Deuteronomy 2 — Dead Sea Scrolls
4 attestation entries • 0 variants • 4QDeut family
Manuscript Overview
Summary
Deuteronomy 2 recounts the wilderness passage past Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and the defeat of Sihon. 4QDeutᵈ (4Q31) preserves a substantial run of 2:24–3:14 and is the principal Qumran witness for this material. 11QDeut and 4QDeutᶜ also attest fragments. The text broadly tracks the MT with only orthographic variation.
Notable Variants
No significant content variants. 4QDeutᵈ shows the typical Qumran-orthographic plene tendency (longer spellings) but the consonantal text agrees with the MT throughout the preserved passages.
Manuscripts
4QDeutᵈ (4Q31), 4QDeutᶜ (4Q30), 4QDeutᵒ (4Q42), 11QDeut (11Q3)
Scroll Condition
4QDeutᵈ is well preserved across vv. 24–37, providing a continuous reading of the Sihon narrative.
'Get moving! Set out and cross the Arnon Gorge. Look — I have handed Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land over to you. Begin the conquest! Engage him in battle.'
The command to cross the Wadi Arnon and engage Sihon is preserved; tracks MT.
4QDeutᵈ col. I
'Starting today I will begin placing dread and fear of you upon the peoples under all the heavens. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble and writhe in anguish before you.'
Tracks MT. The promise that fear of Israel will fall on the peoples is preserved verbatim.
4QDeutᵈ col. I
But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through, because the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart unyielding, in order to hand him over to you — as has now happened.
Tracks MT. The hardening of Sihon's spirit reads identically.
4QDeutᵈ col. I
We captured all his cities at that time and devoted every city to destruction — the men, the women, and the children. We left no survivor.
Tracks MT. The ḥerem (devotion to destruction) language is preserved verbatim.
4QDeutᵈ col. I