parents \u2026 with their nestlings Josephus\u2019s language is extremely close to Deut. 22:6\u20137 LXX, which concerns fledglings and their parents. The same law is cited in a similar context in Philo (Hypothetica 7.9) and alluded to in Pseudo-Phocylides 84\u201385; cf. M. Hul. 12:1\u20135.
\nspare animals that work, even in enemy territory This may be related to the biblical law about returning an enemy\u2019s lost animals, and helping his donkey that has fallen under its load (Exod. 23:4\u20135; Josephus, Ant. 4.275). Those laws had become paradigms of virtue in other Jewish traditions.
\n215. death The death penalty has been mentioned four times (Ag. Ap. 2.199, 201, 206, 207). Josephus now gathers, repeats, and amplifies those notices in \u00a7\u00a7215\u2013217a. The emphasis implies that strict penalties indicate a high morality and concurs with a traditional Roman sense of discipline and morality, though not with what Josephus records elsewhere as Pharisaic leniency (Ant. 13.294). It is unclear whether the death penalty could be applied by Jewish communities in the Diaspora or in the homeland after 70 CE (or under Roman rule before that date), except by lynching. As with the rules on Temple sacrifice, Josephus is describing an ideal.
\ngirl The \u201cgirl\u201d (kor\u0113) could be either unbetrothed (see Ag. Ap. 2.200) or betrothed (see 2.201).
\nthe passive partner The law against homoerotic practice was noted in 2.199, with the death penalty. Here the passive partner is assumed to be equally at fault, for allowing himself to be \u201cfeminized.\u201d Philo claims that this sin is too obvious to require mention (Hypothetica 7.1). Ancient objections to homoerotic practice (where they occurred) concerned a) feminizing the passive partner; b) indulging in an excess of passion; or c) failing to produce offspring (cf. Plato, Leg. 636c\u2013d; 835b\u2013842a). In the Roman era, special emphasis was placed on the fact that the passive partner took the role of the \u201cwoman,\u201d and was thus stigmatized as inferior, unmanly, and weak, in contrast to the virility and authority of the penetrating man. It was scandalous if young free-born males were thus placed in the role that \u201crightly\u201d belonged to social inferiors, such as women, slaves or \u201cunRoman\u201d men.
\nslaves Slaves fit this context well, since they were regularly used (by both male and female owners) for sexual purposes. It is not clear whether the slaves are here held equally liable to the death penalty, or whether the death penalty is here taken to apply (to the perpetrator) even if the sexual partner is a slave (rather than a free man or woman); the parallel in Philo\u2019s Hypothetica 7.2 would suggest the latter.
\n216. fraudulent even in measures or weights The rules in this section (\u00a7216) do not explicitly carry the death penalty, but their severity is implied by the context. The law against unjust scales was not mentioned before; the others were. The biblical laws on this topic (Lev. 19:35\u201336; Deut. 25:13\u201316) are echoed throughout the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Prov 11:1; 16:11; Ezek. 45:10\u201312; Amos 8:5), and were common in ancient cultures (cf. Diodorus, Library 1.78.3, on Egypt).
\n217. crime against parents For crime against parents, see Ag. Ap. 2.208. Josephus now makes the death penalty (Deut. 21:18\u201321) applicable to any \u201ccrime\u201d against parents or God. As in \u00a7208, parents are bracketed with God; cf. Philo\u2019s Hypothetica 7.2, which runs together \u201csacrilege\u201d against God, parents, and benefactors.
\neven if someone [merely] intends it On intention, contrast Ant. 12.358. The dramatic conclusion heightens the sense of severity. With regard to blasphemy against God, Josephus\u2019s source text is Lev. 24:13\u201316, where no allowance for a trial is given. Extending the definition of crime from act to intention represents an ethical interest in the actor\u2019s inner character, common in both Hellenistic and later Rabbinic ethics (cf. Pseudo-Phocylides 52; Matt. 6:21\u201328). But how these crimes, if they took shape only in intention, could be publicly proven and punished is unclear. Josephus is silent here on postmortem punishment, though not on afterlife reward (Ag. Ap. 2.218; cf. J.W. 2.163; 3.374\u201375).
\nreward Josephus switches from \u201cpenalty\u201d to \u201creward\u201d (or \u201cprize\u201d). Given the importance of contests in antiquity, the notion of a prize or reward was readily available as a metaphor and open to philosophical elaboration: material and transient rewards could be contrasted with the promise of a more valuable \u201creward\u201d for the soul. Josephus, like Paul, uses this antithesis within an eschatological framework (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25), but Josephus starts with monetary reward to underline the Jewish resistance to the lure of material wealth (cf. Ag. Ap. 2.195, 205). Silver cups and golden crowns are attested as prizes at ancient contests.
\nolive or parsley A crown of olive leaves was given to victors at the Olympic games; a kind of parsley (or \u201ccelery\u201d) was used for crowns at the Nemean and Isthmian games.
\npublic proclamation This denotes the public proclamation of a victory, at the games or in the home city at the victor\u2019s triumphant return (cf. Philo, Rewards 6). It stands in contrast to the private and inaudible, but more reliable, attestation of the conscience (Ag. Ap. 2.218).
\n218. conscience The conscience is the first of three witnesses listed here: conscience, Moses, and God; for the role of the conscience in witness, cf. Ant. 1.209; 4.286 (also supported by God). Josephus knows the effects of a bad conscience (e.g., Ant. 1.45\u201347; 2.25), but here alludes to the power of a good or pure conscience to give confidence to face both life and death (cf. J.W. 1.453; 2.582; Ant. 2.52).
\neach individual \u2026 has come to believe Josephus complicates the potentially simple statement that \u201cthe reward is not X but Y\u201d by referring to each individual\u2019s belief\u2014possibly because these intangible and future rewards can only be a matter of belief. Or he may be circumventing the problem that, as reported in Antiquities, not all Jews are in agreement on this matter (see the next comment); rather than overstate unanimity with a claim about \u201cus\u201d (cf. Ag. Ap. 2.179), Josephus refers to the promise of a better afterlife as a matter of individual belief.
\nas the legislator prophesied Josephus here takes the Pharisaic position that life beyond death is a Mosaic doctrine, a claim vigorously opposed by Sadducees.
\nas God provided firm assurance If Josephus intends by this something separate from Mosaic prophecies, he may allude to other scriptural passages taken to be proofs of a better eschatological existence in store for the righteous (e.g., Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1\u201314; Dan. 12:2\u20133, and numerous passages in the LXX of Psalms).
\nmeet death eagerly This additional comment seems gratuitous: the reward is presumably for all who keep the laws, not only for those who die for them. But the addition serves a number of functions. First, it highlights Jewish \u201ccontempt of death\u201d (Ag. Ap. 2.146) and simultaneously helps refute Apollonius\u2019s double charge of cowardice and recklessness (2.148): Jews are prepared to die, but for a noble cause (for the laws), not in sheer stupidity. Secondly, it repeats a theme already announced in 1.42\u201343, 191\u201392 (the language here very closely matches that of 1.42) and sets up the full-scale discussion of this topic in 2.219\u201335.
\nreceipt of a better life In his descriptions of the three Jewish \u201cphilosophies\u201d\u2014held respectively by the Essenes, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees\u2014Josephus noted their varying beliefs concerning the afterlife. Essenes believed in an immortal soul, gladly released from the prison of the body, and, for the righteous, a life of eternal blessedness (J.W. 2.151\u201358; Ant. 18.18). Sadducees thought the soul had no further life beyond death (J.W. 2.165; Ant. 18.16). Pharisees believed that the soul was immortal: the wicked would be eternally punished, while the good would \u201ctransfer into another body\u201d (J.W. 2.163) or enjoy the \u201crest of a new life\u201d (Ant. 18.14). Josephus\u2019s only other statement of his own beliefs is in J.W. 3.372\u201375 (arguing against suicide): our souls are immortal, and when we die we repay the loan of the soul, given by God; holy and obedient souls go to the most holy, heavenly place, thence \u201cat the turn of the ages\u201d (see the next comment) to take up alternative residence again in holy bodies (J.W. 3.374). Elsewhere, he reports others\u2019 more general sense of an afterlife: the teachers in J.W. 1.650, 653 (toned down in Ant. 17.152\u201353, 158\u201359), and Eleazar in J.W. 7.341\u201357. The present statement suggests a new beginning, not just a continued life of the soul, and may therefore imply some sort of resurrected (i.e., newly embodied) existence (cf. J.W. 3.374). But Josephus makes no explicit reference here to \u201cbodies\u201d (nor in the passages in Jewish Antiquities; in this respect, J.W. 3.374 is unique; cf. J.W. 2.163 for the belief of the Pharisees). This omission may be out of sensitivity to non-Jewish readers, but it is also possible that Josephus is now less willing to commit himself to a bodily renewal than when he wrote Jewish War, some 20 years earlier.
\nat the turn [of the ages] The parallel in J.W. 3.374 suggests the addition of the words in brackets; the phrase is otherwise obscure. It may seem surprising to finish a summary of the laws with this eschatological expectation, but Josephus had good precedent: both Plato\u2019s Republic and Cicero\u2019s Republic finish in this way (respectively, the myth of Er and the dream of Scipio).<\/p>\n
Sectarian Texts: Community, Law, and the End of Days<\/p>\n
These writings were produced or preserved by the sectarians of Qumran. Although they represent only a part of the sectarian compositions found in the Qumran library, they tell us much about how members of that particular Second Temple community regulated their lives together; how they understood biblical laws to apply to contemporary practice (especially in the Temple); and how they envisioned the (for them) rapidly approaching End of Days and their own role as actors in that imminent future.<\/p>\n
Rule of the Community<\/p>\n
Alex P. Jassen<\/p>\n
Rule of the Community (1QS) was among the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran Cave 1 in 1947. (Additional fragmentary copies of the work were found in Qumran Caves 4 and 5, see below.) The Rule is a collection of rules and ideals for life within a distinct sectarian community, which consist of the community\u2019s application of biblical law (e.g., purity laws) and regulations particular to the sectarian way of life (e.g., initiation rites, communal property). The Rule further outlines many of the central theological and ideological bases of the sectarian community. In spite of these unifying elements, the Rule preserves evidence of its compositional layers. Its theological premises are not uniformly consistent, for it includes multiple\u2014sometimes conflicting\u2014sets of regulations for related aspects of sectarian life. The difficulties in locating the literary and social setting of the Rule are compounded by the evidence of the Cave 4 manuscripts.
\nAs discussed in greater detail below, the version of the Rule found in 1QS often differs from the text preserved in the 10 additional fragmentary copies of the Rule found in Qumran Cave 4. Although 1QS is the longest and best preserved of the Rule manuscripts, it is unclear whether it was the authoritative version for the sectarian community. Indeed, the manuscript evidence indicates that both older and newer versions of the Rule circulated alongside one another within the community. Unfortunately, the fragmentary Cave 4 manuscripts only provide brief glimpses into the work\u2019s broader textual history. Thus, discussions of the content of the Rule naturally draw heavily on the well-preserved 1QS. The Rule, as represented by 1QS, can be divided into seven sections:<\/p>\n
1:1\u201315. Preamble. The opening section outlines the central ideals and ideology of the sectarian community. Emphasis is placed on the principles of proper observance of the law and the dualistic division of humanity.
\n1:16\u20133:12. Liturgy for the Initiation and Covenant-Renewal Ceremony. This section comprises several smaller units associated with the initiation ceremony for new members and an annual covenant-renewal ceremony.
\n3:13\u20134:26. Treatise on the Two Spirits. This section articulates the community\u2019s dualistic worldview in two units: (1) cosmic dualism: the belief that conflicting spirits of good and evil exist in the world (3:13\u20134:14); (2) anthropological dualism: the belief that spirits of good and evil compete within each human (4:15\u201326).
\n5:1\u20137:25. Rules for Life in the Community. Following an introduction (5:1\u20137), this section comprises a description of the oath for new members (5:7\u201320); diverse rules for life in the community (5:20\u20136:13); and probationary procedures for admission of new members (6:13\u201323).
\n6:24\u20137:25. List of Punishments for Sectarian Offenses (Penal Code). This section in cludes a list of offenses and their corresponding punishments. The \u201cif \u2026 then\u201d structure of the cases is modeled on biblical casuistic law (e.g., Exod. 20:22\u201323:33), though the particular offenses are generally related to the ascetic, sectarian way of life.
\n8:1\u20139:26. Rules for a Distinct Community. These two columns outline many of the community\u2019s core ideals and practices. 8:1\u20139:11 relates to the community as a whole, while 9:12\u201326 is addressed to the Maskil, one of the community leaders. The community is described as following the exhortation of Isa. 40:3 to prepare the way for the LORD in the desert. There, the community is identified as fulfilling the atoning functions of the Temple through its life of righteousness and pious observance of the law.
\n9:26\u201311:22. Concluding Hymn. A calendrical unit outlining the community\u2019s liturgical schedule (9:26\u201310:8) introduces the hymn. The concluding hymn is made up of several smaller hymnic units that focus on praise of God, the acknowledgement of the lowly nature of humans, and divine mercy toward humans. Several thematic and linguistic structures are familiar from the Thanksgiving Hymns.<\/p>\n
Authorship and History<\/p>\n
Scholars have long presumed that the Teacher of Righteousness, the preeminent leader of the sectarian community, played a significant role in the composition of the Rule. This argument rests primarily on the assumption that the Rule was composed while the community was living in the desert. This dating would therefore align with the presumed time frame of the Teacher\u2019s leadership. Aside from the tenuous nature of this argument, it is becoming increasingly clear that conventional understandings of authorship are incompatible with the Rule. It is indeed possible that the Teacher played some role in the composition of sections of the Rule, but the text provides little direction regarding authorship of the work\u2019s compositional layers.
\nThe Rule was first published in 1951 under the title Manual of Discipline. The more commonly used designation Rule of the Community (or Community Rule) is a direct translation of the ancient title as preserved in the opening lines of the text and on the back side of the handle sheet of the ancient manuscript: Serekh ha-Yahad. The standard abbreviation for the manuscript\u20141QS\u2014draws on this designation (S = Serekh). The discovery of Qumran Cave 4 in 1952 yielded 10 additional fragmentary copies of the Rule, and these were assigned the sigla 4QSa\u2013j (= 4Q255\u2013264). A 12th fragmentary manuscript was also found in Qumran Cave 5 (5QS = 5Q11). A manuscript from Qumran Cave 11 (11Q29) has recently been proposed as a possible 13th copy of the Rule.
\nScholarship on the compositional layers of the Rule is divided between early work on 1QS alone and more recent research that considers the Cave 4 manuscripts. Early commentators recognized the different literary character of the sections of 1QS and proposed multiple theories. Jerome Murphy O\u2019Conner, for example, posited a four-stage literary development that corresponds with the internal development of the sectarian community and also the four purported stages of settlement at Qumran. Since the full availability of the Cave 4 manuscripts in the 1990s, scholarship has focused on the relative dating of the long version of the Rule found in 1QS and the shorter versions preserved in 4QSb,d,e. Two primary opposing approaches have been taken: one, by Sarianna Metso, that 1QS is the newer manuscript, an expansion of the older 4QS manuscripts; and two, Philip Alexander\u2019s contention that the 4QS manuscripts are abbreviated versions of the older 1QS. More recently, Alison Schofield has advocated a new approach to understanding the divergent manuscript traditions. Rather than trying to locate phases of textual growth, Schofield argues that the different versions of the Rule reflect diverse sociohistorical contexts. This model draws on new approaches that view the Rule as authoritative for a broader network of Yahad-related communities.
\nThere can be little doubt that the origins of the Rule should be traced to the sectarian community associated with the preservation and cultivation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Indeed, the Rule has long been regarded as the preeminent sectarian text and a key indicator of what constitutes the distinct terminology and ideological worldview of the sectarian community of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
\nThirteen Hebrew manuscripts preserve material stemming from the Rule. As noted, 1QS is the best-preserved. Two additional related texts were copied on the same manuscript following 1QS: the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa) and the Rule of the Blessings (1QSb). 1QS is dated by paleographic analysis to 100\u201375 BCE. Recent radiocarbon testing confirms this general time frame. The 12 additional manuscripts of the Rule exist in varying degrees of preservation.
\nAmong the other surviving fragmentary manuscripts, several attest to versions of the Rule consistent with the text found in 1QS. Others, however, are too poorly preserved to determine their textual character.
\nDiscussions of the date of the Rule must distinguish between copying and composition. The 13 preserved manuscripts were copied between the second half of the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE. The composite nature of the Rule complicates attempts to date the composition of the text. It is almost certain that distinct portions of the Rule were composed at different points in time. In some cases, as for example the Treatise on the Two Spirits, these units likely had an independent textual existence before their incorporation into the Rule. In other cases, the distinct units were created as part of ongoing attempts to craft sectarian communal rules and only later brought together in a larger Rule composition.
\nMany of the common methods used to date the composition of texts, such as internal historical allusions, are unhelpful for the Rule. Rather, this discussion is driven by the debate regarding the relative dating of the multiple manuscripts of the Rule. This issue, however, remains speculative because scholars are divided as to whether the version of the Rule in 4QSd is older or younger than the version in 1QS.<\/p>\n
Significance<\/p>\n
The Rule represents one of the most significant texts for the reconstruction of Jewish thought and practice in the Second Temple period. Prior to the discovery of the Rule and the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars were forced to understand Second Temple Jewish society through the lens of ancient descriptions of Judaism or literary remains preserved in much later scribal settings. In contrast, the Rule provides us with the direct literary remains of an ancient Jewish community. It presents a Jewish community living an ascetic lifestyle in anticipation of an imminent end-time. The community focused on pious observance of the law and its meticulous study. Scholars have long noted the important parallels in thought and practice with the description of the Essenes as found in Josephus and Philo. The Rule therefore was central to the emergence of the theory identifying the sectarian community with the Essenes, and it continues to direct renewed conversations regarding the identity of the sect and its location in the wider setting of ancient Jewish sectarianism.
\nThe Rule, however, offers insight into more than a narrow sectarian community. On the one hand, it provides scholars with a much richer tapestry of ancient Jewish society. The ascetic lifestyle of the community and its belief in dualism and predestination, for example, provide glimpses into a previously unknown or underappreciated world of ancient Judaism. On the other hand, many of the theological postures and ritual practices found in the Rule can be located within broader currents in ancient Jewish society. This allows scholars to gain a more sophisticated picture of the development of ancient Judaism and the social matrix from which Christianity emerges. Any treatment of ancient Jewish and Christian messianism, for example, must consider the dual messianism advocated by the Rule (see comment on 9:11). Moreover, the textual history of the Rule provides a significant contribution to this discussion: the larger passage espousing the community\u2019s dual messianism (1QS 8:15\u20139:11) is entirely absent in 4QSe.
\nThe Rule provides further insight into the shared background of both Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. For example, 1QS 8\u20139 presents a sectarian community grappling with the dilemma of a self-imposed exile from the Temple in Jerusalem. The community advocated two substitute ritual practices to replace the atoning function of the Temple: the community as a temple (see comments on 8:5; 5\u20136, 8\u20139, 9; 9:4, 6) and prayer (see comments on 9:4\u20135; 10:6). These same two approaches become foundational for early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism, respectively, as they negotiate their own responses to the loss of the Temple.<\/p>\n
GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n
The text and commentary below follow 1QS, but significant variants from the Cave 4 manuscripts have been incorporated into the commentary, which attempts to highlight the composite nature of the Rule and shed light on it broader social setting and literary background. The commentary similarly highlights significant points of correspondence and divergence with other sectarian texts (especially the Damascus Document) and the description of the Essenes in classical sources. Although the Rule includes very few explicit scriptural citations, the text is full of language and imagery drawn from the Hebrew Bible.<\/p>\n
SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n
Alexander, Philip S. and Geza Vermes. Qumran Cave 4:XIX: Serekh ha-Yahad and Two Related Texts. Discoveries in the Judean Desert 26. Oxford: Clarendon, 1998.
\nCharlesworth, James H. ed. The Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations: Rule of the Community and Related Texts. T\u00fcbingen: Mohr Siebeck; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994.
\nCollins, John J. Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2010.
\nLeaney, A. R. C. The Rule of Qumran and Its Meaning: Introduction, Translation and Commentary. London: SCM, 1966.
\nLicht, Jacob. The Rule Scroll: A Scroll from the Wilderness of Judaea: 1QS, 1QSa, 1QS: Text, Introduction and Commentary [Hebrew]. Jerusalem: Bialik, 1965.
\nMetso, Sarianna, The Serekh Texts. London: T. & T. Clark, 2007.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014. The Textual Development of the Qumran Community Rule. Leiden: Brill, 1997.
\nSchiffman, Lawrence. Sectarian Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Courts, Testimony, and the Penal Code. Chico CA: Scholars Press, 1983.
\nSchofield, Alison. From Qumran to the Yahad: A New Paradigm of Textual Development for \u201cThe Community Rule.\u201d Leiden: Brill, 2009.
\nVermes, Geza. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. London: Penguin, 2004.<\/p>\n
COMMENTARY<\/p>\n
1:1. For [the Maskil] This reconstruction has been suggested by several commentators, based on the prominence of the Maskil, a community leader elsewhere in the Rule, particularly in headings to subunits. In these passages, the Maskil instructs the sectarians regarding the division of humanity into Sons of Light and Sons of Darkness and functions as an expert expositor of sectarian law.
