The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Cave 1 near Qumran, a small settlement in the northwest corner of the Dead Sea. Composed in Aramaic, it consists of four sheets of leather. Furthermore, it is the least well-preserved document of the original seven.Davies, Philip R., George J. Brooke, and Phillip R. Callaway, The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls (London: Thames & Hudson, 2002), 100. The document records a conversation between the biblical figure Lamech, son of Methuselah, and his son, Noah, as well as first and third person narratives associated with Abraham. It is one of the nonbiblical texts found at Qumran. A range of compositional dates for the work have been suggested from the 3rd century BC to 1st century AD. Palaeography and Carbon-14 dating were used to identify the age of the documents. It is 13 inches in length and 2.75 inches in width at its widest point in the middle.
Discovery and state of the document The Genesis Apocryphon was one of the seven major scrolls found at Qumran in Cave 1. It is one of the collection in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which has over 800 documents in fragmentary form. All documents have been found in various states of preservation in twelve caves of the cliffs that parallel the northwest shore of the Dead Sea and in the general location of Qumran. The scroll was found in the Spring of 1947 by Bedouin shepherds, after throwing a rock into a cave while looking for their lost sheep.
Along with the Isaiah Scroll, the commentary on Habakkuk, and the Manual of Discipline, this document was sold by the Bedouin who discovered it to Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, the superior at the Monastery of Saint Mark the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary of Jerusalem. The four scrolls were transferred from Jerusalem to Syria and to Lebanon under certain political conditions in the area. There were plans made to transfer the scrolls to the U.S. but permission was later retracted because it was insisted that a high price could be asked for the scrolls if they remained unrolled and unraveled. The four scrolls were then announced for sale in the Wall Street Journal for $250,000 and were purchased by Israel on February 13, 1955. The Genesis Apocryphon joined the Isaiah Scrolls, War Scroll and the Thanksgiving Psalms, which had been purchased from Bedouins by Eleazar Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The seven main scrolls found in Cave 1 at Qumran, came to be housed in the Shrine of the Book in West Jerusalem.
J. Biberkraut was called upon to conduct the unrolling of the Genesis Apocryphon. When it was opened, it was found to lack the beginning and the end of the text. What is called Column 1, the inner most end of the scroll shows traces and signs that another piece of skin had originally been there. Moreover, the last line on Column 22 ends in the middle of a sentence, showing that there is text missing. At certain points, the scroll also displays holes where ink has corroded through the document, creating missing areas within the scroll.
In 1968, The Jerusalem Post reported that a change in the humidity of the Shrine of the Book had affected the condition of the Genesis Apocryphon. The change was allegedly caused by the opening of a wall during construction and renovations. This resulted in the wrinkling of the parchment on some of the Dead Sea Scrolls documents, and the document most affected was the Genesis Apocryphon.
Genre
Parabiblical writings The literary genre of the Genesis Apocryphon lies within the "rewritten bible" category, which can be closely compared to the Targum, Midrash, and parabiblical or parascriptural genres. The term "parascriptural" can be used as an umbrella term for a broad class of texts that in various ways extend the authority of scripture by imitation and interpretation. The "rewritten bible" category is the result of extending scripture which was a somewhat common practice during the Second Temple period. Writers employed several different methods of rewriting scripture: rearranging passages, adding detail, and clarifying points that were open to misinterpretation.
The Genesis Apocryphon is heavily influenced by the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Genesis account. It records the story of Genesis in the same chronological order, but by using these editing methods, it presents the patriarchs as examples to emulate. The main process is effectively substitution, or replacing the text of Genesis with new narrative, but the Genesis Apocryphon also adds more detail to the story of the patriarchs and their ancestry. Most prominently, the approach extends scripture by means of supplementation, incorporating traditions from other Enochic writings, into the story of Genesis. For example, the Genesis Apocryphon seeks to justify Abram's poor treatment of Sarai in Egypt (Genesis 12) by adding that Abram had a prophetic dream from God that sanctions his actions towards his wife.
The new narrative contained in the Genesis Apocryphon is not intended to be a new edition of Genesis, but the work is remarkable for its creative and imaginative freedom. Typologically, the Genesis Apocryphon represents a flexible attitude to the scriptural text and the desire to provide deeper insight into the lives of the patriarchs.
Contents The Genesis Apocryphon is a retelling of the stories of the patriarchs. It can be separated into books: the Book of Lamech, the Book of Noah, and the Book of Abraham.
Genesis Apocryphon and the Enochic tradition Genesis Apocryphon reflects the influence of the Enochic tradition, although the direction of dependence for each specific Enochian book and passage are being debated.
Genesis Apocryphon is largely based upon Genesis and 1 Enoch. But in regards to the Book of Jubilees, the dependence is not clear. Several scholars, such as Daniel Machiela, argue that the Genesis Apocryphon and the Book of Jubilees both depend on a common source rather than one directly borrowing from the other.
