The Hebrew of 4Q421, line by line as Qimron prints it. The English translation, printed with this same Hebrew, is on the page Ways of Righteousness (4Q421).
Source Text: חוכמת תום דרך (4Q420–4Q421)
The Hebrew as printed in Qimron, vol. 2, pp. 187–189. Square brackets enclose gaps and Qimron's restorations. ◦ marks an illegible letter. A dot above a letter (ׄ) marks a damaged letter read with confidence, a small circle above (֯) a doubtful reading, and a bar above (̄) a letter that could also be read as a similar one. ⸤ ⸥ enclose words that Qimron supplies, in green, from 4Q420; hollow brackets ⟦ ⟧ mark a gap where fragments are joined only indirectly, braces { } a deletion by the editor, + missing text, carets ^ ^ letters written above the line, and … a space inside a restoration. Line numbers follow the edition.
עותק א קטע 1 א
3 [ צד]קׄ [ל]א֯הוב
4 [ ]◦ רׄשעׄים
5 [ ]◦וׄת אׄל
עותק ב קטע 1 א
1 [ וישנא רשעי]םׄ באיבׄתו֯[ ]
2 [ ח]כׄמתו ודעתו וביׄנׄתׄו, וכׄתׄבׄוׄ[ בסרך]
3 [ ]לׄ[ ]לׄס֯רך הכול איש לפני רעׄ[הו]
4 [לכוהנים בני אהרון יצ]אׄ הגוׄרׄל הרישון וכן יצׄאׄו
5 [ויבואו על פיהם … ל]נׄו שרו̄ אמרינו
6 [מפיהו … ללויים יצא הגורל ה]ש֯נׄי ליסׄרו
(חסרות שורות)
14 [ ]כׄל
15 [ ]א֯שרׄ
עותק ב קטע 1 ב (+ עותק א קטע 1 ב)
5 וׄיׄדׄי֯[ ]
6 מושל ב֯[ ויקם]
7 פעמיהם ע֯ל֯[ סלע … עד]
8 הרפאמה ע◦⟦ ⟧אׄשר
9 {אשר} דבר⟦ ⟧◦◦ נפׄ◦◦◦◦
10 עול, חכמ֯⟦ת דעת בלב איש מים עמוקים אי⟧שׄ מׄשכיל ונבון
11 ידלם י̄שחׄ⟦ר … וי⟧ו֯כח תוכחת
12 משכיל, איש תׄ⟦בונה יישר כול אורחותיו ל⟧ל֯כת בדרכי אל
13 לעשות צדקהׄ⟦ ⸤ב֯ז֯ו֯תׄ לוׄא ישיב בטרם יש⸥⟧⸤מ֯⸥ע ⸤ו⸥לוא יד⸤בר⸥ בטרם
14 יבין, ⸤בארך אׄ⸥⟦⸤פים ישיב פתגם⸥ + ⸤ובמחקר צ⸥⟧⸤דׄק ימצא⸥
15 ⸤תוצ⸥אותיה א֯⟦יש נושא ⸤עניו ונכי שכלו לׄ⸥ו⸤אׄ יש⸥⟧⸤ו֯ב א⸥חור ⸤עד⸥
16 [⸤מ֯⸥וכי]ח֯[ יצדק ואיש ⸤נׄאמן לׄוׄאׄ יסור מדׄרכי צדקׄ⸥ ]וׄישמ
17 [בפעולות אמת אצ⸤ב֯ע֯ותיו, וכפיו בצדקׄ נגאׄ⸥לו, ⸤בבינ⸥]⸤ה֯ כול⸥
18 [יגיעו … יס⸤ו֯דותיו, גבולוׄ⸥ ]
19 [ ⸤לׄ⸥ … צ⸤ד֯קׄהׄ⸥ ]
עותק א קטע 2
1 [ ] אפים[ ]
2 [ ]◦נלוים עדׄ[ ]
3 [ ]סי̄ף מדתם [ ]
4 [ ]על נגועי משפ[טם]
5 [ ^◦םׄ^ ]ו֯זרעם על תנחומ֯[ ]
6 [ ]◦ות אשר דבר֯[ ]
7 [ ]לׄכׄול גור̄יׄ◦ ◦◦ ◦[ ]
8 [ ]ובתלמיה יחרׄוׄש ותמידׄ[ ]
9 [צ]ד֯יׄקׄים [והבי]ן֯ מׄה בׄלבב בׄ[ ]
10 [ ]ו֯עד̄תו ◦◦[ ]
Source Colophon
Transcribed from the rendered pages of the CC BY 4.0 composite edition (Zenodo, 2020) of Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 2 (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2013), pp. 187–189. Qimron's introduction: two copies of a wisdom composition, both from the Herodian period. The surviving fragments are small, but two overlapping fragments complete each other and allow a text with several nearly whole lines to be put together. The name was given by the first editor and says little about the content. Besides counsel spoken of a third person, the composition has broken passages about the men of the Community, whose standing is fixed by their wisdom (and their descent?). The first editor wrongly attached to copy B fragments of a composition on Sabbath laws (see Noam and Qimron, Tarbiz 74 [2005], p. 511, n. 5), and also a fragment of an unknown composition (fragment 9 = 4Q421b). First edition: Torleif Elgvin, DJD XX, pp. 173–202.
