10/13/21
Scholarly Reflections
Miller, Shem. "Oral Tradition and the Dead Sea Scrolls." Oral Tradition 33:1 (2019), 3-22.
Considering Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship, Miller observes there has been extensive work on the material from a text-centered perspective, which is natural considering the fact that the scrolls did need to be brought into print for study. However, in the meantime, study of their oral roots has been neglected (Miller 2019, 4). Miller notes that John Foley described four basic categories of oral traditional materials (2002, summarized in Miller, p. 5). Written oral poems, voiced texts, voices from the past, and oral performance materials generally suffice as categories, though Miller is quick to observe that works often seem to blur into multiple categories. Some of the Dead Sea scrolls can be classified as "voices of the past" and as "voiced texts" (Miller 2019, 6).
To illustrate the importance of orality Miller reviews an element from the Community Rule materials (Miller 2019, 8). In this narrative, participants in evening gatherings read from a book, interpret it, and engage in a corpirate blessing. Both reading and interpreting would be understood in terms of a corporate, oral activity (Miller 2019, 9). In all likelihood, the blessing would also be understood as corporate and oral in nature.
Miller goes on to describe the community understanding of laws as a combination of revealed and hidden laws. The revealed laws were articulated clearly in Scripture, while the hidden laws were matters of teaching engaged in orality (Miller 2019, 11). Miller takes the statements about interpretation to indicate the process of articulating the hidden laws (Miller 2019, 12). These materials also fit into the "voice from the past" since the interpretation does not seem to be novel in nature.
Miller does observe that the category of "oral performance" is very difficult to analyze in the Dead Sea scrolls since it specifically has no reference to writing at all (Miller 2019, 13). Yet there are references to material called "mysteries" which would seem to have been intended as entirely oral in nature. It remains unclear to Miller how these sublime mysteries are actually revealed to us (Miller 2019, 15). This raises difficulties for interpretation, of course, but it is clear that the expectation was that the mysteries would be studied and pondered.
Scholarly Reflections
Miller, Shem. "Oral Tradition and the Dead Sea Scrolls." Oral Tradition 33:1 (2019), 3-22.
Considering Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship, Miller observes there has been extensive work on the material from a text-centered perspective, which is natural considering the fact that the scrolls did need to be brought into print for study. However, in the meantime, study of their oral roots has been neglected (Miller 2019, 4). Miller notes that John Foley described four basic categories of oral traditional materials (2002, summarized in Miller, p. 5). Written oral poems, voiced texts, voices from the past, and oral performance materials generally suffice as categories, though Miller is quick to observe that works often seem to blur into multiple categories. Some of the Dead Sea scrolls can be classified as "voices of the past" and as "voiced texts" (Miller 2019, 6).
To illustrate the importance of orality Miller reviews an element from the Community Rule materials (Miller 2019, 8). In this narrative, participants in evening gatherings read from a book, interpret it, and engage in a corpirate blessing. Both reading and interpreting would be understood in terms of a corporate, oral activity (Miller 2019, 9). In all likelihood, the blessing would also be understood as corporate and oral in nature.
Miller goes on to describe the community understanding of laws as a combination of revealed and hidden laws. The revealed laws were articulated clearly in Scripture, while the hidden laws were matters of teaching engaged in orality (Miller 2019, 11). Miller takes the statements about interpretation to indicate the process of articulating the hidden laws (Miller 2019, 12). These materials also fit into the "voice from the past" since the interpretation does not seem to be novel in nature.
Miller does observe that the category of "oral performance" is very difficult to analyze in the Dead Sea scrolls since it specifically has no reference to writing at all (Miller 2019, 13). Yet there are references to material called "mysteries" which would seem to have been intended as entirely oral in nature. It remains unclear to Miller how these sublime mysteries are actually revealed to us (Miller 2019, 15). This raises difficulties for interpretation, of course, but it is clear that the expectation was that the mysteries would be studied and pondered.
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