DOCSLIB.ORG

Here Is a Renewed Interest in Studying the Messianic Beliefs of the Qumran Community

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Here Is a Renewed Interest in Studying the Messianic Beliefs of the Qumran Community THE EARLY HISTORY OF QUMRAN'S MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS In recent years there is a renewed interest in studying the messianic beliefs of the Qumran Community. During the nineties many new texts have been pub- lished which help to set this topic in a new and more comprehensive light1. We note, however, that a great number of unsolved questions remain concerning the texts known to the scholarly public since the very beginning of the Dead Sea Scrolls research. The exact teaching of these works has not been so far unanimously clarified. Based on the data provided by the recently published material, many scholars want to revise earlier established views on several gen- eral questions of the Qumran Community, including their messianic expecta- tions2. This essay will focus on the messianic loci of two texts, the Damascus Doc- ument and the Rule of the Community. These are the texts that have been most frequently cited in discussing the messianism of Qumran3. Generally, scholars refer to both texts to support the general Qumranic picture of the expectation of the double messiah4. Working on my doctoral dissertation on the Qumranic * This paper was written during a scholarship at K.U. Leuven provided by the Soros Foundation. I would like to thank Prof. Johan Lust for his valuable suggestions on the ear- lier form of the paper, and Beáta Tóth for the grammatical revision. 1. To mention only some major examples, see the following texts: 4Q521: E. PUECH, Qumrân Grotte 4. XVIII. Textes hébreux (4Q521-4Q528, 4Q576-4Q579) (DJD, 25), Oxford, Clarendon, 1998, pp. 1-38; 4Q246: G.J. BROOKE et al., Qumran Cave 4. XVII. Parabiblical Texts, Part 3 (DJD, 22), Oxford, Clarendon, 1996, pp. 165-184; 4Q369: J.C. VANDERKAM et al., Qumran Cave 4. VIII. Parabiblical Texts, Part 1 (DJD, 13), Oxford, Clarendon, 1994, pp. 353-362; 4Q541: E. PUECH, Fragments d'un apocryphe de Lévi et le personnage eschatologique. 4QTestLévic-d (?) et 4QAJa, in J. TREBOLLE BARRERA – L. VEGAS MONTANER (eds.), The Madrid Qumran Congress. Proceedings of the International Congress on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Madrid 18-21 March, 1991, vol. I-II (STDJ, 11), Lei- den, Brill – Madrid, Ed. Complutense, 1992, pp. 449-501. 2. See, e.g., M.O. WISE – J.D. TABOR, The Messiah at Qumram, in BARev 18/6 (1992) 60-65; M.G. ABEGG, The Messiah at Qumran: Are We Still Seeing Double?, in DSD 2 (1995), 125-144. 3. M. BURROWS, The Dead Sea Scrolls of St. Mark’s Monastery. Vol II, Fasc. 2: Plates and Transcriptions of the Manual of Discipline, New Haven, ASOR, 1951; P. ALEXANDER – G. VERMES, Qumran Cave 4. XIX: 4QSerekh Ha-Yahad (DJD, 26), Oxford, Clarendon, 1998; J.H. CHARLESWORTH (ed.), The Dead Sea Scrolls. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations. Vol. I. Rule of the Community and Related Documents. Vol. II: Damascus Document, War Scroll and Related Documents (The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations, 1- 2), Tübingen, Mohr; Louisville, John Knox, 1994, 1995; S. SCHECHTER, Fragments of a Zadokite Work (Fragments of Jewish Sectaries, 1), Cambridge, University Press, 1910; C. RABIN, The Zadokite Documents, Oxford, Clarendon, 1954; J.M. BAUMGARTEN, Qum- ran Cave 4. XIII: The Damascus Document (4Q266-273) (DJD, 18), Oxford, Clarendon, 1996. 4. See inter alia: J.J. COLLINS, The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient Literature (ABRL), New York, Doubleday, 1995, pp. 74-83; F. GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ – J. TREBOLLE BARRERA, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their Writ- 114 G. XERAVITS picture of the mediator of salvation I came to the recognition that the consen- sus on this question is not wholly acceptable. What made me further investi- gate the issue was the fact that contemporary research seems to be trying to get away from a diachronical description of the messianic expectations of the Qumran Community. The authors of the newest monographs and essays mainly concentrate on great thematic blocks, and thematic development does no longer have a central role5. Going somewhat against this tendency, this essay also looks for the place these texts have in the early history of the Com- munity itself. 