''Pesher'' (; , pl. ''pesharim''), from the Hebrew root meaning "interpretation," is a group of interpretive commentaries on scripture. These commentaries became known from the discovery of the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

. The texts give a theory of scriptural interpretation of a number of biblical texts from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Habakkuk and

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

. The authors of the ''pesharim'' claimed that scripture is written in two levels; the surface level for ordinary readers with limited knowledge, and the concealed level for specialists with higher knowledge. For example, the Habakkuk Pesher (1QpHab) teaches that God has made known to the

Teacher of Righteousness The Teacher of Righteousness () is a mysterious figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document (CD), which speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, 390 years after the Neo-Babylonian Empire ca ...

, a prominent figure in the history of the Essene community, "all the mysteries of his servants the prophets" (1QpHab VII:4–5).

Types

There are two types of ''pesharim'' found in the dead sea scrolls: ''"Continuous pesharim"'' and ''"Thematic pesharim."''

Continuous

The first type of pesharim, ''continuous pesharim'', go through specific biblical books and quote the book phrase by phrase; after each quotation, an interpretation of the verse is added. There are 15 continuous pesharim that have been found and dated, including: five on Isaiah (4Q161, 4Q162, 4Q163, 4Q164, 4Q165); three on the Psalms (1Q16, 4Q171, 4Q173); and seven on books of the

Minor Prophets The Twelve Minor Prophets (, ''Shneim Asar''; , ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve"; , "the Twelve Prophets"; , "the Twelve Prophets"), or the Book of the Twelve, is a collection of twelve prophetic works traditionally attributed to individual prophets, like ...

(1QpHab on Habakkuk; 1Q14 on Micah; 1Q15 and 4Q170 on Zephaniah; 4Q166 and 4Q167 on Hosea; 4Q169 on Nahum). Below is an example of ''continuous pesharim'' from 1QpHab: "Behold the nations and see, marvel and be astonished; for I accomplish a deed in your days, but you will not believe it when told" ab 1.5

Thematic

The other type of pesharim, ''Thematic pesharim'', are similar to ''continuous pesharim'' in that they comment on and cite from biblical verses, but ''thematic pesharim'' focus on a particular theme (eg. "the end of days") and pull from multiple biblical books as opposed to commenting on books verse by verse. In these texts, scriptural books were connected and therefore a passage or verse in one book, could be interpreted or clarified by passages or verses found either later in the same book, or even another text. An example of ''thematic pesharim'' is text 4Q174, which is known as

Florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin '' flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering ...

. This scroll discuses several biblical texts including: 2 Sam 7, Ps 1 & 2, Exod 15, Ezek 37, Isa 8 & 65, and Amos. It looks at these texts with messianic implications and characterizes the Davidic Messiah as God's son.

Historic individuals

The Pesharim (plural) contain references to a number of individuals and groups throughout their interpretation of the texts. As the Pesharim refer to specific events and make mention of these specific individuals, the Pesharim are important in understanding Qumran's history and culture during the times that their authors lived. Below are the most prominent individuals and groups cited.

: The Teacher of Righteousness is spoken of, referred to, and cited in many of the Pesharim, including the Damascus Document, the

Habakkuk Commentary The Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab ( Cave 1, Qumran, pesher, Habakkuk), was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951. Due to its early discovery and rapid publication, as well a ...

, the Commentary on the

, and many others. The Teacher of Righteousness is the main spiritual leader of the

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd cent ...

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

, and his exact identity is unknown. The Teacher of Righteousness is believed by many scholars to have been the author of some of the texts found at Qumran, such as the ''Teacher Hymns''. Throughout the Pesharim, the 'interpreter' who writes the Pesher can be seen identifying biblical individuals as if they are actually The Teacher of Righteousness, such as the passage found in the Psalms 37 portion of the ''Commentaries on Psalms'' which states; "''I have been young, and now I am old, but I have not seen a righteous man abandoned and his children begging food
All the time he is lending generously, and ischil renare blessed (37:25–26)

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

refers to the Teacher of ighteousness . . (4Q171 Col.3)'' Wicked Priest: The Wicked Priest is the Teacher of Righteousness's main opponent, who also sought to kill the Teacher of Righteousness. The identity of the Wicked Priest is more clear than that of the Teacher of Righteousness, with scholars suggesting that he was a Hasmonean high priest such as

Jonathan Apphus Jonathan Apphus (Hebrew: ''Yōnāṯān ʾApfūs''; Ancient Greek: Ἰωνάθαν Ἀπφοῦς, ''Iōnáthan Apphoûs'') was one of the sons of Mattathias and the leader of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. Name H J Wolf ...

