David Volgger, «The Day of Atonement according to the Temple Scroll», Vol. 87 (2006) 251-260
The Temple Scroll (11Q19) dedicates about two and a half columns to the Day of
Atonement (25,10-27,10). The present study concentrates on the content of the
transmitted text (25,10-16; 26-3-13, and 27,01-02.1-10), analyses its structure,
and explains its development of thought. The focus of the text seems to be on the
concept of the sin-offering. First, the sin-offering of a he-goat makes part of the
common festival sacrifice. Second, the two rams belong as burnt-offering to the
special sin-offering of the Feast. And third, a he-goat for YHWH is offered as a
special sin-offering on the altar of burnt-offering, whereas, a second he-goat for
Azazel bears all the sins of Israel and is sent out into the desert. Since the he-goat
for Azazel does not get in touch with the altar of burnt-offering, it cannot be
classified as a burnt-offering. Moreover, it shares only one major feature with the
other sin-offerings, namely, to remove sins.
The Day of Atonement according to the Temple Scroll
The Temple Scroll 11Q19 contains in columns 13-30 a Sacrificial Calendar
that follows immediately after the description of the altar of burnt-offering in
columns 12-13. The present study concentrates on one single day of this
Calendar, the Day of Atonement. It analyses the structure of its transmitted
text, and individuates its line of thought.
I. The Text Col. 25,10-27,10
The text on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which was critically
edited by Elisha Qimron depends exclusively on scroll 11Q19 (1). It stretches
over approximately two and a half columns from 25,10 to 27,10. At the
beginning and the end it is separated from the context by two blank spaces
(vacat). Whereas lines 25,16, 26,13 and 27,10 represent the last lines of the
relevant columns, the upper sections of columns 26 and 27, in each case
approximately 10 lines, are missing. Their content cannot be reconstructed.
Consequently, more than half of the entire text on the Day of Atonement is
handed down in 11Q19: 25,10-16, 26,3-13 and 27,01-02.1-10.
The lines 25,10-16, 26,7-13 and 27,5-10 are wholly legible. From the
middle of 26,3 up to 26,6 as much as in 27,3-4, the missing characters can be
supplemented without difficulty. This seems impossible for the few legible
letters in 27,01-02.1-2. At the same time, Qimron locates both lines 27,02.1
on grounds of old slide (transparencies) records at the beginning of column 27
and not like Yadin at the beginning of column 28 (2).
The text shows also some traces of a secondary revision: in 25,13 the
adjective µymymt “blameless†(pl.) is erased. Additionally, in 27,2 the noun lwk
“totalityâ€, in 27,5 the two letters in hm twrwdl “for their generationsâ€, and
hy
in 27,9 the letter in h kytwbçwm “from their residences†(pl. instead of sg.)
m
are inserted above the line.
The following analysis of the structure and content of TS 25,10-27,10
will exclusively concentrate on the very legible parts of the text.
II. Structure and Content of Col. 25,10-27,10
awh µyrwpk µwy (11) hzh çdwjb hrç[bw ? .. ¿ (10)
I
hmkytwçpn ta wb wn[tw
hzh µwyh µx[b hn[tt (12) awl rça çpnh lwk yk
hym[m htrknw
(1) Cf. E. QIMRON, The Temple Scroll. A Critical Edition with Extensive Reconstruc-
tions. Florentino GarcÃa MartÃnez: Bibliography (Beer-Sheva – Jerusalem, 1996) 39-41.
(2) Cf. QIMRON, The Temple Scroll, 41 and Y. YADIN, The Temple Scroll (Jerusalem
1983) II, 121-122.