Shaping Text Through Song: The Influence of Singing Upon Processes of Textual Interpretation and Variation in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Abstract

This thesis explores the influential role played by singing as a performative medium within processes of textual interpretation and variation during the late Second Temple Period, as reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls. On the basis of the research conducted, singing is argued to be a prominent and widespread mode of performance in the late Second Temple Period, and a medium which exerted considerable influence within and upon processes of textual composition, interpretation and transmission. These complex processes result in the variation of textual forms, leading to the conclusion that sung performance (of various kinds) functioned as one factor (among many) contributing to the widespread pluriformity of textual traditions evident in the manuscripts found at or near Qumran. The argument is advanced in four stages, corresponding to the four parts of the thesis: first of all, scholarship relating to singing in the Dead Sea Scrolls is reviewed, identifying and highlighting issues which inform the direction of research. Second, appropriate theoretical models are developed through inter-disciplinary conversation between three scholarly fields, namely: musicology, orality studies, and textual criticism of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The third stage of argument consists of in-depth textual and literary case studies, using the theoretical models developed in part two as interpretative tools which direct the focus of exegesis. These case studies yield multiple insights as to the way that singing was conceived in Late Second Temple Literature and the role that singing as a performative medium was understood to play, particularly in relation to textuality and textual processes. The texts selected as case studies include Psalm 154/Syriac Psalm II (11Q5 XVIII), David’s Compositions (11Q5 XXVII), a portion of the Second Song of the Sabbath Sacrifice (as found in fragment 2 of 4Q400) and a portion of the Seventh Song of the Sabbath Sacrifice (as found in 4Q403 1 I). Finally, in part four of the thesis, text-critical data is addressed, in order to assess whether there is any evidence among the manuscripts found at or near Qumran of textual variation that could potentially be tied to singing as a causal factor. The data presented in part four is illustrative in nature: having sought to establish the kinds of “variants” that might be expected to result from the influence of musical performance, examples from among the Dead Sea Scrolls which fit these profiles are reviewed and assessed. Some discussion of the way that musical factors influence interpretation is also included in this section.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Svetlana Khobnya (Supervisor)