Job among the Dead Sea Scrolls: the history of The Targum 11Q10

“The truth doesn't scream: it is resistant to, as a manuscript that survives thousands of years of silence.”

1. What manuscripts of Job is found in Qumran

In the Dead Sea scrolls, Job appears in two main ways:

1. Fragments of hebrews the book of Job in the cave 4
2. A targum aramaic Job in the cave 11

1.1. 4Q99 – 4QJobᵃ (Cave 4)

• Designation: 4Q99 (4QJobᵃ).
• Language: Hebrew.
• Dating paleográfica: approximately II–I centuries to.C. (period asmoneo).
• Content is preserved (only snippets, not the whole book):
  • Job 31:14-19
  • Job 32:3-4
  • Job 33:10-11, 24-26, 28-30
  • Job 35:16
  • Job 36:7-11, 13-27, 32-33
  • Job 37:1-5, 14-15

This shows that the book of Job was circulated in Hebrew at Qumran, but only have small portions, not a manuscript in full.

There were probably more copies of Job in Qumran (as with other books), but only this is preserved identifiable information.

2. Material characteristics and language of 4QJobᵃ

2.1. Physical state

• Are fragments on parchment, of small size, very deteriorated, with parts illegible.
• The writing style matches the type hasmoneo (II–I centuries to.C.).

Not allows you to rebuild an entire roll, but it does check how did you copy Job at that time.

2.2. Biblical text that reflects

Comparative studies show that:

• The text of 4QJobᵃ broadly consistent with the masoretic text (MT) of Job that we have in the Bible Hebrew modern.
• There are spelling variants and minor, typical of the manuscript tradition of the ancient, but you don't see a “Job” different doctrinally.
• This serves as evidence that the text of the Job was already stabilized in good measure to the century II–I a.C.at least in the Hebrew form that was circulating in certain jewish circles.

“The suffering reveals what we are; hope it reveals what we look for.”

3. Job in Qumran in front of the masoretic text and the Septuagint

3.1. Three great witnesses

For Job we have, broadly speaking:

1. Hebrew masoretic (MT) – basis for most modern translations.
2. A Greek version of the Septuagint (LXX) – that, in Job, is a text shorter and something different in order and in style, the sign of a textual tradition different.
3. Targum aramaic (Qumran 11Q10) – free translation into aramaic, with a value of liturgical and exegetical.

4QJobᵃ approaches clearly to the TMnot the version most abbreviated of the LXX. This indicates that the family text “masorética” existed already before the time rabbinic.

3.2. Historical-textual

• The fragments of Qumran show that Job is not a book late set just in time rabbinicalbut already in the second century a.C. there were copies Hebrew are close to our text.
• In combination with the linguistic analysis of the book (Hebrew to late-influenced aramaic of the Persian times) confirms that Job circulated as biblical wisdom consolidated in the Judaism of the Second Temple.

4. The Targum aramaic of Job from Qumran (11Q10)

4.1. Identification and nature

• Designation: 11Q10 – Targum of Job.
• Provenance: Cave 11 at Qumran.
• Language: aramaic.
• Type of composition: “Translation of Scripture” (translation of Scripture)according to the classification of the Digital Library of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is important to clarify:

The roll 11Q10 it is not a “Job original Hebrew” but a translation/version aramaic of the book of Job, which in the jewish tradition is called targum

4.2. Why is it so important?

1. It is the targum oldest that we have a book of the bible complete, or nearly complete (under reconstruction).
2. It shows that, to the I century a.C.–I d.C., the book of Job was already the object of liturgical translation and exegetical aramaic, the language spoken by the jewish population.
3. It is a key piece to the study of:
   • The history of the targumim.
   • The reception of Job in the Judaism of the Second Temple.
   • The relationship between translation and exegesis-biblical early.

4.3. Character of the targum

The targumim are not translations “neutral” word for word. Usually:

• Paraphrase.
• To clarify theological concepts.
• Enter expansions midrashic or explanatory.

In the case of 11Q10:

• The studies describe it as a version aramaic Job that oscillates between translation relatively literal adaptation and interpretation, depending on the passage.
• Unlike Hebrew, which keeps the poetry dense and difficult Job, the aramaic sometimes softens expressions or makes more clear.

