quantity of the treasures (“Le genre et la quantité des trésors”).80 Milik’s description of the basic structure is at the same time precise and respects the variability of the document: Thus Milik notes that in I 9–12 the precise location is given after the toponym and the indication of contents: ‫בתל של כחלת כלי דמע בל[?]גין ואפודת‬ ‫הכל של הדמע והאצר השבע ומעסר‬ ‫שני מפוגל פתחו בשולי האמא מן הצפון‬ Χ ΑΓ)?(‫יל‬/‫אמות שש עד מקרת הטבו‬

In the mound of Kohlit: Tithe vessels, flasks and ephods, the total of the tithe and the treasure of the seventh year, and the disqualified second tithe. Its opening is at the northern end of the channel, six cubits in the direction of the frigidarium of the bath ΧΑΓ (I 9–12). The same order is found in II 10–12; III 8–10, while XII 1–3 begins with an indication of the treasure followed by the location: ‫⟩ ככרין ששין ביאתן מן המ[[ע]]ר‬5⟨ ‫זהב ככ‬ ‫ב‬ ‫תחת האבן השחורא כוזין תחת סף‬ ⟨42⟩ ‫הכוך ככרין‬ gold: five talents. Sixty talents, at its entrance from the west, under the black stone – juglets, under the threshold of the burial chamber – 42 talents.

80  “Les parties composantes d’une description de la cachette sont: (1) le lieu, avec une seule ou plusieurs indications qui se succèdent de plus en plus détaillées; (2) mensurations: distances approximatives ou précises, profondeur du dépôt précise ou sous-entendue)à fleur du sol?), (3) le genre et la quantité des trésors, en général spécifiés …” (Milik, DJD 3, 235).

164

Chapter 4

Milik’s characterization of the basic tripartite structure of the descriptions was taken up by Wise. According to Wise, “the formula usually comprises: (1) a phrase indicating site location, (2) a specification of measurement, and then (3) a listing of contents cached”.81 Wise designates the three elements in this tripartite structure “locale”, “instruction”, and “contents”. The first element (“locale”) is usually structured as a double reference to a) a “landmark”, followed by b) an “architectural detail”. In both cases the construction is a prepositional clause, normally employing the preposition ‫ב‬. Wise accordingly speaks of a “double beth formula” describing the first of the three elements. The second element (“instruction”) usually has the form of an imperative (“dig!”) followed by a specification of the number of cubits to go down. We may note that this does not seem to be quite the same as a “specification of measurement”, a description which misses the important element that an imperative is used. The third element (“contents”) has the standard form of an abbreviation for “talents” (‫ ככ‬for ‫)ככרין‬, followed by a numeral.82 Al Wolters has attempted a more detailed analysis of the literary structure of the sections in 3Q15. According to Wolters, the Copper Scroll consists of 64 sections, each of which exhibits the same basic structure, consisting of 7 elements: A) Place: a designation of a hiding place B) Specification: a further specification of the hiding place C) Command: a command to dig or measure D) Distance: a distance, expressed in a specific number of cubits83 E) Treasure: a treasure description F) Comments: Additional comments on the hiding place or treasure G) Greek: a pair or trio of cryptic Greek letters84 Wolters’ analysis represents an attempt at specifying and refining Milik’s description, his elements A–B corresponding, obviously, to Milik’s first element (“Lieu”), C–D to Milik’s second element (“Distances”), and E–F to Milik’s third element (“Le genre et la quantité des trésors”). The Greek letters which occur

81  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 300. 82  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 301. 83  Wolters adds: “or, in two cases, ‫”גמות‬. This refers to X 6.11, where Wolters reads ‫ גמות‬in stead of the expected ‫אמות‬, and translates “notches”. However, ‫ אמות‬is clearly the intended reading also here. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 198–99; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 89–90. 84  Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 244. Cf. Wolters, “Palaeography and Literary Structure as Guides to Reading the Copper Scroll,” in Brooke and Davies, Copper Scroll Studies, 311–33 (324).

What is Real ?

165

in the first four columns of 3Q15 (Wolters’ element “G”) fall outside the basic structure in Milik’s analysis. As Wolters remarks, there is not a single section of the Copper Scroll which contains all seven elements together. Greek letters occur only in columns I–IV, and it is therefore, regardless of Wolters’ analysis, more than doubtful whether they should actually be regarded as an integral fixed part of the literary structure pertaining to the text of 3Q15 in its entirety.85 At any rate, Wolters maintains that all parts of the extant text of 3Q15 can be analyzed as belonging to one of the seven categories. The components are recognizable by the presence of characteristic catchwords or stereotypical phraseology.86 In Wolters’ opinion, this means that the document was composed according to a literary scheme with a relatively high degree of rigidity.87 The same element, Wolters contends, never occurs twice within a single section, and the elements appear invariably in the same order.88 Accordingly, the entire text of 3Q15 may be conveniently arranged in seven parallel columns.89 Like Milik, Wolters acknowledges that there is a degree of variability in the descriptions in 3Q15. Thus, five sections of the Copper Scroll leave column A (“place”) blank, apparently because the first component of the previous column still applies to the findings described there.90 Two sections of 3Q15 have no column B (“specifications”), probably because the places described are well-known.91 Column C (“Command”) is represented in less than half (23 out of 64) of the sections. This column is usually made up of a single word, the imperative ‫( חפור‬or, in two instances, the imperative ‫משח‬, VII 6; IX 1). Column F (“Comments”) is the least stereotyped of the columns. There are three types of components occurring in this column: (1) Summarizing statements concerning the treasure, usually in the form of a reference to its total weight (introduced

85  The Greek letters are found in I 4.12; II 4.9; III 7, IV 2. On their possible background and significance, see above. 86  Wolters notes that in his column D (“Distance”) numbers are written out in full, while in column E (“Treasure”) they may be written out or represented by symbols. Cf. Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 246. 87  “It is as though the author of the Copper Scroll had only seven slots at his disposal, and had very limited freedom in choosing and filling those slots” (Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 244). 88  Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 244. 89  See the schematic overview in Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 248–52. 90  I I 9; III 14; X 10; XII 1–2; XII 2–3. 91  I 5–6; XI 9–10.

166

Chapter 4

by ‫הכל‬.92 (2) Reference to the entrance of the hiding-place.93 (3) The stock twoword phrase ‫אצלם‬/‫)ו( כתבן אצלן‬, “(and) with their reckoning beside them”.94 Wolters’ focus is, as he very clearly states, on formal aspects of the text. The extent of variation between the descriptive units – which Wolters also acknowledges – would, however, appear to contradict his point that 3Q15 was composed in accordance with a rigorously applied formal scheme. This may be illustrated by a closer examination of the passage VIII 4–7, which begins: ‫בגי החיצונא כתב חרת‬ ‫על האבן חפור אמות שבע‬ ‫עסרא תחתיה כסף‬ ⟨17⟩ ‫וזהב ככ‬

In the Outer Valley (is) an engraved inscription on the stone. Dig seventeen cubits. Below it is silver and gold – 17 talents. Here it would appear that Wolters’ “A” and “B” columns have changed place, so we have the geographical “specification” (place-name) first setting the scene, then the actual “place” (location of the treasure).95 In reality, there is no difference in meaning over against the majority of entries, where the toponym occurs in Wolters’ “Column B (Specification)”. This also seems to be the case in X 17–XI 1: ‫“( בגנת צדוק בארבעת מקצועות‬In the courtyard of Zadok at the four corners”). At the opening of this passage, the order toponym/designation of locality is “reversed” from what Wolters assumes is the “normal”, the toponym occupying the first place. The same phenomenon occurs in XII 4, which reads: ‫“( בהר גריזין תחת המעל{ה}א של השוח[[ה]] העליונא‬At Mount Gerizim under the step of the upper pit”), where, again, we have the geographical designation (“Mount Gerizim”) at the first place. Here, in his schematic overview, Wolters has simply registered the initial preposition followed by toponym (‫)בהר גריזין‬ in column A (“Place”) and the following “under the step of the upper pit” in 92  I 3.10; III 4; IX 16; XII 7.9. 93  I 11; II 12; III 9–10; XI 16. 94  Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 246. 95  Wolters does not recognize this change of place, because he treats “the Outer Valley” not as a typonym but as a designation filling the column “Place” (Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 250). This is slightly arbitrary, especially since Milik, upon whose text and division Wolters bases his arguments, clearly regards ‫( גי החיצונא‬the “Outer Valley”) as a place-name proper. Cf. Milik, DJD 3, 268.

What is Real ?

167

Column B (“Specification”),96 but this variability really undermines his assumption of a rigid unchangeable structure where elements are never allowed to change place. While not denying that the observations made by Wolters are relevant and useful for our understanding of the structure of 3Q15, his insistence on a rigidly applied formal scheme hardly does justice to the degree of variation and flexibility that is actually present in the various formulations of the entries of 3Q15. In this respect, Milik’s (and Wise’s) more simple tripartite analysis would appear to be more appropriate and congenial to the text. The three elements in the entries of 3Q15 could tentatively, and allowing for a degree of variation from entry to entry, be described as follows: (1) A location (a place-name and/ or some other designation); (2) Instructions for retrieving the valuables (usually with notification of the distance from the surface, from the entrance of the cache or some other point of orientation mentioned, instructions to dig or measure, sometimes a specification of how to approach or enter the hidingplace); (3) A description of the item (usually with an indication of the weight or quantity of the valuables). 10

The Genre of the Copper Scroll: a “List” or “Inventory”?

In his preliminary presentation of the text of 3Q15, Milik used the designation “bronze catalogue”.97 Allegro in the title of his 1960 edition designates the document an “inventory of buried treasure”.98 At the Manchester International Symposium on the Copper Scroll held in 1996, “it was agreed that the text of the Copper Scroll should be understood generically as a list.”99 To many scholars this characterization of 3Q15 entails that the text should be placed among non-literary rather than literary works. The question whether 3Q15 should be characterized as a “literary” text or not is then often perceived as deciding whether or not the text has a “historical” background and refers to real, actual hidings of valuables at a certain time in the past. A clear example of this viewpoint is Wise’s treatment of the subject in his contribution to the 2002 Manchester congress volume.100 Wise, who argues that the Copper Scroll is most appropriately understood as a “temple inventory 96  Wolters, “Literary Analysis,” 252. 97  Milik, “The Copper Document from Cave III of Qumran: Translation and Commentary,” 137–55. 98  Allegro, The Treasure. 99  Brooke, “Introduction,” 8. 100  Wise, Michael O., “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll.”

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list”, is convinced that the document belongs in the category of non-literary texts. The distinction between these categories, according to Wise, is clearcut, and a rather unambiguous distinction line can be drawn between them. Wise states: Written materials that have been retrieved from antiquity may be divided into two basic and distinct categories: literary and non-literary texts. Literary texts are the products of human imagination; they are a mimesis of human reality, assuming their own genres and fictional forms: epic poetry, tragedy and comedy, philosophic dialogues, and so on … Non-literary texts, on the other hand, are characterized by Wise as the products of daily activities and human affairs. They originate not in the creative impulse of human imagination, but in the need to record daily work, business records and contracts. Documents include receipts of payment, ledgers of various kinds, bills of sale and leases. For the historian they are the primary evidence of historical fact and event …101 Such a clear-cut distinction, however, inevitably raises the question if and how individual texts may be unambiguously assigned to one category or the other, in particular when we are dealing with texts from antiquity, and the original context or function of the texts may have been lost. It seems reasonable to assume that Wise would base his assignment of a given document to one or the other of his main categories on observations regarding the form and the structure of the text itself, but also include an assessment of the supposed function of the text in a social and historical context. Most scholars would probably agree that when addressing questions of “genre”, they have in mind the form, contents, and the assumed function of a given text. There is a literary as well as a social and – especially in the case of ancient texts – a “historical” dimension to genre, and when discussing to which specific genre a given text belongs, the interpreter will depend on an analysis of formal elements of the text itself as well as on a reconstruction of its social context. When asserting that a text belongs to the genre “liturgy”, the interpreter makes a statement that concerns formal aspects of the text in question – the occurrence of certain elements of speech, the alternation of different “voices”, etc. – while at the same time expressing certain assumptions as to the intended function of the text. Obviously, when ancient texts, which are not necessarily transmitted in their 101  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 298.

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original context, are concerned, direct knowledge of their original purpose in terms of social functions may not be accessible. This aspect, then, will have to be inferred, as far as possible, from the form and contents of the text itself, and from the analogy of comparable texts with known genres and functions.102 When attempting to assign ancient documents to proper genres without precise knowledge of their original function or setting, we encounter practical difficulties. Moreover, the notion of genres as more or less objectively definable categories existing prior to individual texts or works which can then be assigned to their proper genres according to certain criteria is problematic. In recent decades, genre theory has moved away, broadly speaking, from regarding literary genres primarily as a means of classification, to emphasize the function of genres as strategies of communication and interpretation. Thus, according to the working definition of John M. Swales, “a genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes.”103 Likewise, Alastair Fowler in his 1982 monograph on literary genres observes: … in literary communication, genres are functional: they actively form the experience of each work of literature … It follows that genre theory, too, is properly concerned, in the main, with interpretation. It deals with

102  This regard to textual form as well as contents, and assumptions concerning the social and historical setting of ancient texts is not always clarified or admitted by scholars. With John Barton’s precise formulation, form critics working in the field of biblical studies have often maintained that they based their understanding of forms exclusively on “formal features (grammatical, syntactical, and metrical features of the text)”. However, when it comes to actual practice, most scholars regard the subject matter of a given text as relevant for establishing the genre to which the text is said to belong. In other words, when we want to move from the “form” of individual texts to broader “genres” (“Gattungen”), considerations of content come into focus (John Barton, “Form Criticism. Old Testament,” ABD 2: 838–41 (839–40)). Barton cites as an obvious example the category (commonly acknowledged by biblical scholars) of “royal psalms”, which is explicitly based upon subject matter as the decisive criterion. Barton further emphasizes the need to distinguish between “Sitz im Leben” (traditionally understood by biblical scholars as the social situation with which a particular “Gattung” is typically associated) and the historical occasion that prompted the production of a given text. Moreover, the phenomenon of deliberate imitation of well-established genres as a literary strategy employed by ancient authors for particular purposes must be taken into account. Considerations based on form alone cannot tell us how a given text was actually used (intended and understood) in its historical situation (Barton, “Form Criticism,” 840–41). 103  John M. Swales, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 58.

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principles of reconstruction and interpretation and (to some extent) evaluation of meaning. It does not deal much with classification.104 Genres, then, are not so much classes or groups of literary works, but the genre of a literary work is a vehicle for conveying meanings of that work to the reader by means of hints and allusions to familiar ideas and concepts. The function of genre in the interpretation process is to guide the expectations of the reader in a certain direction. Texts achieve this by means of what Fowler describes as the “generic repertoire”, which is linked to a particular genre. The “generic repertoire”, according to Fowler, consists of “the whole range of potential points of resemblance that a genre may exhibit”. These features, however, need not all be present simultaneously in any given literary work, and, in fact, they seldom are. The distinguishing features belonging to the generic repertoire, which are used selectively in each work may be either formal or substantive.105 In practice they function as “generic signals” and are of particular importance at the beginning of a literary work, such as titles, opening formulae, allusions, and topics. These “generic markers” help to establish at an early stage in the reading process an appropriate mental “set” that allows the work’s generic codes to be read.106 Fowler distinguishes between genres and “constructional types” of texts. Genre is a concept that regards entire literary works, and is defined within historical and conventional contexts. Constructional types are formal devices operating at the level of individual texts and passages such as theme and variation, catalogue, inset, and frame, each of which is compatible with many different genres.107 This observation takes us back to the necessary distinction between the form and grammatical structure of a given individual text or passage and the more complex question of genre and function of the text. From observations on the former no immediate conclusions can be reached regarding the latter. In other words, to describe the text as a “list” or “catalogue” does not in itself constitute a description of the genre of this particular text in terms of generic repertoire or generic codes guiding the interpretation process, let alone the historical function of the document within a social context basically unknown to us. To use Fowler’s terms, “list” is not a genre but a “constructional type”, a

104  Alastair Fowler, Kinds of Literature. An Introduction to the Theory of Genres and Modes (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 38. 105  Fowler, Kinds of Literature, 55. 106  Fowler, Kinds of Literature, 88. 107  Fowler, Kinds of Literature, 128.

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form that a certain piece of text may exhibit, but which may belong to a great variety of literary genres. This is, as a matter of fact, a basic insight in biblical studies. Lists occur in a number of different literary contexts in the Bible: In the Pentateuch we encounter lists of unclean animals in the context of legal material (Lev 11:1–38). In the narrative framework of the Pentateuch lists of the descendants of the tribes of Israel (Num. 1:20–46; 26:5–51) and of the offerings of the leaders of the tribes (Num. 7:12–88) occur. In the narrative books outside the Pentateuch lists also play a prominent part (1 Chron. 1:1–8:40; Ezra 2:1–67; 10:18–44; Neh. 11:3–36). Lists are also frequent in texts from Qumran: The War Scroll contains lists of the trumpets and the standards of the army of the sons of light (1QM III 2–11; III 13–IV 17). A list of Sabbaths and festivals stands at the beginning of 4QMMT (4QMMT A 1–21). List-like passages also occur in liturgical texts like the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, and in texts describing buildings and architectural structures like the Temple Scroll and the New Jerusalem texts. In other words, to ascertain that the Copper Scroll displays the form of a list or a catalogue does not in itself establish the literary genre of the document, nor does this observation alone tell us whether or not it may be properly described as a literary work. The reasons for labelling the text of 3Q15 a “list” or a “catalogue” are obvious and generally recognized. The document seems to observe a rather strict economy of style, and many scholars have emphasized the “dry and unimaginative” character of 3Q15. It is clear, however, from the preliminary observations set out above (partly building on Wolters’ and Fidler’s analyses of features of the text of the Copper Scroll) that the description of 3Q15 as a “list” does not exhaust the character of this document. We noted the indications of a communicative situation in the text, with a voice instructing (in the form of imperatives and/or jussives) a “you” –addressee to seek out and uncover the hidden treasures in the places designated. 3Q15 is not simply a “list” – the text does not only enumerate or register objects, but it also gives instructions to an addressee regarding the localisation and retrieving of the objects mentioned. The addressee is supposed to be moving through the landscape described, as is evident from the repeated references to the addressee’s “entering” certain places. This aspect of the scroll implies some affinity with a prescriptive text, a manual or an instruction. At the same time, the sequence of references to places and sites which the addressee is to visit and enter in order to retrieve the valuables hidden there recalls the itinerary as a generic model for the text. The itinerary model is also supported by the references to the addressee’s movements (“entering” or “descending”). Determining the literary genre of the Copper Scroll, in other words, is a complex matter.

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Elements of a list or catalogue are combined with aspects of instruction and itinerary. In my opinion, this complexity makes the text into something in its own right, an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures. To this format the text remains true. Its brevity, concise form and strict economy of are features which lend credibility and a sense of visual reality to the depiction of a desolate landscape laden with memories of the past, and hiding a great amount of valuable objects for the attentive reader to seek and find. The Copper Scroll was designed to affect the reader’s imagination and generate curiosity and interest. The text achieves this goal by presenting itself as an instruction to retrieve hidden treasures. The modern history of research demonstrates that in this respect, the author must be said to have had considerable success. 11

The Functions of the Scroll and Its Historical Background Re-Evaluated

I have argued in Chapters 2 and 3 for a realm of literary creativity as the place of origin for 3Q15. The document, as I propose to read it, exhibits a deliberate and complex literary structure, and conveys a certain perception of the landscape of the holy land through which the addressee (and the reader) is lead. The perspective set out in 3Q15 seems to entail a certain negative view of the present, and corresponding positive expectations regarding the future (partly founded in a high degree of esteem for a past understood through the mediation of literary traditions). This viewpoint, however, does not exclude in advance any notion of the text as grounded in historical realities. Indeed, recognizing the literary and traditional background of the itinerary of 3Q15 and its descriptions of deposits does not in itself render a connection between the text and historical acts of depositing valuables in Palestine less plausible. As the survey of previous scholarship showed, the question of the “authenticity” or “historicity” of the record of treasure deposits was often viewed as a sharp dichotomy. Scholars tended to regard 3Q15 either as a “documentary” (non-literary) text directly reflecting historical realities, as far as the deposits described in the text were concerned, or they saw the text as a pure “fiction” without any connection to historical reality. In the recent English translation of his text edition, Puech states the case for the authenticity of the deposits clearly: A copy like this, stripped bare without context or developed introduction, or even a story involving a theme of Jewish folklore, cannot easily support the thesis of a fictional or fairytale treasure, not even the mention of ‘Ayin

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Kahol (Elijah’s Spring on Mount Carmel) on the much later Beirut plates, as Milik attempted to show in the official publication.108 On the other hand, Humbert supports Milik’s position on the treasures as fictional, citing the immense sums of precious metal referred to in the document.109 The sacred and Jewish character of the deposits is manifest, according to Humbert.110 Humbert sees the Copper Scroll basically as an imaginary Temple inventory. The background is Jewish legends of the lost treasures and sacred objects of Solomon’s Temple. The purpose of the text is to reassure the believers of hope in spite of the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish nation. “Le message est une propaganda religieuse: tout n’est pas perdu puisque l’essentiel demeure caché”.111 Humbert points in particular to the extraordinary nature of the very last treasure listed in 3Q15, and interprets the doubling of the text itself here as an expression of a magic force: Une puissance occulte est à l’oeuvre: la dernière cachette de l’inventaire ne contient rien d’autre qu’un Rouleau qui corrige celui-ci. Le mystère rebondit comme le future promis.112 Recently, Weitzman has advocated for a more complex and dialectic understanding of how this text would have been once grounded in reality.113 The distinction between myth and reality, Weitzman contends, is foreign to the ancient mind. Examples from Roman history illustrate the strong impact legends of ancient hidden treasures could exercise in antiquity – mythical treasures could be perceived as real even by those who were imagining them.114 Myths and legends could shape actions and events of later history, and myths and legends could be reshaped in the light of later historical experience.115 Weitzman, 108  Puech, The Copper Scroll Revisited, 8. Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 173. 109  Humbert, “Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 91. 110  Humbert, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 91 (“le caractère sacré et juif des dèpôts est evident”). 111  Humbert, “le Rouleau de cuivre,” 93. 112  Humbert, “Le Rouleau de cuivre,” 93. 113  Steven P. Weizman, “Myth, History, and Mystery;” “Absent but Accounted for.” 114  Weitzman (“Myth, History, and Mystery,” 247–48) cites the account in Tacitus (Annales 16.1–3) that a Carthagian named Bassus informed Nero that the location of an immense treasure hidden by Dido had been revealed to him in a dream. A large-scale expedition, however, was unable to locate the valuables. An example from the history of Palestine is the Samaritan uprising recorded in Josephus (A.J. 18.85–89): A Samaritan leader rallies a mob at Mt Gerizim, where he promises to reveal the sacred vessels hidden by Moses. See further in Chapter 5. 115  Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery,” 248.

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while contending that the description of 3Q15 was indeed heavily influenced by the Jewish legends of the hidden ark and other valuables from Solomon’s Temple, still opts in favour of the historicity of treasure deposits during the troubled period before the siege and fall of Jerusalem in 68–70 CE. The very acts of hiding treasures and their recording in writing, however, would have been inspired by the legends of the treasures of the past.116 12

The Historical Situation of the Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll can, as we have seen above, be convincingly dated to the first century CE. While there can be no absolute certainty as to whether the scroll predates the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), both the palaeographical findings and the archaeological data surrounding the deposit of the manuscript in Cave 3 speak in favour of a slightly earlier date (some time before 68 CE, when the settlement at Qumran was destroyed). If we assume, as it seems reasonable, that the fabrication of the Copper Scroll and the composition of the text were not far removed from each other, we arrive at the second half of the 1st century as the most likely time of composition. In Jewish Palestine, this was a time wrought with wars, uprisings, and political turmoil. That people of the period would find it expedient to hide away their valuables, is not only conceivable, but extremely likely. In Josephus’ account of the Jewish revolt, the motif of hidden and subsequently revealed treasures occupies an important place. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem, according to Josephus, Jewish priests defect to the Romans, and deliver parts of the Temple valuables to them: During those same days, one of the priests named Jesus, son of Thebuthi, after obtaining a sworn pledge of protection from Caesar, on condition of his delivering up some of the sacred treasures (τινὰ τῶν ἱερῶν κειμηλίων) came out and handed over from the wall of the sanctuary two lampstands similar to those deposited in the sanctuary, along with tables, bowls and platters (τραπέζας τε καὶ κρατῆρας καὶ φιάλας), all of solid gold and very massive; he further delivered up the veils, the high priests’ vestments, including the precious stones (τὰ καταπετάσματα καὶ τὰ ἐνδύματα τῶν ἀρχιερέων σὺν τοῖς λίθοις), and many other articles used in public worship. Furthermore, the treasurer of the temple, by name Phineas, being taken prisoner, disclosed the tunics and girdles worn by the priests, 116  Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery,” 251.

