Not knowing how to read ancient Hebrew or Aramaic, I’m left to rely on someone else’s interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Like I do with the Bible, I have discovered I can expand my understanding by comparing translations.
When I decided to read the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were three main translations that competed for my attention:
The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, Second Edition, by Florentino Garcia Martinez
Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., & Edward Cook
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
Not knowing anything about the Dead Sea Scrolls and basing my decision off reviews and the description of the book, I purchased Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., & Edward Cook (hereafter abbreviated as DSSNT). Later, in order to compare translations, I added to my library The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, Second Edition, by Florentino Garcia Martinez (hereafter abbreviated as TDSST).
The fragmentary nature of the scrolls makes it an arduous task to read through any translation of these scrolls. One must be rather serious and committed in order to find the nuggets of wisdom to be found there.
Without some form of bearing on the landscape and background of the different scrolls I would have been somewhat lost without the commentary provided in the Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation (DSSNT) by Wise, Abegg and Cook. Unless you are familiar with some of this background information you would almost need a companion text like James VanderKam’s The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, to fully appreciate The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated (TDSST) by Martinez, where he presents the full translation without commentary on the individual manuscripts.
When I began to try to compare the two translations (DSSNT and TDSST) I quickly discovered how challenging it was to find a given manuscript in the other translation. Between the two, the manuscripts of the scrolls are organized in completely different ways. The Index of Manuscripts in the Epilogue of DSSNT became an invaluable resource. At the end of TDSST there is a List of the Manuscripts from Qumran, but it was not immediately apparent to me that I could find the page number for a given manuscript within TDSST using this list, as it is a comprehensive list of all the scroll manuscripts, including those not included in the book. Only listings included in the book have a page number reference. I spent several weeks composing an index of my own to help me navigate between them, which can be found below.
Having solved the problem of being able to find the manuscripts between the two translations, I could now more easily compare them, which has given me a richer experience in understanding the beauty of these wonderful ancient scrolls from Qumran.
I give here only a few examples:
| 1QH Col 18:33-34 | |
| DSSNT p. 106 “My heart behaves as if mad in anguish and my loins tremble. My groaning enters the depths and completely searches out the chambers of Sheol.” | TDSST p. 352 “My heart flutters in anxiety, my kidneys in alarm, my sigh reaches down to the abyss, even pierces the caverns of Sheol.” |
1QH Col 16:11-12 | |
| DSSNT p. 102 But You, O [G]od, You protect its fruit with the mystery of powerful warriors, holy spirits, and the whirling flame of fire so that none may [come to the] fountain of life | TDSST p. 345 But you, O God, you protect your fruit with they mystery of powerful heroes, of spirits of holiness, so that the flame of the searing fire [will] not [reach] the spring of life |
1QH Col 17: 15-17 | |
| DSSNT p. 104 one person may be wiser [than his fell]ow, humanity is more honored than a vessel of c[lay], and one spirit may surpass another spirit; but as for Your mighty str[ength], no power can compare. To your glory there are no [bounds, and] to Your wisdom there is no measure, | TDSST p. 348 a fellow is wiser [than a fellow,] the flesh is respected more than one made from [clay,] one spirit is more powerful than another spirit; but before your might, nothing is strong, and nothing is [comparable] to your glory, and to your wisdom there is no measure, |
4Q417 Frag 2 col 1:6-12 | |
| DSSNT p. 380 [… at night meditate on the secret] of why things are and investigate it at all times, and then you will know truth and evil, wisdom [and falsehood … Consider the wicked] in all their ways, with all their punishments throughout the world-eras and the eternal punishment | TDSST p. 387 [… day and night meditate on the mystery of exis]tence and always investigate. Then you shall know truth and injustice, wisdom […] … […] in all his paths with his visitations through all the eternal periods, and the eternal visitation. |
4Q418 Frag 81:15-20 | |
| DSSNT p. 387 You are one who understands, if He has made you rule over the skill of His hands, and know […] goodness for all humans who pass by, and from there you will attend to your food […] consider well and add to your learning by listening to all your instructors […] show your poverty to all who seek pleasure and then you will establish […] you will be filled and satisfied by abundant goodness and by the skill of your hands […] for God has distributed an inheritance to every [living thing] and all those who are wise at heart will have success […] | TDSST p. 391 And you, understand; if through the wisdom of hands he has given you dominion, […] extension (?) for every man who walks. And from there he will administer your nourishment […] Understand the praised one, and by the whole hand of your sages add […] Show your lack to all those who seek delicacies. Then you will understand […] Fill and be replete with the abundance of goodness and the wisdom of your hands […] for God has divided the inheritance [of every living creature] and all those wise at heart understand […] |
Overall, if I had to only select one translation I would recommend Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, by Wise, Abegg, & Cook. Not only do they provide insightful commentary to help you navigate the landscape of the scrolls and great resources in their Epilogue, their translation seemed to capture what felt to me like a better essence of meaning. Having said that, I have to say there were many cases where I felt in The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated by Martinez, he captured passages in a way that resonated as something truer to my understanding of things. I cannot speak to what is a better translation as I have no experience with the original ancient languages. I can only compare with my own perceptions as I understand things and try to remain open to truth wherever it comes from.
Whatever translation you choose, I advise the reader to take the effort to read at least some edifying Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts like the Thanksgiving Scroll (1QH, 4Q427, and 4Q429), Wisdom scroll on the Secret of the Way Things Are or Mystery of Existence (4Q416-418), Blessings of the Wise (4Q525), and Apocryphal Psalms of David (11Q5-6; 4Q88, 4Q448). There are many delightful nuggets of wisdom that are sure to enlighten and uplift in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Your time will not be wasted in searching them out.
God bless,
Jay Ball
Dead Sea Scroll Index, Comparison of English Translations
The following index connects Dead Sea Scroll manuscript numbers with where they can be found in the english translations:
The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, Second Edition, by Florentino Garcia Martinez (abbreviated as TDSST)
and
Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., & Edward Cook (abbreviated as DSSNT)
There are many duplications in the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts as copies of the same information were found on various scrolls. For this reason Wise, Abegg and Cook in their translation Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation (DSSNT) have attempted to make it easier on the reader by taking the manuscripts where there is duplication, and combined them together and organized these into sections called “texts”. In the Epilogue of their book they have provided a very helpful Index of Manuscripts where they reference Dead Sea Scroll manuscript numbers to the text numbers they have assigned in their book. I have used their index as a base from which I have structured my index below.
The scroll manuscript numbers reference to the page (and text) numbers where the given manuscript can be found in the referenced translations. Because they have combined several manuscripts into one text within DSSNT, it is not always evident specifically where the given Dead Sea Scroll manuscript may be referenced. In these cases I have used parenthesis () to reference the page number where the text translation begins.
Italicized text represents references to sub sections of texts within a given scroll manuscript to further refine links to passages that would otherwise be difficult to find within the overall scroll manuscript between the translations.
I hope this index proves useful to those seeking a deeper experience by being able to navigate between and compare the translations.
View and Download Dead Sea Scroll Index, Comparison of English Translations as PDF document here.