L’ebraico qadmōnî: l’evidenza di 1Sam 24,14

Abstract

The article examines the term qadmōnî in 1Sam 24:14 in the Masoretic Text, in the Septuagint, and in the Qumran fragment 4QSama in which it is attested with the long spelling qdmnyym. The analysis leads to the conclusion that 4QSama testifies to the original reading and that it should be understood as a gentilic with a precise reference to the people mentioned in Gen 15:19; furthermore, that it should be translated as “proverb of the Qadmonites” and should be considered with the meaning of “proverb of a people that no longer exists” and therefore with the nuance of “remote in time”, “ancient”.