1. The Problem (a) The Explicit Messianic Passages of the Damascus Document On the sheets of the Damascus Document found in the Cairo Genizah, the term ciwm occurs six times. From the point of view of this study, the first two references (CD 2,12; 5,21–6,1) are irrelevant, for these passages do not speak about eschatological persons, but rather about figures of the past who obtained their function through a ritual of anointing (the prophets, and analogously Moses). So “the anointed one” – in agreement with the usage of the Old Testa- ment – is simply their epithet6. The four other passages, however, are of crucial importance: 1. CD 12,22–13,1: [hvnc]m[e] bwvm çrs ezv eywre xqb elab jiklehme larwiv frea 7cvwm dvmy dy 2. CD 14,18-19: jeb vtpwi] rwa jitpwme wvrp ezv larwiv frea c[iwm dvmy dy ]jnvy rpkiv 3. CD 19,10-11: edqpe xqb vtlmi ela brcl vrsmi jirawnev larwiv frea ciwm avbb 4. CD 19,33–20,1: jiwnae lk fk qwmd xrab ewdce hirbb vab rwa jiice jim rabm vrvsiv vdgbiv vbwv ings, Beliefs and Practices, Leiden, Brill, 1995, pp. 177-179; E. PUECH, Messianisme, escha- tologie et résurrection dans les manuscrits de la Mer Morte, in RevQ 70 (1997) 267-271. 5. See all the works mentioned in the previous footnote. 6. Cf. K. SEYBOLD, masîaÌ, in TDOT 9, 49-53. This usage is not unfamiliar at all for the qumran writings, we can cite many similar examples of the expression, see, e.g., 1QM 11,7-8; 4Q377 2 2,4-5. 7. The reading is generally corrected for ciwm, on the analogy of the other similar ref- erences. THE EARLY HISTORY OF QUMRAN’S MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS 115 vbhki al vbhkbv jy dvsb vbwci al 8dicie ervm 9usae jvim larwimv fream ciwm dvmy dy As a first observation, we note that all of these passages are situated in their context in a similar manner: their only role is to mark the temporal delimitation of certain ages. None of them is a messianic passage in the strict sense, however: their aim is not to speak of the messiah(s); rather, they serve as an auxiliary topic for the better understanding of another, more fundamental message of the author. In all four cases ciwm is in the singular. Those scholars who classify the Da- mascus Document among the texts that speak about two messiahs have made many attempts to prove that the author of the Document used the formal singular for some plural subjects. The attempts are mainly twofold: either palaeographical or grammatical, but, as M.G. Abegg has recently demonstrated, these approaches are both incongruent10. As for palaeography, a recently published fragment of the Damascus Document found in Cave 4 contains the same singular reading11; as for grammar, the applicability of the distributive sg. construct in this instance is fairly problematic12. The “singular” interpretation is supported by the fact that in the only locus where the person has a finite verb, and not an infinitive form (CD 14,19), the verb is clearly in the singular (in the case of the distributive sg., the plural verbal form would be correct, cf. Gn 14,10). The palaeographical and grammatical considerations thus speak in favour of a single anointed figure, just as does the evidence provided by the whole Docu- ment. In fact, in CD none of the messianic titles mentioned in the Qumran texts appear in an eschatological context13, except for this one (ciwm). In the famous midrash of Amos-Numeri (CD 7,13–8,1), however, the expressions “sceptre” (tbw) and “Prince of the Congregation” (edye aiwn) can be found in an eschato- logical context, but from a text-critical point of view, this passage shows an obvi- ous independence from the context. (The midrash is probably secondarily inserted into the Urtext of the Document.) The ciwm passages are situated in two distinct parts of the Document (part A2 and part B). A2 contains legal material, whereas B is a narrative. The only mes- sianic locus in part A1, as stated above, is an insert (CD 7,13–8,1). Moreover, it 8. Some scholars think that this word is not other than a misspelling of dci (“commu- nity”), see E. QIMRON, The Text of CDC, in M. BROSHI (ed.), The Damascus Document Reconsidered, Jerusalem, IES, 1992, p. 47. 