pesharim

Hebrew commentaries

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

The pesharim are commentaries found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. These commentaries were written by members of a Jewish sect to explain books of the Old Testament prophets and the book of Psalms.1

The authors interpreted biblical texts as referring to the history of their own sect and the events of their time. Similar to apocalyptic literature, the pesharim used symbolic titles instead of proper names for individuals and groups, such as the "Teacher of Righteousness" for the sect's founder. Key examples of these sectarian commentaries include the pesharim on Habakkuk and Nahum.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

biblical literature
Pesharim
An important source of knowledge about the history of the Dead Sea sect is the pesharim (“commentaries”; singular pesher). The sectarian authors commented on the books of Old Testament prophets and the book of Psalms and in the commentaries explained the biblical text as…
Read More
An important source of knowledge about the history of the Dead Sea sect is the pesharim (“commentaries”; singular pesher). The sectarian authors commented on the books of Old Testament prophets and the book of Psalms and in the commentaries explained the biblical text as…
Read More