\nthe Book] of the Community [Rul]e The reconstruction is certain based on the parallel text in 4QpapSa.
\n[Rul]e Heb. serekh, best translated as \u201crule\u201d or \u201corder.\u201d The appearances of this word in the Dead Sea Scrolls refer either to (1) a set of rules or ordinances by which the community as a whole or a subgroup within the community must abide; (2) battle orders in the eschatological war. In the Rule, it can also denote a community register or function as a code word for the community that follows the established rules. The term appears in many other texts in sections where it could reasonably be considered a title introducing lists of rules. Its use at the beginning of the Rule therefore likely denotes the title of the work.
\nSource of Translation: Translation is derived and modified from Vermes\u2019s The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (cited above).
\n1:1\u20132. seek God with [a whole heart and soul] This restoration was suggested by Jacob Licht and is now corroborated by the text preserved in 4QpapSa and 4QpapSc. Similar language appears in 1QS 5:8\u20139 to refer to proper observance of the Torah. Both passages draw on Deuteronomic usage, where this phrase expresses obedience to God and observance of the commandments. Similar uses of this expression are found elsewhere in Second Temple literature and the New Testament.
\ndo what is good and right This combination appears in Deuteronomy to denote the proper observance of the law and is similarly employed elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
\n1:3. through Moses and all his servants the Prophets The conceptualization of law as mediated through prophets appears in late biblical literature and elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The combination of Moses and the prophets is intended to assert the two main stages in the progressive revelation of the law presumed by the community (see 1QS 8:15\u201316). It is significant that lines 2\u20133 identify proper observance of the law as the initial elements in the long list of ethical and moral imperatives for the community outlined in lines 1\u201315. This is clearly the central ideological aspect of the community\u2019s existence and identity.
\n1:3\u20134. love \u2026 hate The contrasting terms in this passage draw from Isa. 7:15\u201316 and Amos 5:15. The dual emotions of love and hate appear again in lines 9\u201310 (cf. 3:26\u20134:1; 9:16).
\nall that he has chosen \u2026 all that he has rejected This is the first of several passages in the preamble that assert the community\u2019s dualistic view of the world. This passage, however, does not have the specific division of humanity in view (as in lines 9\u201310), but rather asserts the basic sectarian view that God divided the world into good and bad. It therefore provides a fitting introduction to the central theme of the lines that follow.
\n1:5. hold fast to all good See the similar exhortation in T. Benj. 8:1; 1 Thess. 5:21.
\ntruth, righteousness, and justice This combination of meritorious practices also appears in 1QS 5:3\u20134; 8:2 and functions as a rallying call to ethical action. Biblical references commonly exhort one to perform \u201crighteousness\u201d and \u201cjustice.\u201d The addition of \u201ctruth\u201d is likely based on the prominence of this word\/theme in sectarian literature, such as the self-designation of the community as \u201csons\/men of truth\u201d (see comment on 1QS 4:5).
\n1:6. lustful eyes Heb. zenut here seems to be idiomatic for covenantal disobedience (as in Num. 15:39; Ezek. 6:9), rather than its normal use as sexual misconduct.
\n1:7. He shall admit The Hebrew infinitive construct lacks a clear subject. The singular \u201che\u201d possibly refers to the Maskil. Others translate it as \u201cthey,\u201d referring to the community at large. More formal admission procedures are outlined in 1QS 6:13\u201323 (cf. 5:20\u201324).
\ncovenant of mercy The idea of a new and unique covenant brokered between God and the sectarians is central to the community\u2019s self-identity. The description of the covenant as one of \u201cmercy\u201d (hesed) is unique to this passage.
\nfreely devoted This terminology, perhaps drawn from Exod. 25:2; 35:20\u201321, is commonly used in the scrolls to describe the community members. The idea is that one makes a conscious decision to follow properly the divine law.
\n1:8\u20139. all that has been revealed A technical term for the special revelations of law provided only to the sectarian community. The \u201ctimes appointed them\u201d likely refers to the various points throughout history where God revealed the law to select people (see comment on line 3 above). Some commentators see in this expression an allusion to the calendar controversy between the sect and its opponents (see comment on lines 14\u201315).
\n1:9\u201310. love all the Sons of Light \u2026 hate all the Sons of Darkness See above, lines 3\u20134, though here the object of the love\/hate is personified as the Sons of Light\/Sons of Darkness. These designations regularly appear in the scrolls to distinguish the community from its enemies.
\n1:10. his lot in God\u2019s design A clear articulation of the community\u2019s belief in predestination. God assigns all humans a lot or destiny.
\n1:11. God\u2019s vengeance Should be understood as \u201cin the time of God\u2019s vengeance.\u201d One must hate the Sons of Darkness in a manner commensurate with the degree of divine wrath that will be directed at them in the end-time.
\n1:11\u201312. shall bring \u2026 possessions This passage reflects the community\u2019s expectation of shared communal property (see 1QS 3:2\u20133; 5:1\u20132; 6:17\u201322; CD 13:11). Elsewhere, the Rule (1QS 7:6\u20138) presumes the existence of some personal property, a situation clearly present in the Damascus Document (CD 9:10\u201316; 14:12\u201313). Both Philo and Josephus note the Essenes\u2019 practice of communal property and the book of Acts describes a similar practice among the early Christians.
\nknowledge, powers, and possessions Draws on Deut. 6:5: \u201cYou shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might\u201d (see also lines 1\u20132). The heart is commonly thought to be the seat of knowledge and thus is understood as \u201cknowledge\u201d in the Rule. \u201cPowers\u201d and \u201cpossessions\u201d seem to draw on \u201cyour might.\u201d \u201cPowers\u201d is a basically straightforward meaning. Regarding \u201cpossessions,\u201d the interpretation of \u201cmight\u201d as money or personal wealth is common in Targumic and Rabbinic tradition.
\n1:12. community of God Heb. yahad El. Yahad appears throughout the Rule as the name for the sectarian community.
\n1:14\u201315. they shall be neither early nor late for any of their appointed times Refers to the sectarian insistence on the correctness of the solar calendar. Adherence to the lunar calendar would result in the festivals being observed at the wrong times\u2014i.e., early or late (cf. 1QpHab 11:4\u20138). As noted above, 4QSe includes a calendrical text (4QOtot) in place of the hymn that appears in 1QS 9\u201311.
\n1:15. stray \u2026 right \u2026 left Draws on Deut. 5:29. See also 1QS 3:10.
\n1:16. come into \u2026 enter into the covenant Two terms are used for entrance into the covenant community. \u201cCome into\u201d (b-w-\u2019) is based on its use in a covenant-renewal setting in 2 Chron. 15:12 (cf. Jer. 34:10; Ezek. 16:8). It is employed throughout the Rule and the Damascus Document. \u201cEnter into\u201d (\u2018-v-r) draws from the covenant-renewal ceremony in Deut 29:11. It appears only in the Rule.
\n1:16\u201317. obey all his commandments Cf. 1QS 1:2\u20133.
\n1:17. trial Heb. matzref, literally meaning \u201ccrucible\u201d or \u201cfiring pot\u201d for refining metal, as in Prov. 17:3; 27:21. It appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls as a metaphor for the trial and testing experienced by the community during the pre-eschatological dominion of Belial. See lines 22\u201323, where it is presumed that many will sin during this time.
\n1:18. dominion of Belial Belial, also known as Mastemah and the Angel of Darkness, is a demonic figure who rules over the world in the present pre-eschatological age.
\n1:18\u201319. priests \u2026 Levites The procedural model for the covenant ceremony is the blessings and curses ceremony outlined in Deut. 27\u201328. A closely related liturgy of blessings and curses is found in 4QCurses 4QBerakhot (4Q280, 4Q286\u2013290), which almost certainly played some role in the annual covenant ceremony.
\n1:19. God of salvation Draws on Isa. 12:2; Ps. 68:20; cf. 1QS 11:12.
\n1:20. Amen, Amen Follows the procedural model of Deut. 27:15\u201326, where the Israelites respond \u201cAmen\u201d to acknowledge the curses articulated by the Levites. Here, however, the response acknowledges God\u2019s \u201csalvation\u201d and \u201ctrue works.\u201d The duplication of \u201cAmen, Amen\u201d\u2014a common feature of liturgical formulae in Second Temple texts\u2014seems to be based on Neh. 8:6.
\n1:21. God\u2019s righteous acts Refers to God\u2019s gracious acts toward Israel. Their recitation is a common feature in communal confessions. The Rule does not outline which of God\u2019s past actions are enumerated during the covenant ceremony.
\n1:23. iniquities of the children of Israel, all their guilty rebellions and sins A slight reformulation of the description of Israel\u2019s sins in the scapegoat ritual in Lev. 16:21 (cf. Exod. 34:7; see comment on lines 24\u201325). The contrast between God\u2019s graciousness and Israel\u2019s iniquity underscores Israel\u2019s lack of gratitude.
\n1:23\u201324. dominion of Belial See comment on 1QS 1:17\u201318.
\n1:24\u201325. We have strayed! We have [disobeyed!] We and our fathers before us have sinned and acted wickedly A similar confession is found in the Damascus Document (CD 20:28\u201330). On this form of confession, cf. 1 Kings 8:47\/\/2 Chron. 6:37; Jer. 3:25; Dan. 9:5; Ps. 106:6. The content and order of the first three verbs matches the three nouns describing Israel\u2019s iniquity in 1QS 1:23, which follows closely Lev. 16:21 (avon, pesha, het). The order found in the Rule corresponds with Rabbinic descriptions of the high priest\u2019s confession on the Day of Atonement. These confession terms are featured prominently in the personal confession prayer (Vidui) found in the Day of Atonement liturgy.
\n2:1. his bountiful mercy Further contrast is created between God\u2019s graciousness and Israel\u2019s iniquity (see 1QS 1:21\u201322). God forgives in spite of Israel\u2019s repeated sin.
\nAnd the priests shall bless Lines 2\u20134 adapt the Priestly Blessing from Num. 6:24\u201326 in accordance with sectarian ideology.
\n2:2\u20133. May he bless you with all good and preserve you from all evil Two major modifications from Num. 6:24: (1) the Rule omits the Tetragrammaton as is common in sectarian literature; (2) the two biblical verbs (\u201cbless,\u201d \u201cpreserve\u201d) are expanded with prepositional clauses to emphasize that the divine actions are in accord with the sectarian dualistic worldview.
\n2:3. lighten The use of this verb from Num. 6:25 works well with the sectarian self-identity as the Sons of Light. It also contrasts with the darkness of the sectarian enemies in line 7.
\nyour heart with life-giving wisdom In Num. 6:25, God illumines his own face. The modification in the Rule is motivated by a desire to curb the biblical anthropomorphism and underscore the sectarian emphasis on God\u2019s wisdom-granting character. Following biblical idiom, the Rule views the heart as the locus of knowledge.
\n2:4. May he raise \u2026 for everlasting peace Num. 6:26 consists of two verbal clauses (\u201cThe LORD bestow his favor upon you and grant you peace!\u201d), which the Rule collapses into one.
\n2:4\u20135. the Levites shall curse all the men of the lot of Belial Draws on Deut. 27:14\u201326. The lot of Belial assumes the role of the hypothetical object of the Deuteronomic curses.
\n2:6. terror Draws on Deut. 28:25.
\nvengeful avengers Nearly identical language is found in 4Q280 2 2\u20133. Divine retribution against the lot of Belial is not direct, but rather undertaken through intermediaries. 1QS 4:12 seems to assign this task to \u201cdestroying angels.\u201d
\n2:7. the darkness of your deeds Emphasizes their identity as Sons of Darkness and further adds contrast with the \u201clight\u201d of the adapted Priestly Blessing.
\n2:8. shadowy place of everlasting fire The location of retribution is paradoxically both dark and fiery as also in 1QS 4:13 and 1 En. 103:8. Fire is commonly associated with divine punishment in Second Temple texts, the New Testament, and Rabbinic literature.
\nnor pardon you by blotting out your sin The lot of Belial are not afforded the opportunity to repent as is provided to the lot of God in 1QS 5:5; CD 2:4\u20135; 1QHa 12:37.
\n2:9. May he raise his angry face toward you for vengeance Reorients the language of the Priestly Blessing from Num. 6:26 and line 4 for a curse formula.
\nthose who hold fast to the fathers Likely an idiomatic expression denoting those who intercede with God on behalf of Israel (hence, \u201cin the mouth of\u201d). It possibly refers to angels.
\n2:11\u201318 Describes the curse against insincere initiates into the covenant community. A similar condemnation of the lot of Belial is found in 1QHa 12:13\u201316.
\n2:11. the idols of his heart Draws on Ezek. 14:3\u20137 (cf. CD 20:9). The metaphor expresses that one\u2019s inner disposition toward sin has not changed, notwithstanding the outward appearance of acceptance of membership in the covenant community.
\n2:12. stumbling block of sin Parallel to \u201cidols of the heart\u201d in Ezek. 14:3\u20137 (cf. 1QHa 12:15).
\n2:13\u201316. Hearing the words of this covenant \u2026 the Sons of Light A close paraphrase of Deut. 29:18\u201320. As with the speaker in Deuteronomy, the insincere initiate into the community believes that the curses cannot reach him. The Rule asserts that nobody can avoid the divine wrath.
\n2:15. everlasting destruction An addition to Deuteronomy (also found in 1QS 5:13; 1QM 1:5; 9:5\u20136). Matches the \u201ceverlasting fire\u201d (2:8) and \u201cthose who are cursed forever\u201d (2:17) in contrast to the eternal\/everlasting \u201cknowledge\u201d (2:3), \u201cpeace\u201d (2:4), \u201csociety\u201d (2:23), \u201cfellowship\u201d (2:25), and \u201ccovenant\u201d (5:5\u20136) granted to the Sons of Light.
\n2:17. his idols and his stumbling block of sin See comment on 1QS 2:11\u201312.
\n2:19. year by year Lines 19\u201325 describe the covenant-renewal ceremony for current members. The ceremony for new members and the renewal ceremony occurred together annually (see 1QS 5:24), though the Rule does not indicate the expected day. A Cave 4 fragment of the Damascus Document refers to a similar gathering in the third month (4QDa 11 17\/\/4QDe 7 ii 11\u201312). Jub. 6:17\u201319 describes the celebration of Shavuot as a covenant-renewal festival on the 15th day of the third month. The fragmentary 4QCommunal Ceremony (4Q375) may also reflect this practice. It is likely that the covenant ceremony in the Rule was also expected to coincide with Shavuot. Rabbinic tradition associates Shavuot with the giving of the Torah on Sinai (B. Pes. 68b), thus creating a partial parallel with the sectarian renewal of the Sinaitic covenant on Shavuot.
\n2:19\u201320. The priests shall enter first Priests are commonly afforded preferential treatment in sectarian texts (e.g., 1QSa; 4Q175; 4Q285).
\n2:20. according to their spirits 1QS 5:20\u201324 presume an examination of members of the community concerning their spiritual qualities, which would then be recorded in a register (serekh) for future consultation. On rank within the community, see also 1QS 6:2, 10\u201311, 22, 26; 5:2; 8:19; 9:2.
\n2:21. all the people Lay people, understood as the true Israel. The existence of all three major segments of Israel within the community (priests, Levites, laypeople) further stresses its claim to constitute the true Israel.
\nby rank Heb. be-serekh. See comments on line 20 and 1QS 5:20\u201324.
\n2:21\u201322. thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens Draws on the description of the division of the Israelites in the wilderness (Exod. 18:21, 25; Deut. 1:15; cf. 1 Macc. 3:55), thereby reinforcing the connection between the community and the covenant experience at Sinai.
\n2:23. allotted position Repeats the recurring theme of each member\u2019s predestined status and rank within the community.
\n2:25. one toward his fellow Likely draws on Lev. 19:18: \u201cLove your fellow as yourself.\u201d For the sectarian, one\u2019s Israelite \u201cfellow\u201d is limited to the members of the covenant community.
\n2:25. No man \u2026 who refuses The following lines seem to be directed against an individual who has undertaken the probationary period for new initiates, yet refuses to complete the entrance into the covenant community. In so doing, he shows his true identity as a member of the Sons of Darkness. No amount of ritual immersions can change his inner disposition.
\n2:26. walk in the stubbornness of his heart Repeats the language earlier employed (line 14; cf. 1QS 5:4; 7:19) to condemn disingenuous initiates into the community.
\n3:1. for he has not persisted in the conversion of his life Refers to the refusal to enter into the covenant community.
\n3:2. knowledge, powers, and possessions A reversal of what an initiate brings into the community in 1QS 1:11\u201312. As a member of the Sons of Darkness, neither he nor his property can be mingled with the community.
\nploughs the mud of wickedness A metaphor based on Hos. 10:13.
\n3:3. for seeking the ways of light he looks toward darkness An allusion to his fleeting status as an initiate among the Sons of Light. His backsliding repositions him among the Sons of Darkness.
\n3:4. the perfect A common self-designation found in sectarian writings, perhaps shorthand for \u201cthose following the perfect way.\u201d
\n3:4. he shall neither be purified by atonement The first of four related clauses expressing the idea that ritual immersion has no effect when it is not combined with meaningful repentance from one\u2019s sinful ways. This section presumes the widespread sectarian conflation of ritual and moral impurity (e.g., 1QS 5:14).
\npurifying waters Heb. me niddah is used in Num. 19 to cleanse someone who has contracted corpse impurity. Instructions pertaining to this ritual use are found in 4QTohorot Bb (4Q277). Further references in the scrolls suggest the extension of the \u201cpurifying waters\u201d to other ritual impurities (4Q284; 4Q512). 1QS 3:9; 4:21 presume that the purifying waters are also used to cleanse moral impurity.
\n3:5. Unclean, unclean shall he be Draws on Lev. 13:45.
\n3:6. For it is through Lines 6\u20138 outline several mechanisms for purification from moral impurity that do not involve ritual acts.
\nthe spirit of the true counsel of God Cf. 1QS 1:8, 10; 1QS 4:24. That God alone can expunge humans of iniquity is a distinctive feature of sectarian ideology.
\n3:7. that he may contemplate the light of life Biblical uses of \u201clight of life\u201d refer to the state of human existence following divine protection (Ps. 56:14; Job 33:20). The identification of light with life makes this expression particularly attractive to the community (cf. John 8:12).
\n3:8. the spirit of holiness The purifying role of the spirit is found elsewhere in the Rule and in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple texts, and New Testament.
\n3:9. it shall be made clean At the point when the individual modifies his inner disposition, the purifying waters will be effective.
\n3:10\u201311. straying neither to the right nor to the left Repeats language from 1QS 1:13\u201315.
\n3:11. be accepted \u2026 pleasing atonement Employs standard biblical language associated with divine acceptance of sacrifices (e.g., Lev. 1:9; 22:27). This reinforces the sectarian view that the atoning function of sacrifices can now be obtained through substitute rituals. See similar wordplays in the presentation of prayer in 1QS 9:4\u20135; 10:6.
\n3:13. Maskil See comment on 1:1.
\nthe nature Heb. toledot; appears several times in the Genesis narrative to introduce different \u201chistories\u201d of humans (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9). It is used at the beginning of the Treatise on the Two Spirits to denote an \u201caccount\u201d of human character, hence the common translation as \u201cnature.\u201d The allusion to Genesis suggests that the Treatise intends to augment the biblical description of the physical creation of humans with the metaphysical history of the human character.
\n3:14. kind of spirit That is, whether they are ruled by the spirit of truth or the spirit of deceit. Perhaps also alludes to the nature of the mixture of good and evil spirits within each human.
\n3:14\u201315. visitation for chastisement, and the time of their reward The Treatise later describes the eschatological rewards for those associated with the spirit of truth (1QS 4:6\u20138) and the utter destruction visited upon those aligned with the spirit of deceit (1QS 4:11\u201314).
\n3:15. God of knowledge Draws on 1 Sam. 2:3. It is used here and in other Wisdom texts to assert God\u2019s omniscience.
\nall that is and shall be Lines 15\u201317 affirm that God has predetermined all human actions and the course of world history. The belief in a divinely preordained plan is found in varying degrees in other sectarian texts and Second Temple literature. Josephus describes the Essenes as believing that humans are directed by fate (Ant. 13.172; 18.18).
\ndesign Repeated in line 16 (cf. 1QS 11:11). The theme of a divinely created preexistent nature to the world is found in several Wisdom texts preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Instruction-like Composition B, the Book of Mysteries). Instruction (4Q417 1 i 1\u201318) refers to the \u201cGod of Knowledge,\u201d who similarly has created a \u201cdesign\u201d for the world. Instruction, the Book of Mysteries, and the Treatise likely represent presectarian Wisdom texts that have been incorporated into sectarian ideology and literature.
\n3:16. without change A recurring theme in the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QHa 6:15; 7:14).
\n3:17\u201318. He has created man to govern the world Draws on Gen. 1:28 (cf. Ps. 8:7). This motif reappears in several Second Temple texts. In Genesis, human dominion over the world represents the pinnacle of creation. The Treatise mutes the description of human power over the world by extending creation to include the far more powerful spirits of truth and justice.
\n3:18. until the time of his visitation Cf. 1QS 4:11\u201313, 18\u201320.
