SCRIPTURES IN THE SCROLLS: THE EVIDENCE FROM QUMRAN

PETER FLINT

The theme of this essay, the canon of Scripture and the scroIls, has enjoyed considerable attention from scholars. Since the term canon is not appropriate in this context, the first section provides adefinition of canon and offers more appropriate terms for the sacred writings under discussion. The second part of the essay compares the Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox Canons of the Hebrew /Old Testament, and the third sUIveys the ancient evidence apart from the . The final section considers the evi­ dence from the scroHs that were found at Qumran.

1. CANON AND MORE APPRoPRIATE TERMINOLOGY

1.1 History and Difznition qf the Term Canon

The term canon transliterates the Greek Kavrov, which in turn derives from a Semitic word for reed. Compare the Greek KaVVa, Hebrew i1~R, and qanäh, as weH as the English term cane. In classical usage, the basic sense of reed yields to that of straight rod or bar, with the Iiteral meaning of a measuring tool (as used, for example, in building). MetaphoricaIly, the term then becomes a norm, ideal, or standard of excellence (for instance, to denote the perfect human figure in sculpture, or the basis for knowing what is true or false in phi­ Iosophy). FinaIly, the term can signifY a table or list (for example, a chronological timetable or a mathematical series).l In the early fourth century (in his letter to Carpian) the Church Father Eusebius uses the plural form term KavovEC; far chronologi­ cal timetables and for lists of Gospel references. In his Ecclesiastical History (3.25; 6.25), however, Eusebius refers to his own listing of New Testament books as a Ka'taAOYOC;. Our earliest surviving list of

I See R. E. Brown and R. F. Collins, "Canonicity," the NJBC, §§66.1-10 1, esp. §66.5; and H. W. Beyer, "K!XVroV," TDNT, 3.596-602. 270 FLINT books is in the Muratorian Fragment (late second century), but it is only with lists from the later fourth century-by Athanasius and Augustine, and from the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage 111 (397)-that general agreement with respect to their contents becomes clear for most of the Church. Athanasius, for instance, distinguishes between the x:avovlI;6, ..u::va (canonical books) and the Apocrypha. The basic meaning of canon is a reed, but its two extended mean­ ings in Classical Greek, norm and list, are pertinent for biblical stud­ ies. 2 Occurring thrice in the Septuagint3 and four times in the New Testament,4 its only significant usage in the present context is Gal 6: 16, which says that Christians live by one x:aVIDV or normative rule of life. In the early Church, the notion of x:aVIDV as a norm soon became prominent due to early disputes,5 and was also used for bind­ ing decisions. 6 In addition to a norm, the term sometimes denoted widely accepted lists of Scriptures. Such closed lists of x:avovll;6llEVa became invested with ecclesiastical status, giving rise to the twofold meaning of x:avIDv that prevailed in later theology: norm far the Church, and list of sacred writings of the Old and New Testaments. Implicit is the notion of reflexive judgement on the part of the church authorities and compilers, who declared certain lists to be norma­ tive and sacred. Canon is thus to be regarded as a technical term with several distinct components: norm, list, and reflexive judgment.7 I propose the following definition: A canon is the closed list of books that was officially accepted retro­ spectively by a community as supremely authoritative and bin ding for religious practice and doctrine.8

2 See Brown and Collins, "Canonicity," NJBC, 1035 (§66.5); and Beyer, "KUVroV." 3 Mic 7:4; Jdt 13:6; 4 Macc 7:21 (The last is a figurative reference to ­ sophica! rule.) 4 2 Cor 10:13, 15, 16; and Ga! 6:16. 5 For instance, Clement (96 C.E.) employs the term in an ethical and homileti­ cal context (I Clement 7:2), and Irenaeus (ca. 180) uses the canon if'truth to describe the binding truth of the Gospel, attested by the Scriptures and tradition (Against Heresies 1.9.4-5; 3.2.1; 3.11.1.). 6 For example, the decisions reached at Nicaea (325) were termed canons, which functioned as normative rules of life for Christians. ) E. Ulrich, "The Canonical Process, Textual Criticism, and Latter Stages in the Composition of the Bible" in "Sha'arei Talmon. " Studies in the Bible, Qymran, and the Ancient Near East Presented to Shemaryahu Talmon (ed. M. Fishbane and E. Tüv; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992),267-912, esp. 69--70; andJ. Barr, Holy Scripture: Canon, Authori!J, Criticism (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983), 50. B See P. W. Flint, The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls and the Book if' Psalms (STDJ 17: