A Revisiting of the Dating of Hodayot Manuscripts: A Stylistic Paleographic Analysis

Abstract

In 2021, Drew Longacre applied a stylistic paleographic analysis to thirty-five Dead Sea scrolls to propose conventional usage registers for different types and levels of scripts. His article has been published by Vetus Testamentum. Longacre’s research, however, has not included hodayot manuscripts. Hodayot manuscripts are the collection of approximately thirty thanksgiving psalms to the Lord. Since the opening phrase of these manuscripts is blessing the Lord, Sukenik names them as hodayot or thanksgiving Psalms in Hebrew. Hodayot, in Hebrew connotes thanksgiving Psalms, Hodayot is a significant resource for understanding the piousness and religious devotion of those who composed and then recited them. The importance of hodayot manuscripts is thus significant to help us to comprehend the devotion and religious reverence of the community in a particular context and culture. This article attempts to apply a stylistic paleographic analysis to hodayot manuscripts in order to revisit the dating of these manuscripts such as 1QHa, 1QHb, 4QHa (4Q427), 4QHb (4Q428), 4QHc (4Q429), 4QHd (4Q430), 4QHe (4Q431), and 4QpapHf (4Q432). This research is a combination of the text of Dead Sea scrolls (Hodayot) with a stylistic paleographic analysis.