A.Y. Kim

Abstract: "Strategies for Authorizing Non-Biblical Hymns and Prayers in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Later Jewish and Christian Traditions"

Angela Y. Kim

After the exile we find an increased concern with prayer literature that continues into the post-biblical period. This paper will discuss two strategies for authorizing "non-biblical" hymns and prayers that are external to the traditional Masoretic collection of texts, namely (1) the claim of divine inspiration of the poet and (2) the incorporation of anonymous prayers into authoritative collections. These authorizing strategies are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive and seem to be connected in some way to a concern over the use or interpretation of scripture in these hymns and prayers. While Jewish and Christian hymn and prayer texts will be discussed for the purposes of illustrating the phenomenon, the paper's aim is to describe the presence of these authorizing strategies in Dead Sea Scrolls like 11QPsa and the Hodayot (1QHa).

(c) 2001
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