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( , English: "Alexander Jannaios", usually Latinised to "Alexander Jannaeus"; ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judaea from 103 to 76 BCE. ...

. The Wicked Priest is referenced the most in the Commentary on Habukkuk, which states that the Wicked Priest was originally reliable, but once he became ruler he forsook God for riches and rebelled against God and committed abhorrent deeds. In the Commentary on the Psalms, the Wicked Priest sought to kill the Teacher of Righteousness for sending a law to him; some scholars have suggested that this law was 4QMMT. If the Wicked Priest was in fact Jonathan, then he met his own end in 142 BCE at the hands of Diodotus Tryphon, which would match well with the Habakkuk Commentary that comments on the terrible end met by the Wicked Priest. Man of Mockery: The Teacher of Righteousness also had opponents with regard to interpretation of scripture and the law who grew out of the Qumran community's own ranks. The Man of Mockery is one such individual who rejected the Teacher of Righteousness's claims, withdrew himself from the group, and took some followers with him. These were then referred to as the Men of Mockery. The Man of Lie: The Teacher of Righteousness's opponent was also called the Man of Lie. According to the Pesher on Psalms, this individual is prophesied in scripture and was indeed successful in leading people astray. Kittim: A group called the Kittim is mentioned in several Pesharim, including ''Apocalypse of Weeks, Pesher on Isaiah, Pesher Habakkuk,'' and ''Pesher Nahum.'' The Kittim are usually identified as the Romans. The Kittim are portrayed as

Gentiles ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsider ...

who will play a role in the great wars of the end times.

Themes

Within the ''pesharim'' found at Qumran, different themes occur within separate texts. Salvation The Pesher on Psalms has the theme of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, focusing on those who are wrongdoers in the eyes of God and how those who do good will see the rewards of life. For instance, 4Q171 Fragment 1 insists that as a devoted believer you shall respect the Law, and those who don't will not be saved. "Renounce your anger and abandon your resentment, don't yearn to do evil, because evildoers will be wiped out" (37:8–9a). Such interpretations of the psalms assign them a deeper meaning and connect them to all human beings, splitting those who are good from those who are not. Apocalyptic Apocalyptic themes also exist within the Pesharim. Several interpretations with apocalyptic themes are found in these commentaries from Qumran. These include ''Pesher Isaiah'' and ''Pesher Habakkuk,'' which talk about the fate of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's enemies and several other apocalyptic events. Topics of particular interest for modern scholars interpreting the Dead Sea Scrolls include the origin of belief in an apocalyptic war near the end of time, and identification of the enemy in such a war. Several scholars have investigated similarities between beliefs found in early Christian communities and those expressed by the Qumran community. For example, Stephen Goranson compares the Dead Sea Scrolls with the Apocalypse of John. The War Scroll and the Apocalypse of John, which both use apocalyptic language, differ sharply in their views of the apocalyptic war.Alexander Bolotnikov, 2005 https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/2005-2/2005-2-03.pdf

''Pesharim'' found at Qumran

* Continuous Pesharim *
1QpHab
(Habakkuk Pesher) *
1Q14
(Pesher Micah) *
4Q161–165: 4QpIsa a–e
(Isaiah Pesher) *
4Q166–167: 4QpHos a–b
(Hosea Pesher) *
4Q169: 4QpNah
(Nahum Pesher) *
4Q170: 4QpZeph
(Zephaniah Pesher) *
4Q171 & 173: 4QpPs a–b
(Psalms Pesher) *
4Q172
(Unidentified Pesher) *
4Q247–4Q
(Pesher on the Apocalypse of the Weeks) * Thematic Pesharim *
4Q252
(Genesis Pesher) *
4Q174: 4Qflor
(Eschatological Commentary A/Florilegium) *
4Q177
(Eschatological Commentary B) *
11Q13: 11QMelch
(the Melchizedek Midrash)

References

External links

An Overview of the ''Pesher'' Technique in the Dead Sea Documents.

– A discussion of Peshar commentary in the Dead Sea Scrolls—particularly to the transcription of Habakkuk.

Barbara Thiering's interpretation of this pesher and its historical context.

– Analysis of Dr. Thiering's rules of pesher. {{Dead Sea Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls Essene texts