9. The interpretation of the expression is much debated among scholars, since the verb usae, which has the meaning “to gather”, can in some cases refer to the death of a person in biblical Hebrew (and also in Qumran). On this question, consult the following paper: B.Z. WACHOLDER, Does Qumran Record the Death of the Moreh? The Meaning of he’aseph in Damascus Covenant XIX, 35, XX, 14, in RevQ 49-52 (1988) 323-330. 10. See ABEGG, The Messiah at Qumran, pp. 129-130. 11. 4Q266 10 1,12: DJD 18 (1996), 72-73, the analysis of the passage in question: M.J. BAUMGARTEN, Messianic Forgiveness of Sin in CD 14,19 (4Q266 10 I 12-13), in D.W. PARRY – E. ULRICH (eds.), The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Technological Innovations, New Texts and Reformulated Issues (STDJ, 30), Leiden, Brill, 1999, 537-544. 12. Cf. P. JOÜON – T. MURAOKA, GBH § 136l; G. XERAVITS, Précisions sur le texte original et le concept messianique de CD 7,13–8,1 et 19,5-14, in RevQ 73 (1999) 47-59.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Covenant Renewal Ceremony As the Main Function of Qumran
    religions Article The Covenant Renewal Ceremony as the Main Function of Qumran Daniel Vainstub Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near East, Ben‑Gurion University, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel; [email protected] Abstract: Unlike any other group or philosophy in ancient Judaism, the yahad sect obliged all mem‑ ˙ bers of the sect to leave their places of residence all over the country and gather in the sect’s central site to participate in a special annual ceremony of renewal of the covenant between God and each of the members. The increase of the communities that composed the sect and their spread over the en‑ tire country during the first century BCE required the development of the appropriate infrastructure for hosting this annual gathering at Qumran. Consequently, the hosting of the gathering became the main function of the site, and the southern esplanade with the buildings surrounding it became the epicenter of the site. Keywords: Qumran; Damascus Document; scrolls; mikveh 1. Introduction The subject of this paper is the yearly gathering during the festival of Shavuot of all members of the communities that composed the yahad sect.1 After close examination of the Citation: Vainstub, Daniel. 2021. The ˙ evidence for this annual gathering in the sect’s writings and analysis of the archaeological Covenant Renewal Ceremony as the data on the development of the site of Qumran, it became evident that in the generation Main Function of Qumran. Religions 12: 578. https://doi.org/10.3390/ following that of the site’s founders, the holding of the annual gathering became the main ¶ rel12080578 raison d’ tre of the site and the factor that dictated its architectural development.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of Atonement in the Qumran Literature and the New Covenant
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Liberty University Digital Commons Liberty University DigitalCommons@Liberty University Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate Faculty Publications and Presentations School 2010 The onceptC of Atonement in the Qumran Literature and the New Covenant Jintae Kim Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Kim, Jintae, "The oncC ept of Atonement in the Qumran Literature and the New Covenant" (2010). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 374. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs/374 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. [JGRChJ 7 (2010) 98-111] THE CONCEPT OF ATONEMENT IN THE QUMRAN LITERatURE AND THE NEW COVENANT Jintae Kim Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, VA Since their first discovery in 1947, the Qumran Scrolls have drawn tremendous scholarly attention. One of the centers of the early discussion was whether one could find clues to the origin of Christianity in the Qumran literature.1 Among the areas of discussion were the possible connections between the Qumran literature and the New Testament con- cept of atonement.2 No overall consensus has yet been reached among scholars concerning this issue.
