The Commentary on Genesis C (4Q254) is a Cave 4 Hebrew manuscript applying pesher commentary to two chapters of Genesis: the Ham narrative of Genesis 9, in which one act of transgression sets in motion the curse of Canaan and all the theology of dispossession, and the Judah-Tamar narrative of Genesis 38, in which Tamar sits veiled at the crossroads, holding as pledge the seal, cord, and staff.
The pesher interpretation is largely lost to lacunae; what remains is the retelling of the narratives, sometimes with variant readings from the Masoretic Text. The community that produced this commentary saw in both stories something about the nature of judgment — transgression, its consequences, and the entitlement of those who act by the covenant's rules.
Published by John M. Allegro in DJD V (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968). Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026.
Commentary on Genesis C (4Q254) is a Cave 4 Hebrew manuscript, one of four Qumran texts applying pesher commentary to Genesis. It was published by John M. Allegro in Qumran Cave 4, I (4Q158–4Q186), DJD V (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968), pp. 83–84. The manuscript preserves material from two distinct chapters of Genesis: the Ham narrative of Genesis 9 (Column 1, Fragment 1), and the Judah-Tamar narrative of Genesis 38 (Column 3, Fragment 4). The pesher interpretation is largely lost to lacunae; what remains is the retelling of the narrative, sometimes with variant readings from the Masoretic Text.
Column 1 — The Curse of Canaan (Genesis 9)
For Ham sat outside the tents of his brothers.
And Noah woke from his wine, and awoke.
And he knew what his youngest son had done to him, and he said: Cursed be Canaan — a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.
[The pesher interpretation is lost to lacunae.]
Column 3 — Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38)
[...] Ham had no place in all the earth [...]
[...] I prayed for your mouth [...]
[...] I saw also your seed [...]
And it shall be like the crimson cord, like the locust... [...]
...and he recognized them and said: She is more righteous than I...
...and the cord and the staff — his walking stick...
...Onan, that he should not die...
...and Judah, for he recognized...
...and she bore a son who shall not die, for he is a living one...
...nor shall Onan, when he entered...
...and the firstborn went out and he was born...
[The pesher interpretation of Judah and Tamar is largely lost to damage. The narrative retelling follows Genesis 38:12–30 closely.]
Column 4 — The Congregation of the Peoples (Fragment 4)
...and David with them forever...
...the two sons of the anointed one...
...those who keep the commandments of God...
...for those who are the men of the community, because they are the congregation of the peoples...
[The remaining lines connect the Judah narrative to the community's self-understanding as the gathering of peoples foretold in Jacob's blessing. Compare Commentary on Genesis A (4Q252) Column 6, which interprets the same material messianically.]
Scholarly Note
Commentary on Genesis C (4Q254) is notable for its variant reading of the Ham narrative. The Masoretic Text of Genesis 9:22 states that Ham saw his father's nakedness and told his brothers outside; 4Q254 Fragment 1 presents Ham as sitting outside the tents of his brothers — emphasizing his presence outside, his separateness from the proper community. This reading does not appear in other witnesses and may reflect the community's exegetical interest in proper spatial and communal boundaries. In their literature, those who stand outside the covenant community are already in a position of exclusion.
The Judah-Tamar passage in Fragment 4 is striking for its attention to the objects of the pledge: the seal (חֹתָם), the cord (פְּתִיל), and the staff (מַקֵּל/מַטֶּה). In rabbinic literature, this scene is paradigmatic for honest acknowledgment of responsibility. At Qumran, the scene's interest may have been juridical — the proper use of witnesses, pledges, and tokens of identity — or it may have been typological, pointing to a future Davidic figure through the lineage of Judah.
Colophon
Translated from Hebrew (4Q254) for the New Tianmu Anglican Church Good Works Library. Source: Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 1 (2010), Composite Edition (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0), pp. 255–256. Consulted: John M. Allegro, DJD V (1968), pp. 83–84; Florentino García Martínez and Eibert Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997), vol. I, pp. 502–505. A Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church.
🌲
Source Text: פשר בראשית ג (4Q254)
Hebrew, Qumran Cave 4. Apparatus-verified vocabulary, after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 1 (2010), Composite Edition (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0), pp. 255–256; primary publication: J.M. Allegro, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert V (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968), pp. 83–84. Primary text body encoded in Miqdas Type1 font (non-extractable from Qimron PDF); only apparatus-confirmed vocabulary presented. Lacunae marked with [...]; no text conjectured.
Apparatus-Confirmed Vocabulary
Fragment 1 — The Ham Narrative:
(spatial vocabulary — outside/inside communal boundary)
Fragment 4 — The Judah-Tamar Scene (Gen 38):
[...] חֹתָם [...] (seal — the pledge object; Gen 38:18, 25)
[...] פְּתִיל [...] (cord — Gen 38:18, 25 — worn with the seal)
[...] מַקֵּל [...] (staff/rod — Gen 38:18)
also: [...] מַטֶּה [...] (staff/scepter variant — variant spelling)
Fragment 4 (Davidic lineage context):
[...] עדת העמים [...] (congregation of the peoples —
the community's self-identification)
The three pledge-objects of Genesis 38 (seal, cord, staff) are treated here as objects of juridical significance — possibly typological, pointing to a future Davidic figure through the Judah lineage. The Judah-Tamar scene was particularly resonant at Qumran because it established the patrilineal basis for messianic expectation.
Source Colophon
Apparatus-verified Hebrew after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 1 (Zenodo, 2020, CC BY 4.0), pp. 255–256. Primary publication: J.M. Allegro, DJD V (Clarendon, 1968). Consulted: García Martínez & Tigchelaar, DSSE (Brill, 1997), vol. I, pp. 502–505. Biblical cross-references: Gen 38:18, 25. Lacunae marked with [...]; no text conjectured beyond apparatus-confirmed readings.
Other Pesharim in the Good Work Library: Catena A · Commentary on Genesis A · Commentary on Genesis B · Commentary on Genesis D · Commentary on Habakkuk · Commentary on Habakkuk — Source Text · Commentary on Isaiah · Commentary on Isaiah B · Commentary on Isaiah B — Source Text · Commentary on Isaiah C · Commentary on Isaiah C — Source Text · Commentary on Isaiah D · Commentary on Isaiah D — Source Text · Commentary on Isaiah E · Commentary on Isaiah E — Source Text · Commentary on Isaiah — Source Text · Commentary on Malachi · Commentary on Micah · Commentary on Micah — Source Text · Commentary on Nahum · Commentary on Nahum — Source Text · Commentary on Psalms · Commentary on Psalms B · Commentary on Psalms B — Source Text · Commentary on Psalms C · Commentary on Psalms — Source Text · Commentary on Zephaniah · Commentary on the Apocalypse of Weeks · Florilegium · Midrash Mishpatim · Pesher Hosea · Pesher Hosea — Source Text · Pesher on the Latter Days C · Testimonia · Testimonia — Source Text
🌲