COLUMN 7 – The Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran (1QIsaa): Orthographic and Scribal Features, Analysis, and Translation

Abstract This study presents an English translation and philological examination of Column 7 (Isaiah 7:15–8:8) from the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa), with particular attention to orthographic features, scribal conventions, and textual variation in relation to the Masoretic Text. The translation preserves critical textual markers, including editorial symbols, reconstructed elements, and morphological indicators, thereby reflecting the material and linguistic complexity of the Qumran manuscript tradition. The analyzed passage demonstrates characteristic features of Qumran Hebrew, including orthographic variation (e.g., alternation of consonantal endings), expansion of grammatical markers, and evidence of scribal intervention such as interlinear additions and marginal notation. Special attention is given to the integration of symbolic markers (e.g., {&vav&}, {&adonaj&}, [+ethah+]) as indicators of underlying textual phenomena rather than purely editorial additions. From a broader perspective, the text reflects a dynamic process of transmission in which linguistic, orthographic, and structural features function simultaneously as carriers of meaning and as evidence of scribal activity. The passage also illustrates the interaction between prophetic discourse and textual shaping, particularly in relation to themes of judgment, political upheaval, and divine intervention. This contribution situates Column 7 within the wider framework of Qumran textual plurality and supports the view that the Great Isaiah Scroll represents not a deviation from a fixed textual norm, but a parallel and historically valid textual tradition within Second Temple Judaism. Keywords Great Isaiah Scroll; 1QIsaa; Qumran Hebrew; Dead Sea Scrolls; Isaiah 7–8; textual criticism; orthography; scribal practices; Masoretic Text; textual variation; Hebrew philology; Second Temple Judaism; biblical translation