    [Show full text]
  • Sons of the Pit in CD 13
    Christopher Stroup [email protected] 24 April 2009 A REEXAMINATION OF THE ‘SONS OF THE DAWN’ IN CD 13:14-15A INTRO/ISSUE (slide 1) The level of exclusivity within the Essenes, generally, and the Qumran community, specifically, remains debated.1 Scholars have long portrayed the Essenes as an exclusive, nearly utopian community characterized by the mutual exchange of goods and services between sectarian members and the avoidance of financial interaction with outsiders.2 This depiction is perpetuated through an equation of the Essenes with the Qumran community, thus highlighting an isolationist tendency, and the privileging of the Community Rule (1QS) as an interpretive frame by which other Essene documents are read. Though I cannot address such broad themes in this paper, I hope to nuance the discussion of such topics by exploring an enigmatic rule from the Damascus Document. (slide 2) In the midst of the rules for introducing new members to the community, the authors informs us that “everyone who joins his congregation, [the Inspector] he should examine, concerning his actions, his intelligence, his strength, his courage and his wealth; and they shall inscribe him in his place according to his inheritance in the lot of light. None of the members of the camp should have authority to introduce anyone into the congregation without the permission of the Inspector of the camp. And none of the ones entering the covenant of God should lend to or give to the sons of the dawn/pit except from hand to hand. And no-one should make a deed of purchase or of sale (הׁשחר/ת) without informing the Inspector of the camp.” Determining what is prohibited by the emphasized regulation of transactions and to whom the rule even applies is problematic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations
    386 BOOK REVIEWS 65, n. 128:the wrongclause fromDaniel 7:9 is transcribed;it does not match the translationprovided. JohnC. Reeves WinthropUniversity RockHill, S.C. James H. Charlesworth, ed. The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations. Vol. 1: Rule of the Community and RelatedDocuments. Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls Project.Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr(Paul Siebeck), and Louisville: Westminster JohnKnox Press, 1994. xxiii, 185 pp. The work under review is the first volume in a series designed to be "the first comprehensiveedition of texts, translations,and introductionsto all the Dead Sea Scrolls that are not copies of the [biblical]books" (p. xi). Accordingly,we are dealing with a massive project,especially since every fragment,no matterhow small in size, is to be includedin the series. Projectdirector James H. Charlesworthhas assembleda fine andwide array of scholars(the list of contributorsto the entireproject includes forty-five names)to assist him in this undertaking. Ten volumes are planned,as follows: (1) Rule of the Communityand Related Documents (i.e., the present volume); (2) Damascus Document, War Scroll, and Related Documents; (3) Damascus Document Fragments, More Precepts of the Torah, and Related Documents; (4) Angelic Liturgy, Prayers, and Psalms; (5) ThanksgivingHymns and Related Documents; (6) Targumon Job, Pesharim, and Related Documents; (7) Temple Scroll and Related Documents; (8) Genesis Apocryphon, New Jerusalem, and Related Documents; (9) Copper Scroll, Greek Fragments, and Miscellanea; and (10) Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. The division of the texts into these volumesseems generallysound, but one mustquestion why the CairoGeniza text of the DamascusDocument (along with two fragments5Q12 and 6Q15) will appearin volume2, while the nine DamascusDocument fragments from Cave 4 will appearin volume 3 (this explicit informationis suppliedon p.
