The ‘Pastoral Pesher’ (1Q PP) was discovered this month by Jacob Simcavichi in a small shop in Tel Aviv and published in the Journal of Archaeological Reviewings, #2, 2011. According to Simca (what he likes to go by) the Pesher contains ‘sayings of the congregation’ and ‘their interpretation’.
For example, 1Q PP 3-4 reads
‘…. [and when a member of the con]gregation approaches its pastor and says ‘lo, beloved teacher of righteous doings, I shan’t be at worship this week for I have [...]‘ its interpretation is ‘I won’t be there, teacher of doings, because I’d rather stay in bed after being out all night [....]ing.’
And 1Q PP 12-13 reads
[....] [at the appointed time for the offering to be received] … you hear a clinking in the plate it may suggest poverty, however, its interpretation is ‘beloved teacher of righteous deeds, I’m a cheapskate and I’d rather spend my money on booze and video games than anything you call ministry’.
There are another dozen or so of these fascinating snippets, all evidently showing neophyte community leaders that though they are required to ‘love the community’ they most certainly are not required to believe congregants when they claim to be ill, offer reasons for absences from the community, or otherwise say anything even remotely excuse oriented. It’s quite an eye opener, this newly discovered scroll (a photo of which is below). Be sure to read the entire article- I’m sure your library carries it if you aren’t a subscriber.
