David's Youth in the Qumran Context (11Qpsa 28:3–12

DAVID’S YOUTH IN THE QUMRAN CONTEXT (11QPSA 28:3–12) Devorah Dimant University of Haifa The Hebrew Bible offers a rich collection of traditions about David: David the hero who defeated Goliath through his courage and faith, David the able king who united the tribes of Judah and Israel, con- quered Jerusalem and founded the ideal kingdom, and David the cho- sen king destined to father the elect royal lineage, the future Messiah and the enduring kingdom. Besides his abilities as warrior and gov- ernor the biblical tradition depicts David as inspired musician and poet, who composed many psalms. All these features are taken up by later Jewish literature, and the Qumran documents are no exception. David figures in both sectarian and non-sectarian texts in his various capacities just listed.1 But within his colorful biography, David’s youth has a special role. Few are the biblical figures who have won such attention for their tender age—perhaps only Moses. So not surprisingly, later post-biblical literature alighted on the major episodes of David’s youth: David tending his flock, his battle with Goliath, and his gift as lyre player, all are presented by the later traditions.2 It is interesting, however, that 1 On David in the biblical tradition see Y. Zakovitch, David: From Shepherd to Messiah (Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi; 1995 (Hebrew). David in the rabbinic literature is surveyed by A. Shinan, “On the Image of King David in the Rabbinic Literature,” Appendix in Zakovitch, David, 181–199 (Hebrew). For a survey of the references to David in the Qumran scrolls see C. A. Evans, “David in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Scriptures: Qumran Fifty Years After (ed. S. E. Porter and C. A. Evans; JSPSup 26; Sheffield: Academic Press, 1997), 182–197; J. C. R. de Roo, “David’s Deeds in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” DSD 6 (1999): 44–65 (discussing the references in the Damascus Document , 4Q174 and 4QMMT). On David’s prophetic gifts, especially in 11QPsa col. 27 and the Qumranic pesharim, see P. W. Flint, “The Prophet David at Qumran,” in Biblical Interpretation at Qumran (ed. M. Henze; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 158–167. 2 Natalio Fernández Marcos discusses several apocryphal works which deal with these themes: Ben Sira 47:3–4, Syriac Psalms 152 and 153 and the L.A.B. 59–60 (cf. n. 26 below). See idem, “David the Adolescent: On Psalm 151,” in The Old Greek Psalter: Studies in Honour of Albert Pietersma (ed. R. J. V. Hiebert, C. E. Cox, and P. J. Gentry; JSOTSup 332; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 204–217. 98 devorah dimant these episodes do not occupy an important place in the Qumran texts. Except for the single reference to the victory over Goliath in the War Scroll (1QM 11:1) David’s youthful exploits are singled out only by the last psalm preserved in the Psalm scroll from cave 11, 11QPsa col. 28.3 Accordingly, this psalm has attracted much attention, especially since a shorter version of it has been transmitted in several ancient versions. It concludes the Septuagint canonical Psalms, the Old Latin, and the Syro-Hexapla, and is found in a Syriac translation of several apocryphal psalms.4 Most of the scholarly discussion indeed centers on the relation between the Qumran specimen and these textual witnesses.5 Many scholars estimate that the Hebrew psalm is the original composi- tion and the translations represent a later, edited and abridged version of it.6 But others think that the reverse is the case and that the shorter version of the Septuagint is the earliest while the Qumran poem is a later adapted and enlarged version.7 The nature and provenance of this poem are also still a matter of debate. Two facts attest to its connection to the community of Qumran: it is copied in a Qumran manuscript and it is found in a scroll which includes a list of David’s compositions according to a 364-day calendar (11QPsa 27:2–11), espoused by the Qumran community.8 Some think it embodies the Psalms canon of the Qumran community, others its liturgical compilation.9 Indeed, most 3 This non-biblical psalm is found together with eight other apocryphal psalms incorporated into the collection of 11QPsa. Cf. J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (11QPsa) (DJD 4; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), 53–93. On the special character of this collection see P. W. Flint, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Psalms (STDJ 17; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 39–41. 4 Cf. J. A. Sanders, “Ps. 151 in 11QPSS,” ZAW 75 (1963): 73–5; idem, The Psalms Scroll, 54–64; J. Magne, “Les texts grec et syriaque du psaume 151,” RevQ 8 (1975): 548–564. 5 For detailed comparisons with the Septuagint version see Sanders, ibid.; Magne, ibid.; M. Haran, “The Two Text-Forms of Psalm 151,”JJS 39 (1988): 171–182; D. Amara, “Psalm 151 from Qumran and its Relation to Psalm 151 in the Septua- gint,” Textus 19 (1998): 1*–35*, esp. 16*–25* (Hebrew); M. Segal, “The Literary Devel- opment of Psalm 151: A New Look at the Septuagint Version,” Textus 21 (2002): 130–158. See below. 6 Cf. Sanders, “Ps. 151.” 7 Cf. Haran, “Two Text-Forms”; M. S. Smith, “How to Write a Poem: The Case of Psalm 151A (11QPsa 28.3–12),” in The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira (ed. T. Muraoka and J. E. Elwolde; STDJ 26; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 182–208; Segal, “Literary Development.” See below. 8 Peter Flint thinks that the entire 11QPsa collection was originally arranged according to the 364-day calendar. Cf. idem, Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls, 172–201. 9 For a summary of the debate and further references see ibid., 204–227. This debate will be mentioned here only inasmuch as it bears on the issues discussed in the present article..

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