    [Show full text]
  • Agents of Resurrection in 4Q521, the Sayings Source Q and 4Qpseudo-Ezekiel*
    Agents of Resurrection in 4Q521, the Sayings Source Q and 4QPseudo-Ezekiel* Benjamin Wold, Trinity College Dublin For presentation at Durham University’s Seminar for the Study of Judaism in Late Antiquity (Nov. 11, 2010) Since its publication in 1992, 4Q521 (“Messianic Apocalypse”) has become one of the most discussed discoveries from Qumran.1 The reasons for this are not difficult to understand when fragment 2 column ii is read alongside Matthew 11,1-6 and Luke 7,18-23 (from the sayings source Q). The Hebrew fragment 4Q521 2 ii preserves a reference to a messiah (ln. 1) and shortly thereafter refers to Isaiah 61,1-2 with only one significant addition: the dead are raised (ln. 12). The document 4Q521 is preserved in sixteen fragments and several other references to messiah(s) and resurrection are found among them. The largest fragment is 4Q521 2 ii and reads: Column ii [](1) [](2) vacat (3) (4) (5) (6) [(7) [](8) ][][](9) ][ ](10) []<>(11) [](12) [][][ ](13) * I would like to thank the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung for helping make this research possible. 1 É. PUECH, Une Apocalypse Messianique (4Q521), RevQ 15 (1992) 475-519. There is no clear reason that 4Q521 should be seen as originating with the Qumran community, but rather stems from a broader Palestinian Jewish tradition. See R. BERGMEIER, Beobachtungen zu 4Q521 f 2, II, 1-13, ZDMG 145 (1995) 44-45. Pace PUECH, a late second cent. BCE date of the autograph (4Q521 is likely not the autograph) is possible, but the provenance of the document lacks characteristics that would identify it as Essene; see his, Some Remarks on 4Q246 and 4Q521 and Qumran Messianism, in The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls (STDJ 30), hg.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on the Teacher of Righteousness, Collective Memory, and Tradition at Qumran by Gianc
    MANUFACTURING HISTORY AND IDENTITY: A STUDY ON THE TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, COLLECTIVE MEMORY, AND TRADITION AT QUMRAN BY GIANCARLO P. ANGULO A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Religion May 2014 Winston Salem, North Carolina Approved By: Kenneth G. Hoglund, Ph.D., Advisor Jarrod Whitaker, Ph.D., Chair Clinton J. Moyer, Ph.D. Acknowledgments It would not be possible to adequately present the breadth of my gratitude in the scope of this short acknowledgment section. That being said, I would like to extend a few thanks to some of those who have most influenced my academic and personal progression during my time in academia. To begin, I would be remiss not to mention the many excellent professors and specifically Dr. Erik Larson at Florida International University. The Religious Studies department at my undergraduate university nurtured my nascent fascination with religion and the Dead Sea Scrolls and launched me into the career I am now seeking to pursue. Furthermore, a thank you goes out to my readers Dr. Jarrod Whitaker and Dr. Clinton Moyer. You have both presented me with wonderful opportunities during my time at Wake Forest University that have helped to develop me into the student and speaker I am today. Your guidance and review of this thesis have proven essential for me to produce my very best work. Also, a very special thank you must go out to my advisor, professor, and friend, Dr. Ken Hoglund.
    [Show full text]
  • The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls
    Eruditio Ardescens The Journal of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Volume 2 Issue 2 Article 1 February 2016 The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls J. Randall Price Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/jlbts Part of the Jewish Studies Commons Recommended Citation Price, J. Randall (2016) "The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls," Eruditio Ardescens: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/jlbts/vol2/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in Eruditio Ardescens by an authorized editor of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls J. Randall Price, Ph.D. Center for Judaic Studies Liberty University [email protected] Recent unrest in the Middle East regularly stimulates discussion on the eschatological interpretation of events within the biblical context. In light of this interest it is relevant to consider the oldest eschatological interpretation of biblical texts that had their origin in the Middle East – the Dead Sea Scrolls. This collection of some 1,000 and more documents that were recovered from caves along the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in Israel, has become for scholars of both the Old and New Testaments a window into Jewish interpretation in the Late Second Temple period, a time known for intense messianic expectation. The sectarian documents (non-biblical texts authored by the Qumran Sect or collected by the Jewish Community) among these documents are eschatological in nature and afford the earliest and most complete perspective into the thinking of at least one Jewish group at the time of Jesus’ birth and the formation of the early church.