\n3:18\u201319. he has appointed \u2026 the spirits of truth and deceit In spite of its dualism, the Treatise affirms that God has created both good and evil spirits (cf. line 25). This muted dualism differs from pure dualism, which posits two independent and autonomous forces acting in the world. Even in its muted form, the dualism of the Treatise is otherwise unattested in biblical and Jewish tradition, prompting many scholars to trace its origins to the dualistic Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism. Some scholars find elements of the sectarian dualistic worldview in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism. This would suggest that the dualism of the Treatise is the result of internal developments within Judaism.
\nthe spirits of truth and deceit As the following lines articulate, it is these competing spirits that ultimately dictate the nature of human existence. The idea of competing cosmic spirits of truth and deceit is also found in T. Jud. 20:1\u20132.
\n3:19. truth \u2026 light On this equation, see Ps. 43:3; 1 En. 108:11; T. Ash. 5:4; 1QM 12:9\u201310.
\n3:20. Prince of Light A similar protective and guiding role for the Prince of Light is found in War Scroll and the Damascus Document (1QM 13:9\u201310; CD 5:18). War Scroll suggests that the Prince may be equated with the Archangel Michael (1QM 17:6\u20138).
\n3:20\u201321. Angel of Darkness Equivalent with Belial\/Mastemah. See comments on 1QS 1:18 and below line 23. The title Angel of Darkness only appears in this passage.
\n3:21\u201322. leads all the children of righteousness astray The spirit of deceit is so powerful that its dominion extends to the Sons of Truth. This explains any sinful ways of the Sons of Truth during the reign of the Angel of Darkness. See also comment on 1QS 1:17\u201318.
\n3:22. sin, iniquities, wickedness, and all their unlawful deeds Includes three of the four terms for sinful actions that constitute the confession in 1QS 1:24\u201325. This correspondence affirms that the misdeeds of the Sons of Light are the unavoidable result of the power of the Angel of Darkness and the spirit of deceit.
\n3:23. mysteries of God A popular term in the Dead Sea Scrolls, particularly in Wisdom texts, to describe the inexplicable nature of God and his actions. It is used here to account for the seemingly incongruous reality wherein God has allowed the spirit of deceit to reign supreme (cf. 1QpHab 7:8, 13\u201314). God\u2019s determination of the end-time for the reign of the Angel of Darkness is described as equally mysterious (1QS 4:18).
\nhis persecution Heb. mastemato; no doubt an allusion to Mastemah. This is the name of the chief of the demons in other sectarian texts (CD 16:5; 1QM 13:4, 11) and especially the book of Jubilees.
\n3:25. it is he who created In spite of the dualism outlined here, the Treatise reaffirms the transcendence and omnipotence of God. See comment on lines 18\u201319.
\n3:26\u20134:1. loves \u2026 hates See comment on 1QS 1:3\u20134.
\n4:2. These are their ways in the world A new section (1QS 4:2\u201314) marked by a paragraph division outlines the manner in which the spirits of truth (lines 2\u20138) and deceit (lines 9\u201314) manifest in the world and in humans. It is possible that line 2 once contained an opening clause\u2014i.e., \u201cconcerning the spirit of truth\u201d\u2014similar to the opening clause in line 9 concerning the spirit of deceit. Cf. the list in Gal. 5:19\u201323 of the virtues (lit. fruit) of the spirit versus the vices of the flesh.
\nfor the enlightenment of the heart of man See similar imagery in 1QS 2:2; 11:3, 5; 4Q511 18 ii 8.
\ntrue righteousness See comment on 1QS 1:5.
\n4:3. patience One of the divine attributes in Exod. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2, and similarly applied to God in Second Temple texts. As in the Rule, several biblical passages and Dead Sea Scrolls ascribe this characteristic to humans.
\nabundant mercy References to God\u2019s abundant mercy are common in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
\n4:4. leans on his great loving-kindness Similar imagery is found in 1QS 10:16; 1QHa 13:36. For the expression \u201cgreat loving-kindness\u201d applied to God, see the divine attributes in Exod. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2 and further uses.
\nzeal for just laws Similar expressions of zeal for the law are found elsewhere in the scrolls, Second Temple literature, and the New Testament. These passages, however, do not all agree on the precise application of such zeal.
\n4:5. steadfastness of heart Draws on Isa. 26:3, where the steadfast enjoy divine protection on account of their trust in God.
\nSons of Truth Appears again in line 6. It is a common self-designation for the community. Also appears in T. Jud. 24:3; T. Lev. 18:8.
\nunclean idols For the metaphor of idols, see comments on 1QS 2:11\u201312, 17. The imagery of unclean idols draws from Ezekiel. As in other uses in the scrolls, the polemic of idolatry is symbolic, likely denoting improper worship more generally.
\nhumble conduct Draws on Mic. 6:8, which exhorts humans to walk humbly before God. The biblical paraphrase is further expanded in 1QS 5:3\u20134.
\n4:6. visitation Here used in a positive sense to describe the bountiful rewards awaiting the Sons of Truth in the end-time. It contrasts with the visitation awaiting the Sons of Deceit (1QS 4:11\u201313, 18\u201320). Many of the rewards draw from biblical examples of divine favor toward humans. See the close parallels between 1QS 4:6\u20138 and 4Q511 2 i 2\u20134. See also 1 En. 10:7\u201311:2, which outlines the rewards for the righteous following the destruction of evil.
\n4:7. a crown of glory Cf. Ps. 8:6 and similar uses in T. Benj. 4:1; 1 Pet. 5:4.
\n4:9. the ways of the spirit of deceit A contrasting list of the human deficiencies associated with the spirit of deceit. Cf. the list of traits associated with the \u201cway of death\u201d in Did. 5.
\nslackness in the search for righteousness Draws on Eccles. 10:18. The opposite trait is associated with the \u201cthe men of truth, doers of the Torah\u201d in 1QpHab 7:10\u201311.
\n4:10. in a spirit of lust Draws on Hos. 4:12; 5:4. See similar uses in T. Reub. 3:3; T. Jud. 13:3; 14:2; T. Lev. 9:9.
\n4:11. a blaspheming tongue Appears among the condemnations of the opponents of the community in the Damascus Document (CD 5:11\u201312).
\n4:12. destroying angels See comment on 1QS 2:6. The use of angels to execute divine judgment also appears in the Damascus Document and is common in Second Temple and Rabbinic texts. Cf. the similar role for \u201cdeadly angels\u201d in Ps. 78:49.
\neverlasting damnation See comment on 1QS 2:15.
\navenging wrath of the fury of God Draws on Ps. 94:1.
\n4:13. fire of the dark regions See comment on 1QS 2:8.
\n4:14. destroyed without remnant or survivor Draws on Ezra 9:14. This expression is common in the scrolls to denote complete annihilation.
\n4:15. The nature of all the children of men is ruled by these (two spirits) The rest of the Treatise focuses on the spirits of truth and deceit that struggle within each person. This aspect of the doctrine of the two spirits comes closest to the Rabbinic explanation for the nature of sin and evil in the world. The Rabbinic doctrine asserts that every person has two inclinations: a good inclination (yetzer ha-tov) and a bad inclination (yetzer ha-ra) (B. Suk. 52a\u2013b). As in the Treatise, God creates both spirits (B. Ber. 61a), though the bad inclination is associated with Satan and the Angel of Death (B. BB 16a). Similar to the Treatise, the bad inclination is clearly the dominant force (Gen. Rab. 54:1; B. Shab. 105b). Yet, as with the spirit of deceit, God will destroy the evil inclination at some future time (B. Suk. 52a). Among many significant differences, however, the Rabbinic doctrine presumes humans can choose to follow either inclination. The two-spirits doctrine is based on a principle that each person is predetermined to be either in the lot of God or the lot of Belial.
\n4:16. each man\u2019s portion \u2026 great or small As asserted in 1QS 3:21\u201325, each person possesses a mixture of the spirits of truth and deceit. This passage further clarifies the nature of this internal struggle. A person\u2019s identity as being among the Sons of Truth or the Sons of Deceit is determined by which spirit is greater within the individual.
\nequal measure It is clear, however, that the spirit of deceit is far more powerful in the pre-eschatological era.
\n4:17. set everlasting hatred Likely an allusion to Gen. 3:15: \u201cI will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.\u201d As in other allusions to Genesis in the Treatise, this provides further information regarding the creation of humans\u2014in this case, regarding the origins of evil and sin.
\n4:18. mysteries of his understanding See comment on 1QS 3:23.
\n4:18\u201319. an end for deceit \u2026 he will destroy it forever The utter destruction promised in 4:11\u201314. Though never fully clarified, it seems that the end-time destruction will wipe out all humans under the control of the spirit of deceit (i.e., those who possess more of the spirit of deceit than the spirit of truth).
\n4:20\u201321. rooting out all spirit of deceit from the bounds of his flesh The humans that remain following the end-time destruction still possess elements of the spirit of deceit within themselves. This moral impurity is now cleansed by divinely orchestrated ablutions.
\n4:21. He will cleanse him On the method of ritual cleansing, Cf. 1QS 3:6\u20139.
\n4:22. knowledge of the Most High Draws on Num. 24:16. The divine cleansing of humans from the spirit of deceit results in a state of enlightenment.
\nwisdom of the sons of heaven That is, knowledge possessed by the angels. Many sectarian texts envision a sapiential and liturgical communion between the community members and angels (see comment on 1QS 11:8).
\n4:23. glory of Adam This expression is used in parallelism with \u201ceternal life\u201d in the Damascus Document (CD 3:20). The Thanksgiving Hymns (1QHa 4:15) associate it with the removal of human iniquity. All three passages seem to refer to the pristine state of human existence prior to Adam\u2019s sin in the Garden of Eden (see also Sir. 49:16; 4Q504 1:4).
\n4:25. until the renewal The theme of a renewed creation draws on Isa. 43:19; 65:17; 66:22 and is found in many Second Temple texts, the New Testament, and Rabbinic liturgy.
\n4:26. that they may know good [and evil Draws on Gen. 2:9; 3:5.
\n5:1. And this is the rule for the men of the community Column 5 introduces a new unit that outlines rules for communal life (5:1\u20136:23). 4QSd begins with text equivalent to 1QS 5:1, thus attesting to a version of the Rule that began at this point (see \u201cIntroduction\u201d). Both 4QSb and 4QSd preserve a different introductory heading: \u201cInstruction for the Maskil concerning the men of the Torah.\u201d These two manuscripts reflect a shorter version of the Rule for this unit.
\nfreely pledged themselves See comment on 1QS 1:7.
\n5:2. men of deceit I.e., those who are led by the spirit of deceit, though this precise expression does not appear in the Treatise.
\npossessions See comment on 1QS 1:11\u201312.
\nauthority of the Sons of Zadok, the priests who keep the covenant \u201cSons of Zadok\u201d is a common term in the scrolls referring to an authoritative priestly subset within the community (see CD 3:20\u20134:4). It appears in Ezek. 40:46; 44:15; 48:11 to denote the claim to the legitimate priesthood stemming from the high priest Zadok. In the scrolls it may indicate the sectarian self-identification as part of this same priestly lineage (whether real or imagined). Alternatively, it may be a purely rhetorical tool to assert priestly legitimacy. This entire passage is absent in 4QSd, perhaps attesting to an earlier stage before the priestly Sons of Zadok asserted authority within the community (see comment on 1QS 5:21).
\n5:2\u20133. and of the multitude of the men of the community This passage presumes a shared authority between the priestly Sons of Zadok and the more general community. 4QSd has instead the \u201ccongregation\u201d (rabbim), another expression used in the Rule to denote the authoritative nature of the community as a whole (see comment on 1QS 6:7).
\n5:3\u20134. They shall practice truth and humility in common, and justice and uprightness and charity and modesty in all their ways Draws on Mic. 6:8. Many of these attributes also appear in earlier statements of community principles (1QS 1:5; 2:24) or are associated with the spirit of truth (1QS 4:3\u20134). Cf. also 1QS 5:25; 8:2. In the short version of the rule represented by 4QSd, this would be the first articulation of these virtues.
\n5:4. stubbornness of his heart Cf. 1QS 2:14, 26; 7:19.
\n5:5. evil inclination See the discussion of the Rabbinic concept of the evil inclination on 1QS 4:15.
\ncircumcise \u2026 foreskin of evil inclination and of stiffness of neck The imagery of circumcising the foreskin of one\u2019s evil inclination is based on the figurative exhortation to circumcise one\u2019s heart. The heart as the location of contemplation (see comment on 1QS 1:11) also makes it the seat of the evil (and good) inclination. This connection is made explicit in Rabbinic texts. Other Rabbinic texts more directly associate the foreskin with the evil inclination (B. Suk. 52a). Deuteronomy 10:16 comprises the dual exhortations to circumcise one\u2019s heart and no longer be stiff-necked. This provides the basis for the expectation in the Rule of circumcising the stiffness of the neck (cf. Acts 7:51).
\neverlasting covenant See comment on 1QS 2:15.
\n5:6. freely pledged themselves See comment on 1QS 1:8.
\n5:6\u20137. judgment \u2026 precepts Lacking in 4QSb,d.
\n5:8. enter \u2026 themselves Lacking in 4QSb,d. The extra content in lines 6\u20137 of 1QS is redundant, suggesting that it is an expansion of an earlier, shorter version of the Rule preserved in 4QSb,d.
\nbinding oath Lines 7\u201320 describe the oath undertaken by a new member of the community. The oath underscores the commitment to the Torah as understood by the sectarian leaders and the separation from the impurity of outsiders. The language of a \u201cbinding oath\u201d (shevu\u2018at issar) is found in Num. 30. The Damascus Document requires an oath from a new initiate on the day he becomes a candidate for membership in the community (CD 15:7\u201310). Josephus reports that the Essenes also required an oath for new members, though it seems to have been administered later in the probationary period (J.W. 2.139\u201342).
\n5:8\u20139. to return \u2026 law of Moses Cf. 1QS 1:2\u20133; 8:15\u201316; CD 15:8\u201310; 16:1\u20132.
\nall his heart and soul See comment on 1QS 1:1\u20132.
\n5:9. revealed \u2026 to the Sons of Zadok On the idea of progressive revelation, see comments on 1QS 1:3 and 5:11\u201312. On the variant reading \u201cto the [the multitude of] the council of the men of the community\u201d in 4QSb,d, see comment on 1QS 5:2\u20133.
\n5:10\u201313. who walk in the way of wickedness \u2026 remnant Lacking in 4QSb,d.
\n5:11. They have neither inquired nor sought after him concerning his laws A paraphrase of Zeph. 1:6, with the addition of \u201cconcerning his laws\u201d corresponding to the community\u2019s notion of seeking after God (see 1QS 1:1\u20132).
\n5:11\u201312. hidden things \u2026 matters revealed The terminology draws on Deut. 29:29 in order to express the community\u2019s distinct categories of law. The \u201crevealed\u201d (niglot) refers to elements known to all Jews through the straightforward meaning of Scripture. The \u201chidden\u201d (nistarot) are those aspects of the law known only to the community by virtue of its receipt of special revelation. The sectarian enemies are condemned for their failure not only to adhere to the \u201crevealed\u201d law but also to the \u201chidden\u201d to which they do not even have access.
\n5:12. with insolence Literally, \u201cwith a high hand,\u201d as in Num. 15:30, where it refers to the willful transgressor.
\n5:13\u201315. He shall not enter \u2026 all that is false It is very unlikely that the subject of this restriction is the new community member, as in the surrounding lines. The restriction seems better applied to an outsider or an insincere member of the community. Both syntactic and scribal aspects mark this unit as distinct. The pronominal suffix referring to the \u201cmen of deceit\u201d in lines 10\u201313, 15\u201318 is plural, while in lines 13\u201315 it is singular. Moreover, the scribe of 1QS left a space before the beginning of this unit in line 13 and placed a paragraph marker in the margins. This evidence suggests that lines 13\u201315 were interpolated into the text of the Rule, likely because of its focus on separation from outsiders.
\n5:13. no remnant See comment on 1QS 4:14.
\nHe shall not enter the water to partake of the purity of the men of holiness The \u201cpurity\u201d here refers to the pure food of the sectarian community. Similar terminology is employed in Rabbinic texts. This passage seems to allude to the act of ritual immersion prior to meals, a practice similarly ascribed to the Essenes by Josephus (J.W. 2.129). This practice reflects an extension of the priestly requirement to eat holy food in a state of ritual purity (Lev. 7:19\u201320) to all food.
\n5:13\u201314. they shall not be cleansed unless they turn from their wickedness As articulated earlier in the Rule (3:5\u20136), ritual immersion cannot cleanse an individual who has not undertaken internal repentance.
\n5:15. as it is written Exodus 23:7\u2014one of few explicit scriptural citations in the Rule. The clustering of scriptural prooftexts in this unit attests to the heightened sectarian concern for keeping impurity out of its precincts.
\n5:17. except for a price Sharing the food or property of impure outsiders jeopardizes the ritual integrity of the community (see also 1QS 3:2; 6:17; 7:25; 8:23; 9:8\u20139). Exception is only allowed when the item is purchased, because it becomes the full property of the pure sectarian.
\nas it is written, \u201cCease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?\u201d Isaiah 2:22. The \u201cman\u201d in the citation is identified with the non-sectarian. The Rule applies an alternate meaning for nehshav. Whereas the \u201cman\u201d in the citation is generally not \u201cto be accounted of\u201d (nehshav), the Rule asserts that the non-sectarian \u201cman\u201d is not to be \u201ccounted\u201d among the covenanters (1QS 5:18: nehshevu; cf. line 11).
\n5:18\u201319. works of vanity Likely a double allusion. Foreign idols are condemned as \u201cvanity\u201d (hevel), thus corresponding to the earlier condemnation of the non-sectarians for their \u201cidols\u201d (see 1QS 2:11\u201312). The same term appears in Ecclesiastes to refer to the fleeting nature of life (e.g., Eccles. 1:2), a conceptualization here applied to the sectarian opponents and their misdirected ways.
\n5:20. when a man enters the covenant Lines 20\u201324 contain rules for admission into the community and examination of new members. A much more elaborate admission and examination process is found in 1QS 6:13\u201323. The overlap further points to the composite nature of the Rule.
\n5:20\u201321. they shall examine his spirit To determine whether the prospective member is aligned with the spirit of truth or the spirit of deceit. A similar examination is found elsewhere in the Rule (1QS 6:14, 17) and the Damascus Document (CD 13:11\u201312).
\n5:21. with respect to his understanding and practice of the law Cf. 1QS 5:23; 6:14, 17, 18; CD 13:11. The prospective member\u2019s intellect and obedience to the law are regarded as outward manifestations of his internal spirit.
\nunder the authority of the Sons of Aaron \u201cSons of Aaron\u201d is a common biblical designation for priests (e.g., Lev. 1:5) that also appears in 1QS 9:7 and many sectarian texts. It seems to suggest a broader priestly identity in contrast to the more restricted priestly designation \u201cSons of Zadok\u201d employed elsewhere in the community\u2019s writings (see comment on 1QS 5:2). Most significantly, whereas the text of 4QSd corresponding to 1QS 5:2 makes no mention of the \u201cSons of Zadok,\u201d 4QSd agrees with 1QS 5:21\u201322 on the use of the \u201cSons of Aaron.\u201d If 4QSd reflects the earliest version of the Rule, the priestly identity of the community would similarly be a core part of the early identity of the community (see also comment on 1QS 9:7).
\n5:22. and of the multitude of Israel See comment on 1QS 5:2\u20133.
\n5:23. They shall inscribe them in order The spiritual rank of the community members was recorded in a registry. This particular passage seems to refer to the introduction of the newly examined member into the existing registry. 1QS 7:2 alludes to the written registry of rankings.
\n5:23\u201324. they shall examine their spirit and deeds yearly In addition to the entrance exam, all members would be reviewed annually, and the ranked order of members would be adjusted accordingly.
\n5:24\u201325. They shall rebuke one another 1QS 5:24\u20136:1 constitute an expansion of the law of reproof in Lev. 19:17. A related iteration of this law is found in the Damascus Document (CD 9:2\u20138). Reproof is emphasized in several sectarian writings and its importance is likewise underscored in Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. In all the comparative evidence, however, reproof is identified as a moral obligation. The sectarian texts treat it as a formal legal procedure (see comment on 1QS 6:1).
\n5:25. in truth, humility, and charity Draws on Mic. 6:8. Reproof must be undertaken in a spirit of brotherly love (see the comparative sources in the previous comment). Otherwise, one will be guilty of hating one\u2019s fellow, the subject of the exhortation in the first half of Lev. 19:17.
\n5:25\u201326. Let no man address his companion with anger See previous comment. Lines 25\u201326 express the various mental and emotional states in which reproof shall not be undertaken.
\n5:26\u20136:1. on the very same day lest he incur guilt because of him That is, on the day when the offense was committed. This passage sets a time frame for when the witness must offer reproof (cf. CD 9:6; Eph. 4:26). Both the Rule and the Damascus Document seem to suggest that excessive waiting prior to reproof is indicative of hatred toward the offender (cf. 1QS 7:8). In such a case, the witness himself becomes culpable of hating his fellow and thus also incurs guilt because of him in accordance with the final clause of Lev. 19:17 (\u201clest he incur guilt because of him\u201d).
