1.1 The text refers to itself as verbal entity (with implied or explicit boundaries): See 1.1.1 and 1.1.4. However, there is no evidence of the absence or presence of sub-points 1.1.2-3, as the text is incomplete.
1.1.1 The text refers to itself using a genre term, speech act term, verb or other term implying verbal constitution: the phrase "copy of the book of the words of Noah" (V:29) may constitute a self-reference, implying an acknowledgment of the verbal constitution of the part-text. See 1.7 in GenApocWhole.
1.1.4 The text introduces the governing voice, thereby indirectly marking its own boundedness: This seems to be the case in V:29 where the phrase "copy of the book of the words of Noah" appears. The phrase כתב מלי נוח is readable on the infrared photographs, whereas the surrounding words are not easily readable. However, on the basis of some ink traces, Machiela reads the preceding word as “a [c]o[p]y” (פרשגן). Of the word "parshegen", only the shin and the final nun are partly visible whereas all other letters are not. Line 28 is blank serving as a section divider, if the vacat may be so integrated. The expression "copy of the book of the words of Noah" comes at the end of the first part-text, i.e. of the section having Lamech as the I-narrator (the last explicit sign of this is in V:26: "And when I, Lamech...") and seems to mark the transition to the Noah section (in the extant text, the first explicit mention of Noah being the I-narrator occurs in VI:6: "T[h]e[n] I, Noah"). On this basis, it may be argued that the phrase "copy of the book of the words of Noah" works as the (text-integral) heading of the Noah part-text and that it is hence situated on a higher level with respect to the speech of any of the I-narrators. Hence, it can be seen as a self-acknowledgement of the part-text (and indeed also of the Genesis Apocryphon as a text). Some scholars have seen a close connection between this expression and the two expressions “the words of Enoch” and “the words of Noah” in Jub. 21:10. Though unlikely, the incompleteness of the text does not allow excluding the possibility that the expression “copy of the book of the words of Noah” occurs within direct speech.
1.7 The text’s Inventory profile should be seen in the light of the following further information on completeness, thematic progression, aesthetic effects, etc.: the part-text's incompleteness limits the analytical potential of the Inventory many of whose points require knowledge of the whole text. See 1.7 and 10.1 in GenApocWhole entry.
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2.1 The information conveyed in the text defines the perspective of the governing voice in the following way:
2.1.1 [The text does not thematize how the governing voice comes to know the text’s contents (or its right to command obedience from the addressee), but suggests that its knowledge (or authority) is unlimited: This category only applies from after the shift from first to third-person perspective, i.e. from (at least) XVI:12. See 2.3.]
2.1.1.1 [In narrative, the governing voice’s perspective tacitly is that of someone “present” at all events equally, regardless of their time, place, or nature (e.g. thoughts or private utterances of characters). This category only applies to the part of the section where the governing voice is in the third person. See 2.1.1 and 2.3.]
2.1.2 The governing voice thematizes how it comes to know the text’s contents or its right to command obedience from the text’s addressee. Its perspective is thereby presented as limited, referring either to evidence, or to personal experience (mere human knowledge): This is only true for VI:1-XV:24, where the governing voice is in the first person singular. See 2.3.
2.1.3 Knowledge or authority of the text is presented as exceeding what the persona projected by the governing voice would ordinarily be able to achieve (e.g., supernatural or non-human mediators and informants): There are a number of passages in which Noah is reported to have visions (e.g. VI:11-15; XI:15-19) or dreams (e.g. XV:19-21) in which God appears.
2.1.7 [The governing voice (whether first or third person) is anonymous, that is, is not presented as tied to a specific personal identity (or to personhood in general): This category only applies after the shift from first to third person narrator. (See 2.3.)]
2.2 A first-person voice imposes its perspective on all (or almost all) knowledge or norms conveyed in the text: The first and last explicit identification of Noah as governing voice occur at VI:1 and XV:21. However, the Noah part-text probably starts at V:30 (after the phrase "copy of the book of the words of Noah") and it is likely that it concludes at the end of col. XVII.
2.2.1 The first-person governing voice is identified by an anonymous voice through a proper name or unique description: This happens in V:29, where Noah as I-narrator is introduced by the expression "copy of the book of the words of Noah".
2.2.1.3 The introduction of the first-person governing voice of the text has the following characteristics (also applies to self-identification 2.2.2):
2.2.1.3.2 It consists of minimal or merely formal information (e.g. name and genre/generic contents): The phrase "copy of the book of the words of Noah" appears. There is evidence of such an explicit introduction of the first-person governing voice only for the Noah section, but it is possible that the other two I-narrators of the Genesis Apocryphon were introduced by similar phrases.
