Discoveries in the Judaean Desert: Volume VIII. The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever (8HevXIIgr): The Seiyâl Collection, I(VIII Discoveries in the Judaean Desert)

This volume is the first in the series to present a long Greek text (large sections of the Minor Prophets). The version in the scroll represents an early revision of the Septuagint towards a closer correspondence with the Hebrew text of the Bible - the revision given the name kaige by D. Barthélemy ('Les devanciers d'Aquila', SVT 10, 1963). After an extensive introduction (which includes a description of the materials by R. A. Kraft, and of the script by Peter J. Parsons) the volume contains an edition of the text, both with and without reconstructions, notes on the palaeography and reconstructions, an extensive commentary on the translation technique, orthographic peculiarities and textual relations, and is supplemented by an index of all words, as well as twenty plates (containing fragments arranged so as to present their position in the original scroll).

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Introduction: archaeological data and identification; columns and measurements; content and scope; special characteristics - tetragrammaton; the two scribes; material description, Robert A.Kraft; the scripts and their date, Peter J.Parsons. Part 2 Transcriptions of the text. Part 3 Notes on palaeography and identification. Part 4 Notes on the reconstructions. Part 5 Translation technique, orthographic peculiarities and textual relations.

Review :
`The present volume is an official publication of the scroll. In order to provide a transcription of the text, an immense effort has been made to place each fregment in its relative position within its presumed original column ... Beyond the intrinsic interest of its contribution to the history of the Greek text of the OT, there is also much to catch the attention of anyone concerned with scribal traditions and practices of the period.' Israel Exploration Journal, Vol 42 (1992) `The book contains good photographs of all the fragments and an index of every Greek word in the scroll, including the reconstructions, if at least one letter survives. Beyond the intrinsic interest of its contribution to the history of the Greek text of the OT, there is also much to catch the attention of anyone concerned with scribal traditions and practices of the period.' Israel Exploration Journal Vol 42 (1992) `the volume under review closes a period rich in theories based on the provisional publication of the fragments' N. Fernandez Marcos, Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring '91 `While there have been others who have done seminal studies on the Greek text of the minor prohets ... this text by T. sets a new standard. When a work such as this is made available to scholars, one cannot help but be excited. T. joins the ranks of a distinguished list of scholars to whom academia will be indebted. This is a superb production, both in terms of the wealth of information, but also the exquisite nature of the work. It is destined to become an indispensable tool for scholars who work in any area of the minor prohets.' Hemchand Gossai, Concordia College, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly / 54, 1992 'the high quality achieved by Tov with his two collaborators will come as a welcome sign of the new light dawning on the texts from the Judean Desert ... The attention to detail and systematic research which underlie this volume have yielded an edition which opens this important text to scholars in a variety of areas of research. Tov and his collaborators have given us a consummate example to be emulated by future editors of ancient manuscripts.' Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University, Journal of Biblical Literature 'Tov's edition can truly be called an exemplary and exhaustive one. It deals with the whole range of problems and contributions which the new text brings and does it in most thorough fashion. He is to be commended to his splendid work, for associating others in it, and for the dispatch with which he handled the task once the material fell into his hands.' James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigraphica 9 (1991)