\n6:1. let no man accuse An individual cannot be prosecuted for a crime by the judicial \u201ccongregation\u201d (rabbim) unless he had been reproved for previously committing that very crime. In this sense, the sectarian reproof has some overlap with the Rabbinic concept of hatra\u2019ah (\u201cwarning\u201d). Offenders must be warned of their wrongdoing prior to committing the crime in order to be liable for prosecution (see B. Sanh. 40b\u201341a). CD 9:16\u201320 indicates that reproof was conducted in the presence of the Overseer, who would record the offenses in a registry. See Rebukes of the Overseer (4Q477) for an example of such a registry.
\n6:2. in their dwelling places The only such reference in the Rule. Several others anomalies are found in lines 1\u20138. Nowhere else is a quorum required (lines 3, 6). The insistence on the presence of a priest (lines 3\u20134) is surprising in light of the many references to priests throughout the rest of the Rule. Most commentators therefore understand this unit as referring to a community (or communities) distinct either in time or place from the sectarian Yahad envisioned throughout the Rule. Michael Knibb associates the \u201cdwelling places\u201d with the wider Essene movement whose adherents live in the cities, as reported by Josephus and Philo. John J. Collins connects the scattered communities in this passage with the \u201ccamps\u201d mentioned throughout the Damascus Document. The Yahad, suggests Collins, is not the single sectarian community in the desert but rather a term for an umbrella organization of the communities scattered throughout the land (including Qumran).
\nThe man of lesser rank On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\nThey shall eat in common See further, lines 4\u20135.
\n6:3. bless in common Refers to prayer. The preserved liturgical texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls attest to the significance of benedictions in communal prayer. The blessing is a second distinct category of communal activity, unrelated to the communal meal, and therefore does not refer to the Grace after Meals.
\nten men The Damascus Document similarly requires ten men \u201cin the camps\u201d (CD 12:22\u201313:2). Josephus describes an Essene assembly of ten men (J.W. 2.146). In later Rabbinic Judaism, a quorum of ten men is required for certain ritual acts (M. Meg. 4:3; B. Ber. 6a; B. Meg. 23b). The Mishnah also requires evaluation of property to be done by nine men along with one priest (M. Sanh. 1:3) and further refers to Torah study undertaken within a quorum (M. Avot 3:6).
\n6:4. a priest Cf. CD 13:2\u20137, where the priest\u2019s status depends on his level of knowledge.
\nAnd when the table has been prepared The only description of the communal meal in the Rule. Contrary to the view of many scholars, this meal has no sacred or cultic character. Bread and wine are singled out because of their status as staples of meals. The Rule of the Congregation describes a similar meal that will take place in the end of days (1QSa 2:11\u201322). For the communal meal of the Essenes, see Josephus, J.W. 2.129\u2013131.
\n6:5. the priest shall be the first to stretch out his hand Cf. 1QSa 2:19; Josephus, J.W. 2.131. Similar deference to priests at meals seems to be present in Rabbinic literature (B. Git. 59b).
\n6:6. to bless Before the meal as also in 1QS 10:15. Josephus describes a similar practice among the Essenes (J.W. 2.131). Blessings prior to meals appear elsewhere in Second Temple Judaism (Matt. 14:19; Let. Aris. 184\u2013186) and become standard in Rabbinic Judaism (M. Ber. 6:1).
\n6:6\u20137. study the law day and night, continually Draws on Joseph 1:8; cf. Ps. 1:2.
\n6:7. concerning the right conduct of a man with his companion The text is unclear here. Many commentators emend to \u201ceach man relieving one another.\u201d This would suggest a nighttime study rotation.
\ncongregation Heb. rabbim, a common designation for the community as a whole in the Rule, particularly in 1QS 6:7\u201321. A similar designation is used for the havurah in Rabbinic literature (e.g., Y. Dem. 2:2 22d).
\nfor a third of every night of the year 1QS 10:1\u20132 suggests that the community divided the night into three units, following biblical precedent. A fourfold division of the night is found in the New Testament and Rabbinic texts, perhaps under Roman influence (Matt. 14:25; Acts 12:4; B. Ber. 3a\u2013b). Nighttime study of Torah is similarly praised in Rabbinic literature (B. Hag. 12b; B. Sanh. 92a).
\n6:8. to bless together That is, prayer. See comment on 1QS 6:3.
\nThis is the rule for an assembly of the congregation A set of guidelines for judicial sessions of the \u201cassembly of the congregation\u201d (moshav ha-rabbim), a term used interchangeably with \u201ccongregation\u201d (rabbim) (see comments on 1QS 5:2\u20133; 6:7). Lines 8\u201313 contain many similarities in procedure with the group meetings undertaken \u201cin their dwelling places\u201d outlined in the previous unit (lines 1\u20138). The mention of the nighttime study sessions for the \u201ccongregation\u201d in lines 7\u20138 seems to provide the structural link between the two passages. The most significant difference is that the session in lines 8\u201313 is limited to judicial matters, whereas the guidelines in lines 1\u20138 apply to legislation, eating, study, and prayer.
\n6:8\u20139. priests \u2026 elders \u2026 rest of the people 1QS 2:19\u201321 divides the community into priests, Levites, and the rest of the people. The Damascus Document has these three categories plus proselytes (CD 14:3\u20136). The assembly in lines 1\u20138 reflects a twofold division of priests and laymen. \u201cElders\u201d draws from biblical terminology and is also employed throughout Second Temple Judaism. In CD 9:4, the elders function as judges.
\n6:10. No man shall interrupt a companion before his speech has ended 1QS 7:9\u201310 identifies this as a punishable offense. This general matter of etiquette is also emphasized in Sir. 11:8; M. Avot 5:7.
\nhigher rank On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\n6:11. each man shall speak in his turn As also in CD 14:6. Josephus describes a similar orderly manner to Essene conversation (J.W. 2.132).
\n6:12. Overseer of the congregation The Overseer (mevaker) is an important official within the sectarian community, entrusted with several different administrative tasks. Here, he presides over the assembly.
\n6:12\u201313. yet not be in a position to question the council of the community That is, when it is not his turn. Lines 12\u201313 provide a formal procedure for speaking out of turn. It is also possible that the Overseer refuses to recognize this individual. He therefore appeals directly to the congregation for permission to speak, as suggested by line 13: \u201cIf they command him to speak.\u201d
\n6:13\u201314. Every man, born of Israel, who freely pledges himself to join the council of the community Lines 13\u201323 describe a multiyear process by which a prospective member enters into the community and gains access to the pure food and drink. This unit finds important parallels with Josephus\u2019s description of the Essene initiation process (J.W. 2.137\u2013139). Several similarities with Rabbinic descriptions of the havurah can also be detected (M. Dem. 2:2\u20133; T. Dem. 2:2\u20133:10). Aspects of the sectarian initiation are described in general terms in 1QS 5:20\u201324.
\n6:14. Guardian at the head of the congregation Likely a synonymous designation for the Overseer, who is otherwise the primary community officer in charge of the initiation process (see line 20 and CD 15:8, 11, 14).
\nconcerning his understanding and his deeds See comment on 1QS 5:21.
\n6:14\u201315. he shall admit him into the covenant What practical change of status occurs at this stage is unclear. On the terminology, see comment on 1QS 1:16.
\n6:15. truth \u2026 deceit Corresponding to the two spirits in 1QS 3:18\u201319.
\nlater It is not clear how much time passes between the initiate being admitted by the Overseer and the examination by the congregation. Josephus notes that the Essene initiate must complete a year outside the community (J.W. 2.137).
\nbefore the congregation In the Damascus Document, the Overseer alone examines the prospective member (CD 15:11). In the Rule, the community as a whole makes decisions regarding the status of the prospective member.
\n6:16\u201317. the purity of the congregation The pure food of the congregation (see comment on 1QS 5:13). Although admitted as a probationary member, the initiate still remains in part an outsider with a potentially defiling spirit.
\n6:17. until one full year is completed Josephus notes that the Essene initiate gains access to the ritual bath after one year. He is still not allowed to participate in the \u201ccommunal life,\u201d which may include the communal food. He is allowed access to the pure food only after two years (J.W. 2.138).
\nnor shall he have any share of the property of the congregation On communal property, see comment on 1:11\u201312. The concern for sharing property with outsiders is further developed in 5:14\u201318 (see comment on 1QS 5:17) and appears throughout the Rule.
\n6:18. Then when he has completed one year within the community 4QSb has \u201cone complete year\u201d (as in line 17) with no reference to the community.
\n6:19. judgment of the priests The first introduction of priests as part of the initiation process. Cf. 1QS 5:2.
\ncompany of the community Heb. sod ha-yahad, a term distinct from the designation used elsewhere in this unit (etzat ha-yahad: \u201ccouncil of the community\u201d). Company (sod) and council (etzah) are synonymous in 1QS 2:25. It can hardly be accidental that the alternate term (sod) used for this stage of the initiation process has a secondary meaning of \u201csecret.\u201d
\nhis property and earnings The initiate\u2019s personal property and money are deposited with the Overseer, though it is not fully commingled with the communal property.
\n6:20. shall not spend it for the congregation The Overseer may not use any of the initiate\u2019s money for communal needs. It is not clear if this money was drawn upon to sustain the initiate during the second probationary year (i.e., for his own personal liquid food).
\ndrink of the congregation Refers to liquid food of the community (see also 4Q274 3; 4Q284 1). As in Rabbinic law (e.g., M. Par. 8:5\u20137; T. Toh. 1:6; T. Tevul Yom 1:3), the community regarded liquid food as more easily susceptible to ritual contamination than solid food. The potentially defiling initiate therefore was required to wait two years before touching the liquid food. The havurah adhered to similar distinctions. New members had a 30-day waiting period for liquid foods (T. Dem. 2:12). Members of the havurah were barred from purchasing liquid food from outsiders, though no restriction existed for solid food (M. Dem. 2:3; cf. T. Dem. 6:8).
\n6:22. inscribed among his brethren in the order of his rank On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\n6:24. These are the rules The penal code that follows is set off from the preceding content by a paragraph sign in the margin of the column. The end of the penal code is similarly marked by a Paleo-Hebrew symbol at the end of column 7. The penal code in the Rule closely parallels in content and order the penal codes found in the Cave 4 manuscripts of the Damascus Document and 4QMiscellaneous Rules. Within the Rule, overlapping material is also found in 1QS 8:16\u20139:2. Punishments in general vary across the penal codes, with double punishments (e.g., exclusion and fine) more common in 4QDa,e and 4QMiscellaneous Rules. The discrepancies with 4QSe (e.g., 1QS 7:14) and many scribal corrections (e.g., 1QS 7:8) found in 1QS 6:24\u20137:25 indicate that the penal code experienced constant reworking.
\n6:24\u201325. lied \u2026 property Also found in CD 14:20\u201321. The Damascus Document and 4QSg have the interchangeable \u201cmoney.\u201d The offense refers to lack of full disclosure regarding one\u2019s personal wealth upon admission to the community (cf. Acts 5:1\u201311).
\n6:25. purity of the congregation The pure food of the community. See comment on 1QS 5:13.
\nshall do penance with respect to one quarter of his food No time frame for the diminishment of food rations is provided. CD 14:21 has 6 days and the fragmentary 4QSd seems to indicate 60 days. 4QMiscellaneous Rules penalizes offenders with loss of half their food rations.
\n6:26. obstinacy \u2026 impatiently Two character traits associated with the spirit of deceit (1QS 4:10\u201311).
\ndisobeying the order of a brother inscribed before him On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\n6:27. he shall do penance for one year The same verb (ne\u2018enash) is used to introduce the loss of food rations in line 25. Most of the remaining punishments contain this verb together with a time frame. \u201cDo penance\u201d therefore is best understood as shorthand for \u201cdo penance with respect to one quarter of his food\u201d in all the punishments that follow. The punishments only vary in how long one receives reduced food rations.
\n[and shall be excluded] That is, from the pure food. Both punishments are employing shorthand. Exclusion for one year is also stipulated in 4QMiscellaneous Rules.
\nIf any man has uttered the [most] venerable name The divine name draws from Deut. 28:58, where it is equated with the Tetragrammaton. Avoidance of the Tetragrammaton in speech and scribal practice was widespread in the Second Temple period and Rabbinic Judaism. The \u201cutterance\u201d here most likely refers to oaths, as in the parallel law in the Damascus Document (CD 15:1\u20135; cf. Sir. 23:7\u201311; Matt. 5:33\u201337). Josephus reports that the Essenes avoided oaths with the divine name (J.W. 2.135).
\n7:1. in cursing That is, cursing someone by using the divine name, a common practice in magical
\ntraditions. A similar prohibition appears in Rabbinic literature (B. Mak. 16a; Y. Sheb. 3:10 55a).
\nwhile reading a book The \u201cbook\u201d likely refers to a scriptural scroll, which would contain the divine name.
\nor blessing See T. Ber. 7:6, which identifies the use of the substitute divine name El or Elohim in blessings as \u201cthe other way,\u201d i.e., a heterodox practice.
\nhe shall be dismissed Expulsion from the community is also stipulated for several offenses against the authority of the community leadership in lines 15\u201325.
\n7:2. one of the priests inscribed in the book On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\n7:6\u20137. he shall restore it in full This would seem to suggest that the sectarian retained some private funds even after admission into the community.
\n7:8\u20139. malice \u2026 revenge Draws on Lev. 19:18. See 1QS 5:24\u20136:1; CD 9:2\u20138.
\n7:8. six months\/one year \u201cSix months\u201d is written on the main line and is likely also found in the fragmentary 4QSe. A second scribe added \u201cone year\u201d above the line, indicating movement toward a harsher penalty.
\n7:9. three months That is, the length of his penance. The next two penalties use similar shorthand.
\nWhoever has interrupted his companion while speaking See comment on 1QS 6:10.
\n7:12. Whoever has gone naked before his companion See the similar disdain for general nakedness in 2 Macc. 4:14; Jub. 3:31; 7:20; B. Yev. 63b. Josephus reports that the Essenes attempted to minimize nakedness (J.W. 2.129, 148, 161).
\n7:13. Whoever has spat in an assembly of the congregation Josephus describes a similar restriction among the Essenes against spitting in the middle or to the right (J.W. 2.147). See also B. Ber. 24a\u2013b for Rabbinic discussions of spitting during prayer.
\nhis penis Literally, \u201chis hand,\u201d a euphemism for the penis (see 11QT 46:13; cf. Isa. 57:8).
\n7:14. his nakedness is exposed Cf. line 12.
\nthirty days The fragmentary 4QSe preserves a punishment of 60 days.
\n7:15. Whoever has drawn out his left hand to gesticulate with it Two interpretations of this passage are possible. It may reflect a general disdain for the left side\/hand. Philo reports that the Therapeutae communicated disapproval of the speaker during assemblies by the movement of the forefinger of the right hand (Contempl. Life 77). See also the note on line 13 regarding the Essenes refraining from spitting to the right side, thus indicating that they would only spit to the left. Alternatively, the issue may merely be drawing out one\u2019s hand and \u201cleft hand\u201d is employed to distinguish from the euphemistic use of \u201chand\u201d in line 13.
\nWhoever has gone about slandering his companion A paraphrase of Lev. 19:16, with \u201camong thy people\u201d understood as slander against a fellow Israelite. Cf. with the next offense.
\n7:16. whoever has slandered the congregation This seems to refer to divulging secrets regarding the community to outsiders (based on Prov. 11:13). It also reflects an expansion of \u201camong thy people\u201d in Lev. 19:16 to refer to the location of the slander (i.e., in public).
\n7:17. complained against the authority of the community See Exod. 15:24; 16:2, 7, where the object of the complaining is Moses. The combined concern with complaining and slander against the community leadership is also found in 1QHa 12:24\u201325.
\n7:17\u201318. complained against his companion unjustly As in the previous law, the penal code distinguishes between offenses against the community leadership and against an individual. Moreover, complaints against an individual can be just or unjust, while no such distinction exists for the authority of the community.
\n7:18\u201319. Should a man return whose spirit has so trembled before the authority of the community That the offender has the opportunity to return suggests that the nature of the offense is less severe than slandering (line 16) or complaining (line 17) against the leadership, which results in permanent expulsion. Cf. 1QS 8:16\u20139:2; CD 20:1\u20138.
\nbetrayed the truth See comment on 1QS 1:5
\n7:19. and walked in the stubbornness of his heart This language is used earlier to condemn disingenuous initiates into the community (see 1QS 2:14, 26; 5:4).
\nhe shall do penance for two years Lines 19\u201321 clarify the nature of the two-year punishment. The reformed member must redo the two-year probation period outlined in 1QS 6:15\u201323.
\nthe purity of the congregation See comment on 1QS 5:13 (cf. 1QS 6:16\u201317)
\n7:20. drink of the congregation See comment on 1QS 6:20.
\nand shall sit below all the men of the community The returning member loses his earlier position in the community rank (see comment on 5:20\u201324). This passage suggests that he can observe the communal study sessions, though he must sit behind the full members (cf. the seating arrangement for Rabbinic disciples in M. Sanh. 4:4).
\n7:21. he shall be inscribed in his rank Most likely refers to a new rank assigned based on the examination after the two-year probation period.
\n7:22. If, after being in the council of the community for ten full years The previous unit (lines 18\u201321) describes an individual who has been a member of the community for less than 10 years. Similar offenses by a long-term community member result in permanent expulsion.
\n7:24\u201325. if any member of the community has shared with him his food The expelled member still strives to live the life of purity and thus seeks to obtain pure food from current community members. As an outsider, he is barred from the pure food (see 1QS 5:13). Cf. Josephus\u2019s description of the expelled Essene who suffers because he lacks access to pure food (J.W. 2.143\u2013144).
\n7:25. or property The concern for sharing property with outsiders is further developed in 1QS 5:14\u201318 (see note on 1QS 5:17) and appears throughout the Rule.
\n8:1. In the council of the community This term generally refers to the community as a whole. Its narrower use here in reference to 12 men and three priests is otherwise unattested in the Rule (cf. 4Q265 7 7). Many early scholars regarded this council as the original sectarian community. Columns 8\u20139 were therefore understood as a \u201cmanifesto\u201d of the community in its earliest stages. John J. Collins has recently suggested that columns 8\u20139 do not describe the original community, but rather an elite group (likely at Qumran) within the broader network of the Yahad. 1QS 8:1 therefore refers to a special subgroup within the council of the community.
\n8:1\u20132. all that is revealed of the law See comments on 1QS 1:3, 8\u20139; 5:11\u201312.
\n8:2. truth, righteousness, justice, loving-kindness, and humility Draws on Mic. 6:8.
\n8:3. They shall preserve the faith in the land with steadfastness Draws on Isa. 26:1\u20133.
\ncontrite spirit Draws on Ps. 51:19, where it is identified as the true sacrifice that God desires. The emphasis on substitutes for sacrifices begins a theme that reoccurs throughout column 8.
\n8:3. shall atone for sin Draws on Lev. 26:41, 43, which refers to the reversal of the many curses outlined in Lev. 26. As in the scriptural base text, the Rule outlines nonsacrificial methods of expiation.
\n8:4. by suffering the sorrows of affliction The same term is used earlier to describe the period of trial during the pre-eschatological reign of Belial (see comment on 1QS 1:17). This experience is now understood as possessing an atoning force.
\nWhen these are in Israel The first of three uses of this expression (1QS 8:4, 12; 9:3) to structure the material relating to the community. \u201cThese\u201d refers to the 15 individuals described in line 1.
\n8:5. everlasting plantation Appears again in 1QS 11:8. Plant imagery is common as a self-designation for the sectarian community and elsewhere in Second Temple Judaism. It is commonly employed to refer to a specially selected individual or a group that is reconstituted after the destruction of the surrounding wicked people.
\na house of holiness for Israel The community envisions itself as a substitute for the presently defiled Temple in Jerusalem.
\n8:5\u20136. assembly of supreme holiness for Aaron Combines the designation for the community in 1QS 6:19 (sod) and the term for the inner sanctum of the Temple (1 Kings 6:16). The allusion to Aaron likely points to the added sanctity assigned to the priests within the community as temple. The hierarchal structure of the community is equated with varying degrees of sanctity in the physical layout of the Temple. Cf. 1QS 9:6.
\n8:6. true witnesses to justice \u2026 the elect of (God\u2019s) will See 4Q212 1 iv 12\u201313 (= 1 En. 93:10), where the ones chosen from among the eternal plant of righteousness will act as witnesses of righteousness in the end-time.
\n8:6\u20137. pay to the wicked their reward Draws on Ps. 94:2\u20133. For the community participating in the punishment of the wicked, see 1QpHab 5:4\u20135; 1QM 11:13\u201314. Cf. 1 En. 91:11\u201312, where the \u201cwitnesses of righteousness\u201d (see line 6) execute judgment on the wicked.
\n8:7\u20138. It shall be that tried wall, that precious cornerstone, whose foundations shall neither rock nor sway in their place A paraphrase of Isa. 28:16 (\u201cstone\u201d is replaced by \u201cwall\u201d), whereby the community is envisioned as the secure physical structure referred to in the scriptural verse. Similar stone\/wall imagery is applied to the community in a martial context in 1QHa 14:25\u201327. Cf. Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:6, where Isa. 28:16 is applied to Jesus. The Targum Isaiah 28:16 identifies the stone with the messiah.
\n8:8\u20139. It shall be a most holy dwelling for Aaron See comment on 1QS 8:5\u20136.