2.2.2 The first person voice identifies itself by name or uniquely identifying expression (once or repeatedly): This occurs frequently.
2.2.4 The number and gender of the first-person governing voice are as follows:
2.2.4.1 The first person singular is used.
2.3 [There is an unexplained switch of the grammatical person of the governing voice within the main body of the text, from a first to a third person voice: The switch applies between XVI:12 and XVII. However, gaps in the text do not allow us to exclude the possibility that the transition from first to third person was explicitly managed in some manner.]
2.4 The governing voice defines a horizon of knowledge as shared with the projected addressee by taking for granted the following linguistic usages or references (in selection):
2.4.1 Persons or unique objects referred to by proper name or technical expression (and not present in the book of Genesis):
2.4.1.1 for persons mentioned or presented in narrative usage; as characters; or topics, for example: Emzera in VI:7.
2.4.1.3 for Gods/mythical figures/supernatural beings, etc., for example: in this part-text, the name of God is mentioned about twenty-five times and all mentions are based on six basic epithets: קדישׁא (e.g. קדישׁא רבא in VI:13), מר (e.g. מרה שמיא in VI:11), מלך (e.g. מלך שמיא in VIII:10), בריא (X:8), אל (e.g.אל עליון in XII:17), רחמנא (XV:7) and עליא (e.g. VI:24). For a comprehensive study of divine names in the Genesis Apocryphon see Bernstein's article reported in the bibliography.
2.4.1.5 for times or calendar dates (specific to a language or culture), for example: 10 Jubilees in VI:10.
2.4.1.6 for documents, texts, books, etc. (identified through being referred to or quoted): a “book of the words of Noah” is mentioned in V:29 by the governing voice and may have been taken for granted (see 1.1.4).
2.4.3 The text as a whole routinely employs the following language(s), knowledge of which is taken for granted: a very high-literary level Aramaic.
2.4.4 Special linguistic usages occur pervasively or prominently:
2.4.4.3 Technical expressions for the meta-linguistic presentation of another text (see 6.9.4): the quotation formula "ketiv" is used once in XV:20 but the actual text of the quotation or of the reference has not been preserved. It is a passage of direct speech by God addressed to Noah, where Scripture might have been used as a reference text. However, since the actual content of the quotation is lost, it does not constitute evidence that the existence of a book of Genesis was acknowledged by the text.
2.4.4.5 Other special linguistic usages: occasional loan words are found: e.g. "parshegen" in V:29 is a Persian loan word meaning "copy". See 1.1.4.
2.4.5 The meaning of some linguistic usage or reference is addressed explicitly, marking it as not being part of the shared horizon of knowledge: for example "Amania, next to Elam" in XIV:21. Family relations are usually made explicit (e.g. Emzera is introduced as Noah's wife and Bakiel's daughter; the name Emzera is not mentioned in Gen. 5:32 but is found in Jub. 4:33).
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4.2 The event sequence is projected as related to the sequence of text parts as follows:
4.2.1 The report sequence mirrors the projected chronological sequence of events mostly or wholly, not precluding 4.2.2–5.
4.3 The text presents several sets of internally complex episodes with no explicit or manifest causal or motivation nexus between them. Where characters are identical, or linked, they do not figure in one continuous set of events.
4.3.1 The episodes have a common main character, or several characters of approximately equal narrative prominence, who is the subject of the action.
4.9 There is prominent or sustained characterization of key figures in the narrative.
4.9.1 There is editorial comment on the qualities of a character from a third-person narrator: In XIV:9 ff., Noah is characterized as a cedar tree, but due to the fragmentary nature of the text, it is not easy to say who the speaking voice is in this passage: "Now listen and hear! You are the great cedar tree that was standing before you on a mountain top in your dream". In XIV:13, the text predicts that Noah's first son will be a righteous man. See 4.9.3.1.
4.9.1.1 There is self-characterization of a first-person governing voice, or first-person characterization of other characters: At VI:1-6, there is a moral self-characterisation by Noah: "Through the uterus of she who bore me I burst forth for uprightness, and when I emerged from my mother's womb I was planted for righteousness. All of my days I conducted myself uprightly, continually walking in the paths of everlasting truth...".
Similarly, in VI:23 the text reads: "But I, Noah, found grace, prominence, and righteousness in the eyes of the Lord of..."
4.9.3 A figure is characterized by her or his moral or religious traits. E.g., Noah's son Shem.
4.9.3.1 Moral/religious traits are manifestly linked to the ethnicity and/or gender of the figure: In XIV:13 it is said that "the first son [Shem] shall come forth as a righteous planting for all" and this is implicitly linked to being Noah's son.
4.11 Supernatural characters appear in the narrative, whether introduced casually, or accounted for elaborately: Both God and angelic figures either appear in a vision or dream (e.g. VI:11, VI:14, XI:15-19), enter into dialogue with the characters (e.g. VI:14, VI:21, VII:7, XI:15-19), or are credited as having an impact on actions (e.g. VI:2-3) or on events (e.g. XV:11-18). For example, in VI:11 ff. the "Lord of Heaven" appears to Noah in a vision and informs him about the conduct of the sons of Heaven; in a character's speech: in XI:13 Noah blesses God for saving him from the flood and for having punished the wicked, as also in XII:17 where Noah blesses God for having saved him and his family from the destruction ("I was blessing the […] great Holy one who saved us from destruction").
4.12 The narrative pace is slowed down or changed by the occasional or regular occurrence of extended descriptions.
4.12.1 There is extended description of one or more static objects: For example, in col. XIII, Noah describes a tree and other objects that appear to him in a vision.
4.14 The identity or perspective of the governing voice changes between adjacent parts of what is manifestly the same narrative. The epistemic stance of the text as a whole, i.e. the totality of information made available to the reader, exceeds the epistemic perspective of what up to a certain point in the text is the I-narrator.
4.14.1 A first-person narrator is followed by a third-person narrator: In XV:21 there is the last evidence of Noah as I-narrator, and in XVI:12 there is the first explicit sign of the switch to a third-person perspective: "And Noah divided".
4.14.3 The change coincides with other features which could be seen as motivating (or diachronically accounting for) it:
4.14.3.1 a shift in the setting of the action which modifies the epistemic perspective but does not disrupt the effective narrative continuity (nor necessarily the literary unity): The presence of the expression “copy of the book of the words of Noah” (V:29) may indicate the existence of a higher-level voice which could be understood as presenting the shift of governing voice as the switch to a mere character’s speech.
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7.1 Narrative or thematic correspondences, or overlap of specific wording, occur between a non-biblical text and one or more biblical texts in a manner that is prominent or pervasive: Such correspondences are pervasive between GenApocNoah and the book of Genesis.
7.1.1 Characters correspond between the non-biblical narrative and the narrative of a biblical text or texts.
7.1.1.1 Some or all main characters of the text correspond to main characters in a biblical partner text: The main characters of the text (Noah and his sons) correspond to main characters in a biblical partner text (i.e. the book of Genesis).
7.1.1.1.1 A main character shared with a biblical partner text is also the first-person narrator of the text: i.e. Noah.
7.1.2 Chronology, physical setting or emplotment correspond between the non-biblical narrative and the narrative of a biblical text or texts (Genesis):
7.1.2.1 The narrative’s chronological and spatial framework, as well as certain events, are co-extensive with that of a biblical partner text (Genesis), or with some extended part of it: The level of detail in the accounts of the two texts varies from section to section, but there is a general tendency to expansion. (See 7.1.2.1.1-3).
7.1.2.1.1 The text tends to narrate the story through events described in approximately the same amount of detail as a biblical partner text (Genesis): Cols. VI-XII deal with Noah, his sons and wife, the ark and the flood at a level of detail that appears more or less the same as that in the biblical account (Gen. 6-9, but also Gen. 10-11). However, the gaps in the manuscript do restrict this assessment.
7.1.2.1.2 The narrative is told in more detail than that of a biblical partner text (Genesis), or contains more components that slow down the narrative pace (4.6, 4.12 or 4.13): For example, in cols. XVI and XVII, the account of the sub-division of the earth between the sons of Noah is treated in more detail than in the corresponding biblical account of Gen. 10.
7.1.4 The text shares features of language with the Hebrew Bible, or exhibits tacit overlap with specific biblical wording, whether narrative or not.
7.1.4.2 The text contains prominently, but not necessarily frequently, the wording of specific biblical passages such as whole sentences or unique biblical phrases, used in a tacit manner. See also 8.1.4.1.
7.1.4.2.1 The tacit overlap of specific wording extends regularly to whole sentences or to extensive sentence groupings, found alongside sentences or sentence parts not found in that biblical partner text.
7.1.4.3 The tacit overlap of wording takes place across language boundaries, with respect to the current language of the text (this point does not apply to 6.13 cases): There are occasional cases of literal Aramaic translations of material in the book of Genesis (e.g. XII:1).