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an abundance of purple and scarlet kept for necessary repairs to the veil of the temple, along with a mass of cinnamon and cassia and a multitude of other spices which they mixed and burnt daily as incense to God. Many other treasures also were delivered up by him with numerous sacred ornaments; those services procuring for him, although a prisoner of war, the pardon accorded to the refugees.117 Some of the sacred valuables from the Temple mentioned here belong to the same categories as sacred objects referred to in 3Q15. Although there is no way of ascertaining the historicity of Josephus’ report here, it points to the possibility that at least some parts of the Temple treasures were not eventually destroyed but, as in this text, secretly delivered to the Romans. It would not be hard to imagine that other portions of the valuables could have been secretly taken away to alternative hiding-places as those recorded in the Copper Scroll. At a smaller scale, the discovery of coin hoards from the period document the actual hiding of valuables, and stories of hidden treasures must have abounded at the time.118 The inscription from St Anne in Jerusalem recently published by Puech is another indication of the contemporary interest in hidden treasures.119 The text consists of two short lines: ‫יצחק חקק‬ ‫ושטח חסן‬

Isaac engraved (these words), and concealed a treasure.120 The inscription on the stone, which now forms part of the portico of St Anne’s church, is difficult to date with precision. The stone itself (with the inscription already in place) was probably reused when the church was built in the Crusaders period in the twelfth century. At the time when the Copper Scroll was composed, rumours and tales of treasures being hidden away were widespread, and some of the records in 3 Q15 may indeed reflect more or less accurately some real – contemporary or slightly earlier – deposits of valuables. 117  B .J. 6.387–391 (Thackeray, LCL). 118  The coin hoard found at Khirbet Qumran is a conspicuous example. The hoard may be interpreted not as money concealed from enemies but as a savings account. Cf. Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scroll (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2002), 188–93. 119  Puech, “Les inscriptions.” 120  Cf. Puech, “Les inscriptions,” 233.

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The Case for the Authenticity of the Deposits

The case for the historical authenticity of the treasure account in 3Q15 was stated by Al Wolters in an article from 1990.121 Wolters finds that “the overriding arguments” against the legendary interpretation “is still its (3Q15) sober bookkeeping style and the fact that it is written on an expensive and durable material, copper”.122 Wolters outlines a sharp contrast between “folklore” and “apocalyptic” – both terms employed by Milik when describing the legendary nature and background of the treasure list in 3Q15 – on the one hand and the text of the Copper Scroll on the other. Both “folklore” and “apocalyptic”, according to Wolters, consist largely of colourful narrative, whereas the Copper Scroll is a dry, unimaginative, and extremely concise list: Folklore and apocalyptic are generally written in colourful prose, but the Copper Scroll, if it can be said to be written in prose at all, is shorn of all descriptive adjectives, has virtually no verbs, and is completely devoid of imagery.123 As a description of the language and world view of 3Q15, this statement cannot be said to be accurate. That there are “virtually no verbs” in the Copper Scroll, is not entirely in accordance with the occurrence of 22 imperatives of the verb ‫( חפר‬in four cases partly restored).124 And the repeated descriptions of gold, silver and other valuables concealed in caves and cisterns, under stairs and beneath stones could well be said to represent a very vivid imagination in itself. The contention that 3Q15 is a “dry and unimaginative” text is in itself a somewhat subjective statement, which, we believe, is contradicted by the occurrence of literary features referred to above. The same characterization could, it would seem, also be applied to large portions of a text like the Qumran War Scroll, which has extensive passages consisting of lists, but would hardly, in the eyes of most interpreters, qualify as an “unimaginative” text.125 At any 121  Wolters, “Apocalyptic and the Copper Scroll,” JNES 49 (1990): 145–54. At the beginning of his article, Wolters quotes the statement of William F. Albright (from the New York Times, 1st June 1956, 4) that the descriptions in 3Q15 of treasures and hiding places “sound like something that might have been written in blood in the dark of the moon by a character in Treasure Island” (Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 145). 122  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151. 123  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151. 124  See Chapter 2 for an overview of verbal forms in 3Q15. 125  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151. See the lists of trumpets and standards with their appropriate inscriptions, 1QM.

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rate, Wolters’ representation is aimed at countering Milik’s claim that 3Q15 is thematically cognate to motifs from folklore as well as to motifs found in apocalyptic texts. Wolters’ argument, however, does not really seem to be pertinent to Milik’s use of “folklore” as a broad description of the general background of the literary work of 3Q15. As to the association of 3Q15 with apocalyptic ideas, Wolters notes that if the Copper Scroll is “apocalyptic” and has to do with an age of Messianic restoration, it is suspicious that no eschatological references are actually made in the text: Furthermore, if the Copper Scroll is “apocalyptic” in the sense that it has to do with a future age of restoration when the Messiah will come, then it is noteworthy that the scroll itself makes no reference at all to such eschatological expectations.126 Wolters is obviously right in pointing out that 3Q15 contains no explicit eschatological references, and in my view, this remains the strongest argument against reading 3Q15 in continuation of the legends of the hidden vessels of the First Temple and their recovery at the end of days. In Chapters 2 and 3 I have attempted to demonstrate how several of the place-names referred to in the text connote scriptural traditions, some of which are expressly eschatological and contain predictions of a future restoration of Israel. To a considerable extent, our understanding of the text depends on how we interpret the situation envisaged and implied in the communicative framework of the text. The addressee of 3Q15 receives instructions to follow the trail of hidden valuables and uncover them. Nothing forbids interpreting this as an eschatological situation, and I believe this interpretation can be shown to be plausible, against the background of the pattern of place-names and their literary connotations. Still, there are no unambiguous references in the text that require this interpretation. Several more general objections, however, can be made against Wolters’ lumping “folklore” and “apocalyptic” together as things that evidently have no relation to text of 3Q15. The terms obviously need more precise definitions to be really useful in a discussion of this type.127 Moreover, “folklore” and “apocalyptic” are clearly in no way synonymous, and the terms do not necessarily point in the same direction literarily, historically, or sociologically. “Folklore” 126  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151. 127  Wolters (“Apocalyptic,” 149, note 31) notes that he does not use “apocalyptic” in a strictly defined sense, and adds: “Perhaps ‘eschatological’ or ‘Messianic’ would serve my purposes equally well”.

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is hardly a genre in itself, but designates a much broader phenomenon which may be typically documented in oral traditions, but which has often exercised influence on literary works at different levels. “Apocalyptics”, whether perceived as a genre or not, is associated primarily with highly refined literary works from a certain period. Furthermore, Wolters objects to the interpretation of 3Q15 as “legendary” that the apocryphal legends all deal with the vessels of the First Temple – the Ark of the Covenant, the tablets of the law, and the altar of incense, objects which are not mentioned in the Copper Scroll at all. This is the case even with texts composed after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.128 Apocryphal traditions concerning the holy vessels, Wolters contends, “consistently speak of a single hiding place” where the hidden sacred objects will remain untouched and unknown until the coming of the eschatological age. This notion, he maintains, is incompatible with the catalogue of 3Q15, the exact purpose of which is to describe precisely where the hidden items are to be found.129 As a decisive argument against interpreting the Copper Scroll as referring to the First Temple treasures, Wolters points to the historical situation in which the text must have been composed: Since the Copper Scroll, by common consent, was written either immediately before or not long after CE 70, it strains credibility to assume that the treasure which it describes, if they are indeed temple treasures, have no reference at all to the imminent or recent catastrophe of the Second Temple.130 This argument, however, does not really seem consistent. If the apocryphal writings written in the period around 70 CE concern themselves with the First Temple, then it is difficult to see why this could not also be the case with 3Q15. According to Wolters, Milik was “forced to conclude” that for the author of 3Q15 the second destruction “took on the colours” of the first, and 128  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 153. 129  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 153. However, the Jewish medieval text Massekhet Kelim distinguishes between two categories of hidden treasures – the most sacred objects of the Holy of Holies, including the Ark, which are set apart and stored away on God’s command at Mount Carmel, and the rest of the treasures, which are hidden by various persons of the past in a variety of hiding-places much in the same manner as described in the Copper Scroll. Cf. Chapter 5 for a more detailed analysis of this text. Wolters emphasizes the distance in time and cultural background between 3Q15 and Massekhet Kelim. The numbers given in the medieval Jewish text are more “fantastic” than those of 3Q15 (Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151–52). 130  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 153.

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Wolters concludes that the Copper Scroll “simply does not fit the legendary mold”, since there are no legends of a second hiding of vessels at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple.131 But by common consent, there is a well-documented tradition, including apocryphal and rabbinic sources, which typologically connects the two destructions of the Jewish temples,132 and the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic writings from the period after 70 CE are generally acknowledged to have concerned themselves with the destruction of the First Temple. In these writings, in other words, it is generally recognized that the destruction of the Second Temple “took the colours” of the First Temple, so why should we not allow this to be the case for the – contemporary – author of 3Q15? In other words, the very perspective highlighted here by Wolters would seem to strengthen the case for a “legendary” interpretation of 3Q15 rather than weaken it.133 Wolters has in several contexts emphasized the particular historical circumstances of the 1950s which surrounded the scholars working on editing the Qumran manuscripts. The presumed implication is that the need felt by scholars in those days for discouraging unauthorized treasure hunting must have something to do with de Vaux’s and Milik’s position that the deposits described in 3Q15 were a literary fiction. According to Wolters, “the view that the treasure is unhistorical was too much the product of the polemical and political circumstances in which it was born, and too heavily dependent on the authority of Milik, to carry conviction today”.134

131  Wolters refers to Milik’s words: “C’est donc dans les croyances concernant la destruction du Temple – celle de 70 après J.-C. prenant les couleurs de celle de 587 avant J.-C. – et sa restauration lors de l’avènement du Messie avidement attendu, qu’on cherchera la raison d’être de notre catalogue” (DJD 3, 380). In the context there is no indication that Milik “was forced to conclude” that the description in ancient Jewish texts of the destruction of the Second Temple borrowed its colours from the destruction of the First Temple. Milik in fact demonstrates the existence of a broader and widely spread interest in the texts in the temple treasures and their hiding, which are associated with expectations of a future Messianic restoration. 132  The destruction of the Second Temple, according to rabbinic tradition, took place, on the same day as the destruction of the First Temple, the 9th of Ab (b. Ta’an. 29a). 133  The palaeographic evidence does not yield certainty as regards the date of the Copper Scroll either before of after 70 CE, although a date before the fall of the Second Temple (mid-1st century CE) is slightly more probable. See Chapter 2 for details. In view of Qumran texts like Apocryphal Lamentations (4Q179) and Tanhumim (4Q176), which definitely predate 70 CE, we should not be surprised to find texts mourning the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple written at a time when the Second Temple was still in existence. 134  Wolters, “History and the Copper Scroll,” 291. Wolters in the same context focuses on “the tense and highly politicized atmosphere, further complicated by the archaeologists’

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This allegation – which more or less implies that scholars of the 1950s would deliberately and knowingly have publicly defended a theory of ancient texts that was fabricated to accommodate political needs rather than conceived as the most plausible way to understand the texts – is, to say the least, deeply problematic. It is also less than probable. As Wolters himself states, Sigmund Mowinckel and L.H. Silberman were able to reach quite similar conclusions as Milik, de Vaux, and Cross, independently of Milik, and without being in any sense involved in the politics or practicalities of scroll editing in Jordan.135 In this context it should be pointed out clearly that it hardly does justice to Milik’s achievements in studying the Copper Scroll to speak, as Wolters, does, of “Milik’s last-minute attempt to lower the date of the Copper Scroll”.136 Wolters emphasizes that Milik came to conclude that the Copper Scroll was to be dated later than the rest of the Qumran manuscripts “in the last stages of preparing his commentary”.137 There is no documented basis, however, in the history of scholarship for assigning less value or weight to Milik’s position, legitimate fear that the contents of the Copper Scroll would lead to uncontrolled treasure hunting expeditions” (“History and the Copper Scroll,” 286–87). 135  See Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 149. 136  Wolters, “History and the Copper Scroll,” 291. 137  Wolters, “History and the Copper Scroll,” 289. The information given by Wolters in the text of his article (“Milik … suggested for the first time that the Copper Scroll was to be dated later than the other Qumran materials, and that it had been deposited in Cave 3 around 100 CE. He came to this came to this conclusion in the last stages of preparing his commentary”) with reference to DJD 3 (1962) seems to be slightly at variance with the information he goes on to provide in a note, stating that Milik, in fact, presented this view already in the article in Revue Biblique from 1959 that gives his provisionary translation of 3Q15 (“History and the Copper Scroll,” 289, note 34). Wolters’ primary reference in the note is to Roland de Vaux, L’Archéologie et les manuscrits de la Mer Morte, 84. Here de Vaux states that Milik having initially dated the scroll to the period before the end of the Qumran community, later changed his position: “Dans son travail final d’édition, certains traits linguistiques et paléographiques et la location possible de quelques-uns de ces trésors imaginaires sur le site de Khirbet Qumrân, déjà ruiné, le font pencher pour une date un peu postérieure …” Wolters also mentions that the idea that 3Q15 was later than other manuscripts and deposited independently in Cave 3 was put forward by H.H. Rowley in a review of Frank Moore Cross’ book on Qumran in 1959 (H.H. Rowley [review of F.M. Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies, 1959], JSS 4 (1959): 84–86 (86)). It should be borne in mind that Milik had in fact finished his preparation for the DJD edition in 1959, and that he had worked intensively on the document for several years. Milik’s own statement (or that of de Vaux) hardly warrants any notion of a “lastminute” change of opinion. In the introduction to his provisionary translation of 1959 he states: “Quant à la date du document, l’étude plus poussée des données complexes et disparates, qui seront discutées en detail dans DJD 3, me fait maintenant pencher vers la période entre les deux guerres juives contre les Romains, disons l’an 100 en chiffres ronds” (Milik, “Le rouleau de cuivre de Qumrân,” 322).

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which he undoubtedly reached as a result of years of dedicated study of the text. The thesis that 3Q15 was deposited in Cave 3 independently of and later than the scrolls from Qumran was accepted by many scholars with different views on the contents and background of 3Q15.138 As stated above, I do not hold this thesis to be correct, but it certainly cannot be dismissed as a “lastminute” idea dictated by some particular contemporary concern related to the situation at the time of the publication of the scroll. 14

The Case against the Authenticity of the Deposits

Wolters’ argument from the literary form of the Copper Scroll in favour of the authenticity of its treasure deposits can hardly prove the case, as we have seen. There are, in fact, several reasons for not accepting the treasure records of 3Q15 in their entirety as an accurate reflection of historical realities. As a literary genre treasure-lists are, in a fundamental sense, self-contradictory unless they are understood in some way as literary constructions. Their function, apparently, is to reveal and divulge what they claim are well-kept secrets unknown to everybody. This fundamental paradox of treasure-lists and guides for treasurehunters was pointed out dryly by Ibn Khaldoun, who commented on the extensive traditions of hidden treasures in Egypt in his days: It is true that treasures have sometimes been discovered, but rarely and by coincidence and not by virtue of researches by premeditated planning. There is no example in either ancient centuries or modern ages of a general calamity which would have caused most people to leave behind their treasures underground and place them under the guard of some talisman … Besides, if someone would leave behind his treasures and safeguard them by means of some magic procedure, he would take all possible precautions to keep his secret hidden. How should we imagine that in a case like this he would place certain signs and indications to guide those in search of them, and that he would commit these indications to writing, thus providing people of all ages and countries with a means of discovering these very treasures?139 138  Cf. Stegemann, Die Essener, Qumran, Johannes der Täufer und Jesus, 104–08. A balanced view is held by Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, 397–99. 139  Ibn Khaldoun is quoted by Kamal, Le livre des perles, V. The purpose of publishing Kamal’s book, which contains a medieval Egyptian catalogue of hidden treasures seems to have been discouraging treasure hunting, which would be rendered meaningless once the

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Recently, Hanan Eshel and Zeev Safrai have made the same obvious point: If the Copper Scroll were indeed an authentic inventory of hidden valuables, the document would have to be regarded as a secret text intended for the eyes of a few trusted men. The character of the text, in particular the use of a costly and durable material like copper (rather than leather or papyrus) points to the intention of providing a document lasting for a long time, probably with ritual rather than documentary purposes.140 The last point is important, because scholars have sometimes appealed to the use of copper as an argument against understanding of the text as literary fiction.141 The practice of writing on copper plates, however, is in fact extremely difficult to reconcile with the notion of a “secret” document intended exclusively for a few initiated people to preserve and read. As we saw above, the somewhat distant analogies of Roman inscriptions on bronze tablets actually point in the same direction, since these were not primarily intended for practical purposes like consultation or documentation, but served symbolic and religious purposes, manifesting and incorporating through the act of engraving on durable material, the validity and sacredness of the decisions recorded.142 Weitzman, using the analogy of Greek temple inventories, also points to their character as public documents.143 Certain features of the treasure records in the Copper Scroll would indeed be difficult if they are to be interpreted as accurately reflecting real deposits. Eshel and Safrai have pointed to a number of clearly non-realistic descriptions in 3Q15. According to I 5–6 “100 gold bars” are hidden “in the third layer of stones” of a tomb. While it might be possible to conceal some coins between the layers of bricks in the wall of a tomb memorial building, the storing of 100 gold bars seems clearly imaginary. Likewise, the hiding of “tithe vessels of pine, tithe of sene with their reckoning beside them” under the “pillar of the vestibule” in Zadok’s tomb described in XI 3–4 is hardly credible.144 A noteworthy characteristic of the document, pointing in the same direction, is the apparent accuracy associated with the sums and figures given, which, at closer inspection, turns out not to be accurate at all. This point was made by Morawiecki in his 1994 article.145 He focuses on the first three items listed in the Copper Scroll (I 4–8). Within this brief section a value of sev“secret” instructions were widely known. See Chapter 5 on the significance of this Arabic manual for 3Q15. 140  Eshel and Safrai, ?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, 10. 141  Wolters, “Apocalyptic,” 151. 142  Cf. Callie Williamson, “Monuments of Bronze.” 143  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 432–33. 144  Eshel and Safrai, ?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, 12. 145  Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure?”

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enteen talents of silver (I 4) stands alongside a reference to “100 gold bars” without any indication of their weight or actual value, and a reference to 900 talents (I 8) without specifying whether gold or silver is meant. It might be assumed that weight measures given in talents with no specification should be taken as referring to silver. Indeed, the formulation “80 talents, two talents of gold” (VII 16) could be said to suggest this interpretation. But the text contains numerous entries where silver is specified and no other metal is mentioned (e.g. “forty talents of silver”, I 14–15). In light of this evidence, the assumption that silver is meant where no metal is specified seems arbitrary. Furthermore, the Copper Scroll lists numerous immeasurable quantities, gold and silver vessels, boxes filled with silver, etc. with no indication of weights or measures, suggesting that the writer was not interested in stating the exact value of the treasures.146 Indefinite amounts are in fact referred to in one entry in five. All this, according to Morawiecki, clearly indicates, “that the author’s intention was to rouse the reader’s imagination rather than to make an inventory of the value of the treasure”.147 However, it must be admitted that some of the arguments traditionally put forward to support the idea of the Copper Scroll as “fiction” are much less convincing. The priestly or sacred character of many of the treasures seems to associate these with the Temple, and makes a connection to the legends of the lost or hidden valuables of the First Temple possible. However, many scholars assume that the Qumran community and its leadership had a priestly character and identity, and that the group was founded by priests who had distanced themselves, at a certain point in history, from the Jerusalem Temple and its cult. The presence of these tithe vessels, garments, and other Temple-related objects could be explained, in historical terms, as possessions of the Qumranite priestly leaders, and indeed as possessions which they may have taken with them when they broke off from the Jerusalem priestly elite and the Temple.148 The vast sums of gold and silver cited in the Copper Scroll have also been adduced as an argument proving the legendary character of the text beyond doubt. This consideration, however, depends to a great extent on how the amounts mentioned in 3Q15 are estimated. As we saw above, the frequent abbreviation ‫ככ‬, which has often been understood as meaning “talents”, could also be interpreted with Lefkovits and Puech, not as “talents” but as “silver karsh”. This interpretation brings the total amount of treasures down to a more realistic level. And the assumption that people would store away valuables in 146  Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure”, 172. 147  Morawiecki, “The Copper Scroll Treasure”, 173. 148  See Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre”, 176–77; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 18–21.

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times of trouble in the hope of retrieving them at a later point has a lot of intrinsic plausibility, and can be supported by contemporary written sources. 15

A Perspective beyond the Dichotomy between Reality and Fiction

Overcoming the dichotomy of fact as opposed to fiction does indeed seem the most promising perspective, if we are looking for a deeper understanding of 3Q15. The Copper Scroll was definitely an extremely expensive artefact, an object with an important purpose, to which its maker(s) must have ascribed great significance. The manuscript and the text were, in other words, deeply grounded in historical reality, although their exact purpose and function remain elusive to us. In general, the employment of expensive material was reserved for literary texts, as opposed to less costly material used for non-literary purposes. Scrolls of parchment or leather were considered appropriate for literary texts, while ostraca were the less prestigious material commonly used for non-literary texts. The Copper Scroll must have been produced around the middle of the first century CE. The situation in Jewish Palestine was characterized by political unrest and constant threats of revolt and war. The author of 3Q15, it seems, wrote his text as an answer to the troubles of his time. The prospect of hiding valuables in order to rescue them for a better future would not have been far away at the time. Indeed, the treasures of the Temple were not exempt from the general threats and dangers. Quite possibly, the Copper Scroll records deposits which would actually have taken place, along with traditions of hidden treasures from long ago. The literary framework the author created for his records clearly reflects his vision of a desolate land awaiting redemption, and a Temple which has ceased to function properly, with the sacred objects hidden in various places. The extent to which this vision mirrors the actual situation at the time the scroll was written, cannot be determined. The author strove to create an itinerary through the troubled land, which would echo traditions of past glory, but also traditions of past tragedies and hope for the future. He used the symbolic significance inherent in many place-names in Palestine, which his readers would associate with literary traditions of Israel’s past. As for the treasure descriptions, some belong in categories that would, by modern standards, be labelled “legendary”, while others make a perfectly “realistic” impression. Indeed, some of the records may well reflect historical deposits, but there is no way for the modern reader to discern between descriptions of this type and non-historical descriptions. To the author, the entire series of treasure records, was undoubtedly real and highly important.

What is Real ?