\n8:9. and shall offer up sweet fragrance Employs language commonly associated with God\u2019s acceptance of animal sacrifice (e.g., Gen. 8:21; Exod. 29:25; Lev. 1:9) for the nonsacrificial expiation of the community.
\nhouse of perfection and truth \u201cHouse\u201d is used here in reference to the Temple (as in, e.g., 1 Chron. 9:11). The community as temple embodies the community\u2019s principles of perfection and truth (cf. 1QS 1:5, 11, 12). Cf. CD 3:19.
\n8:10. And they shall be an agreeable offering Repeats the general theme of lines 5\u20137, with further cultic language employed to describe the expiatory power of the community\u2019s righteous behavior. The entire line until \u201cthere shall be no more iniquity\u201d is written above the line in 1QS (by the same scribe). The clause is present in 4QSd, but not in 4QSe.
\n8:10\u201311. When they have been confirmed for two years \u2026 they shall be set apart as holy within the council of the men of the community A seemingly abrupt introduction of the regulations related to the two-year probation period for admission into the sect (see 1QS 6:13\u201323). If column 8 refers to an elite group within the Yahad (see comment on line 1), the entire clause may refer to a distinct two-year period before individuals can join the elite group. This better explains the end of the clause where these individuals are \u201cset apart as holy within\u201d the council of the community.
\n8:12. any of those things hidden from Israel That is, the hidden aspects of the law known only through the progressive revelation of law to the community. See comment on 1QS 5:11\u201312.
\nout of fear of the spirit of apostasy Lack of awareness of the \u201chidden\u201d law will lead to the inexcusable failure to observe the law properly (see 1QS 5:11\u201312).
\n8:12\u201313. And when these become members of the community in Israel according to all these rules Cf. the similar introductory formula in line 4 and 1QS 9:3.
\n8:13. go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of him A paraphrase of Isa. 40:3, which is explicitly cited in line 14. The wilderness is envisioned as a pristine setting for spiritual purification. It also allows the community to re-create the Israelite experience in the desert and thus receive anew the revelation of the Torah. Isaiah 40:3 is widely employed in the New Testament to refer to the wilderness ministry of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1\u20133; Mark 1:2\u20134; Luke 3:4\u20136; John 1:19\u201323). The New Testament passages reflect a different adaptation of the verse as reflected in the different division of the verse: New Testament: \u201cA voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare \u2026\u201d; Rule: \u201cA voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare \u2026\u201d
\nway of him Isaiah 40:3 has \u201cway of the LORD.\u201d The use of the third-person pronoun for God is part of a broader set of substitutes for the Tetragrammaton in sectarian writings (see comment on 1QS 6:27). The pronoun is also used in the citation of Nah. 1:2 in CD 9:5. A variant reading is preserved in 4QSe: \u201cthe way of the truth.\u201d
\n8:14. as it is written, \u201cPrepare in the wilderness the way of \u2026 make straight in the desert a path for our God\u201d An explicit citation of Isa. 40:3 providing scriptural support for the retreat to the desert. As in the paraphrase in the previous line, the Tetragrammaton is not written out. It is identified by the use of four dots, as it is in several other texts. The entire scriptural citation is absent in 4QSd.
\n8:15. This (path) is the study of the law Careful study of the sacred writings constitutes the preparation of the way of the LORD in the desert. This presumably also includes meticulous observance of the law.
\nwhich he commanded by the hand of Moses Refers to the law (Torah) itself, not the study of the law.
\nthat they may do according to all that has been revealed from age to age As articulated in several places in the Rule, the community believed in the progressive revelation of law (see comments on 1QS 1:3, 5:11\u201312). The Law of Moses can only be properly observed through the explication and expansion provided by the successive revelations.
\n8:16. and as the Prophets have revealed by his holy spirit The prophets are conceptualized as the next recipients of progressive revelation after Moses. The community\u2019s study of the law positions it as the current beneficiary of this revelation (see 1QS 5:8\u20139). For the revelatory character of the holy spirit, see also CD 5:21\u20136:1.
\n8:16\u20139:11 This entire section is lacking in 4QSe.
\n8:16\u201319 These lines describe the process by which a temporarily expelled member can rejoin the community. As in the similar process outlined in 1QS 7:18\u201323, the penitent must redo part of the initiation process in order to regain his status as a full-fledged member of the community.
\n8:17. deliberately \u2026 turns aside The offenses presumed in line 16\u201319 were performed deliberately. Line 22 seems to stipulate permanent expulsion for deliberate violations, though see the explanation provided in the comment on lines 21\u201322.
\nfrom any commandment Heb. mitzvah, likely used to refer to sectarian legislation (cf. CD 7:1\u20132).
\nshall touch the purity of the men of holiness As with the new member, the returning member is considered an outsider and is thus barred access to the pure food of the community (see comment on 1QS 6:16\u201317; cf. 7:19). This passage does not indicate a time frame for exclusion from the pure food nor does it stipulate a second stage in which the returning member is only barred from the liquid food (as in 1QS 6:20; 7:20). This process may be similar to 1QS 6:25; 7:2, 16, where the offender is punished with exclusion from the pure food for one year. Or, it may be that \u201cpurity\u201d in 1QS 8:17 functions as shorthand for both the pure food and drink (as possibly in 1QS 7:25) and a two-year process similar to the new member initiation (in 1QS 6:13\u201323) is presumed. The final clause in this unit in line 19 favors the latter explanation.
\n8:18. or know anything of their counsel This suggests that the returning member is barred from the community sessions until his full readmission (cf. 1QS 8:24\u201325). Cf. 1QS 7:20, which seems to suggest that a returning member is allowed to observe the sessions. 1QS 8:25\u201327 may even allow for a more active role.
\n8:19. according to the judgment of the congregation On this role of the congregation, cf. 1QS 5:20\u201321; 6:15\u201316, 18, 21; 7:21.
\nshall be inscribed in his rank On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\nThis rule shall apply to whoever enters the community That is, the returning member is treated in the same way as the new member.
\n8:20. these are the rules Similar to the heading used to introduce the penal code in 1QS 6:24.
\n8:21\u201322. Every man \u2026 who \u2026 transgresses one word of the law of Moses, on any point whatever, shall be expelled Stipulates permanent expulsion for transgression of Torah law, whether deliberately or dishonestly. At first glance, this contradicts line 17, which seems to allow return following the deliberate violation of any commandment. As noted, \u201ccommandment\u201d in line 17 likely refers to sectarian legislation, while lines 21\u201322 clearly indicate that the offender has violated Torah law. Only deliberate violation of the Torah law results in permanent expulsion.
\n8:23\u201324. no man of holiness shall be associated in his property or counsel in any matter at all The concern regarding sharing property with outsiders is further developed in 1QS 5:14\u201318 (see note on 1QS 5:17) and appears throughout the Rule. As in 1QS 6:22\u201323, only a full member can offer his counsel. Cf. 1QS 7:24\u201325, which prohibits sharing pure food with expelled members.
\n8:24. But if he has acted inadvertently, he shall be excluded from the purity and the council An unintentional transgressor is only subject to temporary exclusion from the pure food and participation in the assembly meetings (see comment on line 17).
\n8:24\u201325 and they shall consult the rule (as follows). \u201cFor two years he shall take no part in judgment or ask for counsel\u201d The text of 1QS seems to suggest that the exclusion of the inadvertent offender from community deliberations is determined by consulting a previously established regulation (mishpat), which is cited here. No text matching this citation is found in the available community regulations. 4QSd stipulates an identical punishment for the inadvertent offender, though it does not appeal to the established regulation regarding his exclusion from community deliberations: \u201cthey shall exclude him from the purity and from the council and from the judgment for tw[o year]s.\u201d
\n8:25\u201327 This entire clause functions as the first half of a conditional clause. It describes a situation where the inadvertent sinner is permitted to participate in some way in the community study sessions and is expected to display flawless behavior for two years. These elements seem to be the conditions set for readmission, though this result is not explicitly stated in the text. This confusion is clarified by the shorter text in 4QSd: \u201cand he shall return to study and to the council, if he has not committed again a sin by inadvertence for two full years.\u201d 4QSd, however, makes no mention of an individual perfecting his way or of the authority of the congregation to evaluate the individual.
\n9:1\u20132 These lines reiterate the essential procedural differences between deliberate and inadvertent sin.
\n9:2. And afterward, he shall be inscribed in his rank On rank in the community, see comment on 1QS 5:23.
\n9:3. When these become members of the community in Israel The third use of this introductory heading in columns 8\u20139 (cf. 1QS 8:4, 12). Much of the material in 1QS 9:3\u201311 parallels themes and language found in 1QS 8:1\u201315.
\n9:4. They shall atone for guilty rebellion and for sins of unfaithfulness, that they may obtain loving-kindness for the land As in 1QS 8:3\u201310, the community is envisioned as fulfilling the expiatory role of the Temple and sacrifices.
\nwithout the flesh of holocausts and the fat of sacrifice Unlike the earlier description of the community as temple in 1QS 8:3\u201310, 1QS 9:4\u20135 explicitly states that this will be done without animal sacrifices. The approach here should be contrasted with the Damascus Document, which includes substantial legislation regarding sacrifice and with conflicting reports concerning the Essene approach to sacrifice. Philo indicates that the Essenes do not offer animal sacrifice (Prob. 75) while Josephus notes that they offer sacrifice on their own but not in the Temple (Ant. 18.19).
\n9:4\u20135. offering of the lips That is, prayer. Employs the word commonly used for animal sacrifice (e.g., Exod. 29:27\u201328; Lev. 7:14). The expression also appears in 1QS 10:6 (cf. 1QS 9:26)
\n9:5. shall be as an acceptable fragrance of righteousness See 1QS 8:9, where similar sacrificial language describes the community as temple. On the emergence of prayer as a substitute for sacrifice, see also CD 11:20\u201321. This theme is widespread in Rabbinic texts.
\nand perfection of way as a delectable free-will offering The upright behavior of the community likewise acts as a substitute for the sacrifice. Cf. Avot R. Nat. A 4, where acts of loving-kindness are identified as effective substitutes for sacrifices.
\n9:6. a house of holiness for Aaron See comment on 1QS 8:5\u20136.
\na house of community for Israel The community functions as a temple on behalf of Israel. See comment on 1QS 8:5.
\n9:7. The Sons of Aaron See comment on 1QS 5:21, where it is suggested that this designation refers to early leaders of the community.
\nalone shall command in matters of justice and property In contrast to 1QS 5:21\u201322, where the Sons of Aaron and the \u201cmultitude of Israel\u201d (i.e., the lay members) share authority (cf. 1QS 5:2\u20133).
\n9:8. property \u2026 shall not be merged On the concern with sharing property with outsiders, see 1QS 5:15\u201317; 6:17; 7:25; 8:23.
\n9:10. first precepts in which the men of the community were first instructed Likely refers to early communal legislation that remains in force throughout the life of the community. Cf. similar language employed in CD 20:31\u201332 to refer to legislation that seems to predate the Teacher of Righteousness.
\n9:11. until there shall come Only in the Messianic Era will the \u201cfirst precepts\u201d be replaced by a new set of laws. Cf. CD 12:22\u201313:1; 14:18\u201319.
\nthe prophet The prophet at the end of days (often understood as Elijah) is a widespread figure in ancient Judaism. The precise relationship of the prophet to the messiahs in the Rule is unclear. Later Christian and Rabbinic tradition would assign the prophet the role of the herald for the messiah.
\nthe messiahs of Aaron and Israel Similar terminology appears in the Damascus Document to articulate the community\u2019s expectation of two messiahs, one priestly and one royal. Other sectarian texts make clear the prominence of the priestly messiah (1QSa 2:11\u201322).
\n9:12. These are the precepts in which the Maskil shall walk Lines 12\u201326 outline a series of attributes and responsibilities associated with the Maskil. The introductory heading is almost identical in CD 12:20\u201321. On the role of the Maskil in the Rule, see also 1QS 1:1; 3:13; 4QSb 4 ix 1\/\/4QSd 1 i 1.
\nthe weight of every man A metaphor used in reference to the worth of a person. See Prov. 16:2; Dan. 5:27; 1 En. 41:1\u20132; 61:8.
\n9:13. all that has been revealed from age to age The Maskil was expected to guide the community in accordance with God\u2019s progressive revelation (see 1QS 1:3; 5:8\u201312; 8:15\u201316).
\n9:14. He shall separate As one with intimate knowledge of the spirits of truth and deceit (see 1QS 3:13), the Maskil was entrusted with the task of ensuring that only Sons of Truth inhabited the community.
\nand weigh the sons of righteousness according to their spirit See comment on 1QS 5:23\u201324.
\n9:14\u201315. the elect of the time according to his will Refers to the community, which is regularly identified as the elect of God. See especially 1QS 1:9\u201310; 8:6.
\n9:15. He shall admit him in accordance with the cleanness of his hands As in Job 22:30, cleanness of hands refers to an upright individual (cf. Ps. 18:21, 25; 2 Sam. 22:21). A similar metaphor appears in 4Q525 2\u20133 ii 2\u20133.
\n9:15\u201316. in accordance with his understanding he may draw near Cf. 1QS 5:20\u201321; 6:14, where the prospective member is examined with regard to his understanding and his performance of the law.
\n9:16. And he shall love and hate likewise That is, love the righteous and hate the wicked, as in 1QS 1:3\u20134, 9\u201310.
\n9:16\u201317. He shall not rebuke the men of the pit nor dispute with them On reproof within the community, see 1QS 5:24\u20136:1. As line 17 makes clear, the purpose of this restriction is to ensure that the wicked men of the pit do not gain access to the secret teachings of the community (a theme repeated in line 22; cf. 1QS 8:11\u201312). As the primary expositor of sectarian knowledge, this responsibility falls foremost on the Maskil. Josephus similarly reports that the Essenes closely guard the secrets of their teachings (J.W. 2.141).
\n9:17\u201318. to those who have chosen the way \u2026 according to the spirit of each The Maskil reserves his teachings for the righteous community members. Even here, the Maskil\u2019s teachings are tailored to the spiritual qualities of each individual member.
\n9:18. shall thus instruct them in the mysteries of marvelous truth Cf. the teaching role associated with the Maskil in 1QS 3:13\u201315 and the similar role assigned to the Overseer in CD 13:7\u20138. On the mystery of God, see comments on 1QS 3:23; 11:3\u20134.
\n9:19. walk perfectly together Cf. 1QS 1:8; 2:2.
\n9:19\u201320. This is the time for the preparation of the way into the wilderness A paraphrase of Isa. 40:3,
\nas also found in 1QS 8:12\u201314, to underscore the goals of the community.
\n9:20. to do all that is found at that time Refers to the Maskil\u2019s instruction of the community members in the law as understood through its present revelation. Cf. line 13.
\n9:20\u201321. to separate \u2026 injustice Cf. 1QS 5:10; 8:13; 9:5.
\n9:21. These are the rules of conduct A subheading introducing further expectations of the Maskil. In
\ncontrast to the focus on the Maskil\u2019s leadership role in the community in lines 12\u201321, this section
\nemphasizes his relationship to outsiders and God.
\n9:21\u201322. everlasting hatred \u2026 secrecy Cf. line 16.
\n9:23. zealous for the law and its time Cf. 1QS 4:4.
\nuntil the day of vengeance See 1QS 10:19; 1QM 7:5. Cf. Deut. 32:35; Isa. 34:8; 61:2; 63:4.
\nperform the will (of God) Draws on Isa. 61:2, though omits the Tetragrammaton (see comment on
\n1QS 6:27). Cf. line 13.
\n9:25. the words of his mouth Draws on Ps. 138:4
\n9:26. He shall bless him Functions as a transitional clause to introduce the concluding hymn. The
\nexhortation earlier in line 26 to the Maskil to bless God is now expanded to all humans.
\n[with the offering] of the lips On this reconstruction, see 1QS 9:4\u20135; 10:6.
\n10:1. at the times ordained by him Lines 1\u20138 outline a series of established times for prayer: daily (1\u2013
\n3), on new moons and annual festivals (3\u20135), and on seasonal and multiyear celebrations (6\u20138).
\nThe Dead Sea Scrolls reflect the most substantial evidence for institutionalized prayer prior to
\nits widespread presence in Rabbinic Judaism.
\n10:1\u20133. at the beginning of the dominion of light \u2026 glory These lines contain a threefold reference to sunrise and sunset as the times for daily prayer. These two time frames are described based on the daily rhythm of light, darkness, and the stars. Similar descriptions are found in 1QHa 20:4\u20137; 1QM 14:12\u201314. 4Q Daily Prayers (4Q503) preserves a collection of prayers to be recited daily in the morning and evening (cf. 4Q408; 4Q504\u2013506). Josephus notes the Essene practice of morning prayer (J.W. 2.128).
\n10:3\u20135 The precise meaning of the times indicated here is unclear. Almost certainly the text has in mind the ritual calendar of the community, which would include the new moon and annual festivals. Special festival prayers are preserved in 1Q34\u201334bis and 4Q507\u2013509. The duplication of terms for the beginning of the month in line 3 (hodesh: \u201cnew moon\u201d) and line 5 (yerah: \u201cmonth\u201d) is either poetic parallelism or indicates a distinction between the solar and lunar months.
\nappointed for remembrance This terminology is applied to festivals in Exod. 12:14; Lev. 23:24; Num. 10:10.
\n10:6. the offering of the lips See comment on 1QS 9:4\u20135.
\nstatute engraved forever The imagery, appearing also in lines 8, 11, underscores either the fixed nature of prayer or of the cosmological structure according to which prayer is closely regulated.
\nat the beginning of the years Refers to the new year festival.
\nthe turning-point of their seasons Lines 6\u20137 describe the four seasons, with the year beginning in the spring. The festivals refer to the four Days of Remembrance that mark the beginning of the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th months as known from calendrical texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jubilees, and 1 Enoch. The fragmentary 4Q512 33+35 1\u20133 may describe prayers for these days.
\n10:7. the seasons of years to their seven-year periods That is, the sabbatical year.
\n10:8. until the time appointed for liberty Refers to the jubilee year with terminology from Lev. 25:10 (cf. Isa. 61:1; 11Q13 2:6). No liturgical material pertaining to the sabbatical or jubilee years has been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
\nthe engraved statute See comment on line 6.
\nfruit of praise and the portion of my lips See similar imagery in Hos. 14:3 (LXX); Prov. 21:14; Pss. Sol. 15:3; 1QHa 9:28. As in 1QS 9:4, the language used to refer to prayer (\u201cportion\u201d) highlights its role as a replacement for sacrifice.
\n10:9. measure of his judgment Used in reference to divine justice in Isa. 28:17; 1QHa 11:27; 14:26; 4Q437 2 i 12. See Ps. 19:5; Sir. 44:5 (Masada Scroll) for musical uses of \u201cmeasure\u201d (kav).
\n10:10. With the coming of day and night I will enter the covenant of God On twice-daily prayer, see comment on 1QS 10:1\u20133. Lines 10\u201314 seem to refer to the Shema (Deut 6:4\u20139) and accompanying liturgical components. The twice daily recitation of the Shema is mentioned by Josephus (Ant. 4.212) and is similarly mandated in Rabbinic Judaism (M. Ber. 1:1\u20132).
\nand when evening and morning depart I will recite his decrees Likely refers to the recitation of the Decalogue alongside the Shema, a widespread practice in the Second Temple period.
\n10:11. I will declare his judgment concerning my sins Confession as a liturgical feature is found elsewhere in the Rule (1QS 1:24\u20132:1; 11:15).
\n10:12. Fountain of Knowledge See 1QS 11:3; 1QHa 10:18; 20:29.
\n10:13\u201314 The emphasis on prayer upon waking and going to sleep suggests an interpretation of Deut.
\n6:7: \u201cwhen you lie down and when you get up.\u201d As in Rabbinic Judaism, Deut. 6:7 is understood
\nas mandating the recitation of the Shema in the morning and evening (B. Ber. 2a). Many commentators have suggested that the blessing directed at God refers to the blessings prior to the Shema, a practice alluded to by Josephus (Ant. 4.212).
\n10:14. from the midst of the ranks of men Perhaps indicates communal prayer.
\n10:15. and before I lift my hands to eat of the pleasant fruits of the earth Stipulates the requirement
\nof a blessing prior to the consumption of food. See comment on 1QS 6:5.
\nat the beginning of fear and dread As in Rabbinic tradition, God should be blessed in good and
\nbad times (M. Ber. 9:5).
\n10:16. I will speak of his power Cf. 1QHa 19:5 (cf. 14:9), where this expression is parallel to \u201cI will
\nsing of your mercy.\u201d
\n10:16\u201317. in his hand is judgment of all the living See Job 12:10; 1QS 3:16\u201317; 1QHa 8:4; 13:4.
\n10:17. all his deeds are truth See Ps. 111:7; 1QM 13:2; 1QHa 9:30; 19:7.
\nI will praise him when distress is unleashed See comment on line 15.
\nI will pay to no man the reward of evil Perhaps draws on Ps. 7:5. Cf. Rom. 12:17, 21.
\n10:18. For judgment of all the living is with God See comment on lines 16\u201317.
