Manuscript Overview
Summary
Psalm 22 — the great suffering psalm, opened with 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me' (cited by Jesus from the cross at Matt 27:46 / Mark 15:34) — preserves one of the most theologically charged DSS readings in the entire Hebrew Bible at v. 16 (English v. 16; Hebrew v. 17). The MT reads כָּאֲרִי ('like a lion'), an awkward construction that has long puzzled commentators. The Nahal Hever Psalms scroll (5/6HevPs) reads כארו ('they have pierced/dug'), supporting the LXX (ὤρυξαν) and Vulgate (foderunt) readings — the textual basis of the traditional Christian crucifixion reading. The DSS evidence has shifted scholarly opinion in favor of the 'they pierced' reading as ancient.
Notable Variants
MARQUEE CHRISTOLOGICAL VARIANT at v. 16. MT כארי ('like a lion') vs. 5/6HevPs כארו ('they have pierced/dug'). The difference is a single letter: yod (י) vs. waw (ו). The MT reading 'like a lion my hands and my feet' is grammatically irregular (no verb) and produces a difficult image. The DSS reading 'they have pierced my hands and my feet' is grammatically natural and matches the LXX/Vulgate. The DSS finding has prompted critical translations to reconsider; NRSV reads 'they shorn my hands and feet' (a verbal alternative); ESV and others retain 'pierced' citing the DSS reading. The crucifixion-prediction reading central to Christian interpretation finds a Hebrew-text basis here.
Manuscripts
4QPsᶠ (4Q88) preserves portions; 5/6HevPs (Nahal Hever, slightly later than Qumran proper) preserves the marquee v. 16 reading
Scroll Condition
5/6HevPs preserves v. 16 with the kaf-aleph-resh-waw spelling. The reading is well legible.
For the musical director, on 'The Doe of the Dawn' — a psalm of David.
The opening 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me' tracks MT. Cited by Jesus from the cross at Matt 27:46 / Mark 15:34, both gospels preserving the Aramaic transliteration 'eli eli lema sabachthani.'
fragmentary
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death.
Masoretic (WLC)
כִּי סְבָבוּנִי כְּלָבִים עֲדַת מְרֵעִים הִקִּיפוּנִי כָּאֲרִי יָדַי וְרַגְלָי
For dogs surround me; a band of evildoers encircles me; like a lion my hands and feet [grammatically awkward — no verb]
Dead Sea Scroll
כי סבבוני כלבים עדת מרעים הקיפוני כארו ידי ורגלי
For dogs surround me; a band of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and my feet
MARQUEE TEXT-CRITICAL VARIANT — perhaps the most theologically charged single-letter difference in the Hebrew Bible.
MT כָּאֲרִי (ka'ari, 'like a lion') vs. 5/6HevPs כָּארוּ (ka'aru, 'they have pierced/dug'). The difference is the final letter: yod (י) in MT, waw (ו) in DSS. In Second Temple Hebrew script, yod and waw were nearly indistinguishable — a single stroke difference.
The MT reading 'like a lion my hands and my feet' is grammatically defective: it lacks a verb. Translators have to supply one (e.g., 'like a lion [they tear] my hands and feet'). The DSS reading provides the verb directly: 'they have pierced (dug, gouged) my hands and my feet.'
The Septuagint reads ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας μου ('they pierced my hands and my feet'), and the Vulgate reads foderunt manus meas et pedes meos — both translating a Hebrew Vorlage closer to the DSS than to the MT. Aquila and Symmachus preserve the literalist 'like a lion' tradition.
The DSS finding is decisive evidence that 'they have pierced' is not a Christian invention or an LXX innovation but a genuine ancient Hebrew reading. Critical commentaries (Goldingay, Hossfeld-Zenger, etc.) increasingly treat the DSS reading as original or at least as a strong alternative to MT.
Christological reception: while the New Testament does not directly cite Ps 22:16, John 19:37 ('they will look on him whom they have pierced,' citing Zech 12:10) and the broader Passion narrative draw on this psalm extensively. The 'they have pierced my hands and my feet' reading provides a direct prophetic-textual anchor for the crucifixion that the MT alone does not.
5/6HevPs col. XI
I can count all my bones; they stare and gaze at me.
'They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots' tracks MT. Cited at all four Passion narratives (Matt 27:35 / Mark 15:24 / Luke 23:34 / John 19:24).
fragmentary