Pesher (/ˈpɛʃər/ ^ⓘ; Hebrew: פשר, pl. pesharim), from the Hebrew root meaning "interpretation," is a group of interpretive commentaries on scripture. These commentaries became known from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The texts give a theory of scriptural interpretation of a number of biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible, such as Habakkuk and Psalms.

The authors of the pesharim claimed that scripture is written in two levels; the surface level for ordinary readers with limited knowledge, and the concealed level for specialists with higher knowledge.^{[citation needed]} For example, the Habakkuk Pesher (1QpHab) teaches that God has made known to the Teacher of Righteousness, a prominent figure in the history of the Essene community, "all the mysteries of his servants the prophets" (1QpHab VII:4–5).^{[non-primary source needed]}

There are two types of pesharim found in the dead sea scrolls: continuous and thematic.

Continuous pesharim go through specific biblical books and quote the book phrase by phrase; after each quotation, an interpretation of the verse is added. There are 15 continuous pesharim that have been found and dated, including: five on Isaiah (4Q161, 4Q162, 4Q163, 4Q164, 4Q165); three on the Psalms (1Q16, 4Q171, 4Q173); and seven on books of the Minor Prophets (1QpHab on Habakkuk; 1Q14 on Micah; 1Q15 and 4Q170 on Zephaniah; 4Q166 and 4Q167 on Hosea; 4Q169 on Nahum). Below is an example of continuous pesharim from 1QpHab:

"Behold the nations and see, marvel and be astonished; for I accomplish a deed in your days, but you will not believe it when told" [Hab 1.5].

[Interpreted, this concerns] those who were unfaithful together with the Liar, in that they [did] not [listen to the word received by] the teacher of Righteousness from the mouth of God. And it concerns the unfaithful of the New [Covenant] in that they have not believed in the Covenant of God [and have profaned] his holy name."

Thematic pesharim are similar to continuous pesharim in that they comment on and cite from biblical verses, but thematic pesharim focus on a particular theme (eg. "the end of days") and pull from multiple biblical books as opposed to commenting on books verse by verse. In these texts, scriptural books were connected and therefore a passage or verse in one book could be interpreted or clarified by passages or verses found either later in the same book, or even another text. An example of thematic pesharim is text 4Q174, which is known as Florilegium. This scroll discuses several biblical texts including: 2 Sam 7, Ps 1 & 2, Exod 15, Ezek 37, Isa 8 & 65, and Amos. It looks at these texts with messianic implications and characterizes the Davidic Messiah as God's son.

The Pesharim (plural) contain references to a number of individuals and groups throughout their interpretation of the texts. As the Pesharim refer to specific events and make mention of these specific individuals, the Pesharim are important in understanding Qumran's history and culture during the times that their authors lived. Below are the most prominent individuals and groups cited.