16

185

Conclusions

The format of the Copper Scroll strongly suggests that the well-known parchment scrolls did in fact serve as a model for its fabrication. The manuscript is probably most adequately described as an attempt at imitating the format of the leather scroll in an unusual material. Several scholars have pointed to the possibility that the Copper Scroll was originally intended for hanging up on a wall for display. This cannot be substantiated by the material findings of the manuscript despite the existence of a square hole at the left extreme end of the copper strip. The hole could have served other purposes than that of attaching the copper strip to a wall. It seems more probable, in the light of the scroll being an “imitation” of the well-known leather scrolls found in the Qumran caves, that it was intended for fastening a leather string to keep the scroll together. A survey of the available data concerning the discovery of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 does not support the assumption that this manuscript was deposited at a later stage than the remaining manuscripts found in the cave. Even though a second, independent deposit cannot be ruled out completely on archaeological grounds, the theory of a single deposit remains the more natural and simple solution. A detailed palaeographic description of the script of 3Q15 was provided by Cross for the DJD 3 edition. Cross was able to point to the script of several dated inscriptions as typologically very close to that of 3Q15, thus providing a date around the middle of the first century CE. This date, for which there is good evidence, should be preferred to Milik’s suggestion of a slightly later date. A peculiar feature of the Copper Scroll is the occurrence of Greek characters in the first four columns of the text, always at the end of entries, and always in groups of two or three letters, which look like abbreviated personal names, although they have never been satisfactorily explained. If it is assumed that the valuables referred to in 3Q15 are treasures belonging to the Temple, the abbreviated names could refer to (real or fictitious) givers of donations to the Temple. In view of the use of Greek letters in the “mixed” script of 4QAstrological Text (4Q186) it might be considered to regard the Greek letters in the Copper Scroll as a means to give the text an exotic or mysterious appearance. There is no good explanation, however, why this was only practiced in the first part of the text. The orthography of 3Q15 shows many inconsistencies. It does not correspond to the orthographic practices associated with the “Qumran scribal school”. The extensive use of aleph as a vowel letter shows some affinity to the conventions of the great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa). Pronouns and suffixes never have the long forms characteristic of the “Qumran scribal school” practice. The language of the text shares a number of features with Mishnaic Hebrew. The plural form is

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usually ‫ין‬-. The frequency of the pronouns ‫ ש‬and ‫ של‬constitutes an important point of contact with MH as well as with the language of the Bar Kochba texts. Numerals in 3Q15 are generally treated in a way similar to that found in certain parts of the Hebrew Bible (demonstrably late books like Ezra, Daniel), with the noun in the plural preceding the numeral. This usage differs from the more common order in Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew as well as in Qumran texts in general. The perhaps most striking affinity to Mishnaic Hebrew is found in the vocabulary of 3Q15. The expressions for world directions show points of contact with the Bar Kochba texts as well as with Mishnaic Hebrew (in particular the preference for adjectives of direction). No conclusions regarding the date of the text can be drawn on the basis of the linguistic findings, but they are certainly compatible with the date suggested for the scroll by the palaeographical observations. The use of copper as writing material is unparalleled in Qumran scrolls. Some of the often noticed exceptional features of the handwriting of 3Q15 – the irregular (“clumsy”) appearance of the script, frequent scribal errors, unmotivated resemblance between letters and irregular letter shapes – can be plausibly explained as a result of the unusual working process connected with creating a scroll on copper sheets, and witness to the unusual character of this practice. Inscriptions on durable material are mentioned occasionally in the Hebrew Bible. The closest historically documented analogy to the Copper Scroll is probably the well-attested use of bronze tablets for the inscription of sacred and legal texts in Roman antiquity. Here the primary purpose would seem to be symbolic or ideological: Engraving the texts on bronze represented an assessment of their validity and sacred nature. By contrast, preserving the texts for actual reading was not a primary concern. The original function and purpose of the Copper Scroll cannot be determined on the basis of the material findings alone, even though it seems probable that the composition of the text, the material fabrication of the copper manuscript, and the unusual choice of medium were closely connected. The designations “list” or “catalogue” often used of the Copper Scroll have sometimes been regarded by scholars to imply that the text should be regarded as non-literary “documentary” text. While a distinction between literary and non-literary documents may make sense in theory, it is often in practice much more problematic to assign texts to one category or the other, in particular in the case of texts from antiquity for which the original background and function have been lost. Drawing on basic insights from genre theory, it was shown that “list” cannot be taken as a generic category implying particular social or historical functions of a given text. “List” is in fact more a “constructional type” (using Alastair Fowler’s expression) than a historically established genre. “List”

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in other words is a format used for texts in a number of very different genres and contexts. Moreover, the categorization “list” or “catalogue” only partially describes the structure and format of 3Q15. The text also includes important elements of an itinerary, providing directions for the addressee’s movement through a (real or imagined) landscape and for his entering the locations where the treasures are to be recovered. The scroll, then, should be regarded as grounded in the historical reality of the particular time of its composition and production. The troubled and unstable situation in Palestine around the middle of the first century CE provides the historical context for the making of this text. The author was very likely informed of actual deposits of valuables at his time. However, he also relied on traditions of earlier deposits of treasures from Israel’s past. All of these records he combined and inserted them into a framework that echoed the notion of a journey through a desolate landscape, full of memories of past promises, failures, and hopes. In the final part of the chapter aspects of the scholarly debate on the historicity of the treasure deposits recorded in 3Q15 were re-evaluated, and it was suggested that the dichotomy between myth and reality, which has set the agenda for much of the previous discussion, should be replaced by a more nuanced and dialectic appreciation. There are indeed good reasons, archaeological as well as historical, to view the text as intimately connected with historical realities of the first century CE, including the hiding of valuables. Some of deposits recorded in the text could indeed have been real. However, there are equally strong reasons to be sceptical towards an evaluation of the entire text of 3Q15 as an accurate recording of historical fact, and some of the valuables described definitely fall into what from a modern point of view must be termed legendary treasures. Al Wolters, in his defence for the historicity of the treasure account in 3Q15, seems to misrepresent Milik’s position on several important points. In particular, the insinuation that the interpretation of 3Q15 as a legendary or fictitious text was deliberately coined as a response to external circumstances in the 1950s cannot be warranted. Arguing against the historical nature of the deposits, scholars have pointed to the entire concept of producing a treasure inventory on copper plates as unrealistic. Indeed, this would be an unlikely procedure if the text was intended primarily for “practical” purposes, and ought to be kept secret. Further arguments against the assumption of a historical background for the actual treasures are the nature of some of the descriptions, which locate unrealistically large amounts of gold bars between bricks in a wall or great masses of tithe vessels under a pillar in a sepulchral monument. The sums and figures of the Copper Scroll also turn out, at closer inspection,

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not to be exact indications but rather a mixture of measurable amounts and non-specified or immeasurable quantities of valuables. Not all the arguments for regarding the treasures of 3Q15 as fiction are convincing. The vast sums of gold and silver referred to have been cited as unrealistic, but the amounts appear considerable smaller if the abbreviation ‫ ככ‬is interpreted as karsh rather than “talents”. To sum up, the dichotomy of “authentic” and “fictional” is not very helpful in understanding the genre and function of 3Q15. Some of its treasures could have been real in the historical sense, and probably were, while others are what we would, from a modern perspective, call legendary. To the author and to the intended readers of the text, however, there seems to be little doubt that the valuables recorded in 3Q15 were perceived as real and very significant in every meaningful sense. This assertion leaves the question of the actual function of the scroll unanswered. At any rate, it seems highly improbable that the Copper Scroll with its vague designations and numerous literary allusions was ever meant to direct people to specific hiding-places. One might speculate that, if the deposits described represent a mixture of the real and the legendary, the text could have been designed as a deliberate attempt to guide the initiated reader to the actual valuables and render the collection of valuables impossible to the uninitiated. A more likely interpretation, however, seems to be that the Copper Scroll represents an attempt of describing all the hidden treasures, past and present, of a desolate Holy Land awaiting its final redemption. This perspective may become clearer when the literary contexts for 3Q15 are considered.

chapter 5

What We Were Told: Traditional and Literary Contexts for the Copper Scroll Literary analogies to 3Q15 have not been easy to find. In his editio princeps J.T. Milik emphasizes the distinctive character of the text, which, in his opinion, is the only surviving example from antiquity of a systematic catalogue of hidden treasures.1 Milik points to two much later literary documents from different contexts as relevant analogies for comparison with the form and contents of the Copper Scroll. One is the medieval Jewish writing Massekhet Kelim, the other is a medieval Arabic text from Egypt, the Book of the Treasured Pearls and Hidden Secret on Indications, Cachettes, Burials, and Treasures.2 In this chapter, I examine relevant aspects of both documents with regard to their significance for understanding 3Q15. Michael O. Wise has adduced a number of lists from various contexts as analogies to 3Q15,3 and I attempt an assessment of their relevance. In particular, Wise has pointed to temple inventories from the Greek world as parallel in form and content to 3Q15, and recently Steven P. Weitzman has followed this lead.4 In particular, Weitzman has demonstrated that the Lindian Chronicle, a Greek text written on a stele from Rhodes (99 BCE), has a number of important features in common with the Copper Scroll, and this document and its relevance for understanding the Copper Scroll is also analysed. From an early point in the history of research, scholars have pointed to the Jewish world of legends concerning the treasures and sacred objects of the First Temple as an important component of the background for the Copper Scroll. These legends are, in fact, the subject matter of Massekhet Kelim. Legends of the First Temple treasures and their fate after the destruction of the sanctuary by the Babylonians are documented in early Jewish sources – texts in the Hebrew Bible, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and Rabbinic texts – and these texts are surveyed here in order to establish their importance for understanding the world-view implicit in 3Q15. Finally, I examine points of contact 1  “Cette liste des trésors, rédigée sur peau ou sur papyrus et recopiée ensuite sur plaques de bronze, nous offre l’unique exemple de ce genre de compositions que nous ait légué l’antiquité. Même aux époques postérieures on ne trouve que très rarement des catalogues aussi systématiques que 3Q15, du moins à ma connaissance” (Milk, DJD 3, 279). 2  Milik, DJD 3, 279–81. 3  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll.” 4  Weitzman, “Myth, History, and Mystery;” “Absent but Accounted for.”

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_007

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between the Copper Scroll and the immediate literary context in which it was found, the Qumran scrolls. In Chapter 4 I argued that the deposit of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 should most plausibly be viewed as a part of the larger deposit of scrolls made by members of the Qumran community. Against this background, I attempt to assess points of contact between 3Q15 and other compositions found in the caves of Qumran. 1

Massekhet Kelim

Milik was the first to cite the Jewish medieval composition Massekhet Kelim as a relevant text for comparison with the Copper Scroll. The text is basically a narrative describing the hiding of the vessels and treasures from Solomon’s temple. The date and provenance of Massekhet Kelim remains elusive. Two recensions of the work have survived.5 Adolph Jellinek published Massekhet Kelim in 1876 as a part of his six-volume collection Bet ha-Midrash.6 Jellinek cites as his source a book called Valley of the King, published in Vilna in 1802. An earlier edition (practically identical to the text published by Jellinek) was printed in Amsterdam in 1648.7 The second recession is the text on the marble plaques from Beirut, which was published by Milik in 1959. The plaques had been shown to Jean Starcky in Beirut, and Starcky had photographed one of the plaques and partly transcribed another plaque. His material furnished the basis for Milik’s edition, in which he printed Jellinek’s text with the variants found in the inscription. The Beirut plaques contain the entire Book of Ezekiel, followed, on the two final plaques, by the text of Massekhet Kelim. Milik was not able to give a date or context for the Beirut plaques, but suggested that they could have been destined for a synagogue in Syria or Lebanon.8 Possibly, however, their original place was at the tomb of Ezekiel in Kifl, Iraq, where they had been built into the walls of the shrine (with the inscriptions facing inward), and whence they were at some point removed. The plaques

5  A critical edition of the Hebrew text is found in Milik, “Notes d’épigraphie et de topographie palestiniennes.” An English translation is available in James R. Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels (Massekhet Kelim).” 6  On Adolph Jellinek and his collection of midrashic works, see Samuel Joseph Kessler, “A New Shot from the House of David:” Adolf Jellinek and the Creation of the Modern Rabbinate (Chapel Hill: Pro Quest, 2016), 102–23. 7  See Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels,” 393–94 for further details. 8  Milik, “Notes d’épigraphie et de topographie palestiniennes,” 557–58.

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containing the Ezekiel text are now in Jerusalem, but the last plaques with the text of Massekhet Kelim cannot be located.9 The place and time of origin of the Beirut plaques remain uncertain, as does the alleged connection to the Ezekiel shrine in Kifl. The composition could have originated among the Jewish communities in Mesopotamia, where, in fact, many of the hiding-places mentioned in the text are located. Under what circumstances the work came to circulate in Europe also remains completely uncertain.10 The recension documented on the Beirut plaques differs from the European recension, primarily, by attaching the text directly to the final part of the Book of Ezekiel. Furthermore, the two versions have different opening sections. In the version printed by Jellinek there is a brief narrative introduction attributing the following traditions to the “five great righteous men” (‫)ה׳ צדיקים גדולים‬: Shimmur the Levite, Hezekiah, Zedekiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. The Beirut plaques version opens with a quotation formula in the first person singular (‫ואמר אלי‬, “and he said to me”) identifying the following as a divine revelation communicated (by God or possibly by an angel) to a human recipient. Since the text in this version is directly attached to the end of the Book of Ezekiel, this revelation could plausibly be understood as an additional revelation conveyed to this prophet.11 The opening paragraph of the Beirut plaques version of Massekhet Kelim contains a commandment to write down the following as a memorial for the children of Israel, and narrates the hiding of sacred objects on God’s command at Mount Carmel and, more specifically, at a place called Ein Kohel (‫)עין כחל‬: ‫וצוה את בני ישראל בלכתם אל קדשי יגנזו אתם בהר הכרמל כי קדשהם שנת שלשה‬ ‫אלפים ושלש מאות ושלשים ואחד ליצירה‬

And he commanded the children of Israel when they went to my sanctuary and they hid them om Mount Carmel. For he set them apart in the year three thousand, three hundred, and thirty-one of creation.12 9  Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels,” 394. 10  The composition itself may have been written “any time between late antiquity and the seventeenth century” (James R. Davila, “Scriptural Exegesis in the Treatise of the Vessels, a Legendary Account of the Hiding of the Temple Treasures,” in With Letters of Light: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, Magic, and Mysticism, in Honor of Rachel Elior, ed. Daphna V. Arbel and Andrei A. Orlov (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2011), 45–61 (45). 11  Cf. Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels,” 395, note 8. Davila quotes Richard Bauckham for making this suggestion. 12  The translation here and in the following quotations from Massekhet Kelim is that by Davila, “The Treatise of the Vessels.”

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The commandment is set in an eschatological framework: ‫ואומרים כי שם נגנזו כלי בית המקדש כדי להראות לבני ישראל הדרושים בכבוד‬ ‫אלהינו להתאנח ומהשרנו עונותינו‬

And they say that hidden there are the vessels of the sanctuary in order to appear to the sons of Israel who seek the glory of our God to sigh (over) our being steeped in our iniquities. The vessels of the sanctuary (‫ )כלי בית המקדש‬are said here to have been “set apart” or “sanctified” (‫ )קדש‬by God and hidden in a special place. The introduction to the text found in the Jellinek version opens as a straight-forward narrative, and mentions five “great righteous men” Shimmur the Levite, Hezekiah, Zedekiah, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo the Prophet. These figures – who, with the notable exception of Shimmur the Levite, are all known from scriptural tradition13 – are credited with the act of hiding the sacred objects: ‫והם גנזו הכלים של בה״מ ועושר האוצרות שהיו בירושלים ולא יתגלו עד יום בוא‬ ‫משיח בן דוד במהרה בימינו אוכי״ר‬

And they hid the vessels of the sanctuary and the riches of the treasures which were in Jerusalem. And they shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David comes – swiftly, in our days, amen, and so may it be favorable! The narrative here makes a remarkable distinction between the vessels of the sanctuary (‫ )כלים של בית המקדש‬and the riches of the treasures in Jerusalem (‫)עושר האוצרות שהיו בירושלים‬. This double expression could simply reflect an abundance of style, but the following explicit enumeration, which is common to both recensions of the text, shows that these are in fact perceived as different categories of sacred objects: ‫אלו הן הכלים המוקדשים והגנוזים כשחרב בית המקדש המשכן והכפורת מנורת‬ ‫הקודש וארון העדות ציץ הזהב ונזר הקדש לאהרן הכהן וחושן המשפט וחצוצרות‬ ‫כסף הכרובים ומזבח העולה והפרוכת לאוהל מועד המזלגות והקשות השלחן ומסך‬ ‫השער מזבח הנחושת והבגדים לאהרן הקדושים שהיה מלבש הכהן גדול ביום‬ 13  On the identification of these figures and their biblical background see Davila, “Scriptural Exegesis,” 46–53.

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‫הכפורים פעמונים ורימונים שהיו על שולי המעיל וכלי קודש שעשה משה בהר סיני‬ ‫במצות הקודש המטה וצנצנת המן‬

These are implements that were set apart and hidden when the sanctuary was destroyed: the Tabernacle; the curtain; the holy lampstand; the Ark of the Testimony; the plate of gold and the holy crown of Aaron the priest; the breastpiece of judgment; the silver trumpets; the cherubim; the holocaust altar; the curtain of the Tent of Meeting; the forks; the libation-jars; the table; the screen of the gate; the bronze altar; the holy clothes for Aaron which were the vestment of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement; the bells and the pomegranates that were on the skirts of the robe; the Holy vessels that Moses made on Mount Sinai by the holy commandments; the rod; and the jar of manna. This list comprises the scared objects that were “set apart” or “sanctified” (‫ )המוקדשים‬and apparently hidden at Mount Carmel/Ein Kohel in a particular act of hiding commanded directly and expressly by God.14 The text tells of the recording of these sacred objects on a tablet of bronze: ‫אלו כלי המקדש וכלי בית המקדש שהיו בירושלים ובכל מקום כתבום שימור הלוי‬ ‫וחביריו על לוח נחושת וכל כלי בית קודש הקדשים שעשה שלמה בן דוד ובמקום‬ ‫שימור היו עמו חזקיהו צדקיה חגי הנביא וזכריה בן ברכיה בן עדו הנביא‬

These are the holy vessels and the vessels of the sanctuary that were in Jerusalem and in every (other) place. Shimmur the Levite and his companions wrote them on a tablet of bronze,15 along with all the vessels of the most holy sanctuary which Solomon the son of David made. And in the place of Shimmur there were with him Hezekiah, Zedekiah, Haggai the prophet, and Zecharaiah the son of Berechiah son of Iddo the prophet. Then follows the enumeration of the second category of precious objects, the “riches of the treasures” (‫)עושר האוצרות‬. These are now designated “the implements the earth took” (‫)אלו הכלים לקחה הארץ‬. These buried treasures, in other words, are expressly distinguished from the first category, the most holy

14  The expression “that were set apart” (‫ )המוקדשים‬occurs only in the Jellinek text. The Beirut text has ‫המדש‬ ֗ ‫“( כלי בית‬the vessels of the sanctuary”) instead of ‫הכלים המוקדשים‬. 15  The Beirut text has “tablets” (‫ )לחות‬in stead of “a tablet of bronze”.

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vessels, which, we must understand, were not buried but set apart (‫)המוקדשים‬, apparently to be hidden at Ein Kohel as described above. The most sacred objects of the Temple do not occur again in the text. The largest portion of the “treaty” describes the hiding of the remaining objects, the “riches of the treasures”. Here we are told that the record of the valuables was written in Babylon by the aforementioned five just ones with the assistance of “the rest of the prophets” and “Ezra the priest-scribe” (‫ושאר נביאים שהיו‬ ‫)עמהם ועזרא הכהן הסופר‬. An enumeration of these valuables follows: They are said to be hidden by various persons and in various places – in a tower in the land of Babylon in the city called Bagdad (‫)במגדל בארץ בבל בכרך ושמה בגת‬, in a cistern at an unspecified location (‫)בסגל הבר‬, in a place called Borsif (‫במקום‬ ‫)הנקרא בורסיף‬, at the Spring of Zedekiah (‫)בעין צדקיה‬, in Ein Kotel (‫)בעין כתל‬,16 in the wall of Babylon, and at Tell Baruq “underneath the great willow that is in Babylon on whose (branches) they used to hang their lyres” (‫בחומת בבל‬ ‫)ובתל ברוק לתחת הערבה הגדולה שבבבל שהיו תולים עליהם כנורותיהם‬.17 At the end of this enumeration, special mention is made of the twelve “precious stones” (‫)אבנים טובות‬, which Shimmur passed on to his son Hilleq to guard for them to be restored to the twelve tribes of Israel: ‫ואלו מלך ונביא ואיש לא ידע באיזה מקום נגנזו אלא חילק בן שימור הלוי‬

And no king or prophet or man knew in which place these were hidden, except Heleq son of Shimmur the Levite. The rest of the treasures are then said to have been taken by the angel Shamshiel, and they are guarded by angels until the arrival of the Messiah (“David, the son of David”), when all the exiled of Israel shall return. Their reappearance is depicted as a miraculous event: ‫ובעית ההיא יצא נהר גדול מבית קדוש הקדשים ששמו גיחון וישטוף עד המדבר‬ ‫הגדול והנורא ויתערב בנהר פרת ומיד יעלו ויתגלו כל הכלים‬

16  Milik (“Notes d’épigraphie et de topographie palestiniennes,” 570) emends ‫ עין כתל‬to ‫עין‬ ‫כחל‬, the place-name found in the beginning of the text at Mount Carmel. While there is a case for the emendation, it could be said to contradict the overall structure of the text, which places the most sacred objects of the Temple in Ein Kohel and the remaining “riches” elsewhere. 17  The description, obviously, is a literary reference to Psalm 137:2. On the locations mentioned, and their roots in biblical traditions and passages, see Davila, “Scriptural Exegesis,” 53–57.

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And at that time a great river shall go forth from the most holy House, whose name is Gihon. And it shall flow as far as the great and fearsome desert and shall mingle with the Euphrates river and at once all the vessels shall ascend and reveal themselves. This picturing of the eschatological restoration is clearly dependent on the image in Ezekiel 47 of the river issuing from below the threshold of the Temple and making the water of the land fresh. The name Gihon provides links both to the Gihon spring of Jerusalem and the river Gihon of Eden depicted in Gen 2:13. The motif and the contents of the descriptions have many features in common with the descriptions of valuables in the Copper Scroll, but the literary form of the composition is rather different from 3Q15. There are no instructions in the second person with respect to a recovery of the valuables in Massekhet Kelim, and the enumeration of valuables is not organized according to a geographically structured scheme of hiding-places but seems to take its point of departure in the various categories of vessels and treasures. Nevertheless, at the level of contents, the text, although from a much later time, shows several important points of contact with 3Q15. Massekhet Kelim may be regarded as a relevant analogy to the Copper Scroll in the sense that it illustrates a basically similar interest in mapping and describing lost treasures from Israel’s glorious past. In Massekhet Kelim the hiding or disappearance of these objects is explicitly associated with the guilt and punishment of God’s people, and their recovery is expected as a part of an eschatological conceived future. The literary form of Massekhet Kelim is that of a narrative rather than an itinerary or instruction, but the document, like 3Q15, also shows affinity to the list or catalogue format. And whatever its date and origins, it seems to emerge from a similar intellectual background and reflect a world of thought comparable to that of the Copper Scroll. Very interesting, when comparing the structure and outlook of Massekhet Kelim with that of the Copper Scroll, is the fact that the treaty distinguishes the sacred objects relating to the Holy of Holiest from the rest of the Temple treasures. The most sacred vessels are stored away in a special place at Mount Carmel, whereas the remaining vast amount of valuables (‫עושר האוצרות‬, “the riches of the treasures”) are hidden or buried in a variety of different caches. The motif that the persons responsible for the hiding of the Temple objects write down a record “on a bronze plate” (‫ )על לוח נחושת‬constitutes a remarkable analogy to the Copper Scroll. In the terms employed by Massekhet Kelim, the Copper Scroll could be interpreted as a record of the second category of the Temple treasure, not including the most sacred vessels but the rest of the valuables scattered in various hiding-places.

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The geographical perspectives of Massekhet Kelim and 3Q15 are clearly different from each other: In Massekhet Kelim the majority of hiding-places, apart from Mount Carmel, where the most sacred objects of the Temple are said to be concealed, are located in Mesopotamia. The Copper Scroll, to the contrary, clearly locates the lost treasures of the First Temple in various places in Palestine, and many of them in the Judaean desert. 2

The Book of the Treasured Pearls

The Egyptian Book of the Treasured Pearls presents itself as a manual for treasure seekers. Similar manuals in Arabic have circulated in Egypt from medieval to modern times, and the date and provenance of the traditions recorded and collected in these texts are difficult and often impossible to determine. The publication of this particular manual by Ahmed Kamal in 1907 seems to have been an endeavour, prompted by Gaston Maspero, to discourage treasure hunting by making the secret informations public.18 The Arabic text gives instructions to the reader in the second person, enumerating places where valuables are hidden, and giving indications as to where to retrieve them. The text, in other words, displays the same basic elements – instructions in the imperative interchanging with descriptions of the hiding-places and valuables – as 3Q15. In general, both the descriptions and the instructions are longer and more detailed in the Book of the Treasured Pearls than in 3Q15; but in some cases the instructions are formulated in ways that strongly resemble the pattern of the Copper Scroll. Some good examples are the descriptions that Milik cites (in a slightly abbreviated form) in DJD 3: In Biba, seek out a church which bears the name of Mary, you will recognize it from its two altars. Look between the two altars for a marble plaque with many inscriptions on it. Remove it, and beneath it you will find a cavity containing a thousand dinars, the vessels of the church, and precious deposits. Take what you need, and take care, otherwise you will perish. This is all …

18  The Arabic text with a French translation was published in Kamal, Livre des perles. See Okasha El Daly, Egyptology: The Missing Millenium. Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings, University College London Institute of Archaeology Publications 33 (London: Routledge, 2005), 33.

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Seek to the north of the village (of Batanoun) a building made of bricks and plaster. Work it open and go down and you will find two small clay vessels filled with coins …19 The formal similarity between the Book of the Treasured Pearls and 3Q15 may be said to be stronger than between 3Q15 and Massekhet Kelim, since we find elements of instruction and itinerary and a commanding “voice”, speaking in the second person singular to a “you”-addressee in the Arabic manual. The repeated imperative form “seek!” (itlub) may be regarded as parallel to the imperative forms (‫חפור‬, “dig!”) of the Copper Scroll. Moreover, the Arabic text, like the Copper Scroll, structures the catalogue according to a geographical scheme based on the place-names used. However, the much more detailed and variegated descriptions and instructions in the Book of the Treasured Pearls and the extensive interest in magic practices constitute important differences between this text and 3Q15. The Arabic manual is in this sense further removed from the world of thought of both Jewish texts (and, obviously, belongs to a different cultural context, where the treasures described have nothing to do with the Temple of Jerusalem or with any figures from the Hebrew Bible). In Milik’s opinion, the Jewish medieval treaty as well as the Arabic treasure hunting manual offer relevant analogies to the Copper Scroll at a broad, general level. Milik does not argue that these disparate literary works from different cultural and historical backgrounds constitute something like “a distinctive genre”, and he readily acknowledges the differences between the documents in question.20 3

Lists and Inventories from Various Contexts

Wise, while being critical of Milik’s suggestions regarding literary analogies to the Copper Scroll, points to three ancient documents, which, in his view, exhibit 19  Kamal, Livre des perles, 8–9 (English translation mine). Cf. the excerpts given by Milik, DJD 3, 279. 20  The criticism directed against Milik by Michael O. Wise (“David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 294–95) does not do justice to Milik’s view at this point. According to Wise, “Milik did not defend his association of all three works as a unit constituting a distinctive genre” (Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 295. Milik (DJD 3, 279) describes the documents in question – Massekhet Kelim and Book of the Treasured Pearls – as “deux écrits analogues”. He explicitly states that the schematic nature of the descriptions in 3Q15 make them resemble descriptions of hidden treasures from every time and place: “Cette réduction aux schèmes les plus simples possibles fait que les paragraphes de 3Q15 rapellent les descriptions de trésors (quelle que soit deur nature) de tous temps et lieu” (DJD 3, 278).