4.4. Relationship with other targumim later

• Subsequently, in the rabbinic tradition, were developed targumim arameans “official” for the Prophets and the Writings.
• 11Q10 shows a stadium pre-rabbinical of that tradition: evidence that the practice of translating publicly Writing the aramaic existed and that Job was part of the corpus of read/studied.

“Who reviews the pain discovers that it is not an enemy, but a hard master.”

5. Implications of the theological and exegetical Job in Qumran

5.1. Job as acknowledged Write in Qumran

The fact that:

• We have a fragment biblical Hebrew (4QJobᵃ), and
• A targum aramaic (11Q10),

indicates that the book of Job was considered a sacred text and worthy of liturgical translation to the community or, at least, for circles of jews from the region of the Dead Sea.

Although the canon in Qumran presents specific nuances, Job was moving clearly in the orbit of “Writing” (Miqrá).

5.2. Are there differences exegetical remarkable?

Detailed studies show:

• The Hebrew text of 4QJobᵃ does not seem to introduce changes theological strong with respect to the TM.
• The targum aramaic, like other targumim, tends to:
  • Respect the basic message: Job as a paradigm of just suffering and the problem of the suffering of the righteous.
  • Clarify dark passages and smooth elements potentially problematic or ambiguous.
• The way that translates some terms for God, Satan, the evil and the suffering can give you clues on theological sensitivity the group that used it.

On the whole, we do not have evidence of a “theology of Job's” radically different in Qumran, but a continuity with the classical questions of the book: the suffering of the righteous, divine justice, and the limits of human wisdom.

5.3. Job and the wisdom in Judaism of the Second Temple

At the time of Qumran, flourish, various streams of wisdom (Proverbs late, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, literature, apocalyptic). Job, as a book of wisdom, enters into a dialogue with them:

• Language and style: the Hebrew literary sophistication of Job fits in with an intellectual environment of high development.
• Theme: the book questions the theology remuneration simple, something that can also be seen in other works of the period.
• The fact of being translated into aramaic suggests that your message was interested in not only to elites educated, but to the wider community.

6. What it tells us about this in the book of Job and its reception

6.1. Antiquity and stability of the text

The findings from Qumran to say quite confidently that:

• The text of Job, in a form very close to the masoretic text, already exists and is transmitted as a Deed at least from the second century a.C.
• The variants found are important in textual criticism, but not to transform the doctrinal content of basic of the book.

6.2. Diffusion and liturgical use/exegetical

• The existence of a targum aramaic (11Q10) Job in Qumran shows that the book was not a piece marginal, but a text sufficiently central to be read, translated, and explained in the language of the people.

6.3. A bridge between text and theology

• The Job of Qumran” does not provide a new narrative, but yes:
  • Confirms the age the problem of the suffering of the righteous in the jewish tradition.
  • It offers a key link in the chain of transmission between:
    • The original Hebrew text.
    • The Greek tradition (LXX).
    • The readings of jewish and later christian (Testament of Job, letter of James, etc).

“The greatness of Job was not to understand your destiny, but to stay faithful in spite of not understanding it.”

7. Summary

1. There is not a “full roll of Job” of Qumranbut:
   • A fragment biblical Hebrew (4Q99 = 4QJobᵃ) from cave 4.
   • A targum aramaic Job (11Q10) of the cave 11.
2. 4QJobᵃ:
   • Contains passages scattered Job 31-37.
   • It is written in Hebrew hasmoneo (s. II–I a.C.).
   • Coincides substantially with the masoretic text, which supports the stability of the text of Job as in the time of the Second Temple.
3. 11Q10 (Targum of Job):
   • It is a translation aramaic in the book, the most ancient that we maintain a work of scripture.
   • Shows how Job was read, explained and updated for a public speaking aramaic.
   • It represents an early stage of the tradition of the targumim, and combines translation with tafseer.
4. Theologically:
   • Job in Qumran maintains the core classic: the problem of the suffering of the righteous, the righteousness of god and the limitation of human wisdom.
   • There is No evidence of a rewrite doctrinal strong, but a faithful reading but explanatory.
5. Historically:
   • The manuscripts of Qumran confirm that Job is a piece of consolidated corpus biblical jewish in the period immediately prior to christianity.
   • Constitute a key witness in the history of textual between the original Hebrew and traditions later (rabbinical and christian).