Misinterpreted Elliptical Structures in 1QIsaa

Abstract

Abstract This article examines elliptical structures in MT Isaiah that were apparently interpreted as non-elliptical in 1QIsaa. The different interpretation in the scroll is evident from various changes compared to the Masoretic Text of Isaiah, e.g., a change in gender or number of a verb; a change in the lexical category of a word; omission or addition of function word. These variants are evaluated from a language-processing perspective. It is argued that since elliptical structures require the inference of linguistic material that is not overt in the surface structure, if the scribes had perceived a non-elliptical interpretation based on the surface structure, or if a such structure could have been perceived by a minor change of the input due to the absent material, these variants were generated. These processes occur unintentionally and hence in such cases the resulting readings are not the outcome of deliberate editing.