Zusammenfassung / Summary
Biblical scholars working with textual sources have, especially after the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, been challenged by the complexity of plural traditions. This plurality of traditions cannot be understood and explained simply by direct literary dependencies. This has led to the ever-growing usage of the term “tradition” in textual studies, but it is not clear what exactly is meant by this term. The complexity and fluidity of non-fixed traditions which are not exhaustively presented in any of their representatives, makes it impossible to capture and study entire traditions. Therefore, I suggest that by examining the use of the concept of representation in neighboring fields of research we may be able to move the discussion about tradition, its definition and theoretical framework to a fresh direction.