From lingua franca to lingua sacra: The Scripturalization of Tobit in 4QTob e

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    6 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In light of the growing consensus that the book of Tobit was originally penned in Aramaic, the fragmentary Hebrew copy 4QTob e is a singularly unique literary artifact of Second Temple Judaism. While a cluster of other Aramaic works were read and received as authoritative literature by at least some Jews at this time (e.g., Daniel 2-7, the booklets of 1 Enoch, and Aramaic Levi Document), Tobit alone was translated from the common language of the ancient Near East into the traditional Israelite mother tongue. This study explores how the shift from Aramaic to Hebrew should inform our conception of the status and reception of Tobit in ancient Judaism. By virtue of the new linguistic overlay given to 4QTob e, this manuscript should be considered a literary edition in its own right, with an ostensibly higher level or different degree of authority than its Aramaic language counterparts.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)117-132
    Number of pages16
    JournalVetus Testamentum
    Volume66
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

    Keywords

    • Aramaic
    • Dead Sea Scrolls
    • Hebrew
    • Tobit
    • apocrypha
    • literary editions

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