For example, good evidence for a common source is found in the "Table of Nations" (the division of the earth among Noah's sons). Both texts include specific geographic details and toponyms not found in Genesis, but well attested in ancient Hellenistic cartography. Thus, scholars suggest that both authors independently adapted an existing world map.
Also, both texts contain similar traditions regarding Noah that are absent from the Bible, such as his birth narrative and specific sacrificial laws. Some researchers believe these details were drawn from a now-lost Book of Noah, fragments of which have also been identified in the Book of Enoch, and other texts of the Enochic tradition.
Although most of the texts from Qumran relevant to the Genesis Apocryphon are in Aramaic, there are also some Hebrew fragments that are relevant. In particular, the Hebrew scroll 1Q19 (also sometimes known as 'The Book of Noah') from Cave 1 is related both to 1 Enoch, and to Genesis Apocryphon. Ariel Feldman (2009) considers carefully the relationship between 1Q19 and 1 Enoch, but also notes the connection of both texts to the Genesis Apocryphon. Feldman points out that the fragments relating the story of Noah's birth are quite small and difficult to interpret in both the Apocryphon and 1Q19. Yet 1QapGen II-V fragments do provide some clear parallels to 1Q19 fragments, such as in some details relevant to Lamech. Thus, similarly to how he also views 1 Enoch, Feldman suggests a common prior Enochic tradition behind both the Apocryphon and 1Q19.Ariel Feldman 2009, 1Q19 (The Book of Noah) Reconsidered. Henoch 31,2 (2009), pp. 284-306. - academia.edu. p.305
Biblical material Most of the stories in Genesis Apocryphon are told in first person, written in Hasmonaean Aramaic, and based on biblical narratives but include other subjects and details previously unknown. Although the material is typically a free reworking of biblical material, occasionally there is word-for-word translation or paraphrasing from Genesis.
Two noteworthy passages added to the account of Genesis are the story of Sarai's extraordinary beauty and Abram's exploration of the Promised Land through a dream. Sarai's beauty is praised greatly, using language similar to the Song of Songs, by Egyptian courtiers who have visited Abram, so much so that the Pharaoh abducts Sarai to be his wife. Abram's exploration of the Promised Land thoroughly describes a large extent of the geography of the Promised Land.
It has been noted that Genesis Apocryphon devotes more space to the role of women in biblical texts. For example, in the Apocryphon, Noah's wife is named Emzara. Also Noah's mother and the wife of Lamech is designated as Bitenosh. She is a unique character in the Apocryphon because she is given a voice to defend her fidelity when her husband suspects their son was fathered by an angel.Picus, Daniel M. (2022) "Loveliness Far Above Them All: Women and Wives of the Genesis Apocryphon," Studies in Mediterranean Antiquity and Classics: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/classicsjournal/vol6/iss1/3
Essene parallels Due to the scrolls' close proximity to Qumran, the date of composition and the relationship between 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees, some scholars believe the Essenes might be the authors of the Genesis Apocryphon, although others dispute this. For example, in The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2010), Genesis Apocryphon is considered as a "non‐sectarian" text.The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls. . p.384
Since there have been no other copies found in the 820 fragments at Qumran, Roland de Vaux suggests that it could be the original autograph. The scroll does not present any Essene theology or exegetical, doctrinal meditations demonstrating a clear author. Nevertheless, the references to 1 Enoch, and parallels in the Book of Jubilees suggest that it was accepted and used at Qumran.
Cols. 0–5 This passage is very fragmentary, but seems to contain the story of the Watchers (Heb: עירין) or Nephilim found in 1 Enoch 1–36, based on Gen 6:1–4. Columns 2–5 tell the story of the birth of Noah, using both third person accounts, and first person language from the point of view of Lamech, Noah's father. The text deals with Lamech and his wife. A portion of column 2 states: She said to me, "O my master and [brother, recall for yourself] my pregnancy. I swear to you by the Great Holy One, by the Ruler of Hea[ven] that this seed is yours, that this pregnancy is from you, that from you is the planting of [this] fruit [and that it is] not from any alien, or from any of the Watchers, or from any heavenly bein[g.] - trans. by Reeves
The section closes with Lamech appealing to his father Methuselah to go and approach Enoch, who is Lamech's grandfather, for guidance on this dispute. Enoch tells Methuselah about the coming apocalypse, and tells him that the reason Noah is so beautiful is because he is righteous and is meant to father the new world. Enoch instructs Methuselah to assure Lamech that he is Noah's father. Columns 3–5 contain Enoch's speech, which overlaps well with the Aramaic text found in 1 Enoch 106–107 from 4QEn. It is this overlap that provides the strongest evidence that the Genesis Apocryphon was using the Book of Enoch as a source, rather than being dependent on common traditions.
Cols. 6–17