COLUMN 10 – THE GREAT ISAIAH SCROLL FROM QUMRAN (1QISAA): ORTHOGRAPHIC AND SCRIBAL FEATURES, ANALYSIS, AND TRANSLATION

This study presents a detailed philological, orthographic, and scribal analysis of Column 10 of the Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran (1QIsaa), with particular focus on the textual segment corresponding to Isaiah 10–11. The research examines the physical characteristics of the manuscript, including the condition of the leather, cracks, folds, ink fading, and the absence of lacunae, providing insight into the material transmission of the text. The study further analyzes structural features such as paragraph divisions and the use of spatia, demonstrating an early system of textual segmentation that partially corresponds to later Masoretic and Greek traditions. Special attention is given to scribal practices, including interlinear additions, orthographic expansion, the use of matres lectionis (yod and vav), omission and insertion of consonants, and the presence of correction marks indicating scribal self-editing. A systematic comparison with the Masoretic Text reveals that most variations are orthographic and morphological rather than semantic. These differences include variations in suffixation, verb forms, lexical choices, and the presence or absence of particles such as the definite article and the accusative marker. The analysis demonstrates that the Qumran text preserves a parallel textual tradition characterized by phonological transparency and flexible orthographic conventions. The findings contribute to the broader understanding of Qumran Hebrew, scribal culture, and the development of the biblical text during the Second Temple period. Column 10 is thus shown to be a significant witness to early textual transmission, reflecting both stability and controlled variation within the manuscript tradition of the Hebrew Bible. Keywords Great Isaiah Scroll; 1QIsaa; Dead Sea Scrolls; Qumran; Qumran Hebrew; Biblical Hebrew; Hebrew philology; textual criticism; scribal practices; orthography; manuscript studies; Masoretic Text; Isaiah 10; Isaiah 11; Second Temple period; matres lectionis; textual transmission; paleography; biblical linguistics