Prophecy Rewritten: Use of Scriptural Traditions in 4QPseudo-Ezekiel

Abstract

Despite the amount of attention and study given to “rewritten scripture” and related phenomena in recent years, a number of texts that appear to employ rewriting have not been fully analyzed from this perspective, including 4QPseudo-Ezekiel. This study provides a detailed examination of the ways 4QPseudo-Ezekiel interacts with known versions of scripture and integrates the results of that examination into the larger conversation surrounding the various forms and purposes of rewriting in Second Temple Judaism. The evidence suggests that the goals and functions of scriptural reuse in 4QPseudo-Ezekiel closely resemble those of “rewritten scripture” texts like the Temple Scroll and Jubilees. At the same time, connections between the text and ideology of 4QPseudo-Ezekiel and that of versions of what became the biblical book of Ezekiel highlight the importance of joining study of “rewritten scripture” with study of the textual development of books of the Hebrew Bible.