Moshe J. Bernstein (Yeshiva University)
Exegesis and Story in the Early Columns of the Genesis Apocryphon

I shall examine two related issues in the first part of the Genesis Apocryphon (the columns from 0 through 12-15): the narrative itself and its relationship to the biblical text. Both of the terms in my title are somewhat exaggerated; in the early columns of the Apocryphon, even the fragments which do tell a story are often too unconnected to tell much of a story, and the connection of this portion of the scroll with the biblical text is somewhat loose. From a methodological perspective, the reconstruction of the "story" section will be more aggressive than the comments on the exegesis. I shall attempt to squeeze out from the surviving text as much as is possible of the outline of the story which it contained. The discussion of the exegesis of the text will be more firmly grounded.