Horizons Of Ancestral Inheritance

In this study of the Aramaic materials at Qumran, Andrew B. Perrin examines the Aramaic Levi Document, Words of Qahat, and Visions of Amram, showing how they exhibit a concentration of priestly concerns and knowledge and exploring new models for evaluating their potential textual or traditional connections.

Horizons of Ancestral Inheritance includes a new transcription, critical notes, and translation of the Aramaic Levi, Qahat, and Amram fragments among the Dead Sea Scrolls based upon the latest digital images. These are paired with a comprehensive commentary on the conceptual elements, codicological features, and cultural contexts of the materials. The volume concludes with a fresh synthesis regarding the textual formation of these Aramaic, priestly pseudepigrapha as a "constellation" of texts within a larger world or scribal-priestly activity and traditions. The Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most understudied items in the Qumran collection. With open questions around their origins, transmission, and reception in and beyond the Second Temple period, these writings provide both new materials and fresh insight into the thought, identity, and practice of ancient Judaism.