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a structure similar to that of 3Q15.21 Wise, following the lead of David J. Wilmot, focuses on the document’s “list” character. In accordance with Milik he analyses the structure of the individual “entry” or cache description of 3Q15 as tripartite, consisting of the basic elements “locale”, “instruction”, and “contents”.22 His first example is the list inscribed on the ossuary lid from Bethphage. This inscription, which represents a list of artisans and their wages, is strictly organized line by line with a personal name followed by a numeral, the two neatly separated by a blank space.23 This bipartite structure does not fully match the tripartite structure of the Copper Scroll, but to Wise the reference to the Bethphage text seems to serve primarily to document a similar same basic “list” format. For a closer parallel to 3Q15 Wise adduces another ancient Jewish document, the Aramaic Megillat Ta‘anit, which he describes as a list of days when fasting and mourning are prohibited.24 This list, according to Wise, consists of entries with a similar tripartite structure as those found in 3Q15. Wise quotes the following entry from the text: ‫בארבעה באלול חכנת שור ירושלם ודי לא למספד‬

On the fourth of Elul, the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem; one is not to mourn.25 This quotation, Wise maintains, can be analysed as comprising: (1) a “date mark”, (2) the name of the festival, and (3) an instruction clause. We have, in other words, a tripartite structure resembling that found in 3Q15. The “double beth formula”, as Wise calls it (two occurrences of the preposition ‫ ב‬in sequence, the second preposition introducing a clause of specification or precision in relation to the first prepositional clause) occurs here as well as in 3Q15 in the first element.26 The structure of Megillat Ta‘anit, according to Wise, is the same as that of 3Q15, the “locale” clause corresponding to the “date mark”, the 21  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll.” On the notion of the Copper Scroll as a “list”, see Chapter 4. 22  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 301. 23  The text of the Beth-Phage inscription is published in Jean-Baptiste Frey, Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum. Receuil des inscriptions juives qui vont du IIIe siècle avant Jésus-Christ au VIIe siècle de notre ère. 2: Asie-Afrique, Sussidi allo studio delle antichità cristiane (Roma: Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 1952), 274–77 (No 1285). 24  The text with English translation of Megillat Ta‘anit is found in Joseph Fitzmyer and Daniel J. Harrington, A Manual of Palestinian Aramaic Texts (Second Century B.C.–Second Century A.D.), BibOr 34 (Roma: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1978), 184–87. 25  Text and translation quoted from Fitzmyer and Harrington, A Manual, 187. 26  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 301.

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What We Were Told

“instruction clause” to the “instruction clause” of the Megillat Ta‘anit, and the “contents” clause to the festival name.27 At closer inspection, however, the structural analogy appears as less convincing than maintained by Wise. The sequence of elements, obviously, is different, the “instruction clause” appearing as the third element in the Aramaic calendar; and it is not entirely convincing to equate the reference to festivals in Megillat Ta‘anit with the listing of valuables at a certain site in 3Q15. As for the prepositional clauses at the beginning of each entry, the similarity would also appear to be purely formal or grammatical. And furthermore, an inspection of the text of Megillat Ta‘anit in its entirety reveals that there is a good deal of variation within the text. This is clearly illustrated by the sentence immediately following that cited by Wise. The sequence has a clearly narrative structure: ‫בשיבסר ביה נפקו רומאי מן ירושלם‬

On the seventeenth thereof the Romans departed from Jerusalem.28 This, it could be argued, is the basic format of the document, and clauses like the preceding one cited by Wise (‫ )חכנת שור ירושלם‬really represent abbreviated forms of the narrative, a reference to an event of the past rendering the day in question unfit for mourning. The “instruction clause” is regularly left out, rendering the structure of the entries bipartite rather than tripartite. Wise furthermore adduces a Greek text, the temple inventories from the Isle of Delos, as a literary analogy to the Copper Scroll. Wise quotes an inscription (dating from 180 BCE) in which he detects the same basic three elements as in 3Q15 and Megillat Ta‘anit: First a “locale” clause (“We have received in the temple of Apollo …”), then a “contents” clause, specifying the number and weight of votive gifts, and finally what Wise terms “a parallel to the direction clause” of 3Q15 (“these things are on the right when people enter …”).29 In this case, however, the designation “direction clause” seems to blur the difference between the remarks in the Delos inscription and the “instruction clause” of 3Q15. In the Greek text, we have descriptions, defining with greater precision where the votive gifts in question are to be found, while the instructions in 3Q15 command the “you”-addressee to dig up the hidden valuables, making use of the imperative form. Wise’s statement that “all three components that 27  “It is at once obvious that the components of the Copper Scroll’s formulary are analogous to those of the Megillat Ta‘anit” (Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 301). 28  Fitzmyer, Manual, 186–87. 29  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 302–03.

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comprise the formulary of the Copper Scroll – locale clause, instruction clause, and contents clause – characterize also the formulary of the Delos temple inventories”, is hardly warranted by the examples adduced by Wise himself.30 No “instruction clause” is found in the Delos inventory, which merely lists and locates the valuables without any hint of a commanding voice instructing an addressee to do anything. On the basis of these analogies Wise concludes that the documents referred to (Megillat Ta‘anit, Delos inscription, the Bethphage ossuary lid, and the Copper Scroll) belong to a common genre, which he simply designates as “list”. He then goes on to make the more precise comment that 3Q15 is “a temple inventory list”. To support this classification he points to the structural similarities between the scroll and the Delos inscription, the fact that the same type of objects are itemized in the two documents (“gold and silver in bullion and coin, votive objects and priestly garments”), and the use of copper, which he describes as “an archival method for permanent record-keeping”.31 Here his evidence is primarily Roman law texts as well as temple inventories from Roman period Egypt.32 Wise’s attempt to refine and deepen our understanding of the Copper Scroll in the light of extant parallel documents in itself deserves appraisal. The implications and significance of the analogies he adduces, however, do not seem quite clear. This may to some extent be due to the fact that the categories used (“list” and “catalogue”) are very broad and purely formal. As we have seen above, “list” is not a genre in its own right but a text format used in many very different generic contexts.33 The contribution of a list like the Bethphage lid to our appreciation of 3Q15 is not immediately obvious. As for Megillat Ta‘anit both the format and the contents are rather unlike the descriptions of hidden treasures found in 3Q15. In fact, Wise contends that the same argument that he makes from Megillat Ta‘anit could be made using the Qumran calendrical texts insofar as they are also “lists”.34 The Delos inventories, also adduced by Wise, are not in their literary structure or format very close analogies to 3Q15. It is a fact, though, that they list the 30  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 303. On the structure of the Delos temple inventories see Richard Hamilton, Treasure Map. A Guide to the Delian Inventories (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000). 31  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 303. 32  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 304. See Chapter 4 on the significance of Roman inscriptions on bronze and their potential implications for understanding the Copper Scroll. 33  See Chapter 4. 34  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 301, note 19.

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same type of precious objects as the Copper Scroll does, and in so far may be said to represent a comparable literary genre.35 More recently, Steven P. Weitzman has emphasized the diversity and complexity of the temple inventory genre: In the ancient Greek world, temple inventories served several functions. Some inventories were apparently composed for practical routine purposes when the task of guarding the treasures was passed on from one set of treasurers to the next. In other cases, however, “irregular circumstances” like the discovery of missing items or discrepancies in the existing records seem to have prompted the production of new inventories. The purpose of inventories seems not always to have been merely practical or financial. In certain instances, they would have served to ritually mark the transition from one team of treasurers to their successors, and to glorify the gods, and assure them that no sacrilege had been committed to their respective sanctuaries. Furthermore, inventories of this kind may have served the purpose of maintaining accountability for temple personnel.36 In view of the diversity of temple inventories from antiquity, and their multiple functions, it is not so easy, at a general level, to point to their relevance for understanding the Copper Scroll. However, a special case is offered by the list discovered on a stele from Lindos, usually designated as the Lindian Chronicle. 4

The Lindian Chronicle

James R. Davila, in his recent edition of Massekhet Kelim, points to the Greek Lindian Chronicle as perhaps the closest ancient literary parallel to the medieval Jewish composition.37 In view of the affinity between this Jewish text and the Copper Scroll, the Lindian Chronicle would seem to be a reasonable candidate for a literary analogy to 3Q15 as well. Recently, Weitzman directly cites this Greek text as particularly important for our understanding of the Copper Scroll, since it clearly combines elements of the legendary and the historical in its representation of the past, and offers an example of a treasure record which “similarly falls between the categories of the real and the imaginary”.38 The Lindian Chronicle, inscribed on a marble stele in 99 BCE, contains a list of votive offerings given to the goddess Athena of Lindos in Rhodes, and

35  Wise, “David J. Wilmot and the Copper Scroll,” 303. 36  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 434–36. 37  Davila, “The Treaty of the Vessels,” 396. 38  Weitzman, “Absent but Accounted for,” 441.

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also relates four epiphanies of the goddess.39 The inscription was discovered in 1902. The stele (2.37 m high, 0.85 m wide, and 0.32 m deep) had been used as a paving block in the Byzantine Church of Saint Stephen in the village of Lindos below the ancient acropolis, but must have had its original place within the sanctuary of Athena Lindia in the acropolis of Lindos. Danish archaeologist Christian Blinkenberg, who excavated the stele, named the inscription a “chronicle”.40 However, the text inscribed on the stele is not a chronicle in the sense of a chronologically arranged presentation of past events, but two catalogues with a common introduction in the form of a brief narrative including the decree authorizing the inscription and erection of the stele. The introduction is written horizontally across the top of the entire stele, while the rest of the text is presented in three vertical columns, containing the lists of votive gifts and epiphanies. The form and presentation of the text may reflect a general tradition of inscribed inventories.41 The list of votive gifts consists of entries, each of which begins at the left margin of the column, “and is separated from the previous one by a horizontal bar which juts out into the left margin”.42 Carolyn Higbie, in her 2003 presentation of the structure of the Lindian Chronicle, describes the typical entry in the votive catalogue as comprising the following elements: dedicator (nominative) [verb of dedication omitted] votive (accusative) relative clause(s) referring to the votive dedicatory inscription, if any, quoted sources cited.43 The verb of dedication (presumably ἀνέθηκε, “dedicated”) may have been understood from the heading introducing the votive catalogue (τοίδε ἀνέθηκαν τᾶι Ἀθάναι, “the following made dedications to Athena”).44 The first entry in the list runs as follows: 39  The Greek text of the Lindian Chronicle is available with an English translation and an extensive introduction and commentary in Carolyn Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle. See also Josephine Shaya, “The Greek Temple as Museum: The Case of the Legendary Treasure of Athena from Lindos,” AJA 109 (2005): 423–42. 40  Christian Blinkenberg, La Chronique du temple Lindien (Copenhagen: Bianco Luno, 1912). Cf. Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 155–59. 41  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 155, note 1. 42  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 156. Cf. the description in Shaya, “The Greek Temple as Museum,” 427. 43  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 162. 44  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 163, cf. 20–21.

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Lindos, a phiale (Λίνδος φιάλαν). Which no one was able to discover what it is [made] from, on which had been inscribed (ἐφ᾿ ἇς ἐπεγέγραπτο): ‘Lindos to Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus’, as Gorgon reports in his investigations in the eleventh book of his work, About Rhodes, Gorgosthenes the priest of Athena in his letter to the boule, Hieroboulos himself also a priest in his letter to the mastroi (LC I).45 A remarkable feature of the chronicle is the references to figures of the mythical past. The first entry names the eponymous Lindos as the first dedicator of a votive gift to Athena. Among the persons listed on the stele are a row of familiar figures known from the Homer or from other sources relating to mythology. An example is the entry naming Minos: Minos, a silver drinking cup. On which had been inscribed, ‘Minos to Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus’, as Xenagoras states in the first book of his Annalistic Account, Gorgon in the first book of his work About Rhodes, Gorgosthenes in his letter, Hieroboulos in his letter (LC IV).46 At the late end of the list of votive gifts a dedication by Alexander the Great is entered: King Alexander, caltrops. On which had been inscribed, ‘King Alexander having overcome in battle Darius and becoming lord of Asia, offered sacrifice to Athena the Lindian according to an oracle during the priesthood [held] by Theugenes the son of Pistokrateus.’ These things the public records of the Lindians contain. And he also dedicated armour, on which there is an inscription (LC XXXVIII).47 The decree cited in the introduction to the catalogue is significant in its motivation for compiling the list and having it inscribed. The text refers, on the one hand, to the well-known fact that the most ancient and venerable shrine of Athena Lindia has since the earliest times been adorned with beautiful offerings, and, on the other hand, notes that most of these offerings have been destroyed by time together with their inscriptions. In particular, one of the epiphany accounts records a fire in the temple which must have occurred some 300 years before the composition of the stele. It seems reasonable to 45  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 162. 46  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 23. 47  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 41.

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assume that the fire would have destroyed most of the objects recorded.48 The primary purpose of the inscription, then, is to enhance the glory and reputation of the Athena temple of Lindos by commemorating votive gifts made by prominent and famous persons of the past, while the gifts – or most of the gifts – themselves no longer exist as physical objects.49 No distinction is made in the text between mythical and “historical” figures and their dedications. It is, of course, difficult to say anything about the votives that no longer exist, but it is quite conceivable that objects which had at some time been present in the sanctuary had traditionally been interpreted as offerings by famous figures like Lindos, Helen, or Minos. In any case, the text does not make an explicit distinction between objects that were lost, and objects that were still in existence at the time when the text was written. The stele never states what is actually in the temple. and what is not.50 The entries of the chronicle have several points in common with the entries of the Copper Scroll. Apart from the general “list” format and the standardized formulation of each entry, the chronicle also lists valuables that have been donated to a sanctuary, describes the material of which each item is made, and connects the objects with figures of the past. There are also some marked differences: The Lindian Chronicle catalogues objects dedicated to the goddess, while the Copper Scroll gives instructions for the recovery of dedicated objects. The Greek catalogue in every entry gives explicit and detailed references to written sources, while references to the literary tradition in 3Q15 are always implicit and indirect. The Lindian Chronicle, much like 3Q15, is able to recall and hint at narrative traditions by means of a reference condensed to a few key words in the description of a votive gift dedicated to Athena. In some cases the hints at the narrative can be interpreted, to quote the precise terminology of Carolyn Higbie as picking up “holes” in the Homeric epic.51 This would be true of the following entry in the Chronicle:

48  Cf. Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 256–58; Shaya, “The Greek Temple as Museum,” 428. 49  In the chronicle’s recording of votive inscriptions the verb changes from the pluperfect (ἐπεγέγραπτο, “had been inscribed”) to the perfect (ἐπιγέγραπται, “has been inscribed”) in the last entries (from XXXVIII) of the catalogue. This could be taken as an indication that these votives were still in existence, or it could indicate that the compilers of the text have another source at their disposal for the objects in question. Cf. Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 132–33. 50  Cf. Shaya, “The Greek temple as Museum,” 428 (“Here, the emphasis was on the preservation of memory, not the objects’ survival”). 51  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 222–27.

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Menelaos, a leather cap (κυνᾶν). On which had been inscribed, ‘Menelas, the [leather cap] of Alexander’ (Μενέλας τὰν Ἀλεξά[ν]δρου), as Xenagoras reports in his investigations in the first book of his Annalistic Account, Hegesias in his Enconium of Rhodes, Eudemos in his work About Lindos, Gorgon in the first book of his work About Rhodes, Gorgosthenes in his letter, Hieroboulos in his letter. But Theotimos says in the first book of his work Against Aielouros that he also dedicated a dagger (LC X).52 The episode hinted at is the duel between Menelaos and Paris, described by Homer in the Illiad: Menelaos grabs Paris’ cap and would have been victorious in the fight, if the goddess Aphrodite had not intervened in favour of her protégé Paris. Menelaos, in the turmoil of the battle, throws the cap back among the Greeks, and no more is heard of Paris’ cap in the Illiad.53 The Lindian Chronicle, by introducing this object as a votive gift from Menelaos, establishes an elegant link to the tradition, based on the assumption the Menelaos stopped at Lindos on his journey home from Troy. Similarly, an entry in the chronicle records as votive gifts of the Rhodian fighters taking part in the campaign against Troy: The men making an expedition with Tlapolemos against Ilion (τοὶ μετὰ Τλαποέμου εἰς Ἴλιον), nine shields, nine daggers, nine leather caps, nine pairs of greaves. It had been inscribed on the shields, ‘the men making an expedition with Tlapolemos against Ilion to Athena the Lindian, spoils [of those] from Troy’, as Gorgon states in the eleventh book of his work, About Rhodes, Gorgosthenes in his letter, Hieroboulos in his letter (LC IX).54 Tlepolemos is introduced in the Illiad as the son of Herakles and as chieftain of the nine ships from Rhodes.55 He occurs again in the narrative only to be killed in a duel with Sarpedon.56 After this point nothing else is heard of the Rhodians in the Illiad. In the Chronicle the returning warriors are depicted as having made an offering to Lindian Athena of weapons and equipment conquered from Troy (ἀκροθίνια τῶν ἐκ Τρο[ίας]). As Higbie observes, it is noteworthy that the chronicle is apparently aware of the number nine in the Homerian 52  Translation from Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 25–27. 53  Illiad III 373–78. Cf. Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 223. 54  Translation from Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 25. 55  Illiad II 653–70. 56  Illiad V 628–69.

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description of the fleet from Rhodes.57 Higbie quotes the catalogue of Greek ships from the second book of the Illiad: Τληπόλεμος δ᾿Ἡρακλείδης ἠύς τε μέγας τε ἐκ Ῥόδου έννέα νῆας ἄγεν Ῥοδίων ἀγερώχων, οἳ Ῥόδον ἀμφενέμοντο διὰ τρίχα κοσμηθέντες, Λίνδον Ἰηλυσόν τε καὶ ἀργινόεντα Κάμειρον Tlepolemos, son of Herakles, both magnificent and great, led nine ships from Rhodes of fine Rhodians, who inhabited Rhodes, organized into three divisions, Lindos, Ialysos, and white Kameiros Illiad II 653–65658

Again, we see the brevity and economy of the references in the chronicle as a means of evoking the narrative traditions necessary for appreciating the significance of the imagined votive gifts presented to the Lindian Goddess. In this way, the chronicle much like the Copper Scroll imitates the catalogue form. In the case of the Lindian Chronicle the text attempts to recreate an inventory of the now lost treasures belonging to the Athena temple. The purpose behind the creation of the catalogue is to invoke a glorious and memorable past for the sanctuary and city of Lindos. This is achieved by means of linking the list of votive gifts explicitly to prominent figures of the Greek past, and, more specifically, by relating the donations to episodes from well-known mythic, narrative or epical traditions.59 The references are provided subtly and elegantly by merely referring to the names of the figures and giving indirect hints, e.g., through the nature of the gift, that suffice to identify and activate the tradition. Despite the undeniable distance in time and cultural context, such a strategy comes rather close to what the Copper Scroll strives to achieve. In numerous cases the place-names in 3Q15 seem to function as hints of past literary traditions in analogy with the hints found in many entries of the Lindian Chronicle. Furthermore, many of the votive gifts recorded in the Greek inscription are explicitly identified as war spoils, which may, as we have observed, also be the 57  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 222. 58  The translation is quoted here from Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 222. 59  “A close reading of the catalogue of this imagined treasure – that is, the text of the stele – reveals a collection of objects that testified to the history and identity of the Lindians and the antiquity and renown of their sanctuary” (Shaya, “The Greek Temple as Museum,” 428).

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case for a number of treasures listed in the Copper Scroll, in particular those associated with toponyms known from the Conquest traditions. Another feature of the Lindian Chronicle worth mentioning in this context is the fact that the inscription clearly did not serve a primarily “practical” purpose. As Higbie remarks, the size of the stele and the appearance of the writing make it difficult to imagine most passers-by stopping long enough to read much of the text. The inscription would have been difficult to read due to the quality of the marble used, which has many veins and small imperfections. Finally, the stele would, according to the initial decree, have been placed inside the sacred precinct of the Athena temple, thus only being visible to those who had climbed up to the acropolis of Lindos and entered the temple area.60 The intention of creating the stele was clearly ideological and symbolic. The text was not an “archival” record used for regular consulting. In so far as the Chronicle provides an analogy to the Copper Scroll, it strengthens the notion that 3Q15 would not have been a “practically” oriented document but rather a primarily symbolic and religious text. The motivation for composing the Lindian Chronicle and the intellectual background for creating the stele may also have some similarities with the situation that prompted the composition of the Copper Scroll in Jewish Palestine. Through the second century BCE Rhodes had come under Roman influence, and with the growing power of Rome the traditional status and power of Rhodes had been curtailed. In this situation, recurring to ancient traditions and celebrating the glory of the Lindian sanctuary may have seemed an appropriate answer. The attention and focus of the Rhodian elite seems to have shifted from the political to the cultic importance of the island and its sanctuary, and celebrating the illustrious past would have been meaningful.61 Something generally similar could be said about the situation in Palestine in the first century CE with the impact of Roman hegemony and the growing unrest among the Jewish population, which might have prompted analogous attempts to retrace and emphasize the past glory of Israel, against the present desolate state of affairs. The composition of the Copper Scroll, with its emphasis on ancient treasures, should in all probability also be viewed against this general background.

60  Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 156. This inaccessibility is a feature shared by many inscriptions in sacred places, e.g. Egyptian temple inscriptions. 61  Cf. Higbie, The Lindian Chronicle, 235–42; Shaya, “The Greek Temple as Museum,” 435–36 (“Elite Lindians might have responded to this change by engaging more and more with memories of their prestigious history and less with more recent events”).

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The Fate of the Treasures of the First Temple in Early Jewish Sources

A considerable number of the hidden valuables recorded in the Copper Scroll are described as consecrated objects and Temple vessels that would seem to belong to the Temple of Jerusalem. The situation envisaged in the text, in other words, is one where possessions of the sanctuary are in a fundamental sense not in their proper place, and await recovery. The most natural explanation would be that the Temple was not functioning properly. As several scholars have pointed out, one plausible background for such a perception is to be sought in the world of legends and traditions surrounding the vessels of the First Temple after the fall of Jerusalem.62 This legendary tradition is certainly the background for the medieval composition Massekhet Kelim, which was examined above. The tradition, however, can be traced back to Jewish sources from antiquity. In the Hebrew Bible the narratives of the fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24–25; Jer 52; 2 Chron 36) pass over the fate of is the Ark of the Covenant and the other sacred objects traditionally linked to the revelation at Sinai in silence. This silence is all the more conspicuous in view of the interest in the Ark at earlier points in the narrative (1 Sam 5–6; 2 Sam 6–7; 1 Kings 8; 1 Chron 15–17; 2 Chron 5). While not giving any information on these most sacred objects from the Jerusalem Temple, the texts explicitly relate what happened to a number of less important Temple vessels when the sanctuary and city were destroyed by the Babylonians. 2 Kings 24:13 states that when king Jehoiachin is taken prisoner, king Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures of the Temple and palace: ‫ויוצא משם את כל אוצרות בית יהוה ואוצרות בית המלך ויקצץ את כל כלי הזהב‬ ‫אשר עשה שלמה מלך ישראל בהיכל יהוה כאשר דבר יהוה‬

and (he) carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the Temple of the Lord that Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold 2 Kings 24:13

62  Cross, The Ancient Library, 17–18 (with note 19); Mowinckel, “The Copper Scroll – An Apocryphon?”; Jeremias, “The Copper Scroll from Qumran,” 228.

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Likewise, in the account of the final capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple, only some of the Temple utensils along with objects of gold, silver, and bronze, are mentioned: ‫ואת עמודי הנחשת אשר בית יהוה ואת המכנות ואת ים הנחשת אשר בבית יהוה‬ ‫שברו כשדים וישאו את נחשתם בבלה ואת הסירת ואת היעים ואת המזמרות ואת‬ ‫הכפות ואת כל כלי הנחשת אשר ישרתו בם לקחו ואת המחתות ואת המזרקות אשר‬ ‫זהב זהב ואשר כסף כסף לקח רב טבחים‬

And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon. And they took away the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, the firepans also, and the bowls. What was of gold, the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 2 Kings 25:13–15

The list of vessels looted by the Babylonians mirrors the account in 1 Kings 7:13–51 of the precious objects which king Solomon made for the sanctuary with the help of Hiram of Tyre. The parallel text in Jeremiah 52 adds to the list: ‫“( הספים‬the small bowls”), ‫“( המנרות‬the lampstands”), and ‫“( המנקיות‬the bowls for libation”).63 The parallel narrative in 2 Chronicles has a shorter note on the first plundering (in connection with the capture of king Jehoiachin) as comprising the “precious vessels of the house of the Lord” (‫כלי חדמת בית יהוה‬, 2 Chron 36:10). The final looting of the Temple is also described in a summary fashion: ‫וכל כלי בית האלהים הגדלים והקטנים ואצרות בית יהוה ואוצרת המלך ושריו הכל‬ ‫הביא בבל‬

And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 2 Chron 36: 18

63  Jer 52:19. The “lampstands” (‫ )המנרות‬could have been inspired by their mention in 1 Kings 7:49. “Bowls for libation” (‫ )המנקיות‬are referred to in Exod 25:29; 37:16. This type of vessels are also mentioned once in the Copper Scroll (III 2–4) alongside “sprinkling bowls” (‫)מזרקות‬, cf. above. “Bowls of silver” (‫ )ספות כסף‬as temple utensils are mentioned in 2 Kings 12:14.