Qimron's notes, in brief:
- Copy A, fragment 1a: the text of this fragment and that of copy B, fragment 1a, are close to each other.
- Copy A, line 3: [צד]קׄ is read from photograph 41.966; [ל]א֯הוב is a new reading from photograph 43.534. In photograph 41.966 letters can be seen at the start of the word that are apparently out of place; Elgvin reads [ ]◦חוב.
- Copy A, line 4: רׄשעׄים is read from photograph 41.966.
- Copy B, fragment 1a, line 1: באיבׄתו֯ is read from photograph 41.706; Elgvin reads באיבת עׄ[ולם].
- Line 2: וכׄתׄבׄוׄ [בסרך], or the like, is a new reading after the Community Rule 5:23; Elgvin reads וטׄובׄוׄ [ביחד].
- Line 4 is completed after 4Q279, fragment 5, line 4.
- Lines 5–6: the restoration follows the Damascus Document, chapter 4, line 6: "the lot goes out, and according to it all who enter the camp go out and come in".
- Lines 5–6: [ל]נׄו שרו̄ אמרינו [דברו] is restored as words of the priests, who proclaim that God's portion has been given to them and that their words are his words. Elgvin reads [י]תׄישרו אמרינו.
- Line 6: [ה]שׄנׄי is a new reading; Elgvin reads [א]וׄתו. The suffix of ליסׄרו refers to the man who joins the congregation of the Community; compare line 2.
- Copy B, fragment 1b, lines 6–7: restored after the Hodayot 12:4.
- Lines 7–8: the third-person suffixes perhaps refer to the members of the congregation.
- Line 10: עול is probably ʿawel, "injustice"; the restoration follows Proverbs 20:5.
- Line 11: ישח[ר], with a clear yod.
- Line 12: משכיל is the subject of the sentence; compare Proverbs 10:19 and line 10. ת[בונה] is a new reading; the restoration follows Proverbs 15:21, 20:5 and 3:8.
- Line 13: for בזות compare Genesis 34:15.
- Lines 13–14: see the parallels Elgvin cites.
- Line 14: בארך is beʾorekh or beʾerekh; copy A has בארוך, the construct of ʾorekh. After פתגם the text of the base manuscript is lacking; copy A has further words after it. Qimron gives a new reading of copy A, fragment 1, lines 2–4 (with the solid letters in its brackets supplied from copy B), which runs parallel to lines 13–15 here; at the end of its line 2 one could read וא[ל] instead of ול[וא]. The suffix in תוצאותיה (line 15) apparently refers back to אמת, "truth", in that reading.
- Line 15: א[יש נושא עניו ונכי שכלו] is a new restoration fitting the gap in both copies; for the restoration and the sense compare Isaiah 53:4–12 and Proverbs 18:14. נכי is perhaps nekhi, the singular of nekhaʾim in Isaiah 16:7. Above the waw of שכלו there may be a dot.
- Line 17: אצבׄעׄותיו; Elgvin reads [עצ]מׄותיו; compare Isaiah 59:3. Copy A has כל for כול.
- Line 18: [יגיעו] after the Mystery of Being, chapter 1, line 92 (p. 151 above). יסׄודותיו; Elgvin reads שׄדותיו.
- Copy A, fragment 2: joined from several fragments, some of them twisted and shrunken, and the context, the decipherment and the restoration are not certain. The hand is like that of copy A, but the phrases are not typical of wisdom literature. The fragment has third-person masculine and feminine suffixes, and it is not known what they refer to.
- Fragment 2, line 2: the unidentified letter at the start of נלוים looks like a nun, but it may be the left stroke of a tav, and one could read תלוים, interpreting the dot at the base of the tav as the top end of a lamed.
- Line 4: for נגועי משפׄ[טם] compare Pesher Habakkuk 9:1.
- Line 8: the suffix in ובתלמיה perhaps refers to the blessed land, after Psalm 65:10–11.
- Line 9: [והבי]ן֯ מׄה is a new restoration.
- Line 10: ו֯עד̄תו, or שׄערתו; Elgvin reads לׄגערתו, taking the top of the final nun of line 9 to be the head of a lamed.
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Other Community Rule scrolls in the Good Works Library: Damascus Document · Halakha A · Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah · Miscellaneous Rules · Ordinances · Rebukes of the Overseer · Sefer ha-Milhamah · Sefer ha-Milhamah — Source Text · The Community Rule · The Community Rule — Source Text · The Rule of Benedictions · The Rule of the Congregation · The Two Ways · Ways of Righteousness (4Q421)