\n10:18\u201319. I will not envy in a spirit of wickedness Draws on Prov. 24:19, with \u201cwicked people\u201d replaced by \u201cspirit of wickedness.\u201d
\n10:19. riches of violence This may have in mind the sectarian opponents\u2019 violent raid on the temple treasury as recounted in CD 6:15\u201316; 1QpHab 8:11\u201312. The condemnation of ill-obtained wealth is similarly found in Prov. 10:2; 11:4; Sir. 5:8; 1 En. 63:10; 1QS 11:2; CD 8:5; Luke 16:9, 11.
\nI will not grapple with the men of the pit until the day of vengeance Cf. 1QS 9:21\u201323, where the destruction of the men of the pit is likewise deferred until the end-time.
\nday of vengeance See comment on 1QS 9:23.
\n10:19\u201320. but my wrath shall not turn from the men of falsehood Although the destruction of the men of the pit is deferred until the eschatological day of vengeance, they remain the object of intense disdain in the pre-eschatological era.
\nthat turn from transgression This expression draws from Isa. 59:20 and is regularly employed in sectarian texts for those that repent and join the community.
\n10:21. I will offer no comfort to the smitten On the concern for interaction with outsiders, see, e.g., 1QS 5:15\u201317; 8:23. Instead of \u201csmitten\u201d (neka\u2019im), 4QSf has \u201cstraightforward\u201d (nekhohim).
\nuntil their way becomes perfect That is, they become members of the community (see 1QS 3:3; 8:10; 9:5, 9).
\nI will not keep Belial within my heart For Belial, see comment on 1QS 1:18. The expression draws from Deut. 15:9, where an individual harbors an evil thought (davar \u2026 beliya\u2018al) in his heart., This imagery gains new meaning in the Second Temple period, when Belial is conceived of as a demonic force. In 1QHa 14:21\u201322, Belial is the counselor of the hearts of the wicked (cf. 1QHa 12:10; 15:3).
\n10:22. The fruit of holiness shall be on my tongue Cf. line 8.
\n10:23. my tongue shall always proclaim the righteousness of God See comment on 1QS 1:21. Cf. the description of God as \u201cMy Righteousness\u201d in 1QS 10:11 and the further reference to God\u2019s righteousness in line 25; 1QS 11:6.
\n10:24\u201325. I will impart\/conceal knowledge with discretion \u201cConceal\u201d (\u2019str) is written on the line, though a scribe added an erasure dot under the tet (\u201ct\u201d) and corrected to \u201cimpart\u201d (\u2019spr). Both are consistent with the community\u2019s emphasis on the secrecy of its teachings (see 1QS 8:11\u201312; 9:16).
\n10:25. a firm boundary Undoubtedly a polemic against those who move the boundary as in CD 1:16; 5:20 (cf. CD 20:25).
\n10:25\u201326. I will measure the law by the measuring-cord of the times Draws on Isa. 34:17, and emphasizes the teaching of the law in accordance with its progressive revelation.
\n10:26. to strengthen the hands of the anxi[ous of heart] The first half of the clause draws on Isa. 35:3. The restoration is based in part on Isa. 35:4 and the similar use of this expression in 1QHa 10:9 (cf. 1QHa 9:35).
\n11:1\u20132. men of injustice who point the finger and speak of iniquity An exegetical paraphrase of Isa. 58:9b: \u201cIf you banish the yoke from your midst, the menacing hand, and evil speech.\u201d \u201cYoke\u201d (motah) has a negative connotation as a yoke of oppression (see Isa. 58:6). The figurative meaning of the term is adapted to identify the condemned group in the Rule, which retains all the depraved characteristics outlined in Isa. 58:6b. It is also possible that the Rule has read the word muttah in Isa. 58:9 as meaning \u201cperversion\u201d (as in Ezek. 9:9). The Targum translates both Isa. 58:9 (motah) and Ezek. 9:9 (muttah) as astayut, meaning \u201coppression, deviation.\u201d
\n11:2. acquire wealth See comment on 1QS 10:19.
\nAs for me, my judgment is with God A transition from the description of of the fate of the men of injustice to a new hymnic unit focusing on the relationship between the hymnist and God. Many of the themes\u2014particularly the contrast between God and the lowly nature of humans\u2014are familiar from the Thanksgiving Hymns.
\nIn his hand are the perfection of my way Cf. lines 10\u201311, 17; 1QHa 12:30\u201331.
\n11:3. He will wipe out my transgression Draws on Isa. 43:25; 44:22; Ps. 51:3.
\nhis light On the illuminating light from God, see 1QS 2:3; 11:5; 1QHa 12:6, 23; 17:26\u201327. The manuscript also allows for the reading \u201cmy light.\u201d
\nfrom the source of his knowledge See comment on 1QS 10:12.
\nlight of my heart Repeated in line 5. For the divine light illuminating the human heart, see 1QS 2:3 (cf. 1QS 4:2).
\n11:3\u20134. the mystery to come This expression appears frequently in the Book of Mysteries and Instruction. It refers to a broad corpus of divine knowledge found in literary sources and through empirical observation of the world. It encompasses the full range of all perceivable knowledge pertaining to the past, present, and future. Humans are often exhorted to contemplate on its meaning, whereby they gain access to divine knowledge.
\n11:4. the way of my steps is over a firm rock Draws on Ps. 40:3.
\nwhich nothing shall shake See 1QS 8:8; 1QHa 14:27, 15:9, which refer to an unshakable wall or
\nfoundation.
\ntruth of God See 1QS 3:6; 10:17.
\n11:5. From the source of his righteousness is my judgment Repeats language and themes from lines 2\u20133.
\nmarvelous mysteries See comment on 1QS 9:18.
\nlight in my heart See comment on line 3.
\n11:6. on wisdom concealed \u2026 from the sons of men Similar language is used in 1QS 10:24 to describe the hymnist\u2019s hiding of knowledge.
\nknowledge and wise design Draws from Prov. 1:4.
\n11:7. assembly of flesh A parallel term for humans, though the use of \u201cflesh\u201d likely has negative connotations (as in lines 9, 12)
\neverlasting possession See comment on 1QS 2:15.
\n11:8. the holy ones A frequent term for angels in biblical and Second Temple texts. Provides a parallel to \u201csons of heaven.\u201d
\nHe has joined their assembly to the sons of heaven The blurring of boundaries between humans and angels is common in sectarian and other Second Temple texts.
\na foundation of the building of holiness Refers to the earlier theme of the community as temple (1QS 8:4\u201310; 9:3\u20136). The conflation of humans and angels in this passage, however, suggests that the community as temple is envisioned as a celestial temple. Similar motifs appear in 4Q511 35 2\u20135 and are common in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice.
\neternal plantation See comment on 1QS 8:5.
\n11:9. As for me, I belong to wicked mankind A transition from the description of the exalted humans in the previous lines to a new section focusing on the lowly nature of humans. As in the Thanksgiving Hymns, the hymnist identifies himself with the latter group.
\nunjust flesh The depraved nature of human flesh is repeated in line 12 (cf. line 7; 1QS 4:20\u201321) and appears frequently in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In these texts, the depraved human flesh is contrasted with God\u2019s righteousness and might. The letters of Paul similarly denigrate human flesh, usually in contrast to the perfect spirit.
\nMy iniquities, rebellions, and sins Employs terminology for sin also found in the confession in 1QS 1:24\u201325.
\n11:10. belong to the company of worms This identification of humans with worms draws from Job. 25:6 (cf. 7:5). See also line 21.
\nand to those who walk in darkness Cf. Isa. 9:1; 1QS 3:21; 4:11; 1QM 13:12.
\n11:10\u201311. and out of his hand is perfection of way Repeats language from line 2. See also line 17.
\n11:11. He establishes all things by his design See comment on 1QS 3:15.
\n11:11\u201312. As for me, if I stumble This is the concluding hymn\u2019s third use of this type of poetic transition (1QS 11:2, 9). This unit focuses on God\u2019s salvation in spite of humanity\u2019s shortcomings.
\n11:12. my judgment shall be by the righteousness of God One of several places in column 11 where the hymnist declares that his fate lies solely with God (lines 2\u20133, 5, 13\u201315). The lowly nature of humans requires that all atonement and forgiveness emanate from God. On the redemptive nature of God\u2019s righteousness, cf. 11QPs 19:5\u201311; 1QHa 12:37; 19:30\u201332. 1QHa 15:17 explicitly affirms that humans do not possess redemptive righteousness. Cf. Rom. 3:21\u201326; Gal. 2:16.
\n11:13. He will deliver my soul from the pit Draws on Ps. 116:8, with \u201cpit\u201d replacing \u201cdeath.\u201d
\nand will direct my steps to the way See comment on line 4 (cf. line 10).
\n11:14. He will pardon all my sins Further examples of divinely orchestrated atonement are found in 1QS 3:6\u20137; CD 3:18; 1QHa 12:37; 2 i 13. Elsewhere in the Rule, atonement stems from human action (1QS 5:6; 8:6, 10; 9:4).
\nThrough his righteousness he will cleanse me Cf. 4:20\u201322; 1QHa 12:37.
\n11:15. I may confess to God his righteousness See comment on 1QS 1:21.
\nBlessed are you Though infrequently occurring in the Hebrew Bible (Ps. 119:12; 1 Chron. 20:8), this benediction formula is common in postbiblical texts.
\n11:15\u201316. who opens the heart of your servant to knowledge See similar imagery in line 3 and 1QHa 6:8; 20:13.
\n11:16. the son of your handmaid For this terminology in supplications, see Ps. 86:16; 116:16; 1QHa 8:27; 4Q381 15 2; 33a, b + 35 5.
\n11:17. For without you no way is perfect Cf. lines 2, 10\u201311; 1QHa 18:9.
\n11:17\u201318. It is you who has taught all knowledge Draws on Deut. 4:35. Though not cited, the second half of this verse (\u201cThe LORD alone is God; there is none beside him\u201d) fits well with the surrounding content of the hymn.
\n11:18. There is none beside you Draws on 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Chron. 17:20. The biblical statement of monotheism (\u201cthere is no other God but you\u201d) is modified to reflect the belief in the singularity of God\u2019s power. Cf. 1QHa 6:32; 18:9.
\n11:19. your mysteries See comment on 1QS 3:23; 9:18; 11:3\u20134.
\nto contemplate in all your wonders Draws on Job 37:14; cf. 1QHa 15:32; 18:2.
\n11:19\u201320. with the power of your might Combines two parallel attributes of God from biblical texts (Ps. 65:7; 1 Chron. 29:12; 2 Chron. 20:6). Cf. 1QHa 12:32; 18:8.
\n11:21. one born of woman Draws from Job 14:1; 15:14, where the terminology is similarly used to describe the finiteness and shortcomings of human life.
\nKneaded from the dust On humans formed from dust, see Gen. 2:7; 3:19; 18:27; Ps. 103:14; Eccles. 12:7; 1 Cor. 15:47. The biblical use of this motif is often employed to affirm the lowly nature of humans and the finiteness of human life. The use of the verb \u201cto knead\u201d for human creation is unique to postbiblical texts.
\nhis abode is the nourishment of worms Humans will inevitably die and return to the earth, where they will be food for worms (see also line 10). Draws on Job. 21:26. A similar fate for humans is expressed in M. Avot. 3:1. See also B. Sot. 5a, where the Heb. for flesh (basar) is identified as an acronym for shame, stench, and worm. Worms (along with fire) are identified as a form of divine punishment in Jdt. 16:17; Sir. 7:17.
\nhe is but a discharge Similar imagery appears in 1QHa 20:32; 4Q511 28\u201329 3. In these texts, the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Most translators see an allusion to some form of human discharge, either saliva or semen. If saliva is intended, it is likely a euphemism for semen (as in B. Nid. 16b). The negative connotation associated with this imagery finds an important parallel in M. Avot 3:1, where the lowly nature of humans is emphasized by observing how they come from a \u201cputrid drop\u201d (cf. B. Sot. 5a). As in the Rule, the Mishnah further notes that they will return to a place of dust and worms.
\n11:22. nipped-off clay Draws on Job 33:6. A common metaphor for humans in the Thanksgiving Hymns.
\nhis desire is toward dust Draws on Gen. 3:19 (\u201cand to dust you shall return\u201d), though uses a different verb (teshukato; cf. Gen. 3:16; 4:7). The parallel in 1QHa 18:3 employs the same verb as in Gen. 3:19 (teshuvato). It is not clear if the form in the Rule is intentional or a scribal error.
\nhand-molded Cf. the euphemistic use of \u201chand\u201d in 1QS 7:13.<\/p>\n
Damascus Document<\/p>\n
Joseph L. Angel<\/p>\n
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Damascus Document (also known as the Zadokite Fragments) has been recognized by scholars as a foundational work of the Qumran community. This lengthy composition divides into two principal sections known as \u201cthe Admonition\u201d and \u201cthe Laws.\u201d
\nThe Admonition is a Deuteronomy-like speech designed to encourage adherence to the teachings and halakhot (laws) of the elect community. Weaving together a fine tapestry of biblical allusions, a teacher instructs his followers to separate from the wicked, recounts the origins of a penitential remnant of Israel 390 years after Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s destruction of Jerusalem, and offers lessons from biblical history. Just as God has punished the wickedness of his people in the past, he will punish the stubborn majority of Israel that continues to blindly disobey his commands. Only the community, or \u201cthose who entered into the new covenant in the land of Damascus\u201d (CD 6:19), will be saved through the grace of God. Those unfaithful to the new covenant will be punished.
\nThe Admonition serves as a hortatory introduction to the Laws, which constitute the core and largest part of the work. The rulings listed in this section are to be followed \u201cduring the entire period [of visitation]\u201d (4QDa 11 18\u201319), namely, until the dawn of the Messianic Age, which, in the view of the Qumran community, was imminent. The subject matter of the Laws may be divided into two main categories: general religious halakhot and regulations specific to life in the community. Among the rulings in the first category are those pertaining to the disqualification of various types of priests from service, diagnosis of skin diseases, agriculture, ritual defilement and purification, business ethics, marriage, oaths and vows, judicial procedures, observance of the Sabbath, purity of the Temple, treatment of blasphemers and Gentiles, and dietary strictures. The second category includes legislation on the meetings, organization, and leadership of the community, a penal code establishing punishment for various offenses, such as murmuring against the fathers or mothers of the congregation, and a ritual for the expulsion of unfaithful members held at the annual ceremony for the renewal of the covenant in the third month.<\/p>\n
Authorship and History
\nThe Damascus Document is unique among the Dead Sea Scrolls in that the majority of the preserved text derives from two medieval Hebrew manuscripts discovered in the Cairo Genizah in 1896, more than 50 years prior to the Qumran discoveries (hence the abbreviation CD, for Cairo Damascus Document). The two manuscripts, known as manuscript A and manuscript B, date to the 10th and 12th centuries CE, respectively. Manuscript A consists of 16 pages and covers large portions of the Admonition (pages 1\u20138) and the Laws (pages 9\u201316). Manuscript B preserves only two pages (numbered 19\u201320 by the original editor) that partially overlap with pages 7\u20138 of manuscript A and constitute the ending of the Admonition.
\nFrom the moment of the initial publication of the medieval manuscripts by Solomon Schechter in 1910, scholars debated the provenance of the document and the identity of the community it addresses. This debate was terminated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls a few decades later. Scholars immediately realized that the vocabulary, ideology, and communal organization reflected in the Genizah manuscripts paralleled those observed in the sectarian Scrolls collection. Moreover, personalities such as the \u201cTeacher of Righteousness\u201d and the \u201cSpouter of Lies,\u201d previously known only from manuscripts A and B, appeared also in the sectarian biblical commentaries found at Qumran. Most importantly, a total of ten fragmentary copies of the Damascus Document were discovered in Caves 4, 5, and 6. This solidified the ancient origins of the composition, as well as its connection with the Qumran movement.
\nThe Qumran manuscripts, principally those from Cave 4, preserve substantial overlaps with the Cairo Genizah copies, as well as previously unknown parts of the text, including the beginning and end of the work and a significant amount of legal material. Overlaps with the medieval manuscripts display that the latter are fairly reliable copies, even though they were penned over a millennium after the original date of composition. It is conceivable that these manuscripts were produced by Karaite scribes copying from an ancient scroll that could have surfaced from an earlier manuscript discovery.
\nOn the basis of paleography, the oldest Qumran copy (4Q266 = 4QDa) dates to the first half of the 1st century BCE. The final form of the text refers to the death of the Teacher of Righteousness, an event that many scholars locate at the end of the 2nd century BCE. These chronological parameters indicate that the Damascus Document, at least in its latest compositional stage, was composed late in the second or early in the 1st century BCE. However, it is clearly a composite work, and several incorporated sections likely date to a time prior to the establishment of the community.
\nThe distinctive vocabulary, ideology, and communal organization espoused by the Damascus Document indicate that it is a literary product of the Qumran community. However, the existence of various independent formal patterns and literary units indicates that a Qumran author\/editor worked with preexisting material. According to a popular line of interpretation, the Damascus Document includes an older literary layer that may be attributed to a parent group of the Qumran community and a newer layer written by the Qumranites themselves. However, there is currently no consensus with regard to the specific division of textual units, and it is difficult to identify the life settings in which many of them were composed.
\nThe Damascus Document contains many apparent inconsistencies with other key works produced by the Qumran movement, most notably Rule of the Community, which is generally accepted as the most important document describing the structure and organization of the community. For example, much of the Damascus Document\u2019s legislation is directed at a community that includes men, women, and children, and it is assumed that community members own private property. By contrast, Rule of the Community addresses only men and embraces a system of communal property. There is also a fundamental disagreement between the two works with regard to the procedures for initiating new members. Moreover, the Damascus Document includes legislation that appears to assume limited participation in the sacrificial service of the Jerusalem Temple, whereas Rule of the Community and other Qumran texts view the Temple as defiled and its service as replaced by the perfectly righteous and pure lifestyle lived by community members.
\nTheoretically, such discrepancies may be explained in different ways. They may represent a development in sectarian attitudes and practice over time. Alternatively, according to a popular line of interpretation, the Damascus Document and Rule of the Community address different branches of the same movement. The former text appears to be geared toward groups who were scattered in camps throughout the land of Israel and less segregated from the outside world. The latter text, on the other hand, may be directed toward the isolated sectarian center at Qumran. Indeed, the Damascus Document itself may refer to these two branches of the community when it distinguishes between those who \u201clive (in) camps according to the rule of the land \u2026 and take wives \u2026 and beget children\u201d (CD 19:2\u20133) and those who live in \u201cperfect holiness\u201d (e.g., CD 20:2). This distinction is often correlated to Josephus\u2019s differentiation between marrying and celibate Essenes (J.W. 2.160\u201361) and is taken as evidence of the identification of the Qumranites with part of the Essene movement.<\/p>\n
Significance<\/p>\n
The Damascus Document is one of the most important Second Temple period texts available for study today. Its extensive portrait of the legal and theological thinking of the Dead Sea sect and related groups provides a firm basis for understanding the sect\u2019s image of itself and of its fellow Jews, as well as its relation to the heritage of Scripture that preceded it and the Jewish world surrounding it.<\/p>\n
LAW<\/p>\n
As an early repository of written Jewish legal materials, the Damascus Document is a key source for the background and prehistory of Rabbinic halakhah. While certain legal conclusions run parallel to Pharisaic-Rabbinic rulings (see, e.g., comment on CD 10:14\u201316), the material is mostly non-Pharisaic. Indeed, like many of the legal texts from Qumran, the Damascus Document voices opposition to contemporary Pharisaic practices (see, e.g., comment on 4QDa 6 ii 3\u20134; cf. comments on CD 1:18 and 5:7\u20138). As such, it illuminates various aspects of the polemical sectarian backdrop of the Pharisaic-Rabbinic legal system, especially this system\u2019s central concern with the laws of ritual purity.
\nIn substance, the laws of the Damascus Document are often in accordance with other legal works discovered at Qumran, especially the Temple Scroll and 4QMMT (Some Precepts of the Torah). The common legal tradition underlying these texts is characterized by a heightened strictness (in comparison with Pharisaic-Rabbinic law) in matters of ritual purity and sacrifice and is thus often termed \u201cpriestly.\u201d Indeed, these works broaden the purity laws of the Torah, with the result that protection against ritual defilement of the Temple is increased and priestly holiness is extended beyond the genetic confines of the priesthood. In this latter regard, the Damascus Document and other scrolls in a sense prefigure one of the major programs of Rabbinic Judaism, which extends priestly holiness beyond the hereditary claim and transfers it to all of Israel.
\nOne of the fundamental issues in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism was how to incorporate extrabiblical teachings into the legal system and how to justify them theologically. In the Damascus Document, as in other sectarian scrolls, this was accomplished through a distinction between \u201crevealed\u201d (nigleh) and \u201chidden\u201d (nistar) laws. \u201cRevealed\u201d laws are those clearly mentioned by Scripture and known to all the people of Israel, who nonetheless violate them. \u201cHidden\u201d laws, on the other hand, are not explicit in Scripture and known only to the members of the sect. These laws were seen as derived by divinely inspired biblical exegesis. Through such interpretations, many examples of which appear in the Damascus Document, the sect was able to expand Jewish law beyond its biblical origins. This system may be contrasted with that of the Temple Scroll, which couches postbiblical legal teachings as pseudepigraphal divine revelation, as well as with the unwritten \u201ctraditions of the fathers\u201d of the Pharisees and the later Rabbinic notion of the revelation of an oral Torah at Sinai.