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In somewhat greater details the Book of Ezra relates how the vessels of the Temple which had been brought to Babylon were restored to the returning Judaeans by king Cyrus: ‫ואלה מספרם אגרטלי זהב שלשים אגרטלי כסף אלף מחלפים תשעה ועשרים כפורי‬ ‫זהב שלשים כפורי כסף משנים ארבע מאות ועשרה כלים אחרים אלף כל כלים לזהב‬ ‫ולכסף חמשת אלפים וארבע מאות הכל העלה ששבצר עם העלות הגולה מבבל‬ ‫לירושלם‬

And this was the number of them: thirty basins of gold, a thousand basins of sliver, twenty-nine censers, thirty bowls of gold, four hundred and ten bowls of silver of another kind, and a thousand other vessels; all the vessels of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these did Shesbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem. Ezra 1:9–11

The most important holy objects of the First Temple are not mentioned at all in the biblical narratives of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem. By contrast, legends of the treasures of Solomon’s Temple and, in particular, the sacred vessels, and their fate during and after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, are amply documented in ancient Jewish texts later than the Hebrew Bible.64 In a sense, the gap of information in the older narratives could be seen as having opened up a potential space for the creation of a rich legendary tradition. Second Maccabees contains a legend of how the priests conceal the fire of the altar at the time of the exile: Now (concerning) the fire, on the occasion of Nehemiah offering sacrifices, after he had built both the temple and the altar, (you must know that) when our fathers were to be led into the land of Persia, the godly priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar, and hid it secretly in the hollow of a sort of empty cistern (ἐν κολώματι φρέατος τάξιν ἔχοντος ἀνύδρου), wherein they made it sure, so that the place was unknown to all men. Well, after many years, when it pleased God, Nehemiah was sent on a mission by the king of Persia, and he sent in quest of the fire the 64  There may be a reference in Lam 2:1 to the loss of the Ark at the conquest of Jerusalem: ‫“( ולא זכר הדם רגליו ביום אפו‬he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger”) could denote the Ark, cf. 1 Chron 28:2; Ps 99:5; 132: 7. Cf. John Day, “Whatever Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?” 263.

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descendants of the priests who had hid it. When they announced that they had found no fire, but thick liquid (ὕδωρ παχύ), he commanded them to draw out some and bring it to him: and when the sacrifices had been duly placed (on the altar), Nehemiah commanded the priests to sprinkle the liquid both on the wood and on the sacrifices. When this was done, after some time had elapsed and the sun, formerly hidden in the clouds, had shone out, there was kindled a great blaze, so that all men marveled 2 Macc 1:18–22

The concealment of the holy fire, in this narrative, is here firmly linked to the motif of restoration, with the emphasis on the latter. The presence of the fire in the Temple is a prerequisite of the sacrificial service being legitimate and divinely acceptable. The hiding of the fire and its miraculous recovery secures the continuity between the old and the renewed sacrificial service and the legitimacy of the sacrifices in the Second Temple. As far as the holy fire is concerned, the proper restoration is presented as having taken place. The narrative of Second Maccabees also involves the prophet Jeremiah in an act of hiding sacred objects: It is also found in the records that Jeremiah the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take some of the fire, as has been already noted; and how that the prophet charged them that were carried away, after giving them the law, that they should not forget the statutes of the Lord, neither be led astray in their minds, when thy saw images of gold and silver, and the adornment thereof. And with other such words exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from their heart. This also was in the records, that the prophet, being warned by God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to accompany him, and that he went way to the mountain which Moses had climbed to view the inheritance of God. On reaching it Jeremiah found a cavernous chamber (οἶκον ἀντρώδη), in which he placed the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense; and he made fast (ἐνέφραξε) the door. And some of his followers drew near in order to mark the road, but they could not find it. Now when Jeremiah came to know this, he blamed them, saying, ‘Unknown shall the spot be until God gather the people again together, and mercy come; then indeed shall the Lord disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, even the cloud, as in the days of Moses it was visible, and as when Solomon prayed that the place might be consecrated with solemn splendour. 2 Macc 2:1–9

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Here the prophet Jeremiah is given a prominent part in the narrative as the person who is responsible for concealing the sacred vessels (Tabernacle, Ark, altar of incense) from the Temple. The author clearly attempts to link this narrative to the former tradition of the priests hiding the fire, by having Jeremiah commanding “them that were carried away” to take some of the fire. The meaning seems to be that Jeremiah was also involved in instructing the priests regarding the hiding of the fire related in 2 Macc 1:18–22.65 The motif emphasized in this account is more concerned with the notion of a future restoration than with asserting continuity between an older cultic practice and presentday sacrificial service. The restoration envisioned in 2 Macc 2 will include a full return to the original glory of the days of Moses. In connection with the hiding of the sacred vessels, this legend has a slightly different focus. The secret and anonymous character of the place of hiding is obviously central to the story. It is impossible to find the place until the day when God decides that the time for restoration has come. Vitae Prophetarum contains a similar legend about the prophet Jeremiah as the one who hid the Ark before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple: This prophet, before the capture of the temple, seized the ark of the Law and things in it and made them to be swallowed up. And to those standing by he said, ‘The Lord has gone away from Zion into heaven and will come again in power. And this will be for you a sign of his coming, when all the gentiles worship a piece of wood.’ And he said, ‘This ark no one is going to bring out except Aaron, and none of the priests or prophets will any longer open the tablets except Moses, God’s chosen one. And in the resurrection (ἐν τῆ ἀναστάσει) the ark will be the first to be resurrected and will come out of the rock and be placed on Mount Sinai, and all the saints will be gathered to it there (καὶ πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι πρὸς αὐτὸν σθναχθήσονται) as they await the Lord and flee from the enemy who wishes to destroy them’. In the rock with his finger he set as a seal the name of God (ἐσφράγισε τῷ δακτύλῳ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ), and the impression was like a carving made with iron, and a cloud covered the name, and no one knows the place nor is able to read the name to this day and to the consummation (ἕως σήμερον καὶ ἕως συντελείας). And the rock is in the wilderness, where the ark was first, between the two mountains where Moses and 65  This seems more probable than understanding 2 Macc 2:1 as a reference to Jeremiah ordering the exiles to take some of the fire with them into the exile (which would contrast with the motif in the earlier account in 2 Macc 1). The verb used in 2 Macc: 2:1 (τοῦ πυρὸς λαβεῖν) is the same as that used of the priests in 2 Macc 1:19 (λαβόντες ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς).

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Aaron lie. And at night there is a cloud like fire, just like the ancient one, for the glory of God will never cease from the Law.66 Here, as in Second Maccabees, the horizon for the restoration of the Ark and the Tabernacle is eschatological. Aaron and Moses will have to return to bring out the Ark again and open the tablets of the law. Until the end of days the Ark must remain in its unknown hiding-place, symbolically situated in the wilderness, where it was in the beginning. Second Baruch has a clearly related but somewhat different version of the legend: At the eve of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem, Baruch is lifted up by a “strong spirit” and borne over the city’s wall, where he is made to watch four angels standing at the corners of the city with torches of fire in their hands: And another angel began to descend from heaven, and said unto them: ‘Hold your lamps and do not light them till I tell you. For I am first sent to speak a word unto the earth, and to place in it what the Lord the Most High has commanded me.’ And I saw him descend into the Holy of Holies and take from thence the veil, and the holy ark, and the mercy-seat, and the two tables, and the holy raiment of the priests, and the altar of incense, and the forty-eight precious stones wherewith the priest was adorned and all the holy vessels of the tabernacle. And he spake to the earth with a loud voice: ‘Earth, earth. earth, hear the word of the mighty God, and receive what I commit to thee, and guard them until the last times, so that, when thou art ordered, thou mayest restore them, so that strangers may not get possession of them. For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time, until it is said that it is again restored for ever’. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up. SyrBar 6:5–1067

This version of the legend, while not involving Jeremiah or any other human agent, in the act of hiding, agrees with the legend of Second Maccabees and 66  The English translation is that of James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.. 2: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms, and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1985), 388. The Greek text is quoted from Eberhard Nestle, “Die dem Epiphanius zugeschriebenen Vitae Prophetarum,” 18. 67  The English translation is quoted from vol. 2 of R.H. Charles, ed., The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English with Introductions and Critical and Explanatory Notes to the Several Books (Oxford: Clarendon, 1913), 483–84.

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Vitae Prophetarum that the restoration of the most sacred objects is expected in an eschatological context. Only at the end of time will the sacred vessels from the First Temple be restored to Israel. A noticeable difference when compared to the legend of Jeremiah hiding the Ark is that the hiding-place seems in Second Baruch to be the place of the Temple itself or the ground beneath it, while Second Maccabees and Vitae Prophetarum relate that the Ark is hidden at Mount Sinai or somewhere in the wilderness. There seems also to have been a particular tradition in antiquity locating the hiding-place of the sacred objects at Mount Gerizim. Josephus relates that at one occasion while Pilate was governor a Samaritan leader invited the Samaritans to assemble at Mount Gerizim. Here he would show them the sacred vessels which Moses once buried there. This event, according to Josephus, led to a brutal attack on the Samaritans by Pilate, eventually causing Pilate’s dismissal.68 On the basis of this account Marilyn F. Collins has argued that there might have been a particular Samaritan tradition of the concealment of sacred vessels at Mount Gerizim, though, admittedly, no direct references to a future restoration of hidden vessels are found in Samaritan sources.69 In later Samaritan tradition, however, the High Priest Uzzi is believed to have hidden the holy vessels in a cave at Mount Gerizim.70 The vessels kept in the temple there were, according to Samaritan tradition, the authentic vessels from Sinai.71 The tradition related in Josephus which ascribes the hiding of the vessels at Mount Gerizim to Moses seems to conflict with the notion the Moses never entered Canaan (Deut 34), but could possibly reflect an earlier Samaritan version of the story.72 Collins points to the evidence in Jewish sources for the hiding of idols at Mount Gerizim: Pseudo-Philo reports that the tribe of Asher found seven golden idols and hid them under the top of Mount Sychem (a legend clearly based on Gen 35:4).73 These hints may reflect the development of a polemical Jewish counter-tradition with the intent of accusing the Samaritans of hiding idols rather than sacred objects at Mount Gerizim.74 The fate of the sacred vessels from the First Temple was elaborated on in legendary form in several ancient Jewish compositions. Generally speaking, the most important sacred objects (notably the Ark, the tabernacle, and the 68  Josephus, A.J. 18. 85–89. 69  Marilyn F. Collins, “The Hidden Vessels in Samaritan Tradition,” JSJ 3 (1972): 97–116. 70  John Macdonald, The Samaritan Chronicle No. II (or Sepher ha-Yamim): from Joshua to Nebuchadnezar, BZAW 107 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1961), 115. 71  Cf. Day, “Whatever Happened to the Ark?” 251. 72  Cf. Day, “Whatever Happened to the Ark?” 251. 73  Cf. Genesis Rabba LXXXI, 4 (on Gen 35:4). 74  Collins, “The Hidden Vessels,” 114, 116.

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altar of incense) are at the centre of these narratives, which are set in an eschatological frame. The point is that these things were not irretrievably lost but deliberately hidden (by God himself or by chosen persons), and at the end of time they will be restored to Israel, and the proper cult will be reinstated. 6

The Treasures of the First Temple in Rabbinic Sources

Several passages in the Babylonian Talmud deal with the fate of the Ark and the sacred vessels of the First Temple. The point of departure is the recognition that some of the most central objects no longer existed visibly after the Babylonian Exile. Thus, according to Rabbinic tradition, five things are said to have been found in the First Temple and not in the Second Temple. This statement is found, among other places, in b. Yoma 21b: ‫והאמר רב שמואל בר איניא מאי דכתיב וארצה בו ואכבד וקרינן ואכבדה מאי שנא‬ ‫דמחוסר ה״י אלו חמשה דברים שהיו בין מקדש ראשון למקדש שני ואלו הן ארון‬ ‫וכפורת וכרובים אש ושכינה ורוח הקדש ואורים ותומים‬

Didn’t R. Samuel bar Inia say, “What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture, ‘And I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified’ (Haggai 1:8)? Why is the word for ‘take pleasure in it’ written without the expected H? It is to indicate that in five aspects, the first sanctuary differed from the second: the ark, the ark cover, the Cherubim, the fire, the Presence of God, the Holy Spirit [prophecy], and the Oracle Plate. b. Yoma 21b75

The Rabbinic sources basically agree that the Ark of the Covenant and the other most holy objects made by Moses were absent in the Second Temple. Various opinions, however, are voiced as regards their fate and whereabouts. In the Babylonian Talmud there is an explicit discussion on the fate of the Ark of the Covenant after the destruction of the First Temple in bYoma 53b. The point of departure is the Mishnah passage: ‫בשניטל ארון אבן היתה שם מימות נביאים ראשונים ושתייה היתה נקראת גבוהה מן‬ ‫הארץ שלש אצבעות ועליה היה נותן‬

75  Translation from Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud 5[/1. Yoma], 67.

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Once the ark was taken away, there remained a stone from the days of the earlier prophets, called Shetiyyah. It was three fingerbreadths high. And on it did he put [the fire pan]. Yoma 53b

Expanding on this statement, the Gemara relates a debate concerning the fate of the Ark after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians: ‫רבי אליעזר אומר ארון גלה לבבל שנאמר [ו]לתשובת השנה שלח המלך נבוכדנאצר‬ ‫ויביאהו בבלה עם כלי חמדת בית ה׳ רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר ארון גלה לבבל‬ ‫שנאמר (ו)לא יותר דבר אמר ה׳ אלו עשרת הדברות שבו רבי יהודה בן לקיש אומר‬ ‫ארון במקומו נגנז שנאמר ויאריכו ראשי הבדים מן הקדש על פני הדביר ולא יראו‬ ‫החוצה ויהיו שם עד היום הזה‬

R. Eliezer says, “The ark was taken away to exile, in Babylonia, since it says, ‘In the spring of the year King Nebukadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylonia, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, land (sic) made his brother Zedekiah king of Judah and Jerusalem’ (2 Chr.. 36:10). R. Simeon [B.: b. Yohai] says, “The ark was taken away to exile, in Babylonia, since it says, ‘No thing shall be left), says the Lord’ (2 Kings 20:16–17). And ‘thing’ means nothing other than the [ten] things [commandments] which are in it.” R. Judah b. Laqish says, “The ark was stored away in its proper place, since it says, ‘And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; and they are there to this day’ (1 Kings 8:8).76 b. Yoma 53b

Two conflicting views are quoted here: According to one opinion, the Ark of the Covenant was taken to Babylonia at the time of the exile and presumably disappeared there. The opposite viewpoint is that the Ark remained in and was stored away “in its proper place” (‫)במקומו‬, which must in the context mean in the Temple where – or at least close to where – its place had been. This motif is further elaborated in the following passage in b. Yoma (53b): ‫אמר רב נחמן תנא וחכמים אומרים ארון בלשכת דיר העצים היה גנוז אמר רב נחמן‬ ‫בר יצחק אף אנן נמי תנינא מעשה בכהן אחד שהיה מתעסק וראה רצפה משונה‬

76  Translation slightly adapted from Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud 5[/1. Yoma], 197.

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What We Were Told

‫מחברותיה ובא והודיע את חבירו ולא הספיק לגמור את הדבר עד שיצתה נשמתו‬ ‫וידעו ביחוד ששם ארון נגנז‬

Said R. Nahman, “A Tannaite statement: And sages say, ‘The ark was hidden away in the chamber of the wood shed.’ ” Said R. Nahman bar Isaac, “So too we have learned as a Tannaite formulation: There was the case in which priest (sic) was going about his business and saw that a block of the pavement was slightly different from the rest. He came and told his fellow. He did not finish telling [him] before he dropped dead. Then they knew without doubt that the ark had been stored away. 77 b. Yoma 53b

This legend of the unfortunate priest who (during the time of the Second Temple) came close to stumbling upon the Ark from Solomon’s sanctuary, is repeated in the passage immediately following this one in bYoma 53b in a slightly different version with two priests, who had been declared non-qualified for the priestly service, and were working with wood: ‫ונשמטה קדרומו של אחד מהם ונפלה שם ויצתה אש ואכלתו‬

And the axe of one of them slipped away from them and fell down there, and fire broke forth and devoured him. b. Yoma 53b

In the first version, where the priest simply notices the differences in the pavement structure, and comments on it, the story is also related in b. Šeqalim 6:1–2. In this context, the point of departure is the number of prostrations (‫ )השתחויות‬performed by the priests in the Second Temple. The priestly families of Gamaliel and Hananiah are reported to have performed not thirteen (as their colleagues) but fourteen prostrations, the extra prostration marking the alleged hiding-place of the ark: ‫שלשה עשר שופרות שלשה עשר שולחנות שלש עשרה השתחויות היו במקדש של‬ ‫בית רבן גמליאל ושל בית רבי חנניא סגן הכהנים היו משתחוים ארבעה עשרה והיכן‬ ‫היתה יתירה כנגד דיר העצים שכן מסורת בידם מאבותיהם ששם הארון נגנז‬

77  Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud 5[/1. Yoma], 198.

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Thirteen collection boxes, thirteen tables, and thirteen prostrations were there in the sanctuary. Those of the house of Rabban Gamaliel and of the house of Rabbi Hananiah, the chief of priests, prostrated themselves fourteen times. And in which direction was the additional (prostration)? In the direction of the wood shed, for such was the tradition with them from their fathers – that the ark was hidden there. b. Šeqal. 6:1–2

In accordance with the tradition that the Ark was stored away somewhere in the Temple precinct before the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, the act of hiding it is attributed to king Josiah in Yoma 52b: ‫משנגנז ארון נגנזה עמו צנצנת המן וצלוחית שמן המשחה ומקלו של אהרן ושקדיה‬ ‫ופרחיה וארגז ששגרו פלשתים דורון לאלהי ישראל שנאמר וכלי הזהב אשר השבתם‬ ‫לו אשם תשימו בארגז מצדו ושלחתם אתו והלך ומי גנזו יאשיהו גנזו מה ראה שגנזו‬ ‫ראה שכתוב יולך ה׳ אתך ואת מלכך אשר תקים עליך עמד וגנזו שנאמר ויאמר ללוים‬ ‫המבינים לכל ישראל הקדושים לה׳ תנו את ארון הקדש בבית אשר בנה שלמה בן‬ ‫[דויד] מלך ישראל (כי) אין לכם משא בכתף (ו)עתה עבדו את ה׳ [אלהיכם] ואת‬ ‫עמו ישראל‬

When the ark was stored away, with it were stored away the bottle of manna, the jar of oil for anointing, the staff of Aaron, its buds and flowers, and the chest in which the Philistines had placed wood for the God of Israel, as it is said, “(Now you shall take the ark of the Lord and put it upon a wagon,) and the golden offerings you are returning to him in appeasement you shall put in a chest next to it and send it straight away (1 Sam 6:8). Who stored it away? Josiah (the King of Judah) stored it away. Why did he do so? When he saw written in the Torah, “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you (to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known)” (Deut 28:36), he (commanded the Levites, and they) hid it away, as it is said, “And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord; Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, built; you need no longer carry it upon your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel (2 Chron 35:3)”. b. Yoma 52b78

78  Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud 5[/1. Yoma], 191. The notion that Josiah stored away the Ark is found in several rabbinic texts. See for further references Collins, “The Hidden Vessels,” 105, notes 1 and 3. In later Jewish sources Daniel is assigned the role of hiding

What We Were Told

219

The notion that the Ark was stored away and not destroyed or captured by the Babylonians is linked to the same motif as in Second Baruch, a divine promise that the enemies shall not be granted power over the most holy things given to the Israelites by God. Thus in b. Soṭa 9a this point is very explicitly made from the text of Psalm 33: ‫דרש רב חנינא בר פפא מאי דכתיב רננו צדיקים בה׳ לישרים נאוה תהלה אל תקרי‬ ‫נאוה תהלה אלא נוה תהלה זה משה ודוד שלא שלטו שונאיהם במעשיהם דוד‬ ‫דכתיב טבעו בארץ שעריה משה דאמר מר משנבנה מקדש ראשון נגנז אהל מועד‬ ‫קרשיו קרסיו ובריחיו ועמודיו ואדניו היכא אמר רב חסדא אמר אבימי תחת מחילות‬ ‫של היכל‬

Rab Haninah Bar Papa interpreted: When it is written: ‘Rejoice in the Lord, o you righteous! Praise befits the upright’ (Ps 33:1), do not read “praise befits” but “praise – dwelling-place”. This means Moses and David, for their enemies shall not have power over their works. David, for it is written: ‘Her gates have sunk into the ground’ (Lam 2:9). Moses, for the Master said that when the First Temple had been built, the tent of meeting was stored away, and its boards and its hooks, and its bolts, and its columns, and its bases. Where? Rab Hisda said in the name of Abimi: Under the cavities of the sanctuary.79 b. Soṭa 9a

Rabbinic texts, in other words, do not convey an unambiguous picture of what happened to the sacred vessels of the First Temple. The texts, however, testify consistently to the notion that the most sacred objects including the Ark was present only in the First Temple and not in the Second Temple.80 While some authorities claim that the Ark was taken away by the Babylonians, a widespread opinion is that the Ark and the most sacred objects were hidden before the fall of the First Temple. The area of the Temple itself figures most prominently in this literature as the hiding-place. The motif that a future restoration of the sacred vessels can be expected within an eschatological context is much less

the Temple vessels, which nobody is able to retrieve. Cf. Louis Ginzburg, The Legends of the Jews. Vol. 4: From Joshua to Esther, (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1998 [1941]), 350; Vol. 6: Notes to Volume 3 and 4: From Moses to Esther (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1998 [1956]), 437. 79  Further references can be found in Ginzberg, The Legends. Vol. 4, 321; Vol. 6, 410. 80  This, obviously, is in line with Josephus’ statement that in the Second Temple the Holy of Holies was empty ( J.W. 5.219).

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prominent in Rabbinic tradition than in the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature.81 7

The Copper Scroll in the Context of Jewish Legends of Temple Treasures

Legends of the lost sacred treasures from the First temple are documented in Jewish texts from antiquity, and into medieval times. To some extent, these legends may be read as attempts to fill out a gap in the biblical narratives with respect to the fate of the most important Temple vessels at the time of the Babylonian Exile. At the centre of the legendary traditions is the idea that the Ark and other sacred objects were not destroyed or lost but hidden away. In the ancient sources (Second Maccabees, Vitae prophetarum, Second Baruch) the emphasis is on the future restoration of the objects in an eschatological setting. This world of legends is clearly relevant for the understanding of the Copper Scroll. The immediate distance between the texts cited above and 3Q15 are obvious. The contexts of the Temple treasure legends are narratives or – in the case of Rabbinic texts – learned discussions, involving well-known situations from the past (Conquest of Jerusalem, Babylonian Exile) and biblical figures (Jeremiah, Josiah). Nothing similar is found in the Copper Scroll. Furthermore, the legends are primarily concerned with the most sacred vessels – the Ark, the tabernacle, the altar of incense – which are never mentioned in 3Q15. Nevertheless, the association of the sacred objects listed in the Copper Scroll (Temple utensils, tithe vessels, garments, consecrated objects) with the Temple, and the explicit references elsewhere in the text to Salomon, render it at least probable that the legendary traditions of the riches of Salomon’s Temple could have played a part as a source of inspiration for the author of 3Q15. The author of the medieval Massekhet Kelim expressly distinguishes between the most holy objects, designated the “vessels of the sanctuary”, which were “set apart” and hidden in a particular place, and the “riches of the treasures”, which were distributed in a variety of hiding-places. 3Q15 could be read as dealing with objects belonging to the second category. The locations of the hiding-places mentioned in the Temple treasure legends exhibit a great deal of variability. The Temple precinct is sometimes mentioned as the place where the sacred vessels were hidden or buried, in other 81  The motif that Elijah will restore the sacred objects can be found in rabbinic tradition. Cf. Collins, “The Hidden Vessels,” 111–12.