7.1.5 The projected persona of the governing voice of the text, whether a narrative or not, is also known from a biblical text, or the governing voice assumes an epistemic stance similar to that of a biblical text:
7.1.5.1 The projected first-person persona of the governing voice is also a character in a biblical text: i.e. Noah.
7.1.5.1.1 The persona appears to be linked to a character as it specifically appears in the biblical text, not merely as it might be known from diffuse cultural knowledge: The narrative is often closely parallel to the biblical account. Moreover, the quotation formula "ketiv" in XV:20 may point in the direction of a link to the biblical text. See 8.1.4.
7.2 Narrative or thematic correspondences, or overlap of specific wording, occur between the non-biblical text under discussion and other non-biblical texts in a manner that is prominent or pervasive: There are overlaps between the Noah part-text and both Jubilees (5-9) and 1Enoch (60 and 85-90).
7.2.1 There is a correspondence of characters (which may include the persona projected as the governing voice of the current text): Characters in GenApocNoah correspond to characters in 1Enoch and Jubilees.
7.2.1.1 This also constitutes a correspondence with a biblical text (7.1.1).
7.2.7 The projected first-person persona of the governing voice of the text, whether narrative or not, is also known from another non-biblical text: e.g. Apocalypse of Abraham, Jubilees, 1Enoch, Pseudo-Philo, among many others.
7.2.7.1 The projected first-person persona is identical with a character in another non-biblical text: e.g. the prologue of the Apocalypse of Abraham, Jubilees (e.g. 4:28), 1Enoch (e.g. 65:1) and Pseudo-Philo (2:10).
7.2.7.3 The 7.2.7 overlap also constitutes an overlap with a biblical text.
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8.1 Standard forms or contents formulated in set phrases, set sentence formats, or clauses in a standard syntactic connection.
8.1.4 Unit of a biblical quotation together with a hermeneutically dependent formulation; midrashic unit: a quotation formula (ketiv) is found in XV:20-21: "and thus it is written concerning you [Noah]". However, the actual content of the quotation (which is within a passage of direct speech by God) is missing, so the content of the quoted text is not known. It is also not possible to assume with certainty that "ketiv" was a term meant to refer to a "biblical" text.
8.1.6 Speech report: occasional/frequent.
8.1.14 Prayer, doxology, valediction, blessing: occasional.
8.1.15 Wish sentence: occasional.
8.1.18 Sentence making a prediction of a future event: e.g. XIV:12.
8.1.19 Prediction of reward or punishment of behaviour in a “wisdom” or similar formulation: occasional.
8.1.20 Recommendation of a particular behaviour or statement of an ideal type of person in a “wisdom” or similar formulation: occasional.
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9.12 [Important manuscripts divide the text explicitly into parts by the use of single words or incomplete sentences which constitute sub-headings: See 1.1.4 where a heading is discussed which, for the Genesis Apocryphon as a whole, may be a sub-heading; but for the current part-text is an integral overall heading.]
9.13 Physical evidence from antiquity potentially shows non-verbal signals indicating (an interpretation of) the text’s thematic division: The vacats seem to be placed in specific positions to indicate subunits and larger units but also to signal shifts from narrative to dialogue or monologue and also to indicate shifts of voices and the beginning of prayers and visions. It should however be mentioned that the presence of a vacat may also be due to imperfections in the parchment forcing the scribe the leave a space.
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11.2 The text is dominated by the reporting of emplotted events, whether or not in an overarching narrative format (4).
11.2.1 The reported events are those of a biblical past, or a biblically foretold future.
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12.1 Sampling of genre labels applied to the text in secondary literature: "Midrash", "rewritten Bible", "parabiblical text", "Targum", "apocalyptic text", "multigeneric text".
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Bibliography:
Editions and Translations:
D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1 (DJD I; Oxford: Clarendon, 1955); N. Avigad, Y. Yadin, A Genesis Apocryphon: A Scroll from the Wilderness of Judaea: Description and Contents of the Scroll, Facsimiles, Transcription and Translation of Columns II, XIX-XXII (Jerusalem: Magnes Press/Heikhal ha-sefer, 1956); J. A. Fitzmyer, The Genesis Apocryphon of Qumran Cave 1 (1Q20). A Commentary, (Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 2004); D. A. Machiela, The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20): A Reevaluation of its Text, Interpretative Character, and Relationship to the Book of Jubilees, (PhD thesis, University of Notre Dame, 2007, http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-07022007-205251/unrestricted/MachielaD072007.pdf; D. A. Machiela, The Dead Sea Genesis Apocryphon. A New Text and Translation with Introduction and Special Treatment of Columns 13-17, (Leiden: Brill, 2009); F. G. Martinez and E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 1, (Leiden: Brill, 2000).
