Expanding Ezekiel: The hermeneutics of scribal addition in the ancient text witnesses of the book of Ezekiel

This is a study of the ancient manuscript witnesses of the biblical book of Ezekiel. My aim is to explore the interrelationships between the production, transmission, and interpretation of scriptural scrolls by Jewish scribes during the late Second Temple period (third century B.C.E.--first century C.E.). A comparison of the oldest and most important textual witnesses of Ezekiel provides a large body of evidence for the phenomenon of "scribal expansion," instances where scribes added words and phrases into the body of the text.;I begin by developing methodology and criteria for identifying scribal additions in Ezekiel. This involves a comparison and assessment of the book's multiple text-forms represented by the ancient Hebrew texts and the Old Greek translation. Having compiled a database of examples, I propose a descriptive typology for categorizing and analyzing the different types of additions. The body of the dissertation is a commentary on all the various types of scribal expansion.;The scribal additions in Ezekiel provide us with information about the development and interpretation of scriptural texts in this period. They show an awareness of the emerging collection of scriptural scrolls in the post-exilic Judean community and the inclusion of Ezekiel within that collection. They also demonstrate how reverence for the text's divine authority compelled these scribes to preserve the sacred text and supplement it to increase its coherence and clarity for future readers.;The scribal expansions in Ezekiel provide a glimpse into the emergence of what has been called an axial transformation in early Judaism. This involved the shift from a culture based on direct divine revelations from prophet and priest to one based on textual study and reinterpretation. Thus, the conclusions of this study are relevant not only for text-critical scholarship on the Hebrew Bible, but also for the early history of Jewish scriptural exegesis and scribal culture.