What We Were Told

221

cases reference is made to unknown places in the desert. The Copper Scroll locates a number of valuables related to the Temple to the Temple area, while others are distributed over various locations mostly in the desert of Judah, the Jericho area, and the Kidron valley. Hanan Eshel and Zeev Safrai in their 2007 study of the geographical perspective of the Copper Scroll, point to various traditions regarding the hiding-places of the vessels from the First Temple, as an important part of the background. According to Eshel and Safrai, different Jewish groups held different opinions about the whereabouts of the Ark and the other sacred Temple vessels, which were the objects of eschatological expectations. At the time when the true and flawless Temple service was to be restored, the true sacred objects would again be brought to light. Different groups, however, relied on what might be called competing geographies: The tradition reflected in the rabbinic writings regarded Jerusalem and the Temple area as the place where the Ark was stored away. According to Samaritan belief, the most sacred vessels were hidden at Mount Gerizim. An originally Jewish Ethiopian tradition held that the Ark had been taken to Ethiopia, and in Babylonia there was a tradition according to which the Temple treasures were hidden in Babylonia, as testified by the hiding-places mentioned in Massekhet Kelim. Eshel and Safrai regard the Copper Scroll as a document supporting an Essene viewpoint, according to which the holy Temple vessels were hidden in the Judaean Desert, and were symbolically “guarded” by the Essene community until the day of restoration.82 The assumption of divergent or competing “geographies” of the lost treasures of the First Temple during the Second Temple period, while making good sense from an intuitive point of view, has some undeniably speculative aspects. The intellectual and religious background of the Copper Scroll remains to a great extent elusive. In the following section of this chapter, I deal with the possible connections between the Copper Scroll and Qumran literature. If we assume that the text originated inside the Qumran movement, or that it was from the beginning perceived and read in close association with it, the geographical outlook would indeed make very good sense. Focus is on the Judaean Desert and adjacent areas, and this could be seen as reflecting the perspective of the Qumran movement.

82  Eshel and Safrai, ?‫אילו אוצרות נרשמו במגילת הנחושת‬, 20.

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The Copper Scroll and Qumran Literature

The text of 3Q15 does not contain any specific examples of Qumran “sectarian” language or terminology. The language, with its affiliation to Mishnaic Hebrew, and the literary style of 3Q15 are remarkably different from other known Qumran writings. Scholars have held very different opinions as to the origins and background of 3Q15. The palaeographical evidence shows that the fabrication of the Copper Scroll as an artefact must have taken place around the middle of the first century CE. At this time, the Qumran community, whatever its origins, development and particular character may have looked like, had probably existed for a considerable time. The greater part, if not all, of its central literature might have already been written. The exact circumstances surrounding the production of the Copper Scroll, and whether it took place at Qumran or elsewhere, are unknown to us. There are a number of indications that the engraving process must have been difficult and perhaps represented an “experiment” with writing on an unusual material. If the scroll was composed and fabricated inside the Qumran community, the care, skill, and expenses invested in producing the manuscript show that the text must have been regarded as important. As we have seen above (Chapter 4) the assumption of a second, independent deposit of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 is not supported by the archaeological findings of the cave. Accordingly we can suppose that at the time when the Copper Scroll was deposited in Cave 3, it was owned and read by the Qumran community. Whatever the date and intellectual origins of 3Q15 as a literary composition may have been, the community probably would have read and understood the text within the interpretative framework of their own theology. There are a number of points of contact between the Copper Scroll and a number of other texts found in the Qumran caves. We must bear in mind, when attempting to make such comparisons, that there is no consensus as to the exact nature, background, or history of the supposed Qumran community, its theology and worldview. Scholars hold diverging opinions as regards the number of texts from the caves that are to be considered “sectarian”, “Qumranite”, or reflecting the ideas of the specific group which resided in the Qumran settlement. The views and practices of the group may have changed substantially over time. The diversity of the manuscript material from the caves should warn us against simplistic assumptions regarding the contents of a “Qumran theology”. We noted above that the Copper Scroll, with its deliberately structured sequence of movements and journeys, could be understood from an eschatological perspective, although this is not developed explicitly anywhere in the text. The image drawn in 3Q15 of a disqualified and ruined Temple, and of a

223

What We Were Told

land in a general state of desolation and impurity, awaiting its redemption, are motifs known from other Qumran compositions, and we may conjecture that the Qumran community would have seen familiar ideas reflected here. The geographical outlook of 3Q15, with a great number of Temple treasures located in the Judaean desert may also have appeared attractive to a community who had chosen this area as their preferred location. The references to places in the vicinity of Qumran (designated with the biblical name Secacah in 3Q15) could be interpreted as reflecting the familiarity of the group with this particular area. Indeed, some of the locations mentioned in the Judaean Desert could at some point have been at some point the hiding-places of authentic valuable deposits whether these would have been made by members of the community or others.83 The central importance, within the itinerary structure of the text, assigned to the tomb of Zadok might also have had a significant resonance with the movement, who apparently regarded themselves as carriers and guardians of the genuine priestly traditions associated with the High Priestly line of Zadok. The themes of the Copper Scroll, in other words, have a number of features in common with other compositions found at Qumran, and the Qumran community could have read and interpreted the scroll in accordance with their worldview. At a more detailed level, there are some clear formal and linguistic affinities between the Copper Scroll and the architectural visions for a renewed Jerusalem found in the Temple Scroll and the Aramaic New Jerusalem texts. The Temple Scroll, like the Copper Scroll, never mentions the Holy City by name, very probably because the city in its present state, was considered impure and dysfunctional.84 The descriptions in the Temple Scroll have a focus on details and measurements comparable to those of the Copper Scroll. The Temple Scroll like the Copper Scroll contains instructions, outlining how a renewed temple should be constructed: 11QTemple XLI

‫ויוצאים השערים מקיר החצר לחוץ שבע אמות‬ ‫ולפניםה באים מקיר החצר שש ושלושים באמה‬ ‫ורוחב פתחי השערים ארבע עשרה באמה וגובהמה‬ ‫שמונה ועשרים באמה עד המשקוף ומקרים‬ ‫באדשכים עץ ארז ומצופים זהב ודלתותיהמה מצופות‬ ‫זהב טהור ובין {ע} שער לשער תעשה פנימה נשכות‬

83  Cf. Puech, “Le rouleau de cuivre,” 175–76; The Copper Scroll Revisited, 13–16. 84  Cf. Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” 433.

1 2 13 14 15 16 1 7

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12 And the gates (shall) protrude from the all of the court outwards seven cubits, 13  and (shall) penetrate from the wall of the court inwards six and thirty cubits. 14  And the width of the gates’ entrances (shall be) fourteen cubits; and their height, 15  eight and twenty cubits up to the lintel. And they shall be roofed 16  by beams of cedar wood and overlaid with gold. And their doors (shall be) overlaid 17 with pure gold. And between one { } gate and another, inward, you shall make chambers …85 The enumeration of places and measurements in 3Q15 also bears some resemblance to the description in the Aramaic New Jerusalem text. The latter is held in a narrative style, the recipient of a revelation describing what he has been shown, but the interest in the architectural detail is similar to that of the Temple Scroll: 4Q554 1 ii

‫ומש[ח מן תר] ̊ע דן עד זוית די מדנחא רסי ן‬

vacat 25

‫ אורכה ופתיא קני ן‬º] [ ‫ואעלני לגוא קריתא ומ[שח כל פר]זיתא‬ 350 ‫ מרבעה ס[וחר סוחר] אמי ן‬51‫ ב‬51 ‫ … ולכל רוח‬7

9 10 11 12 13

9 And he measur[ed from] this [ga]te to the eastern corner 10 25 stades vacat 11 Then he brought me into the city, and mea[sured ci]ty blocks, length and breadth, 12 51 staffs by 51 staffs, making a square a[ll around], 350? 13 7 cubits to each side …86 85  Text and translation are quoted from Yigael Yadin, The Temple Scroll. Vol. 2 (Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society/The Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem/The Shrine of the Book, 1983), 175–76. 86  Text and translation are quoted from Edward M. Cook, “4Q554 (4QNJa ar),” in The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader. Part 6: Additional Genres and Unclassified Texts, ed. Donald W. Parry and Emanuel Tov (Brill: Leiden, 2005), 45–50 (46–47). Cf. Émile Puech, “554. 4QJérusalem Nouvellea ar,” in Puech, Qumrân grotte 4. XXVII. Textes araméens. Deuxième partie. 4Q550–4Q575a, 4Q580–4Q587 et appendices, DJD 37 (Oxford: Clarendon, 2009), 103–146 (111–113). I follow the fragment and line numbering in DJD 37.

225

What We Were Told

The similarities between 3Q15 and texts depicting an eschatological restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple are remarkable. The Aramaic New Jerusalem text is probably older than the Qumran community,87 but the vision of a renewed holy city and temple would have been read by the Qumranites in accordance with their theology and world-view. The Copper Scroll could have fulfilled a comparable function, if the text was read as an announcement of the redemption and renewal of the land and its hidden treasures in the last days. There are also certain points of contact, at least formally, between the Copper Scroll and the list-like style adapted in descriptions of the eschatological battles found in the War Scroll. In particular, the recording of the formation and equipment for battle of the Sons of Light exhibit detailed lists of their trumpets and standards with their inscriptions (1QM II-IV). Liturgical texts like the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice also include list-like passages with arguably eschatological connotations. On particular, the possible association of some of the treasures in 3Q15 with booty of past wars, especially the Conquest of Cana’an, could point to an ideology similar to what is reflected in the War Scroll. At a more general level, this notion could be seen in connection with the idea of the Qumran community as organized in analogy with the Israelite camp during the wandering in the wilderness, which is both a military and a cultic entity.88 If the eschatological vision implied in 3Q15 points to Qumran compositions that share similar expectations, the motif of a devastated and ruined land and Temple resembles the outlook in texts like Tanhumim (4Q176) and Apocryphal Lamentations A (4Q179). These Qumran compositions offer an interesting parallel to the Copper Scroll in so far as they seem to portray a desolate and destroyed Jerusalem, even though they must have been written at a time when the Second Temple still existed. Tanhumim (4Q176) consists mostly of selected passages from Second Isaiah, but before the chain of citations begins, we have a liturgically styled prayer section, calling upon God to intervene, against the background of destruction: 4Q176 I, 12–13

87  Puech, DJD 37, 100. 88  Cf. Schofield, “The Wilderness Motif.”

[ ̊‫ועשה פלאכה והצדק בעמכה והי̊ ו‬ [‫דם‬ ̊ ‫מקדשכה וריבה עם ממלכות על‬ [‫ירושלים וראה נבלת כוהניכה‬ [‫ומים‬ ̊ ‫תנח‬ ̊ ‫ואין קובר ומן ספר ישעיה‬

12 13

1 4 1 5

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12 and perform your marvel, and do justice to your people and … 13 your sanctuary, and strive against kingdoms over the blood of … 14 Jerusalem, and see the corpses of your priests … 15 and there is no one to bury them. And from the Book of Isaiah consolations …89 The reference to God’s sanctuary here is reminiscent of Ps 79:1 (‫)היכל קדשך‬, and the words ‫ ואין קובר‬which the lament describing the disastrous situation reflect Ps 79:3.90 Here as in the descriptions found in the Copper Scroll, the Temple, the holy city, and the land are depicted as lying in ruins. In both cases, a likely interpretation is that the devastation is a strong symbol for the present time as a time of tribulation and humiliation for the righteous.91 Apocryphal Lamentations A (4Q179) is another liturgical composition that depicts the the misery and desolation of a Jerusalem in ruins, and of its hapless inhabitants, drawing heavily on the Book of Lamentations but also on texts from the biblical prophetic corpus. In the first, partly preserved, column, we have a description of the desolate city, focusing on the sanctuary, the streets and buildings, the inhabitants that are no more, and, finally, on the land, which has become like a desert: 4Q179, frag. 1, col. I

[◦] 1 ‫◦◦◦ר כל עוונותינו ואין לאל ידנו כי לוא שמע[נו‬ ̊ ] 2 [ ‫ ] ̊יהו̊ דה לקרותנו כל אלה ברוע‬ 3 [‫ אוי לנו‬vacat ‫והפרנ]ו̊ את בריתו‬ 4 [ ‫ ] היה לשרפת אש והפכה‬5 ‫תפארתנו וניחוח אין בו במז̊ [בח‬ ̊ ‫ ] ̊ר‬ 6 ‫ ]חצרות קדשנו היו‬ 7

89  The text was published in John M. Allegro, ed., Qumrân Cave 4. I (4Q158–4Q186), DJD 5 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968), 60–67 + plate XXII, XXIII. Another text edition is H. Lichtenberger, “Consolations (4Q176 = 4QTanh),” in Pesharim, Other Commentaries and Related Documents, ed. J.H. Charlesworth, PTSDSSP 6 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 329–49. See also the revised text and translation in Jesper Høgenhaven, “4QTahumim (4Q176) between Exegesis and Treatise,” in The Mermaid and the Partridge. Essays from the Copenhagen Conference on Revising Texts from Cave Four, ed. George J. Brooke and Jesper Høgenhaven, STDJ 96, (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 151–67. A new edition of DJD 5 texts is presently under preparation by George J. Brooke and Moshe J. Bernstein. 90  The expression ‫ ואין קובר‬is found in 2 Kings 9:10 (non-burial of Jezabel) and in 1QM XI 1 (destruction of enemies). 91  Cf. Høgenhaven, “4QTanhumim,” 156–57, 166.

What We Were Told

227 ‫ ]◦כנ̊ [ ]◦ י̊ תום ירושלים עיר‬8 ‫ מרב]ץ לחיה ואין ̊מ[חריד ]ורחובותיה‬9 ‫ ]ן̊ הוי כל ארמונותיה שממו‬ 10 ‫ ]◦ ובאי מועד אין בם כל ערי‬ 11 ‫ ]נחלתנו היתה כמדבר ארץ לוא‬ 12 ‫ ]לשמ[ח]ה לוא נשמשעה בה ודורש‬ 13 ‫]אנוש למכאובתינו[ ]כול חובינו‬ [‫ ]ל‬ 14 ‫פ] ̊שעינו ינ̊ [ ] ̊חטאותינו‬ 15

2 … all our sins, and it is not in the power of our hand, for we did not obe[y 3 … Judah, so that all these things have happened to us because of the evil …[we broke] 4 … his covenant. vacat Woe to us … 5 … has been burnt by fire, and an overthrow 6 … our beauty. And there is no pleasing odour in it on the al[tar … 7 … the courtyards of our sanctuary have become 8 … an orphan … Jerusalem, the city of 9 … a lair] for wild beasts, and there is no one [to frighten them away,] and her streets 10 … Alas! All her palaces are desolated 11 … and those who come to the festival are not among them. All the cities 12 … our inheritance has become like a desert, a land not 13 … j[o]y is not heard in her, and he who seeks 14 … our wound is incurable … all our guilt 15 … our [t]ransgressions … our sins92 4Q179, like the Copper Scroll, does not contain any specific “sectarian” terminology, but it has been suggested that the text might be interpreted in light of polemics against the prevailing regime in Jerusalem known from several texts from Qumran.93 The biblical images of a desolate and ruined city are used in 4Q179 as metaphors without any necessary connection to specific historical 92  The text was published in Allegro, DJD 5, 75–77. See also the transcription and translation in Jesper Høgenhaven, “Biblical Quotations and Allusions in 4QApocryphal Lamentations (4Q179),” in The Bible as Book. The Hebrew Bible and the Judaean Desert Discoveries, ed. Edward D. Herbert and Emanuel Tov (London: The British Library; New Castle: Oak Knoll Press, 2002), 113–120. 93  Cf. Adele Berlin, “Qumran Laments and the Study of Lament Literature,” in Liturgical Perspectives. Prayer and Poetry in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and

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contexts.94 The imagery of a devastated land and a broken and exiled people seem here to have undergone a transformation this imagery of the devastated land/city and a broken and exiled people into a more general metaphor for people viewing themselves as marginalized or as outsiders.95 This metaphorization of imagery is further developed in 4QApocryphal Lamentations B (4Q501), where destruction and misery is described as affecting the people rather than the city or the land: 4Q501

‫ [ ]י אל תתן לזרים נחלתנו ויגענו נכר זכור כיא‬ ‫ [אנחנו עצור]י עמכה ועזובי נחלתכה זכור בני בריתכה השוממים‬ ‫כ]ה המנודבים תועים ואין משיב שבורים ואין חובש‬ [

1 2 3

1 … Do not give our inheritance to foreigners, nor our produce to the sons of foreigners. Remember that 2 [we are the removed one]s of your people and the forsaken ones of your inheritance. Remember the sons of your covenant, the desolate, 3 … the spurred ones, the wanderers, who no one brings back, the sorely wounded, who no one bandages96 Here the images of destruction and abandonment are very explicitly applied to the afflicted and lamenting group itself. As we have seen, even in 3Q15 the recurrent images of a deserted land may be read as a metaphor for the broken people, and the hidden treasures to be retrieved by the addressee could be seen as the part of the people worthy of restoration and salvation. The image conveyed by the Copper Scroll of a temple not functioning and a Holy City which is barely accessible could also be viewed as reflecting the Associated Literature, 19–23 January, 2000, ed. Esther G. Chazon, STDJ 48 (Leiden: Brill, 2003) 1–17 (16–17). 94  Maurya Horgan (“A Lament over Jerusalem (‘4Q179’),” JSS 18 (1973): 222–34 (222–23)) points to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 169–167 BCE as a possible historical background for 4Q179. However, it is hardly fruitful to speculate about historical events as the background for the composition. Cf. Jesper Høgenhaven, “Communal laments from Qumran and their biblical background,” in Plogbillar & svärd. En festskift till Stig Norin, ed. Tal Davidovich (Farsta. Molin & Sorgenfrei, 2012), 78–88. 95  Cf. Berlin’s expression that 4Q179 and 4Q501 are “not poems of mourning, they are poems of alienation” (Berlin, “Qumran Laments,” 17). 96  The text was published in Maurice Baillet, ed., Qumrân Grotte 4. III (4Q482–4Q520), DJD 7 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1982), 79–80 + planche XXVIII. The English translation follows Florentino García Martínez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. 2: 4Q274–11Q31 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 993–95.

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double status of Jerusalem in many Qumran writings.97 Jerusalem and the Temple is presently in a state of impurity because the regulations concerning the priesthood and the sacrificial cult are not properly applied and observed. Jerusalem therefore becomes – metaphorically – a deserted place, while a restoration of the city and sanctuary to their proper status is hoped for.98 In other words, the thematic contents of the Copper Scroll, even if is not understood as a “sectarian” document in the stricter sense, are clearly compatible with the theology of the “sectarian” writings from Qumran and their worldview, and was probably interpreted accordingly by the Qumran movement. 9

Conclusions

As far as literary analogies to 3Q15 are concerned, Milik was able to adduce two documents of much later date, Massekhet Kelim and the Book of the Treasured Pearls. Both texts do in fact show a number of points of contact with the Copper Scroll, but also considerable differences in the literary style and format. The Arabic manual comes closest to the form of the Copper Scroll, since this text also gives direct instructions to an addressee who is to recover hidden valuables form various places. When it comes to contents, however, the Jewish text shows closer more affinity to the world of 3Q15. Massekhet Kelim describes in the form of a narrative the hiding in various places of the sacred vessels and treasures from the First Temple. It is noteworthy that in this medieval composition the most holy objects associated with the First Temple – including the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle – are said to have been “set apart” and hidden at a special place by God’s command. The remaining treasures from the First Temple are hidden in various places in a way basically similar to that presupposed in the Copper Scroll, although the geographical perspective of the medieval Jewish text is different from that of 3Q15. In Massekhet Kelim most of the hiding-places are located in 97  Cf. Florentino García Martínez, “New Jerusalem at Qumran and in the New Testament,” in The Land of Israel in Bible, History, and Theology, ed. Jacques T.A.G.M. Ruiten and J. Cornelis de Vos, VTS 124 (Leiden: Brill 2009), 277–89. 98  Cf. Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” 423–38; Brooke, “Moving Mountains.” On the double status of Jerusalem in Qumran writings, cf. Puech’s formulation: “En conclusion, pour un essénien, Jérusalem et son temple sont profanes et impurs depuis que les grands prêtres illégitimes y exercent leur pouvoir politique et sacerdotal à la fois, et qu’ils y ont introduit des changements non conformes à la Loi touchant calendrier, culte et pratiques. Le fidèle essénien languit après Jérusalem et son temple qui est objet de veneration par le choix de Dieu où il a volu mettre Son nom” (Puech, “Jérusalem dans les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte,” 437).

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Mesopotamia. However, the tradition reflected in Massekhet Kelim that separates the most holy vessels from the Temple from the rest of the valuables could explain why the Ark and the Tabernacle are not mentioned in 3Q15. The lists mentioned by Wise as parallels to 3Q15 – the Bethphage ossuary lid inscription, the Aramaic Megillat Ta‘anit, and the Greek Delos temple inventory – are closer in time to the Copper Scroll, but hardly warrant the assumption of a common “list” genre. More pertinent is Wises’ suggestion that the text of Copper Scroll should be regarded as a temple inventory, itemizing gold, silver, votive gifts, and temple utensils including priestly garments. Steven P. Weitzman has pointed to the Greek text known as the Lindian Chronicle (from Lindos, Rhodes, 99 BCE), which offers a closer analogy both in its structure and composition as a sequence of entries, listing votive gifts, and in its links to prominent figures and events of the past, as documented in literary traditions. The legends of the lost treasures of the First Temple, which are amply documented in ancient Jewish sources, would also seem to constitute an important part of the context within which 3Q15 can be understood. These legends seem to have originated as attempts to fill a gap in the biblical narratives, which pass over the fate of the Ark of the Covenant and the other important sacred vessels of the Temple in silence. In the ancient sources where the fate of these objects are dealt with (Second Maccabees, Vitae prophetarum, Second Baruch) eschatological expectations are prominent. The lost or concealed sacred objects will be recovered at the time of the eschatological restoration and redemption of Israel. Later Rabbinic sources generally do not share the eschatological perspective of the earlier texts. They are, however, consistent, in maintaining that the sacred objects were not present in the Second Temple, and that they had been stored away in or near the Temple area in Jerusalem or at some other location. If the Copper Scroll is understood against the background of this world of Jewish legends, the geographical perspective of the text – locating a great number of treasures in Jerusalem and Judea – could possibly be seen as a statement in competition with conflicting viewpoints documented in Samaritan and later Rabbinic traditions. The deposit of the Copper Scroll in Cave 3 at Qumran speaks in favour of viewing it as a part of the collection of Qumran scrolls. In fact, the Copper Scroll has a number of points of contact with a number of other writings found in the Qumran caves. Scholarly opinions differ as regards the background, nature, and worldview of the supposed Qumran community. The geographical outlook of 3Q15, however, with its focus on the Judaean desert, connects the text to the location of the group. Possibly, the scroll reflects actual deposits of valuables

What We Were Told

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in the area made either by community members or by outsiders known to the group. The portrayal in 3Q15 of a devastated land and a non-functioning Temple would seem to be in accordance with the views of the Qumran community who, at least according to certain texts, regarded the Temple and the cult in their present state as disqualified. The prominent role of Zadok’s tomb in the Copper Scroll is another point of contact with several Qumran writings, which emphasize the importance of the Zadokite priestly line. If the Copper Scroll is read from an eschatological perspective, as indirectly pointing to a hope for a future restoration, it is akin to a number of other compositions found at Qumran. The Temple Scroll, which, like 3Q15, never mentions Jerusalem by name, includes list-like descriptions of the shape and measurements of the renewed sanctuary, and similar detailed descriptions of the restored holy city and temple can be found in the Aramaic New Jerusalem text. The list-like style also bears some resemblance to the descriptions of the eschatological battle in the War Scroll and possibly also to the presentation of an angelic worship in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. The descriptions in 3Q15 of a ruined and desolate landscape is reminiscent of certain Qumran compositions, notably Tanhumim (4Q176), Apocryphal Lamentations A (4Q179), and Apocryphal Lamentations B (4Q501), where similar descriptions of a devastated land, and of a city and Temple in ruins are found. In these texts the descriptions seem to function metaphorically as references to the afflicted people of God, and a similar symbolism is probably also present in the Copper Scroll. It is uncertain whether 3Q15 originated inside the Qumran community or in some other intellectual environment. It seems likely, however, that the community, whatever its exact character may have been, would have read and understood the composition in accordance with their own ideas.

