Sunday, March 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Fragments
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Texts
Job TargumThe oldest surviving Aramaic translation of the Book of Job, recovered from Cave 11 at Qumran in 1956 — thirty-eight columns covering Job 17:14 through 42:11, predating all rabbinic targumim by centuries.Letter Fragment (4Q465)A Good Works Translation of 4Q465, a Cave 4 Hebrew fragment — preserving chancellery language including the Aramaic/Persian loanword פרשגן (copy of the letter), echoing the bureaucratic idiom of the Book of EzraNarrative and Poetic WorkThree Cave 4 fragments combining a narrative about a beloved figure, a wisdom challenge to earthly power, and a prophetic confrontation with Ephraim — theologically charged fragments from an unidentified Hebrew composition.Narrative BCave 4 Hebrew narrative of ten lines; speaks of hard labour, God giving enemies into the hand of another, seeking and finding, turning back to God, and divine compassion on old age.Narrative CaCave 4 Hebrew historical survey of nineteen lines; spanning the Table of Nations, light shining over Jacob and Zion, the people delivered to Egypt a second time, judgment on Philistia and Egypt, and God remembering Jerusalem.Narrative DCave 4 Hebrew text of two fragments; Fragment 1 quotes Leviticus 26:44 and speaks of God opening ears to hidden things; Fragment 2 mentions the completion of the jubilee and the rebuking of Belial.Narrative FCave 4 Hebrew narrative fragment of six lines; mentions God's marvels, YHWH, heaven, and a casting action; too lacunose for continuous translation.Narrative GCave 4 Hebrew narrative fragment of six lines; speaks of returning scattered ones to the land and large mighty camps; too lacunose for continuous translation.Narrative HCave 4 Hebrew narrative fragment of three lines; speaks of those who despised the words of God's mouth, an eternal legacy, and reproaches; too lacunose for continuous translation.Narrative Mentioning EgyptA Cave 4 Hebrew narrative meditating on Israel's sojourn in Egypt, the covenant promise, and the theology of light over darknessNarrative Work and PrayerCave 4 Hebrew narrative-prayer from three fragments; a divine comfort oracle against fear and affliction, a first-person prayer invoking God against confusion in Israel and Ephraim, and a poetic prohibition against boasting in might that echoes Jeremiah 9.Sectarian Rebuke Text (4Q468i)A Good Works Translation of 4Q468i (Sectarian Text?), a Cave 4 Hebrew fragment — a rebuke oracle reflecting on Israel's stiff neck, evil inclination, and rejection of divine statutes, after Tigchelaar's re-edition