Translations:
G. Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, (London: Penguin Books, 1997).
Studies:
P. S. Alexander, "Notes on the 'Imago Mundi' of the Book of Jubilees", Journal of Jewish Studies, 33 (1982), pp. 197-231; P. S. Alexander, "Retelling the Old Testament", H. G. M. Williamson and D. A. Carson (eds.), It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture. Essays in Honour of Barnabas Lindars (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 99-121; W. Baxter, "Noachic Traditions and the Book of Noah", Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 15 (2006), pp. 179-94; S. White Crawford, Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times (Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans, 2008); M. J. Bernstein, "Re-Arrangement, Anticipation and Harmonization as Exegetical Features in the Genesis Apocryphon", Dead Sea Discoveries 3 (1996), pp. 37-57; M. J. Bernstein, "Noah and the Flood at Qumran", D. W. Parry and E. Ulrich (eds.), The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Technological Innovations, New Texts, and Reformulated Issues (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 199-231; M. J. Bernstein, "From the Watchers to the Flood: Story and Exegesis in the Early Columns of the Genesis Apocryphon", D. Dimant et al. (eds.), Reworking the Bible: Apocryphal and Related Texts at Qumran. Proceedings of a Joint Symposium by the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature and the Hebrew University Institute for Advanced Studies Research Group on Qumran, 15-17 January, 2002 (Leiden: Brill, 2005), pp. 39-64; M. J. Bernstein, "Divine Titles and Epithets and the Sources of the Genesis Apocryphon", Journal of Biblical Literature 128, (2009), pp. 291-310; M. J. Bernstein, "The Genre(s) of the Genesis Apocryphon", D. Stökl Ben Ezra and K. Berthelot (eds.), Aramaica Qumranica: The Aix-En-Provence Colloquium on the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden: Brill, 2010), pp. 317-43; E. Eshel, "The Imago Mundi of the Genesis Apocryphon", L. Lidonnici and A. Lieber (eds.), Heavenly Tablets: Interpretation, Identity and Tradition in Ancient Judaism (Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. 111-31; E. Eshel, "The Dream Visions in the Noah Story of the Genesis Apocryphon and Related Texts", A. K. Petersen et al. (eds.), From Bible to Midrash: Approaches to Biblical Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls by Modern Interpreters (Leiden: Brill, 2009), pp. 41-62; A. Lange, “1QGenAp XIX10-XX32 as Paradigm of the Wisdom Didactive Narrative”, H. J. Fabry et al. (eds.), Qumranstudien. Vorträge und Beiträge der Teilnehmer des Qumranseminars auf dem internationalen Treffen der Society of Biblical Literature, Münster, 25.-26. Juli 1993, (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1996), pp. 191-204; E. Y. Kutscher, "Dating the Language of the Genesis Apocryphon", Journal of Biblical Literature 76, (1957), pp. 288-92; D. A. Machiela, "'Each to His Own Inheritance'. Geography as an Evaluative Tool in the Genesis Apocryphon", Dead Sea Discoveries 15 (2008), pp. 50-66; D. A. Machiela, "Genesis Revealed: The Apocalyptic Apocryphon from Qumran Cave 1", S. Metso et al. (eds.), Qumran Cave 1 Revisited. Texts from Cave 1 Sixty Years after Their Discovery: Proceedings of the Sixth Meeting of the IOQS in Ljubljana (Leiden: Brill, 2010), pp. 205-22; J. E. Miller, "The Redaction of Tobit and the Genesis Apocryphon", Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 8 (1991), pp. 53-61; M. Morgenstern, "A New Clue to the Original Length of the Genesis Apocryphon", Journal of Jewish Studies 47, (1996), pp. 345-47; R. C. Steiner, "The Heading of the Book of the Words of Noah on a Fragment of the Genesis Apocryphon: New Light on A 'Lost' Work", Dead Sea Discoveries 2 (1995), pp. 66-71; M. E. Stone, "The Book(s) Attributed to Noah", Dead Sea Discoveries 13 (2006), pp. 4-23; J. C. Vanderkam, "The Textual Affinities of the Biblical Citations in the Genesis Apocryphon", Journal of Biblical Literature 97 (1978), pp. 45-55; C. Werman, "Qumran and the Book of Noah", E. Chazon and M. Stone (eds.), Pseudepigraphic Perspectives: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 4-23.
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