Conclusion In this book I have presented a reading of the Copper Scroll (3Q15) as a literary text which remains true to its format as an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures. As I showed in Chapter 1, the debate on the authentic or fictitious nature of the deposits recorded in the scroll has occupied a central place in scholarly treatments of the text ever since its discovery in 1952 and the earliest preliminary publications. Closely related to this issue are the questions of the date and provenance of 3Q15, and its relation to the remaining Qumran manuscripts. I noted that literary and rhetorical aspects of 3Q15 have attracted increased scholarly attention in recent years. However, a comprehensive examination of the literary structure and outlook of the text had not yet been carried out. The foundation for a literary reading of the scroll were laid in Chapter 2. Here I attempted to track and follow the steps of the addressee from place to place. The text articulates a communicative situation, in which an anonymous voice instructs and directs a likewise anonymous second person addressee to move through a landscape of different places and to retrieve and collect a series of hidden valuables. My reading was based on the assumption that the structure of the text and its sequence of geographical designations is determined by an itinerary model. When read in this perspective, the sequence of locations becomes meaningful, and the order in which the places are visited can also be shown to reflect the actual historical geography of Palestine. Based on the itinerary structure a division of the text into four main sections was suggested: 1) Prologue (I 1–IV 12) 1.1. Point of Departure: The Valley of Achor (I 1–8) 1.2. The Mound of Kohlit (I 9–12) 1.3. The Staircase of Manos (I 13–II 2) 1.4. First Visit to Jerusalem (II 3–12) 1.5. Retreat to Kohlit (II 13–15) 1.6. Second Visit to Jerusalem (III 1–13) 1.7. There and Back Again: Kohlit, Valley of Achor, Asla, Kohlit (IV 1–12) 2) Interlude (IV 13–VIII 3) 2.1. In an around Secacah (IV 13–VI 10) 2.2. Between Secacah and the Kidron Valley (VI 11–VIII 3) 3) Central Section: Journey to Jerusalem (VIII 4–XII 3) 3.1. Through the Kidron Valley towards Jerusalem (VIII 4–X 11) 3.2. Third Visit to Jerusalem: The Inner Kidron Valley (X 12–16)

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_008

Conclusion

233

3.3. Third Visit to Jerusalem: Tomb of Zadok (X 17–XI 7) 3.4. Thirds Visit to Jerusalem: Tombs and Monuments below the Temple Compound and elsewhere (XI 8–XII 3) 4) Epilogue (XII 4–13) 4.1. Away to the North: Gerizim, Beth-Shan, Bezek (XII 4–9) 4.2. Final Destination: Return to Kohlit (XII 10–13) This structure could without difficulty be reconciled with other scholars’ suggestions with regard to the structure of 3Q15. I argued in Chapter 3 that the scheme reflects a logical and deliberately structured sequence of movements in 3Q15: Section 1 (I 1–IV 12) may be read as a Prologue, which prefigures both the addressee’s journey to Jerusalem (Section 3), and his final journey to Kohlit (section 4). Section 2 (IV 13–VIII 3) is an Interlude, which describes the addressee as roaming in the desert of Judah. Section 3 (VIII 4–XII 3) describes a Journey to Jerusalem, tracing the addressee’s long walk through the Kidron Valley and nearby locations to the Holy City. And, finally, section 4 (XII 4–13) constitutes an Epilogue, describing a new journey to places in Northern Palestine, with Kohlit as the final destination. The impression that the Copper Scroll is governed by a logical structure that goes beyond mere geographical sequence gains support from an examination of the most important locations, their interposition, and their inherent traditional and symbolic value. Drawing on Christopher Tilley’s theory of landscape as something experienced and shaped by humans proved heuristically useful fro understanding the description in 3Q15 of a landscape and the significance of the itinerary model and its stations in the text. Most place-designations in 3Q15 recall motifs from ancient Jewish literary sources. A significant number of the places referred to occur in the narratives of the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land, and some of the treasures recorded in these passages could possibly be associated with the spoils of war. Several place-names recall events or episodes involving breaches of God’s covenant, provoking divine anger and punishment. There is a clearly detectable focus on impurity, and several instances of people dying ignominiously and being given irregular burial are apparently connoted. Certain place-names – some of them the same as those connoting crime, death, and impurity – bring to mind divine promises of an eschatological redemption of the Promised Land. An analysis of the distribution of valuable objects in 3Q15 strengthens the notion of a meaningfully structured sequence in the text. Numerous sacred objects associated with the Temple are described as hidden beneath the Temple area or its surroundings. A large amount of sacred items are located in the tomb of Zadok and surrounding tombs in Jerusalem, and the third largest accumulation of sacred objects is found in Kohlit. During a situation (real or imagined)

234

Conclusion

where the Temple and Jerusalem are not accessible or functioning, the tomb of the high priestly ancestor Zadok seems in a certain sense to symbolically replace the Temple, and Kohlit could be seen as serving a comparable function as an alternative sanctuary. The references to books or scrolls as treasures to be retrieved, and, in particular, the reference to a “second copy” of the text itself found at the final destination (Kohlit), confirm the notion of a deliberately structured whole, and indicate that the goal of the addressee’s journey should be associated with wisdom and knowledge. In 3Q15 the land is perceived as being presently in a state of impurity and desolation awaiting its future redemption. Through the images presented in 3Q15 the reader gains an impression of a desolate landscape, consisting of abandoned places, ruined buildings, and water installations that have fallen out of use. In particular, the Temple of Jerusalem seems clearly to have lost its sacred functions, and to have been emptied of its sacred objects which are now located in non-sacred locations. The frequent references to underground installations and burial places further emphasize the notion of a devastated and impure landscape. These locations also, in a more general sense, serve to emphasize the need for knowledge and insight in order to recover the treasures that have been stored away in such dark and inaccessible locations. As for the valuables themselves, the recurrent mention of tithe vessels, Temple utensils, priestly garments, and consecrated objects in general leaves little doubt that the treasures envisaged belong to the Temple of Jerusalem. The text, then, creates a marked contrast between the sacred nature of the valuables and the impure and desolate character of their present locations. The instructing voice of 3Q15, in other words, leads the addressee on a long journey through a landscape replete with echoes of the biblical past, but presently marked by abandonment and desolation. The journey includes a period of “roaming in the desert” as well as an ascent through the Kidron Valley towards the unnamed city of Jerusalem. The ascent ends not at the Temple – which is perceived as not being in function – but at the tomb of the high priestly ancestor Zadok. In the end, the addressee is lead back to Kohlit, where he is to recover, as the final treasure, a book symbolizing wisdom and knowledge. The journey of the addressee, in other words, appears to represent a quest for greater insight. At the same time, his walk through the landscape seems also to mirror and retrace to some extent the wanderings of the Israelites in the past. The desolate landscape may also function as a symbol for the present afflicted and desperate state of the people of God, where the valuable elements lie hidden, awaiting detection and restoration. Indeed, the hidden treasures could also symbolize the people itself, or the chosen ones, awaiting their final redemption.

Conclusion

235

In Chapter 4 my proposed reading was checked against the material reality of the Copper Scroll as an existing artefact. No clear material evidence can be found for the assumption that the Copper Scroll was originally meant to be exhibited or displayed against a wall or in some visible place, although this remains a possibility. The format of the scroll points to the engraver or engravers having attempted to achieve an imitation in copper of the well-known leather scroll format. The archaeological data lend no support to the widely held opinion that the Copper Scroll must represent a second, independent manuscript deposit in Cave 3 at Qumran, without any connection to the other Qumran scrolls. The simpler solution – that the manuscripts in Cave 3 belong together – deserves preference, and is indirectly supported by the palaeographical evidence, which yields a date for the scroll around the middle of the first century CE. Indeed, dated Hebrew inscriptions from Palestine provide examples of almost identical types of handwriting. In other words, the manuscript is contemporary with a significant number of manuscripts from the Qumran caves. The first four columns of the Copper Scroll have clusters of Greek letters at the end of certain entries. To date, no satisfactory explanation has been provided for this phenomenon. The Greek letters have the appearance of being abbreviated personal names, and could possibly designate givers of donations to the Temple if we assume that the valuables referred to in the text are Temple treasures – whether real or imagined. At the same time, the Greek letters may also serve to convey an impression of mystery. The language of 3Q15 stands out against the types of Hebrew most amply documented in Qumran texts. It is not identical with Mishnaic Hebrew but has more points of contact with this form of the language than with any other known ancient type of Hebrew. For numerals, 3Q15 uses Hebrew words written out or numerical symbols, apparently without any distinction of meaning. Special abbreviations are used for measurements of gold and silver. Scholars dispute whether there is a difference between the designations ‫“( ככרין‬talents”) and the abbreviation ‫ככ‬, which may represent the well-documented Persian weight karsh (‫ ככ‬would then designate ‫כסף כרשין‬, “silver karsh”). With this interpretation, the sums mentioned in 3Q15 become considerably smaller in many instances. The use of copper as writing material is unparalleled among Qumran texts. The irregularities of the script indicate that the production of an inscribed scroll on metal sheets was an unusual and perhaps experimental endeavour. The purpose of using copper sheets could reflect scriptural references to inscriptions on durable material. The somewhat distant analogy of Roman bronze tablets containing treaties, laws, and edicts, supports the impression

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Conclusion

that the most important motivation for choosing this durable and precious material was symbolic or ideological rather than practical. The individual entries of the Copper Scroll have a tripartite structure, containing (1) A location; (2) Instructions for retrieving the valuables, often with a notification of their distance from the surface, from the entrance of the cache or from some other point of orientation; (3) A description of the treasure, usually with an indication of the weight or quantity of valuable objects. In roughly half of the entries (23 of 64 according to Milik’s count) the instructions contain a command to “dig” down to the hidden treasure. There are considerable variations from entry to entry as to the exact formulation and sequence of toponyms, place-designations and indications of direction and locality. Scholars have often used designations such as “list” or “catalogue” when describing the Copper Scroll. These terms certainly describe an important feature of the text – which consists of a series of relatively brief individual entries, clearly and visibly marked in the manuscript – but do not catch all aspects of 3Q15, which demonstrably includes elements of an itinerary. In fact, the text may be regarded as something in its own right – an instruction for retrieving hidden treasures. And the “list”-like elements (the extreme brevity and economy observed throughout) may be regarded as an expression of how the text conforms to the chosen form or genre, thereby successfully generating the desired effects on its readers’ imagination. Against the background of this investigation of the literary and material nature of the Copper Scroll I attempted a re-evaluation of the possible functions and historical background of the manuscript. The literary character of 3Q15 certainly does not diminish the plausibility of historical experiences being reflected in the text, possibly including the actual hiding of treasures. The scroll seems to have been composed somewhere in the second half of the 1st century, a time of political, social, and military turmoil in Jewish Palestine. The attempted or actual hiding of parts of the Temple treasures from Jerusalem is mentioned explicitly in Josephus, and a recently discovered inscription in Jerusalem seems to hint at a treasure deposit. Some of the deposits described in 3Q15 might very plausibly refer to such experiences. In the scholarly debate on 3Q15 the question of “authentic” or “fictitious” treasures was often regarded as a sharp dichotomy. A renewed examination of the arguments for either case demonstrated the necessity of replacing the dichotomy by a more nuanced and dialectic appreciation. There are good archaeological and historical reasons to view the Copper Scroll as a text written in close connection with historical realities of the first century CE, including the hiding of valuables. However, there are equally strong reasons to be sceptical towards an evaluation of the entire text of 3Q15 as an accurate recording of

Conclusion

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historical fact. The influence of literary traditions seem to play a central part in the composition. In Chapter 5 I looked for relevant literary analogies to 3Q15. Two medieval texts were adduced as analogies by Milik – the Jewish Massekhet Kelim and the Arabic Book of the Treasured Pearls. Indeed, both works show a number of points of contact with 3Q15. The Jewish treaty, which is basically a narrative set in an eschatological framework, relating the hiding of the treasures from the First Temple, is closest to the Copper Scroll in its world view and perspective. The Arabic manual, on the other hands, offers a closer formal analogy, giving direct instructions as to the recovery of valuables from a number of locations. In Massekhet Kelim the most sacred objects from the Temple are said to have been “set apart” and hidden at a special place by God’s command. The remaining treasures from the First Temple are hidden in various places – primarily locations in Mesopotamia – in a way similar to that presupposed in the Copper Scroll. The tradition that the most sacred vessels were treated and concealed separately from the remaining valuables offers a possible explanation for the fact that the most holy objects associated with the First Temple – including the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle – are not mentioned in the scroll. Indeed, a similar silence concerning these holy objects is found in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible concerning the fall of Jerusalem. A third highly interesting analogy is the Greek Lindian Chronicle (99 BCE), which is a list of votive gifts to the temple of Athena Lindia, relating in a series of brief entries the donators and the contents of their donations, clearly combining the legendary with the historical, and creating links to renowned persons and well-known events of the past. A survey of Jewish legends of the lost treasures of the First Temple showed that these traditions are very probably a part of the background for the worldview reflected in the Copper Scroll. In the most ancient sources dealing with the fate of the Temple treasures (Second Maccabees, Vitae prophetarum, Second Baruch) eschatological expectations are prominent. The lost sacred objects will be recovered at the time of the Israel’s eschatological restoration and redemption. In the Copper Scroll this perspective is never mentioned directly. The geographical perspective of the text – locating a great number of treasures in Jerusalem and Judea – may be seen as a statement in competition with conflicting viewpoints documented in Samaritan and later rabbinic traditions. Even though 3Q15 does not contain any explicit Qumran “sectarian” language, the text has a number of points of contact with other texts found in the caves at Qumran: The image of a desolate and ruined land and of a polluted or disqualified Temple resembles the view in certain Qumran compositions.

238

Conclusion

The prominent place of the tomb of Zadok, which serves in 3Q15 as the hidingplace of sacred objects associated with the Temple service, recalls the importance assigned to the Zadokite priestly line in a number of texts from Qumran. If the Copper Scroll is interpreted as an expression of expectations of a renewed Temple and a restored Israel, it would be akin to motifs figuring prominently in the Temple Scroll and the Aramaic New Jerusalem texts, which have list-like passages describing the restored Temple and Holy City. There are also points of contact with the War Scroll and related texts, which also make use of the list format, and reflect an ideology that equates the Qumran community with the Israelite camp during the sojourn in the wilderness. This motif is perhaps detectable behind the references to the conquest narratives and to war spoils in 3Q15. The imagery of destruction in the Copper Scroll shows affinity to Qumran laments (Tanhumim, Apocryphal Lamentations A and B), which employ similar imagery metaphorically to describe the desperate state of God’s people. The descriptions of a desolate landscape might have a similar function in 3Q15. In any case, the Copper Scroll seems to have been a text received, preserved, and cherished within the Qumran movement. Its date of composition seems, indeed, to fall within the period when the Qumran community existed. Under which circumstances this text originated, and found its way into the manuscript collection at Qumran, remains a fascinating mystery. Summing up, my suggestion is that the Copper Scroll can be read as a literary composition with a deliberately designed structure. The text seems to have been composed to cope with turbulent circumstances during the 1st century CE. Very probably the scroll records certain deposits of valuables from that period. However, like many ancient texts, 3Q15 deals with present challenges by recurring to existing traditions, blending historical and legendary elements in ways that make an attempt to separate the two impossible. I see this inherent ambiguity as crucial for the fascination the Copper Scroll has created in ancient as well as modern readers.

appendix

Translation of 3Q15 I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

In the small ruin which is in the Valley of Achor under the steps which go eastward, forty cubits: a box of silver, in total a weight of seventeen talents.  KEN In the tomb in the third layer of stones, 100 gold bars. In the great cistern which is in the courtyard of the peristyle at the side of its floor, sealed in the wall opposite the upper opening, 900 talents. In the mound of Kohlit: Tithe vessels, flasks and ephods, the total of the tithe and the treasure of the seventh year, and the disqualified second tithe. Its opening is at the northern end of the channel, six cubits in the direction of the frigidarium of the bath.  ΧΑΓ In the cave of the spiral staircase of Manos, in the descent to the left at a height of three cubits from the bottom – forty talents of silver.

II 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

In the salt pit which is under the stairs – 42 talents.  ΗΝ In the cave of the old washer’s house in the third layer of stones – sixty-five gold bars.  ΘΕ In the vault which is in the court of the wood magazins, and in the middle of it there is a cistern – in it there are vessels and silver, 70 talents. In the cistern which is opposite the eastern gate at a distance of fifteen cubits – vessels, and in the channel which is there – ten talents.  ΔΙ In the cistern which is below the wall on the east side in the spur of the rock – six bars of silver. Its entrance is under the large threshold. In the pool which is to the east of Kohlit, at the northern corner: Dig four cubits – 22 talents.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004429581_009

240

appendix: Translation of 3Q15

III 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

In the courtyard of the tribunal (?) under the southern corner nine cubits down: Tithe vessels of silver and gold, sprinkling bowls, cups, sacrificial bowls, jars, in total six hundred and nine. Under the other, eastern corner dig six cubits: silver, 40 talents.  TP In a pit which is in the Millo on its northern side – tithe vessels and garments. Its entrance is below the western corner. In a tomb which is in the Millo on its eastern side to the north, three cubits under the cover stone – 14 talents.

IV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

In the large cistern which is to the [north of K]ohlit, in the pillar north of it – 14 ta[lents].  ΣΚ In the canal leading to the po[ol], as you enter – fourteen cubits: Silver, 55 talents. Between the two cavities which are in the valley of Achon, in their midst, dig three cubits, there are two cooking-pots full of silver. In the earth pit which is at the end of Asla – silver, two hundred talents. In the eastern pit which is to the north of Kohlit – silver, seventy talents. In the mound of the valley of Secacah, dig one cubit: 12 talents of silver.

V 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

At the head of the aqueduct, which is [to the west of] Secacah, from the north, unde[r] the large [stone], dig t[three c]ubits: 7 talents of silver. In the fissure which is at Secacah, to the east of Solomon’s reservoir, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them. Above Solomon’s trench

appendix: Translation of 3Q15 9 sixty cubits towards 10 the great boulder, dig 11 three cubits – 23 talents of silver. 12 In the tomb which is in the torrent of Kippa 13 on the way from Jericho to Secacha, 14 dig seven cubits – 32 talents. VI 1 In the cave of the pillar with two 2 openings, facing east, 3 at the northern opening, dig 4 three cubits – an urn 5 with a book in it, under it 6 42 talents. 7 In the cave at the base 8 of the boulder facing 9 east, at the entrance dig 10 nine [cubit]s – 21 talents. 11 In the Queen’s Abode, on the west 12 side, dig twelve 13 cubits – 27 talents. 14 In the heap of stones at the ford of the High VII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Priest, dig … nine cu[bits]: 22 talents. In the canal of the [water gather]ing to the norther[n] reservoir of … at the four sides [at the gr]eater … measure out twenty-fo[ur] cubits – four hundred talents. In the cave which is near the frigidari[um of] the house of Hakkoz, dig six cubits – six silver bars. In Dok, below the eastern corner of the spreading place, dig seven cubits – 22 talents. Above the mouth of the water outlet of Koziba, dig three cubits in the direction of the parapet – 80 talents, two talents of gold.

241

242

appendix: Translation of 3Q15

VIII 1 2

In the [aque]duct which is on the road to the east of the treasure house which is east of (the house of) Ahiyah – tithe vessels and books, do not destroy them! 4 In the Outer Valley (is) an engraved inscription 5 on the stone. Dig seventeen 6 cubits. Below it is silver 7 and gold – 17 talents. 8 In the heap of stones at the mouth of the Kidron, 9 dig three cubits: 7 talents. 10 In the uncultivated land of Shaveh, facing 11 west on the south (side) in the vault 12 facing north, dig 13 twenty-four cubits – 66 talents. 14 In the cultivated land of Shaveh, in the vault which is there, 15 dig eleven cubits – 16 70 talents of silver. IX 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

In the dovecote which is on the edge of Natoph, measure out thirteen cubits from its base: There are two pits in the rock – seven bars, four staters. In the second terrace in the vault facing east, dig eight and a half cubits – 23 1/2 talents. In the vaults of the Horim on the side facing south in the channel, dig sixteen cubits – 22 talents. In the hole there is a large quantity of silver from offering. At the waterfall near the curve of the pipe in the wide space before it, dig seven cubits – 9 talents. In the pit which is to the north of the entrance of the narrow pass of Beth Tamar in the rocky ground of Pela‘ – everything which is there is consecrated. In the dovecote which is in Masadona, in the southern

X 1 district on the second floor when going down 2 from above – 9 talents.

appendix: Translation of 3Q15 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

In the replastered cistern which canals feed from the great stream at its bottom – 12 talents. In the reservoir which is at Beth ha-Kerem, as you enter, ten cubits to the left – silver, sixty-two talents. In the water (tank) of the Valley of Job (?) in the vault at its spring (is) a black stone (at) two cubits. It is the opening: 300 talents, gold, and vessels, twenty cups. Under Absalom’s Hand on the western side, dig twelve cubits – 80 talents. At the spring of Siloam and under the water outlet – 17 talents In the courtyard of Zadok at the four

XI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

corners – gold, tithe vessels with their reckoning beside them. Under the southern corner of the portico in the tomb of Zadok under the pillar of the vestibule – tithe vessels of pine, tithe of sene with their reckoning beside them. In the scarp at the top of the rock facing west opposite the courtyard of Zadok under the large slab which is at its base – it is consecrated. In the tomb which is below the colonnades – 40 talents. In the tomb of the common people spread out to Jericho – in it are tithe vessels of cedar, tithe of pine with their reckoning beside them. In the house of the two reservoirs, in the reservoir when you enter in the smallest basin – tithe vessels of [a]loes, tithe of bush with their reckoning beside them. At the western entrance of the terrace of the tomb, there is a stone platform above a ca[vity] – sil[ver]: nine hundred talents,

XII 1 2 3 4

gold: 5 talents. Sixty talents, at its entrance from the west, under the black stone – juglets, under the treshold of the burial chamber – 42 talents. At Mount Gerizim under the step of the upper pit –

243

244 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

appendix: Translation of 3Q15

one chest and all its vessels, and silver, 60 talents. At the mouth of the spring of Beth-Sham – tithe vessels of silver and gold, and silver, in all six hundred talents. In the large pipe of Bezek, near the house of Bezek/the burial chamber – in total a weight of 71 talents and twenty minas. In the pit which is situated to the north of Kohlit, its opening to the north with tombs at its opening – a duplicate of this document with its explanation and their measurements and the inventory of everything, item by item.

