1QpHab as a case study for the pesher hermeneutic

Qumran grot 4. 90% van die Dooie Seerolle is in hierdie grot ontdek.

Recently, I was teaching a PRTS course for ThM students on the history and preservation of the biblical text. In one of the lectures, I included a discussion about the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for the study of the preservation of Scripture. For that purpose I built a series of case studies from Qumran, in which I placed readings from the Old Testament beside readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and students had to evaluate the differences and similarities for themselves.

This study takes the discussion outside the classroom and examines the Pesher Habakkuk (1QpHab) from the Dead Sea Scrolls as a case study for evaluating the relationship between the Qumran pesher hermeneutic and the New Testament’s use of Scripture. After considering the scroll’s significance as a textual witness to the preservation of Habakkuk, the study focuses on Habakkuk 2:4 and its interpretation at Qumran and in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:37–38. The study argues that the Qumran material illuminates the interpretive diversity of Second Temple Judaism without providing the hermeneutical authority for apostolic exegesis. The New Testament’s interpretation rests on the fulfilment of God’s promises in Christ and the coherent testimony of Scripture itself. The comparison thus contributes to a Reformed understanding of biblical hermeneutics, the authority of apostolic interpretation, and the relationship between the historical meaning of prophetic texts and their canonical fulfilment.

You can read it following this link to Academia.edu or download it here.