    [Show full text]
  • The Context of 4Qmmt and Comfortable Theories*
    THE CONTEXT OF 4QMMT AND COMFORTABLE THEORIES* Charlotte Hempel I. Introduction Six copies of the so-called Halakhic Letter 4QMMT were found in Qumran Cave 4, and palaeographers have suggested that they were copied over a period of about 100 years or more (ca. 75 BCE–50 CE). Whether or not the work was composed at Qumran, it was obviously copied over a long period of time and must, therefore, have been regarded as important. The document falls into three parts: a calen- dric section, a halakhic section, and a homiletic section presented as sections A, B, and C in the editio princeps published as volume 10 of the Series Discoveries in the Judean Desert.1 It is a matter of dis- pute whether or not the calendric section A at the beginning of the work forms an integral part of the document or not.2 The halakhic section B forms the central part of the document and lists a number of legal issues where a ‘we’ group addresses a you plural group to try and convince them of their legal standpoint. Apart from the writers (we) and the addressees (you plural) the document also refers to a ‘they’ group who adopt different, and in the authors’ views intolerable, legal practices. The last part C is usually referred to as the homiletic epilogue. This last part at times addresses an individual, often thought to be a political ruler, who is asked to consider the kings of Israel. The * Outside of the Birmingham conference that gave rise to this volume I presented the material contained in this chapter to the Senior New Testament Seminar in Cam- bridge, UK, and at the Centre for Judaic Studies at Yale University, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • THE DAMASCUS DOCUMENT 2.1 Introduction Recovered at The
    CHAPTER TWO THE DAMASCUS DOCUMENT 2.1 Introduction Recovered at the end of the nineteenth century from the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, the Damascus Document and its contents were first published in 1910 by the Talmud scholar Solomon Schechter.1 After receiving financial support from a colleague at Cambridge University, Schechter travelled to Cairo in 1896 in order to locate an ancient manuscript rumoured to contain the original He- brew of Ben Sira.2 While searching for the Ben Sira text, Schechter came across two copies of a previously unknown document in the genizah (a storeroom for worn-out texts) of the Ben Ezra Syna- gogue.3 Schechter dubbed this document Fragments of a Zadokite Work in accordance with its fragmentary state and with the authors of the work who seem to have understood themselves as being syn- onymous with, or related to, the “sons of Zadok” (CD 4.3).4 Although some of Schechter’s contemporaries questioned his identification of the text as Zadokite,5 the title Zadokite Fragments 1 S. Schechter, Documents of Jewish Sectaries. I. Fragments of a Zadokite Work (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910). 2 S. C. Reif, “The Damascus Document from the Cairo Genizah,” in The Damas- cus Covenant: A Centennial of Discovery. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium of the Orion Center, 4-8 February, 1998 (ed. J. M. Baumgarten, E. G. Chazon, and A. Pinnick; STDJ 34; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2000), 109-31. 3 A third manuscript from the Cairo genizah containing nine lines of text has also been identified as having a possible connection with the Damascus Document.