\nOne of the most significant characteristics of the laws of the Damascus Document is that they are often stated apodictically and divided into sections classified by subject. At times, these sections are introduced by titles such as \u201cconcerning the Sa[bba] th\u201d (CD 10:14) or \u201c[conce] rning the oath of a woman\u201d (CD 16:10). The Damascus Document thus provides proof of the early existence of a form of legal organization that would become popular centuries later with the compilation of the Mishnah and eventually dominate Rabbinic Judaism.<\/p>\n
THEOLOGY<\/p>\n
While the Damascus Document never presents an explicit formulation of theological principles like that found in Rule of the Community (see 1QS 3:13\u20134:26), it clearly shares important Qumran writings. Contemporary Jewish society is viewed as divided into two parts: the elect community, termed the \u201cSons of Light\u201d in the opening passage (4QDa 1 a\u2013b 1), and disobedient outsiders destined for punishment. The current ascendancy of the latter is seen as a result of God having relinquished control of the world to Belial, the demonic leader of the forces of darkness, for a set period, \u201cthe time of wickedness\u201d (see, e.g., CD 12:2). The exact period of the rule of evil on earth has been predetermined by God (CD 2:8\u201310) and will end with the imminent arrival of \u201cthe messiah of Aaron and Israel\u201d (CD 19:10\u201311; 12:23\u201313:1; 14:19; cf. 20:1). This ambiguous phrase has elicited much debate among scholars. It may refer to a single figure embodying both priestly and royal powers, or, more likely, to two separate figures, comparable to the dual messianic expectation found explicitly in 1QS 9:11 and implied by 4QTestimonia (4Q175) and likely also by CD 7:18\u201321.
\nAt the same time, the text\u2019s historical perspective, which sees the community, in contradistinction with the contemporary Jewish masses, as a chosen \u201croot of planting\u201d (CD 1:7) obedient to God\u2019s laws, is close to that of non-Qumranite works such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees. In fact, the Damascus Document quotes Jubilees as an authoritative scriptural source and alludes to older traditions of biblical exegesis and to various legends that were part of early Second Temple Judaism. These facts serve to identify the Qumran community as but one branch of a larger apocalyptically oriented Jewish reform movement, with roots in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, which was deeply disturbed by what it viewed as the large-scale Jewish abrogation of the Sinaitic covenant.
\nThe Damascus Document has some notable theological links with early Christianity and the New Testament. First, much of the Admonition consists of contemporizing interpretations of various biblical texts according to which scriptural prophecies are made to refer to the historical experiences of the sect and the life of the sect\u2019s early leader, the Righteous Teacher. In a similar manner, early Christians interpreted the Hebrew Bible as referring to their own sectarian history and the events surrounding the life and death of Jesus. Second, reminiscent of the treatment of Jesus in some New Testament writings, the Damascus Document charts the rise and death of the community\u2019s beloved teacher and expects the arrival of \u201cone who will teach righteousness in the end of days,\u201d apparently the typological eschatological counterpart of the historical Righteous Teacher (see comment on CD 6:11). Finally, the communities behind both the Damascus Document and the New Testament saw themselves as renewing and fulfilling the true meaning of the original covenant between God and Israel, which had been corrupted by nonsectarian Jews. Thus, the Damascus Document provides important evidence of a Jewish sectarian community with striking similarities to early Christianity several generations prior to the birth of Jesus.<\/p>\n
HISTORY<\/p>\n
Scholars have relied heavily upon the Damascus Document as a source for the reconstruction of the history of the Dead Sea sect and related movements. The first page of CD describes the origins of a penitential movement 390 years after being given into \u201cthe hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon\u201d (CD 1:6). This group is described as groping blindly for 20 years until God \u201craised up for them (the) Righteous Teacher to guide them\u201d (CD 1:11). Assuming that the author had an accurate date for Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s destruction of Jerusalem (586 BCE), the rise of the Righteous Teacher is dated to 176 BCE. This absolute chronological anchor allows for various suggestions as to the identity of the mysterious figures and groups mentioned in the text based on the history provided by external sources such as Josephus and 1 and 2 Maccabees.
\nHowever, such use of the Damascus Document has been challenged on the grounds that its language draws so heavily upon the Hebrew Bible that it is difficult to distinguish between biblical typology and actual historical events. For example, the allusion to 390 years likely relies on the use of that number in Ezek. 4:5, where it refers to the duration of punishment for the sins of Israel. The number is thus schematic and should not be taken as chronologically exact.
\nA similar problem arises with regard to the interpretation of the text\u2019s prominent references to \u201cDamascus.\u201d The Damascus Document reports that the chosen community departed from Judah to \u201cthe land of Damascus\u201d and there \u201centered into the new covenant\u201d (e.g., CD 6:5, 19). Some scholars argue that the \u201cland of Damascus\u201d is to be understood as a literal reference to the city in Syria and its environs. Others have interpreted it as a cipher for Babylon. In either case, this would lead to the conclusion that the group had its origins in exile, outside the land of Israel. However, it is also possible that the phrase \u201cland of Damascus\u201d was used in connection with Amos 5:26\u201327, which refers to an \u201cexile beyond Damascus.\u201d As such, many scholars understand Damascus as a symbolic allusion to Qumran, the sect\u2019s place of exile in the Judean desert. Indeed, such a symbolic interpretation appears to be supported by the exegesis of Amos 5:26\u201327 in CD 7:14\u201318. If so, the sect originated as a pious reform movement in the land of Israel.<\/p>\n
GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n
The following presentation of the Damascus Document is intended to give the reader an idea of the original scope and arrangement of the composition. As such, it includes translations of both the medieval Genizah manuscripts (CD) and much of the material from the Qumran fragments (4QDa\u2013h, 5Q12, 6Q15). Unless otherwise noted, where CD overlaps with the Qumran fragments, the text of CD is followed and the Qumran material is not presented. However, significant variants in the Qumran manuscripts are noted in the commentary. Both CD manuscripts (A and B) are presented in full. Overlaps and significant variants are noted in the commentary.
\nThanks to the textual remains of two of the Qumran manuscripts (4QDa and 4QDe), it is now confirmed that the legal material preserved in CD 15\u201316 preceded that found in CD 9\u201314. The text will thus be presented in this sequence (even though the traditional page numbers are still utilized).
\nFortunately, the original introduction and conclusion of the composition have been preserved among the Qumran fragments. However, it is not always possible to determine the order of the rest of the Qumran material with certainty. The vast majority of this material derives from the Laws section of the Damascus Document. The placement of texts below follows the order proposed by Charlotte Hempel.<\/p>\n
SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n
Baumgarten, Joseph. Qumran Cave 4.XIII: The Damascus Document (4Q266\u2013273). Discoveries in the Judean Desert 18. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
\nBaumgarten, Joseph, and Daniel Schwartz. \u201cDamascus Document (CD).\u201d In The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations: Damascus Document, War Scrolls and Related Documents, ed. J. Charlesworth, 4\u201357. Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls Project 2. T\u00fcbingen: Mohr; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995.
\nDavies, Philip. The Damascus Covenant: An Interpretation of the \u201cDamascus Document.\u201d Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement 25. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1983.
\nHempel, Charlotte. The Damascus Texts. Companion to the Qumran Scrolls 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014. The Laws of the Damascus Document: Sources, Tradition, and Redaction. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah. Leiden: Brill, 1998.
\nMurphy-O\u2019Connor, Jerome. \u201cThe Damascus Document Revisited.\u201d RB 92 (1985): 223\u201346.
\nRabin, Chaim. The Zadokite Documents. 2nd revised edition. London: Clarendon, 1958.
\nSchiffman, Lawrence. The Halakhah at Qumran. Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity 16. Leiden: Brill, 1975.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014. Sectarian Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Courts, Testimony, and the Penal Code. Brown Judaic Studies 33. Chico CA: Scholars Press, 1983.
\nShemesh, Aharon. Halakhah in the Making: The Development of Jewish Law from Qumran to the Rabbis. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.<\/p>\n
COMMENTARY<\/p>\n
4QDa 1 a\u2013b 1\u20137<\/p>\n
From the fastening tab preserved on the edge of the manuscript as well as the wide right margin, it is clear that these words constitute the original opening of the work. The remaining lines of the fragment (not reproduced here) include references to the voice of Moses and the slander of God\u2019s commandments.
\n1. S]ons of Light This designation is representative of a dualistic worldview, according to which society is divided into the chosen righteous community of light destined to be saved and wicked outsiders enshrouded in darkness and doomed to experience God\u2019s wrathful judgment. See also CD 13:12, which appears to mention a registration of new community members in \u201cthe lot of light,\u201d as well as comment on CD 13:14.
\n2. completion of the fixed time The community believed that it lived in a predetermined period of wickedness that was to end imminently with the arrival of the Messianic Age. See comments on CD 4:8\u20139; 6:10, 14.
\n4. those who move boundaries An epithet for outsiders to the community deriving from Deut. 19:14 (see comment on CD 1:16; see also CD 19:15\u201316; 20:25).
\n5\u20137 A call to pay attention to the divine mysteries about to be revealed. See comments on 4QDa 2 i 5\u20136.<\/p>\n
4QDa 2 i 1\u20136 (+ 4QDc 1 5\u20138)<\/p>\n
1\u20136 These lines contain admonitory material directly preceding text that overlaps with the beginning of the Cairo manuscript.
\n2 This line refers to the sectarian calendar dispute. The author followed the 364-day solar calendar endorsed by the book of Jubilees, or one close to it (see Jub. 6:32 and comment on CD 3:14). According to this system, the ordained holidays always fall on the same day of the week, in harmony with God\u2019s plan. Thus the lunisolar calendar adopted by the Pharisees, according to which holidays fall on different days of the week annually, was seen as a corruption of the divine order. Cf. 1QS 1:15.
\n3\u20134 Outsiders are destined to suffer, while community members will be saved.
\n5\u20136 The belief that knowledge of God\u2019s mysterious acts in creation and history had been transmitted through divine communication to the community is a common theme in Qumran literature and appears to have been a cornerstone of sectarian self-identity. Cf. 1QS 4:22\u201323; 11:3\u20134.<\/p>\n
CD 1<\/p>\n
1. hearken, all who know righteousness An allusion to Isa. 51:7. Throughout Qumranite literature, the community is characterized by righteousness. This association serves as a key expression of the dualistic construction of communal identity. The elect group is aligned with God\u2019s righteousness over against the rest of society, which is steeped in wickedness (cf. CD 1:18\u201321).
\n2. dispute with all flesh Echoing Jer. 25:31. \u201cAll flesh\u201d here probably refers to Israel since the Damascus Document is not concerned with God\u2019s interaction with other nations.
\n3. for in their treachery in leaving him, he hid his face from Israel An allusion to Ezek. 39:23. The Admonition\u2019s view of God\u2019s acts in history descends directly from the prophetic outlook.
\nand from his sanctuary This addition is not found in Ezek. 39:23. It is representative of the Admonition\u2019s deep concern with the pollution of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. CD 5:6\u201311; 6:11\u201314; 20:22).
\n4. gave them up to the sword Cf. Ezek. 39:23 and Jer. 25:31. This refers to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and exile of the Jews that took place in 586 BCE.
\nrecalling the covenant with the first ones An allusion to Lev. 26:45. The \u201cfirst ones\u201d here are the ancient Israelites who forged the original covenant with God. Later on, the same phrase is used for the early members of the new covenant (CD 4:8\u201310).
\n5. did not give them up to destruction Cf. Lev. 26:44.
\n6. 390 years This calculation is likely symbolic, as it appears in Ezek. 4:5 as the period of the punishment of the House of Israel. If the number is taken literally, the emergence of the community would date 390 years after 586 BCE (196 BCE). However, there is evidence that ancient Jews did not have a chronology that matches ours for dating the destruction of the Temple.
\n7. out of Israel and Aaron Cf. CD 6:2\u20133. This binary division of the elect community recalls that found in Rule of the Community (1QS 8\u20139).
\na root of planting A common image in Second Temple literature with biblical origins (e.g., Isa. 60:21; 61:1\u20133), representing the righteous remnant of Israel to be restored by God. It is commonly found in works authored by groups closely related to the Qumran movement (e.g., 1 En. 10:16; 84:6; 93:5, 10; Jub. 1:16; 36:6; 4QInstructiond [4Q418] 81 13) as well as by the Qumranites themselves (see 1QS 8:5\u20136; 11:8; 1QH 1QpPsa 1\u201310 ii 2\u201311).
\n9. they were as blind as those who grope Cf. Isa. 59:10.
\n10. 20 years Scholars are divided on whether this number is schematic or literal.
\nGod discerned their works See Ps. 33:15. Cf. 1QS 4:25; 1QH 9:7.
\nthey sought him wholeheartedly Cf. 1 Chron. 28:9.
\n11. Righteous Teacher The leader of the Qumran community in its earliest period, known from other sectarian compositions. He taught the community the proper observance of the Law and the true eschatological meaning of the words of the prophets.
\n11\u201312. he informed the latter generations that which he did in the last generation The Teacher revealed the final sequence of actions leading to the eschaton.
\n12. congregation of traitors A rival group that rejected the eschatological and legal interpretations of the Teacher. Cf. 1QpHab 2:2\u201310; 5:8\u201312.
\n13. the way That is, of righteousness. For the two opposing \u201cways\u201d in Qumranite thought, see especially the Treatise on the Two Spirits (1QS 3:13\u20134:26). Cf. 4QWays of Righteousnessa\u2013b (4Q420\u201321).
\n13\u201314. \u201cAs a wayward cow, so did Israel stray\u201d A contemporizing interpretation of Hosea 4:16.
\n14. the Man of Mockery Leader of the \u201ctraitors\u201d and a rival of the Righteous Teacher. He is likely to be identified elsewhere in sectarian texts with \u201cthe Man of the Lie\u201d and \u201cthe Spouter of the Lie.\u201d
\n14\u201315. sprinkled upon Israel waters of falsehood For the image of a false teacher who \u201csprinkles\u201d or \u201cdrips\u201d lies, see Amos 7:16; 9:13; Mic. 2:6, 11.
\n15. led them astray in a chaos without a way Alluding to Ps. 107:40; Job 12:24.
\nbringing low the eternal heights Cf. Hab. 3:6.
\n16. paths of righteousness Cf. Jub. 1:20; 1 En. 92:3; 1QH 15:14.
\nmoving the border marked out by the first ones An allusion to Deut. 19:14. In ancient Judaism, the notion of border violation was used as a metaphor for tampering with the laws.
\n17. avenging sword of the covenant\u2019s vengeance An allusion to Lev. 26:25.
\n18. they sought smooth things Better translated \u201cthey interpreted false laws.\u201d The biblical expression \u201csmooth things\u201d refers to lies or falsehoods (see Isa. 30:10). The sobriquet \u201cseekers after smooth things\u201d (dorshei \u1e25alakot) is often used for the Pharisees in sectarian literature (e.g., 4QpNah [4Q169] 3\u20134 and 4QpIsac [4Q163] 23 ii 10). It puns on the Hebrew dorshei \u1e25alakhot (interpreters of the laws), apparently a protest against Pharisaic traditions not having a firm source in Scripture, and suggests that the term \u1e25alakhot (laws) was already in use in Pharisaic circles.
\n19. the fair neck Probably \u201cluxury.\u201d The phrase derives from the prophecy about Ephraim in Hosea 10:11. In sectarian literature, the term \u201cEphraim\u201d often designates the Pharisees (e.g., 4QpNah [4Q169] 3\u20134).
\njustified the evil person and condemned the righteous person Both acts are \u201can abomination to the LORD\u201d according to Prov. 17:15. Cf. CD 4:7.
\n20. and caused the covenant to be broken and the statute to be violated Cf. Isa. 24:5.
\nthey ganged up on those of righteous soul An allusion to Ps. 94:21.
\n20\u201321. all those who walk perfectly Cf. Ps. 15:2. \u201cWalking in perfection\u201d or \u201cbehaving perfectly\u201d is a requirement for participation in the Qumran community. See CD 7:4\u20135; 1QS 8:18; 9:9.
\n21. they persecuted them with the sword Given the saturation of the entire narrative with biblical references, it is impossible to correlate this report with known events. The author may have in mind both the Babylonian destruction and the acts of a contemporary rival group.
\ndissension amidst the people Cf. Ps. 18:44; 2 Sam. 22:44.
\n1:21\u20132:1. the anger of God was kindled A common biblical phrase.<\/p>\n
CD 2<\/p>\n
1. their works as impurity The actions of those outside the community are described with the same language in 1QS 5:19. Cf. the description of the actions of the Wicked Priest in 1QpHab 8:13 and those of the lot of darkness in War Scroll (1QM 13:5).
\n2\u201313 This dualistic discourse on God\u2019s dealings with the righteous and the wicked has several theological and terminological parallels with other sectarian writings, especially the Treatise on the Two Spirits (1QS 3:13\u20134:26).
\n2. and now hearken to me Similar to the opening address of 1:1, this line begins another section with an allusion to Isa. 51:7.
\nall who enter the covenant This phrase may also be translated \u201cmembers of the covenant.\u201d
\n3. wisdom and prudence he has set up before him For the primordial divine origin of wisdom, see Prov. 8:22\u201325. Cf. Sir. 1:1; 24:3.
\n4. long forbearance (is) with him and manifold forgiveness Cf. Exod. 34:6; Ps. 130:4.
\n5. those who repent (of) rebellious sin This phrase appears in Isa. 59:20. Cf. CD 20:17; 1QS 10:20.
\nmight, power Cf. the prayer of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chr. 20:6.
\nwrath with fiery flames An allusion to Isa. 66:15.
\n6. angels of destruction The supernatural agents of God\u2019s appointed punishment of the wicked. Cf. 1 En. 53:3; 56:1; 63:1; Jub. 10:8. The dualism here is not quite as complete as in 1QS 4:12 and 1QM 13:11\u201312, where these wicked angels actually oppose God and his righteous lot.
\ndepart from the way Cf. CD 1:13\u201314 and 1QS 10:21.
\n6\u20137. neither remnant nor survivors An allusion to Ezra 9:14. As opposed to the righteous remnant, no one among the wicked will survive. Cf. 1QS 4:14; Jub. 24:30.
\n7. God did not choose them primordially As opposed to the members of the community, who, according to 1QS 4:22, were chosen by God \u201cfor an everlasting covenant.\u201d
\n7\u20138. before they were established he knew their works This strongly deterministic outlook is characteristic of sectarian thought. Cf. the similar phrasing in 1QS 3:15\u201316; 4:25. According to Josephus, the belief that \u201cfate\u201d governs all human actions distinguished the Essenes from both the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Ant. 13.172\u2013173).
\n8\u201310 The exact period of the rule of evil on earth has been predetermined by God and is on the verge of ending. This is a key belief in contemporary apocalyptically oriented works and a cornerstone of Qumran theology.
\n11\u201313 This second account of community origins lacks reference to the Righteous Teacher.
\n11. those called by name This epithet derives from Num. 16:2. It designates sectarian community members also in CD 4:4.
\n12\u201313. those anointed in his holy spirit and who view his truth Referring to the prophets (cf. Ps. 105:15; 1 Chr. 16:22; Isa. 61:1). See also CD 6:1.
\n13. the details of their names That is, a list of the names of all the people who would be saved has been revealed to the remnant by the prophets. Cf. CD 4:4\u20136; 1QM 4:6.
\nhe caused to stray It is God himself, not the chief demon who leads astray. Contrast the dualistic conceptions of 1QS 3:20\u201324 and 1QM 13:9\u201317.
\n14. and now, O sons, hearken to me A third call for attention similar to Isa. 51:7.
\n15. choose that which he wants Cf. 1 En. 94:4; T. Levi 19:1; Sir. 15:15.
\n15\u201316 Cf. 1QS 1:3\u20136.
\n16. not to stray in the thoughts of a guilty inclination and licentious eyes An allusion to Num. 15:39.
\n16\u201317 An introduction to an exhortative history lesson.
\n17\u201318. wantonness of their heart(s) A common biblical expression. See, for example, Deut. 29:18; Jer. 7:24; 11:8; Ps. 81:13.
\n18. the Watchers These angelic beings who fell (naflu) from heaven are here identified with the Nephilim of Gen. 6:4. The legend of the sin and fall of the Watchers is prominent in Second Temple literature, especially in 1 Enoch and Jubilees.
\n19. who were as high as the lofty cedars An allusion to Amos 2:9, which refers to the Amorites as the giant inhabitants of Canaan prior to the Israelite conquest. Numbers 13:33 calls these giants Nephilim.
\ncorpses were as mountains 1 En. 7:2 reports that the children of the Watchers were 300 cubits tall.
\n20. all flesh that was on dry land fell, for they died These words echo the report of the consequences of the flood in Gen. 7:21\u201322. According to a popular Second Temple period legend, the flood was seen as punishment for the sins of the Watchers, who corrupted the earth.
\nand were as if they had not been Quoting Obad. 16.<\/p>\n
CD 3<\/p>\n
1\u20132. it \u2026 it The antecedent is still \u201cwantonness of heart.\u201d
\n1. sons of Noah and their families strayed \u2026 they are cut off \u201cSons of Noah\u201d is used as a general term for Gentiles in Rabbinic literature. If the same meaning is intended here, it would explain the otherwise unsuitable tense of the verb.