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Index of Ancient Sources Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Genesis 14:6 76n57 14:17 75 18:24 157 35:4 31, 214, 214n73 38:5 70, 71 Exodus 1:5 157 5:18 116 22:29 53n18 25:29 115n18, 209n63 27:3 115n18 28:8 53n18 31:17 159 37:16 115n18, 209n63 38:3 115n18 39:5 53n18 Leviticus 11:1–38 171 26:31 127 Numbers 1:20–46 171 4:14 115n18 4:7 115n18 7:12–88 171 18:27–18 53n18 26:5–51 171 Deuteronomy 2:12 76n57 11:29 110 14:22–26 54 27:12 110 28:36 218 34 214 Joshua 3–4 68 4:9 69 4:20 69 7 31, 48, 49, 49n9, 66, 107, 108

7:21 31, 50 7:25 48 7:26 49 8 65, 107 8:28 53n17, 127 8:33 31, 110 15:7 48, 48n7 15:44 70 15:61–62 65, 108 16:5–7 53n16 17:11 86n87 Judges 1:4–7 87, 110 1:27 86n87 9:6.20 60n28 9:46.49 133 20:3 77, 77n61 1 Samuel 5–6 208 6:8 218 11:8 87 13:6 76n56, 133 31:10–13 86 2 Samuel 5:9 60n28 6–7 208 18:17 79 18:18 75, 79 1 Kings 5:1–14 65 6–8 66 7:13–51 209 7:46 56n22 7:49 209n63 8 208 8:8 216 9:18 77, 77n61 9:15.24 60n28 10:1–29 65 11:1–13 66 15:13 74, 109

258

Index of Ancient Sources

2 Kings 9:10 226n90 12:14 209n63 12:21 60n28 20:16–17 216 22 122 23:4–12 74, 109 23:6 84n76 24–25 208 24:13 208 25:13–15 209 25:15 115n18 Isaiah 3:23 159n67 8:1 159, 159n67 8:6 79 30:7 159 30:22 53n18 52:2 127 65:10 49, 108 Jeremiah 6:1 78n64 31:38–40 109 44:2 127 52 208, 209 52:19 115n18, 209nn63 Ezekiel 191 25:13 127 36:10 127 36:33 127 40:38 156 45:11 116 47 195 47:19 77, 77n61 48:28 77, 77n61 Hosea 2:17

49, 108

Jonah

22

Micah 1:14

70, 70n46

Habakkuk 2:2

159

Haggai 1:8

215

Psalms 33:1 219 99:5 210n64 132:7 210n64 137:2 194n17 Job

28

88n90

Proverbs 3:3 159 3:14–15 88n90 7:3 159 Song of Songs

22

Qoheleth 22 Lamentations 22 2:1 210n64 2:9 219 Dan 9:26 157 Ezra 1:9–11 210 1:10 78n66, 115n20 2:1–67 172 2:22 75n54 2:61–63 69 8:33 69 10:18–44 171 Nehemiah 3:4 69 3:14 78n64 3:21 69 7:26 75n54 7:63–65 69 11:3–36 171 1 Chronicles 1:1–8:40 171 2:7 49n9 4:22 70, 71, 71n47

259

Index of Ancient Sources 11:8 60n28 15–17 208 24:10 69 26:20 71 28:2 210n64 2 Chronicles 5 208 8:3 77n61 15:16 74, 109 29:16 74, 109 30:14 74, 109 32:5 60n28 35:3 218 36 208 36:10 209, 216 36:18 209 Septuagint LXX Joshua 15:59 78n64 LXX 2 Samuel 18.18 79n67 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha Ben Sira

22

1 Maccabees 8:17 70n44 8:22 6 14:27 6 16:11–15 70 2 Maccabees 214, 220, 230, 237 1 212n65 1:18–22 210, 211, 212 1:19 212n65 2 15n45 2:1 212n65 2:1–9 211 Second Baruch/Syriac Baruch 214, 220, 230, 237 6 15n45

6:5–10 213 6:7–10 14n42 Vitae prophetarum 80–81n68, 212, 213, 214, 220, 230, 237 New Testament Matthew 4:5 83 18:23–24 18n60 25:14–15 18n60 Luke 4:9

83

John 5:2 84 10:23 81 Acts 3:11 81 5:12 81 Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Documents Damascus Document CD IV 16 16, 16n51, 29 War Scroll (1QM) 231, 238 II–IV 225 III 2–11 171 III 13–IV 17 171 XI 1 226n90 Copper Scroll (3Q15) I–IV 28, 154, 165 I 1 31, 86, 107, 112, 127 I 1–2 105, 152 I 1–4 21, 93 I 1–8 47–51, 89, 92, 93, 94, 97, 232 I 1–15 21, 93 I 1–IV 2 38, 92, 104, 125 I 1–IV 5 29

260 Copper Scroll (3Q15) (cont.) I 1–IV 12 46, 89, 91, 94, 96, 97, 104, 110, 113, 118, 122, 138, 232, 233 I 3 47n6, 106, 166n92 I 3–4 152 I 4 34n148, 106, 149, 151, 157n62, 165n85, 183 I 4–8 32, 182 I 5 129 I 5–6 165n91, 182 I 5–15 21, 93 I 6 44, 125, 128 I 6–8 9n17, 124, 128 I 7 127 I 8 105, 183 I 9 53n18, 56, 93, 106, 116, 118n30, 125, 126 I 9–11 26–27, 117, 118, 122, 125 I 9–12 51–55, 89, 94, 97, 152, 163, 232 I 9–II 1 92 I 10 105 I 11 128, 166n93 I 12 149, 151, 152, 165n85 I 13 93, 127, 133 I 13–II 2 55–56, 89, 94, 97, 232 I 14–15 157n59, 183 II 1 128 II 1–4 117 II 1–III 13 21 II 1–IV 5 93 II 2 149 II 3 127, 128, 133 II 3–12 56–58, 89, 93, 94, 97, 232 II 3–IV 2 92 II 4 125, 149, 152, 165n85 II 5 58n25, 127, 130, 133 II 6 34n148, 78, 125, 128, 156, 157n62, 158 II 6–8 115, 118, 122 II 7 128 II 7–8 161 II 7–9 161 II 9 117, 149, 152, 161, 165 nn. 85 and 90 II 10 128 II 10–12 9n17, 163

Index of Ancient Sources II 11 124 II 12 166n93 II 13 150 II 13–15 58–59, 89, 94, 97, 232 III 1 127 III 1–7 162 III 1–13 59–61, 89, 94, 97, 232 III 2–4 115, 117, 118, 122, 125, 209n63 III 4 166n92 III 5–7 162 III 7 149, 152, 165 III 8 133 III 8–10 163 III 9 45n4, 118, 122, 125, 150 III 9–10 166n93 III 11–12 129 III 14 165n90 IV 1 66, 128, 150 IV 1–12 61–62, 89, 94, 97, 232 IV 2 149, 150, 152, 165n85 IV 3 45, 74, 128 IV 3–5 92 IV 3–XII 13 38, 92 IV 6 48, 86, 94, 112, 133 IV 6–8 92 IV 6–VII 16 21, 28, 93 IV 8 124, 125 IV 9 94, 133 IV 9–10 92, 125 IV 11 94, 133 IV 11–12 92, 150 IV 12 158 IV 13 66n39, 69, 94, 112 IV 13–VI 10 63–66, 89, 94, 97, 232 IV 13–VIII 3 46, 90, 91, 94, 96, 97, 104, 110, 113, 119, 122, 126, 138, 232, 233 IV 13–VIII 7 92 V 1 65n36, 128 V 1–2 128 V 2 112 V 3 124 V 5 112 V 5–7 117, 119, 122 V 6 112 V 6–7 89, 126 V 7 116, 120

Index of Ancient Sources V 8 112 V 13 89, 112, 129 VI 1 133 VI 4–5 89, 120, 122, 126 VI 5 121 VI 7 133 VI 9 44n1 VI 11 132 VI 11–13 90 VI 11–VIII 3 67–71, 90, 94 VI 12 44n1 VI 14 66n39, 74 VI 14–VII 2 112 VI 14–VII 2 90 VII 3 128 VII 3–4 128 VII 3–VIII 3 90 VII 6 44, 165 VII 7 126 VII 8 133 VII 9 112 VII 10 124 VII 11 112 VII 14–15 112 VII 16 18, 18n57, 183 VIII 1 128 VIII 1–3 117, 119, 121, 122, 126 VIII 1–X 4 28, 93 VIII 1–X 14 21, 93 VIII 2 112 VIII 3 45, 45n4, 90, 120 VIII 4 90 VIII 4–5 90, 121 VIII 4–7 166 VIII 4–X 11 72–78, 90, 94, 97, 232 VIII 4–XII 3 46, 91, 94, 96, 97, 104, 110, 114, 119, 123, 126, 138, 232, 233 VIII 6 147n23 VIII 6–7 158 VIII 8 66n39, 112 VIII 8–X 16 93 VIII 10–16 90 VIII 11 130, 133 VIII 14 130, 133 IX 1 44, 128, 165 IX 1–6 90 IX 2–3 157n59 IX 3 18

261 IX 4 130, 133 IX 7 130, 133 IX 7–13 90 IX 10 27, 90, 116, 117, 119, 123, 124, 126 IX 14 133 IX 14–15 112 IX 14–16 90 IX 16 27, 51, 90, 116, 117, 119, 123, 126, 166n92 IX 16–XII 3 161 IX 17 128 IX 17–X 4 90 X 1–2 45 X 3 128 X 5 45, 112 X 5–7 90 X 5–XII 3 29 X 6 164n83 X 8 112, 130, 133 X 8–11 90 X 10 34n148, 157n62, 165n90 X 10–11 115 X 11 117, 119, 123, 126, 164n83 X 12 112, 132 X 12–16 91, 94, 97, 232 X 12–XI 7 90 X 12–XII 3 90 X 15 112 X 15–XII 3 21 X 17–XI 1 166 X 17–XI 7 80–82, 91, 94, 97, 233 X 17–XII 3 93 XI 1 116, 117, 120 XI 1–4 9n17 XI 1–7 117, 119, 123, 126 XI 3 129, 147n23 XI 3–4 182 XI 3–7 129, 132 XI 4 115, 116, 116n24, 117, 120 XI 6 129 XI 7 27, 51, 77, 116, 118 XI 8 128, 129 XI 8–XII 3 82–85, 91, 94, 97, 233 XI 9 45n4, 112 XI 9–10 165n91 XI 10–11 117, 119, 123, 126 XI 11 116, 120 XI 12 127

262

Index of Ancient Sources

Copper Scroll (3Q15) (cont.) XI 12–14 40 XI 13 45 XI 14–15 117, 119, 123, 126 XI 15 116, 120 XI 16 166n93 XI 17 105, 124, 126, 133 XII 1 34n148, 44, 157n62, 158 XII 1–2 165n90 XII 1–3 163 XII 2–3 165n90 XII 3 34n148, 157n62 XII 4 31, 106, 107, 112, 166 XII 4–9 85–87, 91, 95, 97, 233 XII 4–13 21, 28, 46, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 104, 110, 114, 119, 123, 126, 139, 233 XII 5 106, 151 XII 6 112 XII 6–7 105, 119, 123, 124, 126 XII 7 34n148, 106, 157n62, 166n92 XII 8 112 XII 9 34n148, 106, 124, 157n62, 166n92 XII 10 53n16, 106, 120n32, 121, 133, 150 XII 10–13 8n17, 52, 87–88, 91, 95, 97, 149n31, 233 XII 11–12 9 XII 11–13 120, 123, 126

Calendrical Texts/Mishmarot (4Q320–326, 4Q328–330) 23, 23n85, 225, 231 4Q320 1 i 7 70n44 4Q320 1 iii 3 70n44 4Q321 1 i 7 70n44 4Q321 1 ii 8 70n44 4Q321 1 iii 3 70n44 4Q321 1 iii 8 70n44 4Q321 1 iv 3 70n44 4Q321 2 i 9 70n44 4Q321a 1 i 4 70n44 4Q321a 2 5 70n44 34Q321a 5 70n44 4Q324a 1 ii 4 70n44 4Q325 1 6 70n44 4Q328 1 6 70n44 4Q329 1–2 3 70n44

4Q173a 4 (House of Stumbling Fragment) 153n50

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–407, 11Q17) 171, 225, 231

Tanhumim (4Q176) 138n58, 179n133, 225, 231, 238 4Q176 I 12–15 225, 226 Apocryphal Lamentations A (4Q179) 138n58, 199n133, 225, 226, 227, 228 nn. 94–95, 231, 238 4Q179 1 i1–15 226, 227 4Q186 (AstronomicalText) 152, 153, 154 4Q298 (Words of the Maskil to All Sons of Dawn) 153n50

4Q363a (Unidentified Religious Text) 153n50 4Q365 (Reworked Pentateuch) 12b iii 5 53n18 4QApocryphon of Joshuaa (4Q378) 49n11 4Q378 6i 49n11 Miqṣat Ma‘aśe Hatorâ (4Q394–399) 23, 23 nn. 84–85, 24 4QMMT A 1–21 171

Apocryphal Lamentations B (4Q501) 138n58, 228, 228n95, 231, 238 4Q501 1–3 228 New Jerusalem (4Q554) 238 4Q554 1 ii 224 4Q561 (Physiognomic Text) 153n51 Temple Scroll (11Q19–20) 23, 23 nn. 86–87, 231, 238

263

Index of Ancient Sources 11Q19 XIX 12 11Q19 XXV 13 11Q19 XXX 4–XXXI 8 11Q19 XLI 12–17 11Q 19 XLII 8 Mur 92 ii 6

6.431–432 135n54 7.26–36 136n55

157n59 157n59 56n22 223, 224 56n22

Mishnah and Talmud

70n44

m. Parah 11:17 52n15

Josephus Antiquitates Judaicae 5.16–19 68n41 5.119 68n41 5.361–362 68n41 7.242 79n67 7.243 79n67 7.393 10n24, 130 nn. 39–40 13.239 70n45 13.249 10n24, 130n39 14.34–37 20 14.78 13n37, 19 14.105 13n37, 20 16.179–82 10n24, 131n41 16.188 131n42 18.85–87 14n42 18.85–89 86n84, 173n114 Bellum 1.56 70n45 1.61 10n24, 130n39 2.122 8n14 2.328 84n78 2.520 151n40 2.530 84n78 4.408 18nn62 5.149 84n78 5.151 84n78 5.246 84n78 5.474 54n21, 151n40 6.282 12n32 6.370 135n50 6.387–391 12n33, 175n117 6.392 135n51 6.401–402 135n52 6.429–430 135n53 6.429–432 12n34

m. Negaʿim 14:6 52n15 m. Terumot IX 5

53n18

m. Middot 2:6b 58n25 3:2b 156 3:6b 157 4:5 56n22 4:7a 157 5:3 57n24 m. Tamid 4:2

57n24

b. ʿErubin 19a

134n48

b. Qiddušin 66a

38, 52n15

b. Šeqalim 6:1–2

217, 218

b. So̬ ṭah 9a

219

b. Sukkah 13a

52n15

b. Taʿanit

179n132

b. Yoma 21b 215 52b 218 53b 215, 216, 217 b. Ḥullin 62b 52n15

264

Index of Ancient Sources

Other Ancient and Medieval Sources Illiad II 653–656

206

Pausanias Description of Greece 35, 35n150 Tacitus Annales 16.1–3

173n114

Sozomenos Historia Ecclesiastica 14.382 21n76 Delos inscriptions

199, 230

Lindian Chronicle 36, 201–207, 230, 237 LC IX 205 LC X 205 LC XXXVIII 36, 203, 204n49 LC I 203 LC IV 203

Queen Helena Inscription 148 Uzziah Plaque

148

Dositheus ossuaries

148, 200

Beth-Phage ossuary

198, 200

Sipre on Num 19:6 52n15 Genesis Rabba 34:5 214n73 Megillat Taʿanit

198, 199, 200, 230

Massekhet Kelim 11, 19, 21, 178n129, 189, 190–196, 208, 220, 221, 229, 230, 237 Book of the Treasured Pearls 21, 189, 196, 197, 229, 237

Index of Modern Authors Albright, William F. 176n121 Allegro, John M. 7, 7 nn. 8–9, 12, 13, 13n35, 17, 17 nn. 55–56, 18, 18 nn. 57–62, 19, 19 nn. 63–66, 26n103, 27n105, 53n18, 60n28, 64n34, 65, 65n36, 68n40, 74n50, 77n60, 78n66, 84n76, 115n20, 116n26, 132n43, 133n46, 161, 161n75, 162, 162 nn. 76–77, 167, 167n98, 226n89, 227n92 Anderson, Francis I. 70–71n46 Baker, Henry Wright 6, 7n9, 8n16, 143, 144n8, 146, 146 nn. 17–18 Bardtke, Hans 27, 27n108, 28, 28 nn. 109–111 Barton, John 169n102 Baukham, Richard 191n11 Baumgarten, Joseph M. 16n51 Bedman, Francisco Jímenez 25, 25 nn. 96–97, 81n72, 155n53 Berlin, Adele 227n93, 228n95 Bernstein, Moshe J. 226n89 Bertholon, Régis 142n1 Beyer, Klaus 150, 150n38 Blinkenberg, Christian 202, 202n40 Brizemeure, Daniel 142n1, 143 nn. 3 and 5–6 Brooke, George J. 2, 32n135, 108n13, 167n99, 226n89, 229n98 Bultmann, Rudolf 84n78 Collins, Marilyn F. 214, 214 nn. 69 and 74, 218n78, 220n81 Contenson, Henri de 5n1 Cook, Edward M. 224n86 Cotton, Hannah M. 148n28 Cross, Frank Moore 14, 14 nn. 41–42, 48n7, 65n35, 148, 148 nn. 27–29, 149, 180, 185, 208n62 Dalman, Gustaf 75n54, 128n36 Daly, Okasha El 196n18 Davies, Philip R. 7n8, 19n66, 82n73 Davila, James R. 11 nn. 28 and 30, 52n16, 190n7, 191 nn. 9–12, 192n13, 194n17, 201, 201n37

Day, John 39n170, 210n64, 214 nn. 71–72 Del Medico, H.E. 16, 16 nn. 50–51 Dupont-Sommer, André 13, 13 nn. 36–39, 20 Eshel, Hanan 31, 31n130, 38, 38n169, 39, 39n172, 50n13, 65n36, 66n39, 69n43, 74n51, 120n31, 121n33, 128, 128 nn. 37–38, 182, 182 nn. 140 and 144, 221, 221n82 Feldman, Ariel 49n11, 69n42 Fidler, Ruth 31, 31 nn. 128–129, 39, 40, 48n8, 49n10, 86n83, 106, 106 nn. 10–12, 107, 171 Fowler, Alastair 169, 170, 170 nn. 104–107, 186 Freedman, David Noel 70–71n46 García Martínez, Florentino 228n96, 229n97 Gesenius, Wilhelm 157n58 Ginzburg, Louis 219 nn. 78–79 Goranson, Stephen 52n16, 151, 151n39 Greenfield, Jonas C. 23, 24, 24 nn. 88–89 Hamilton, Richard 200n30 Harding, Lankester G. 5n2, 11, 15, 16 Higbie, Carolyn 36n156, 202, 202 nn. 39–44, 203 nn. 45–47, 204 nn. 48–49 and 51, 205, 205 nn. 52–54, 206, 206 nn. 57–58, 207, 207 nn. 60–61 Horgan, Maurya 228n94 Humbert, Jean-Baptiste 33, 33 nn. 139–142, 173, 173 nn. 109–112 Høgenhaven, Jesper 25, 25n99, 39, 39n171, 155n53, 156n57, 226 nn. 89 and 91, 227n92 Ingold, Tim 98n2, 103n4 Jellinek, Adolph 190, 190n6, 191 Jeremias, Joachim 16, 16n49, 76n58, 80n68, 208n62

266 Kallai, Zecariah 65n36 Kamal, Ahmed Bey 10, 10 nn. 25–26, 181n139, 196, 196n18, 197n19 Kessler, Samuel Joseph 190n6 Kuhn, Georg 7, 7 nn. 10–11, 8, 8 nn. 13–15, 12, 12n31, 14, 20, 144n21 Lacoudre, Noël 142n1, 143 nn. 3 and 5–6 Laperrousaz, E. M. 19, 19n67, 20 Lefkovits, Judah K. 5n2, 33, 33n143, 34, 34 nn. 144–148, 52–53 nn. 15–16, 53n18, 58n25, 76 n. 54–55, 77n62, 86n88, 116n23, 124n34, 133n45, 147n25, 150, 150n38, 156, 156n56, 157, 157 nn. 60–62, 158, 158 nn. 63–66, 161, 161n75, 162, 162n76, 183 Lehmann, Manfred R. 26, 26n101, 27, 27n105, 31, 32, 32n132, 53n18, 77n62, 152, 152n47 Lichtenberger, Hermann 226n89 Lindberg, Marilyn J. 37n161 Luria, Ben-Zion 26, 26n100, 66n39, 152, 152n46 Macdonald, John 214n70 Magness, Jodi 175n118 Mandel, Paul 120n32 Maspero, Gaston 196 McCarter, P. Kyle 31, 32n131, 70n44 Milik, Józef T. 2, 3, 4, 7n9, 8, 9, 9 nn. 17–22, 10, 10 nn. 23 and 27, 11, 11 nn. 28–29, 12n31, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17 nn. 52–54, 18n57, 19, 20, 20 nn. 68–71, 21, 21 nn. 72–78, 22, 22 nn. 79–80 and 82, 23, 23 nn. 83–84, 24, 25, 26n103, 27, 27 n105, 28, 29, 29n117, 30, 33, 38, 44n1, 45n2, 46, 47n6, 48n7, 49n10, 51n14, 52n16, 53n18, 55–56n22, 56n23, 58n25, 60n28, 61n30, 62 nn. 32–33, 64n34, 65 nn. 35–36 and 38, 69 nn. 43–44, 70n45, 71n49, 74n50, 75n54, 76 nn. 55 and 58, 77 nn. 60–63, 78n65, 80n68, 81 nn. 69 and 72, 82 nn. 74–75, 84, 84 nn. 77 and 80, 86 nn. 86 and 88, 93, 93n92, 103, 103n9, 116, 116 nn. 22, 24, and 26, 124n34, 128n36, 133 nn. 45–46, 143n4, 144, 144 nn. 9 and 11–12, 145, 146 nn. 19–20, 147, 147n24,

Index of Modern Authors 148, 149, 149n30, 155, 155n52, 156, 156n55, 161, 161n75, 162, 162 nn. 76 and 78–79, 163, 163n80, 164, 165, 166n85, 167, 167n97, 173, 176, 177, 178, 179, 179n131, 180, 180n137, 185, 187, 189, 189 nn. 1–2, 190, 190 nn. 5 and 8, 194n16, 196, 197, 197 nn. 19–20, 229, 236, 237 Morag, Schelomo 24, 24n91 Morawiwcki, Leslaw 32, 32n136, 33, 33 nn. 137–138, 125n35, 182, 182n145, 183, 183 nn. 146–147 Mowinckel, Sigmund 15, 15 nn. 43–48, 28n111, 180, 208n62 Muchowski, Piotr 25, 25n98, 155, 155n54 Negev, Avraham 48n7 Nestle, Eberhard 80n68 Neusner, Jacob 134n48, 215n75, 216n76, 217n77, 218n78 Newsom, Carol 49n11, 69n42 Noth, Martin 48n7, 65n35 Pfann, Stephen 31, 31n130, 153n50 Pixner, Bargil 19n65, 28, 28 nn. 112–115, 29, 29 nn. 116–120, 30, 30 nn. 121–122, 51n14, 52n16, 57–58n23, 60n28, 93, 93 nn. 93–94, 150, 150 nn. 37–38 Pressler, Carolyn J. 48n7 Price, Jonathan J. 134n49 Puech, Émile 2, 3, 5n3, 17n54, 18n57, 19n65, 27 nn. 104–105, 37, 37 nn. 162–163, 38, 38 nn. 164–168, 39, 39n173, 40, 40n174, 41, 44n1, 45 nn. 2 and 4, 46, 47n6, 48n7, 50n12, 51nn14, 52–53n16, 53n18, 54 nn. 19 and 21, 56–57n22, 57–58n24, 58 nn. 25–26, 60, 60 nn. 27–28, 61 nn. 29–30, 62, 62 nn. 31–32, 64n34, 65n36, 66n39, 68n40, 69, 69n43, 70–71 nn. 44–46, 71n nn. 48–49, 74n50, 75 nn. 52–54, 76 nn. 55 and 58–59, 77 nn. 60–63, 78 nn. 65–66, 81 nn. 70 and 72, 83, 83 nn. 74–75, 84 nn. 79 and 81, 85n82, 86 nn. 85–86, 87 nn. 88–89, 92, 92n91, 93n95, 94, 94n96, 108 nn. 13–14, 109n17, 115n20, 116 nn. 24 and 26, 128n36, 134n46, 143n6, 144, 144n10, 145n16,

267

Index of Modern Authors 146n21, 147, 147n26, 152, 152n44, 158, 164n83, 172, 172n108, 175, 175 nn. 119–120, 183, 183n148, 223 nn. 83–84, 224n86, 225n87, 229n98 Qimron, Elisha 23, 23n85, 24, 24 nn. 92–93, 157n58 Reed, William L. 5, 5n2 Richey, Matthew 150, 150 nn. 32–34, 151n36, 152, 152 nn. 45 and 49 Roskop, Angela R. 46n5 Roth, Cecil 14, 14n40 Rowley, H.H. 144, 144n11, 180n137 Safrai, Zeev 38, 38n169, 39, 39n172, 50n13, 120n31, 121n33, 182, 182 nn. 140 and 144, 221, 221n82 Sarfatti, Gad Ben-Ami 27n106, 116, 116n23 Saulcy, Louis Félicien de 148n28 Schiffman, Lawrence H. 24, 24n90, 32, 32n134, 133 nn. 44–45 Schofield, Alison 108n13, 109n16, 137n57, 225n88 Schwartz, Daniel R. 16n51 Schwemmer, Anna Maria 80n68 Shaya, Josephine 202n39, 204n50, 206n59 Silberman, L. H. 11n29, 180 Soggin, J. Alberto 49n9 Starcky, Jean 11, 190 Stegemann, Hartmut 32, 32n133, 150, 152, 152 nn. 42–43, 181n138 Strugnell, John 23, 23n85 Sukeink, E.L. 148n28 Swales, Jhn M. 169, 169n103 Thiering, Barbara 149n35 Thorion, Yohanan 25, 25n94 Tigchelaar, Eibert J.C. 228n96 Tilley, Christopher 98, 103, 103 nn. 3 and 5–8, 104, 137, 233 Tov, Emanuel 153n50 Tov, Lika 147, 147n25

Ullendorff, Edward 150, 150n35 Vasquez, Jorge 142n1 Vaux, Roland de 5, 5n2, 6, 6 nn. 4–7, 8, 8n13, 11, 12, 12n31, 16, 19n66, 143, 143n7, 144, 144–145n12, 145, 145 nn. 13–15, 159, 179, 180, 180n137 Vincent, N.L. Hughes 134n47 Weitzman, Steven P. 3, 4, 34, 34n149, 35, 35 nn. 150–152, 36, 36 nn. 154–155 and 157, 37 nn. 158–160, 40, 144n8, 152, 152n48, 173, 173 nn. 114–115, 174n116, 182, 182n143, 189, 189n4, 201, 201 nn. 36 and 38, 230 Wengst, Klaus 84n78 Wildberger, Hans 159n67 Willi, Thomas 71n47 Williamson, Callie 159, 159 nn. 68–71, 160 nn. 72–73, 182n142 Wilmot, David J. 35, 35n153, 147n25, 198 Wise, Michael O. 35n153, 164, 164 nn. 81–82, 167, 167n100, 168, 168n101, 189, 189n3, 197n20, 198, 198 nn. 21–22 and 26, 199, 199 nn. 27 and 29, 200, 200 nn. 30–32 and 34, 201n35, 230 Wolff, Hans Walter 48n7 Wolters, Al 25, 25n95, 30, 30 nn. 123–124 and 126, 31, 31n127, 32, 32n135, 44n4, 57n23, 60n28, 87n89, 106n11, 164, 164 nn. 83–84, 165, 165 nn. 86–89, 166, 166 nn. 94–95, 167, 167n96. 171, 176, 176 nn. 121–123 and 125, 177, 177 nn. 126–127, 178, 178 nn. 128–120, 179, 179 nn. 131 and 134, 180, 180 nn. 135–137, 182n141, 187 Yadin, Yigael 23, 23 nn. 86–87, 224n85 Young, Ian 22n81 Younker, Randall W. 75n54, 78n64 Zissu, Boas 52–53n16 Zuckerman, Bruce 37, 37n161 Zuckerman, Kenneth 37