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A Textual Analysis of Deuteronomy 32 in the Samaritan Pentateuch: A Comparative Study of the Antiquity of Its Readings

  • Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies
  • Abbr : KJOTS
  • 2026, 32(3), pp.46~77
  • DOI : 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.46
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Old Testament Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology
  • Received : August 18, 2026
  • Accepted : September 23, 2026
  • Published : September 30, 2026

Park sunghyun 1

1우리말씀연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study reexamines the traditional assessment of the Samaritan Pentateuch as merely a sectarian recension of the Masoretic Text and seeks to demonstrate the antiquity and transmission-historical value of the text preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch by analyzing major textual variants in Deuteronomy 32. To this end, the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Qumran manuscripts, and the Septuagint were compared on the basis of the textual variants presented in Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ). The analysis indicates that some readings in verses 8 and 43, in which the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch agree, reflect a shared textual stratum formed before the two traditions diverged. The verbal form in verse 43 may be regarded as an instance in which these two traditions preserve a more classical form with a future function than that found at Qumran, whereas 4QDeutq appears to regularize it into a more common expression characteristic of later usage. Among the readings in which the Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Masoretic Text, the reading in verse 5 appears to be a secondary revision intended to simplify a difficult sentence, while the reading in verse 15 is more likely to preserve an earlier form. In verse 35, the Masoretic reading is more likely to preserve the earlier form because it retains the more difficult expression and is supported by several ancient versions and New Testament quotations. Nevertheless, the agreement between the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint indicates that the reading “the day of vengeance” is also an ancient variant that had already circulated in the pre-Christian period. The variants in verse 43 show that the Samaritan Pentateuch transmits a form closely related to the Qumran evidence and the Septuagint, while also leaving open the possibility that the Masoretic Text preserves a difficult syntactic structure characteristic of ancient Hebrew poetry. The Samaritan Pentateuch thus contains overlapping textual layers, including an ancient shared editorial stratum, early textual variants, and readings produced through simplification and harmonization. The antiquity of a particular reading, therefore, cannot be directly equated with its originality. In this respect, the Samaritan Pentateuch should not be regarded as merely secondary evidence peripheral to the Masoretic Text, but as an independent textual witness that must be considered in reconstructing the formation and transmission of the Pentateuch.

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