A Note on the Qumran Version of Isa 5:18

What is it about?

This article discusses a potentially difficult reading that occurs in the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) in Isa 5:18, namely, the word hšy. This manuscript is the oldest Hebrew copy of the book of Isaiah, dating from the second half of the second century BCE. The reading hšy was previously thought to be the result of a scribe's error (written instead of hšw “deceit, worthlessness, vanity,” cf. hšwˀ in the Masoretic text). The article discusses alternative explanations for this reading: a) the form of the noun ŝä “sheep, goat,” b) the form of the noun šay “tribute.”

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