    [Show full text]
  • Speci C Texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls
    Part VII: Specic Texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls 45. What is the Commentary on Habakkuk? The Commentary on Habakkuk, found in Cave 1, is a verse-by-verse commentary covering the rst two chapters of the book of Habakkuk. This commentary, also known as the Pesher Habakkuk, dates to the Herodian period (30—1 BC), although the composition itself dates to an earlier period. According to the commentary, the mysteries of the Lord’s prophets were revealed to Qumran’s Teacher of Righteousness and Habakkuk’s prophecy was interpreted in relation to the people of Qumran in the last days. For example, we read in the Pesher Habakkuk: And God told Habakkuk to write what was going to happen to the last generation, but he did not let him know the end of the age. And as for what he says: [Hab 2:2] So that the one who reads it /may run/. Its interpretation concerns the Teacher of Righteousness, to whom God has disclosed all the mysteries of the words of his servants, the prophets. [Hab 2:3]50 46. What is the Genesis Apocryphon? The Genesis Apocryphon retells and amplies many of the events recorded in Genesis. The rst readable passage of this damaged scroll describes Lamech’s response to the news that his wife, Bitenosh (who is not named in the Bible), is with child. The passage then continues with the story of Noah. The best-preserved sections enlarge upon the story of Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah) in Egypt and of Abram’s calling Sarai his sister, found in Genesis 12:10—20.
    [Show full text]
  • Law and Society in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Preliminary Remarks*
    Law and Society in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Preliminary Remarks* Aryeh Amihay 1. Terms and Context Any examination of the legal material in the Dead Sea Scrolls inevitably necessitates conjectures on two methodological concerns of contextualiza- tion. First, whether an archaeological discovery of texts, overburdened by fortuitous circumstances of various sorts, is sufficient to constitute a corpus; and second, if it is a corpus, how does the legal material of the scrolls relate to other postbiblical material, either Jewish or Christian, and how should one approach the task of comparing these separate corpora. Regarding the first concern, I deem the archaeological circumstances insufficient, which is why I try to avoid declinations of “Qumran” as adjectives or adverbs. The cache of texts is indeed “Qumranic,” but the sect reflected in it, their views, and practices were certainly never Qumranic, since that name for the location would not have come into existence at that point. This is not to detach the sect from the site, as some have proposed.1 Jodi Magness has persuasively and accessibly made the argument that such a detachment is not only wrong when reading the textual and material evidence, but methodologically * This is an expanded and revised version of a paper I presented at the Legal Theory and Jewish Law seminar at Kibbutz Tzuba, May 27, 2011. I am grateful to the participants for their comments, and especially to the organizers of the seminar, Hanina Ben-Menahem, Arye Edrei, and Suzanne Last Stone. I also wish to thank Ari Mermelstein, Alex Jassen, and the anonymous readers for helpful criticism.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Sea Scrolls - Qumran Library
    Dead Sea Scrolls - Qumran Library The Qumran Library The scrolls and scroll fragments recovered in the Qumran environs represent a voluminous body of Jewish documents, a veritable "library", dating from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. Unquestionably, the "library," which is the greatest manuscript find of the twentieth century, demonstrates the rich literary activity of Second Temple Period Jewry and sheds insight into centuries pivotal to both Judaism and Christianity. The library contains some books or works in a large number of copies, yet others are represented only fragmentarily by mere scraps of parchment. There are tens of thousands of scroll fragments. The number of different compositions represented is almost one thousand, and they are written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. There is less agreement on the specifics of what the Qumran library contains. According to many scholars, the chief categories represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls are: Biblical Those works contained in the Hebrew Bible. All of the books of the Bible are represented in the Dead Sea Scroll collection except Esther. Apocryphal or pseudepigraphical Those works which are omitted from various canons of the Bible and included in others. Sectarian Those scrolls related to a pietistic commune and include ordinances, biblical commentaries, apocalyptic visions, and liturgical works. While the group producing the sectarian scrolls is believed by many to be the Essenes, there are other scholars who state that there is too little evidence to support the view that one sect produced all of the sectarian material. Also, there are scholars who believe there is a fourth category of scroll materials which is neither biblical, apocryphal, nor "sectarian." In their view, such scrolls, which may include "Songs of the the Sabbath Sacrifice", should be designated simply as contemporary Jewish writing.
    [Show full text]