\n2. [a lo] ver See Isa. 41:8. Cf. Jub. 17:18; 19:9.
\n3. he transmitted In Rabbinic literature the Hebrew root msr can refer to the transmission of the proper interpretation of the Law (see M. Avot 1:1). The same may be the case here. Cf. Jub. 21, where Abraham transmits priestly sacrificial instructions to Isaac.
\nregistered In Jub. 30:20, Levi is recorded on the heavenly tablets as \u201ca friend and a righteous man.\u201d In Jub. 2:20, Jacob is recorded as God\u2019s firstborn. Cf. the community register mentioned in CD 14:4 and the list of names mentioned in 2:13 and 4:4\u20136.
\n4. the sons of Jacob strayed through them That is, they disobeyed the legal traditions passed down from the patriarchs. The notion of pre-Sinaitic legal observance is found throughout Jubilees, as well as in Rabbinic literature (e.g., M. Kid. 4:14; Gen. Rab. 49; B. Ber. 26b).
\n6. each man doing what was right in his own eyes A condemnation for lawless behavior evoking the language of Judg. 17:6; 21:25.
\nthey ate the blood Against the prohibition of Lev. 17:10. This sin is also emphasized in Jub. 6:13\u201314.
\n6\u20137. their males were cut off in the desert Due to their faithlessness in God after the ominous report of the spies. See Num. 13\u201314.
\n7. \u201cgo up and possess\u201d A quotation of Deut. 9:23.
\ntheir spirit The preceding text is uncertain.
\n7\u20138. they did not listen to the voice of him who made them Cf. Ps. 106:25 and Deut. 9:23.
\n8. they murmured in their tents Quoting Ps. 106:25. Cf. Deut. 1:27.
\n8\u20139. God\u2019s anger was kindled against their congregation The same words appear in 2:1.
\n9. sons \u2026 kings \u2026 heroes The reference to kings implies that this statement is not limited to the generation of Moses. The entire history of preexilic Israel is apparently telescoped in a negative light.
\n10. land became desolate Probably a reference to the Babylonian exile.
\nthe first ones who entered the covenant Referring to the generations of Israel up to the exile.
\n10\u201311. they were given up to the sword Cf. Ps. 78:62.
\n12\u201313 The original covenant with Israel is now defined as limited to the righteous remnant alone.
\n14. hidden things The phrase comes from Deut. 29:28. In sectarian literature it refers to the hidden laws known only to the community and derived by divinely inspired biblical interpretation. Contrast the Rabbinic concept of Oral Torah, which includes laws not derived from the Bible; see Sifre Deut. 351; Sifra Be-\u1e25ukkotai 2:8; J. Pe\u2019ah 2:1, 17a; B. Ber. 5a.
\nhis holy Sabbaths, the glorious appointed times The failure of Israel to observe the proper calendrical cycle is also a concern in Jubilees (e.g., Jub. 1:14\u201315; 6:34), which promotes a 364-day solar calendar. CD 16:2\u20134 cites Jubilees as the ultimate authority on matters of the calendar. In fact, a number of texts discovered at Qumran promote the 364-day calendar. Until recently, a simple dichotomy was made between this calendar and the lunisolar calendar, which was used by Jews outside of the community. However, newly available calendrical texts from Cave 4 indicate that the calendar traditions at Qumran were more complex. For a reflection of the intense polemics surrounding the calendar controversy in Rabbinic literature, see M. Men. 10:3.
\n15. his righteous testimonies, his true ways, and the desires of his will This refers to the proper observance of divine Law as interpreted by the community. Cf. CD 20:30\u201331.
\n15\u201316. which a person shall do and live by them An allusion to Lev. 18:5, implying that those who stray from the Law shall not live (cf. CD 3:17). In stark contrast, the Rabbis use this verse to rule that almost all commandments may be broken in order to save a life (i.e., one should \u201clive by them, and not die by them\u201d; see T. Shab. 15:17; B. Sanh. 74a; B. Yoma 85b).
\n16. abundant water Symbolic of the divine Law. Cf. the equation of water with Torah in B. BK 82b.
\n17. human sin and the ways of impurity Cf. 1QH 19:10\u201311; 1QS 11:15.
\nways of impurity Occurs also in 1QS 4:10; cf. CD 19:17; 1QS 4:19, 21.
\n18. \u201cFor it is ours\u201d Alluding to the expression of entitlement of the misguided in Ezek. 11:15.
\nin his wonderful mysteries A common phrase in Qumranite literature, it refers to the mysteries of creation and the history of the universe. Such secrets could be understood, in the view of the Qumran community, only with the help of divine guidance.
\n18\u201319. their \u2026 their \u2026 them Referring to the penitent remnant.
\n19. a sure house In 1 Sam. 2:35 this phrase alludes to the promise of a priestly dynasty to \u201ca faithful priest,\u201d who is to be understood as Zadok (see 1 Kings 2:35). Here, it refers to the foundation of the community. The allusion to Zadok provides a link to the midrash on Ezek. 44:15, beginning in the following line.
\n20. eternal life See also 1QS 4:7 (cf. Dan. 12:2; 1 En. 58:3; Ps. Sol. 3:12).
\nall human glory (is) theirs Members of the community reach the pinnacle of human experience in their service of God. The phrase \u201call human glory\u201d may also be translated \u201call the glory of Adam.\u201d Taken this way, the community members return to the original glorious state of prelapsarian (unfallen) Adam, who was created, according to Gen. 1:27, in the image of God.
\n21. swore The words of an ancient prophet are interpreted as a promise to the current members of the movement. Such contemporizing exegesis was characteristic of the Qumranites and finds close parallels in early Christianity.
\n3:21\u20134:4 A midrash on Ezek. 44:15. In the MT, this verse refers to one group, \u201cthe levitical priests descended from Zadok.\u201d By adding two small conjunctions, the author makes the verse refer to three different groups \u201cthe priests and the Levites and the sons of Zadok.\u201d Each group is interpreted as referring to the members of the community in three different stages of its existence.<\/p>\n
CD 4<\/p>\n
3\u20134. the chosen ones of Israel The current members of the community (cf. comment on 2:11). The metaphorical interpretation of the sons of Zadok here is to be contrasted with the communal authority assigned to the sons of Zadok in Rule of the Community (1QS 5:2, 9) and the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa 1:2, 24; 2:3).
\n4\u20136. here are the detail(s) of their names \u2026 of their works The list of community members, or \u201cthose called by name.\u201d See comment on 2:13. Although the actual list is promised, it is never provided. This may be the result of an ancient omission. Alternatively, a list could have been removed by the medieval copyist. The original contents of the list likely contained detailed information concerning members of the community and the unfolding of its present eschatological history.
\n7. and they justified the righteous and condemned the wicked An allusion to Deut. 25:1.
\n7\u20138. all those who come after them \u2026 the first ones Similar to the midrash on Ezek. 44:15, these lines distinguish between different phases of the movement: early community members or members of a parent movement (\u201cthe first ones\u201d) and the current community (\u201cthose who come after them\u201d). Apparently, the latter group is being instructed to remain loyal to the legal interpretations (\u201cprecise meaning of the Torah\u201d) of the former group. Cf. CD 20:31\u201332.
\n8\u20139. until the completion of the time of these years That is, until the end of the present \u201ctime of evil\u201d (see CD 6:10, 14; 4QDf 2 12) and the advent of the Messianic Age. CD 12:23\u201313:1 and 1QS 9:9\u201311 imply that a legal revolution will accompany the end of the present period and the arrival of the messiahs.
\n11. the house of Judah A code name for the community. Cf. 1QpHab 8:1; 4QpNah (4Q169) 3\u20134 iii 4.
\n12. \u201cThe fence is built, the boundary extends far\u201d Alluding to Mic. 7:11.
\nthose years Prior to the Messianic Age.
\n13. Belial The demonic leader of the forces of darkness in sectarian literature (e.g., 1QS 1:18; 1QM 1; 11QMelchizedek [11Q13] 2). He appears occasionally in later Jewish mystical literature and is called Beliar in Jubilees, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:15).
\n14. \u201cFear and a pit and a snare are upon you, O inhabitant(s) of the land\u201d An allusion to Isa. 24:17.
\n15\u201318 A quotation of an unknown Levi apocryphon similar to T. Levi. For polemics against fornication, greed, and defilement of the Temple put in the mouth of Levi, see T. Levi 14:6; 15:1; 17:11.
\n19. \u201cThe builders of the barrier\u201d A symbolic epithet for the misleaders of Israel in Ezek. 13:10. Here it is applied to opponents of the community, perhaps Pharisees or proto-Rabbis who \u201cbuild a fence around the Torah\u201d (M. Avot 1:1). Cf. CD 8:12, 18.
\nwho walked after tzav An allusion to Hosea 5:11. The difficult Hebrew word tzav is interpreted as a reference to the leader of the rival group mentioned in CD 1:14\u201315.
\n19\u201320. the spitter, of whom it is said, \u201cthey shall surely spit\u201d See comment on 1:14\u201315. The citation is close to Mic. 2:6.
\n20\u201321 The cardinal sin of unchastity (zenut) is equated with polygamy and perhaps remarriage after divorce on the basis of an interpretation of Gen. 1:27. Cf. Matt. 19:3\u20139; Mark 10:6\u201310. The legal violation also relates to Lev. 18:18, which forbids a man to marry \u201ca woman as a rival to her sister.\u201d Whereas the Damascus Document appears to understand \u201cher sister\u201d as referring to all fellow women, the Rabbis interpret the phrase as a literal reference to the wife\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
CD 5<\/p>\n
1. two by two into the ark A further scriptural proof against polygamy. See Gen. 7:9.
\n1\u20132. and of the prince it is written, \u201cLet him not multiply wives for himself\u201d The law is from Deut. 17:17, but there it is directed to a king (cf. Temple Scroll [11Q19] 57:17\u201319). For the lesser term \u201cprince\u201d as a substitute for \u201cking,\u201d see Ezek. 37:24\u201325. Cf. 1QS 5:20\u201321. The Rabbis interpret Deut 17:17 to mean that the king may, in fact, have many wives as long as they are not too many or as long as they do not turn him astray. See M. San. 2:4.
\n2\u20134 A justification for David\u2019s seemingly unchaste behavior. Cf. the defense of David\u2019s character offered in B. Shab. 56a. The notion that Joshua hid books passed down from Moses in earthen jars is found in As. Mos. 1:17. Cf. Neh. 8:17.
\n4. worshiped the Ashtoreth Cf. Judg. 2:13. Israel\u2019s disobedience after the conquest of Canaan seems to be attributed to the unavailability of Scripture.
\n5. Zadok The priest of Jerusalem in the time of David. According to 1 Chron. 15:11\u201312, Zadok participated in the ceremony of installing the ark in the Jerusalem sanctuary. This explains why he was able to find the sealed Torah within the ark (CD 5:2\u20133).
\nwith the exception of Uriah\u2019s blood A reference to David\u2019s arrangement of the death of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba narrated in 2 Sam. 11. According to B. Shab. 56a, Rav shares the opinion that David\u2019s only sin was that relating to Uriah.
\n7. they habitually lay with a woman who sees blood of flowing A similar accusation appears in Ps. Sol. 8:12. The charge is probably not that people were completely ignoring the biblical menstrual purity rules (Lev. 15:19\u201331; 18:19), but that contemporary practice was too lax.
\n7\u20138. they marry each one his brother\u2019s daughter or sister\u2019s daughter A likely polemic against the practice of the Pharisees. According to talmudic sources, the Rabbis permitted such marriages and even praised them (T. Kid. 1:4; B. Yev. 62b). Uncle-niece marriages are also prohibited in Temple Scroll (11Q19) 66:15\u201317 and 4QHalakhah A (4Q251), as well as by the Samaritans, Falashas, and Karaites.
\n8\u201311. but Moses said \u2026 she is a (forbidden) close relationship The proof is deduced from an allusion to Lev. 18:13.
\n11\u201312. tongue of blasphemies One of the properties of the spirit of deceit according to 1QS 4:11.
\n12. the statutes of God\u2019s covenant That is, the sectarian legal interpretations.
\nthey are not right Cf. the sentiment expressed by the wicked in 1QH 12:17\u201318.
\n13. they are all lighters of fire and burners of brands An allusion to Isa. 50:11.
\n13\u201314. webs of a spider (are) their webs and eggs of vipers (are) their eggs An allusion to Isa. 59:5\u20136.
\n15. as (at) the mountain, his house will be held guilty Perhaps an allusion to the lethal boundaries set at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:12).
\n15\u201316 The acts of the current opponents of the community are identified with the rebellious deeds of preexilic Israel.
\n16. not a people of discernment An allusion to Isa. 27:11. A similar phrase is used for the opponents of the community in Hodayot (1QH 10:19). Contrast the description of the angelic priests in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice as \u201cpeople of discernment\u201d (4Q400 1 i 6).
\n17. they are a nation without counsel, for they have no discernment Alluding to Deut. 32:28.
\n18. Prince of Lights The heavenly leader of the forces of light (cf. 1QS 3:20). His function is very similar to those of the angel of truth (1QS 3:24), the great hand of God (4Q177 4:14), the archangel Michael (cf. 1QM 17:6\u20138), and Melchizedek (11QMelchizedek [11Q13]).
\n18\u201319. Johne and his brother The legendary Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron, mentioned in Jewish (B. Men. 85a), non-Jewish (Pliny, Natural History 30.2.11), and Christian (2 Tim. 3:8) tradition. Origen refers to a book written about these magicians, but it has not survived into modernity.
\n19. when Israel was first saved A reference to the Exodus from Egypt. Both 4QDa 3 ii 6 and 4QDb 2 2 indicate the reading \u201cwhen Israel acted wickedly for the first time,\u201d perhaps alluding to the sin of the golden calf.
\n20. trespassers The expression derives from Hosea 5:10. See comment on CD 1:16.
\n21. the land became desolate Cf. Ezek. 19:7.
\nthey spoke deviantly Alluding to Deut. 13:6.<\/p>\n
CD 6<\/p>\n
1. the anointed holy ones The biblical prophets. See comment on CD 2:12\u201313.
\n2. God recalled the covenant with the first ones See comment on CD 1:4.
\n2\u20133. discerning ones \u2026 wise ones Terms from Deut. 1:13 are applied here to the binary division of the community into priests and laymen. See comment on CD 1:7.
\n3\u20134. \u201cthe well was dug by the princes and excavated by the nobles of the people, with a ruler\u201d A citation of Num. 21:18. Both 4QDa 3 ii 10 and 4QDb 2 9 introduce this quotation with the formula \u201cas Moses said.\u201d
\n\u201cwell\u201d is the Torah See comment on CD 3:16.
\n5. the penitents of Israel who depart from the land of Judah In CD 4:2, the same phrase designates community members at an early stage of the community\u2019s existence.
\nDamascus This place is mentioned seven times in Damascus Document (only in the Admonition) and is the leitmotif that gave the composition its name. Scholars are divided on whether it is to be taken as a literal reference to the city in Syria and its environs or symbolically as the place of the community\u2019s exile, either in Babylon or at Qumran. A symbolic interpretation appears to be supported by the exegesis of Amos 5:26\u201327 in CD 7:14\u201318.
\n7. the interpreter of the Torah A figure from the past, identified usually either as the founder of the parent movement of the Qumran community or, more likely, as the historical Righteous Teacher.
\n8. \u201cHe takes out a tool for his work\u201d An allusion to Isa. 54:16.
\n10. walk in them in the entire time of evil A similar concept of obedience to sectarian legal rulings was observed in CD 4:8\u20139. Cf. CD 20:31\u201333.
\n10\u201311. until the rise of one who will teach righteousness in the end of days The phrase derives from Hosea 10:12. The expected figure is the typological, eschatological counterpart of the historical Righteous Teacher, who, upon his arrival, will legislate for the new era (cf. CD 12:23\u201313:1; 1QS 9:9\u201311). Cf. the Rabbinic notion, following Mal. 3:23, that the prophet Elijah will return in the end of days in order to decide difficult legal cases (e.g., M. Ed. 8:7; B. Ber. 35b; B. Shab. 108a).
\n11\u201314 A prohibition against participation in Temple ritual using the language of Mal. 1:10. The ruling accords with the critical attitude toward and boycott of the Temple reflected in several Qumranite works. However, several passages in the Damascus Document appear to take involvement in the Temple cult for granted.
\n14. unless they take care to perform according to the exact (requirements of) the Torah The prohibition is conditioned on the continued disobedience of sectarian laws by outsiders. From 4QMMT, it appears that the early Qumranites hoped to convert the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem to their legal perspective.
\n15. sons of the pit Sinful outsiders destined for destruction. Cf. 1QS 9:16; 10:19. According to Rule of the Community, outsiders and all of their property are a source of impurity and therefore must be avoided by community members (1QS 5:10\u201320).
\n15\u201316. wicked wealth \u2026 steal from the poor Cf. the greedy acts of the Wicked Priest and the priests of Jerusalem recorded in 1QpHab 8:11\u201313; 9:4\u20136; 12:7\u201310. The Second Temple period priesthood is condemned for greed and theft in a number of ancient Jewish sources.
\n16\u201317. steal from the poor of his people, preying upon wid[ow]s and murdering orphans An allusion to Isa. 10:2. Abuse of the vulnerable constitutes a violation of Torah Law (e.g., Deut. 10:18; 24:17; 27:19).
\n17\u201318. to distinguish \u2026 the holy and the profane, and to observe the Sabbath An allusion to Ezek. 22:26, which criticizes the Jerusalem priesthood for failing to do these things.
\n19. the day of the fast That is, the Day of Atonement. The Qumranites celebrated this holiday (and others) on a different day from the day on which it was celebrated in the Jerusalem Temple (see 1QpHab 11:8).
\nnew covenant Cf. Jer. 31:31\u201334. Jeremiah\u2019s prophecy was interpreted by Christians as a prediction of the new covenant through Jesus. See, for example, Luke 22:20.
\n20\u201321. to love each man \u2026 as himself Alluding to Lev. 19:18.
\n21. to support the poor, destitute, and proselyte A positive reworking of Ezek. 16:49. Cf. CD 14:14.<\/p>\n
CD 7<\/p>\n
1. and let no one trespass with regard to his near kin The formulation is close to Lev. 18:6, which prohibits incestuous relations.
\n2. let each one rebuke his brother in accordance with the ordinance and not keep a grudge Alluding to Lev. 19:17\u201318. Cf. CD 9:2\u20138.
\n3\u20134. let no one defile his holy spirit The language echoes Lev. 11:43, which prohibits the consumption of unclean animals. Cf. CD 12:11\u201312.
\n5\u201310 At this point in manuscript A, the material from manuscript B begins to overlap. These lines are paralleled with significant variants in manuscript B (19:1\u20137).
\n5. these The aforementioned laws.
\nin perfect holiness In the view of many scholars, a euphemism for celibacy, which may have been the norm for the sectarian center at Qumran. Cf. CD 1:20\u201321; 20:2, 5.
\n6. for 1,000 generation(s) Alluding to Deut. 7:9. In manuscript B this statement is followed by an explicit citation of that verse (CD 19:1). Cf. the promise in CD 3:20.
\n6\u20139 Family life, including marriage and childbearing, is deemed an acceptable lifestyle in community enclaves scattered throughout the country. The scriptural support comes from Num. 30:17. Cf. Josephus\u2019s distinction between Essenes who do and do not marry (J.W. 2.160\u201311).
\n9. repay to the wicked their due Alluding to Ps. 94:2\u20133. Cf. 1QS 8:6\u20137; 1QM 11:13\u201314.
\n10. written in the words of Isaiah The following citation is of Isa. 7:17. Manuscript B (CD 19:7) cites Zech. 13:7 instead.
\n13. Ephraim lorded over Judah The Hebrew for \u201clorded\u201d (sar) plays on the verb \u201cdeparted\u201d (sur) from the Isaiah quotation. For Judah as a cipher for the community, see CD 4:11. On the term Ephraim, see comment on 1:19.
\nturned over to the sword Cf. Ps. 78:62. The goal here is to encourage loyalty to the community.
\n14. land of the north See Zech. 6:8.
\n14\u201316 The two citations in these lines derive from Amos 5:26\u201327 and 9:11. Cf. the use of these verses in Acts 7:43 and 15:16.
\n15. from my tent (to) Damascus The Hebrew \u201cfrom my tent\u201d (me\u2019aholi) differs from the MT of Amos 5:27: \u201cbeyond [mehal\u2019ah le-] Damascus.\u201d
\n16. \u201cI will raise up the fallen booth of David\u201d Quoting Amos 9:11. In 4QFlorilegium (4Q174) 2 10\u201313 the verse is mainly applied to the future arrival of the royal messiah. Rabbinic sources understood this verse as pointing to the messianic era as well (see B. Sanh. 96b\u201397a; Gen. Rab. 88:7). Cf. Acts 15:16\u201318.
\n18. whose words Israel despised See 2 Chron. 36:16. Cf. T. Levi 16:2; Matt. 5:12.
\nthe \u201cstar\u201d is the interpreter of the Torah The star in Amos 5:26 is identified with the star mentioned in the following citation of Num. 24:17. As opposed to the historical interpreter in CD 6:7, the character pictured here is a priestly messianic figure (cf. 4QFlorilegium [4Q174] 2 10\u201313). See also T. Levi 18:3, where the star in Num. 24:17 is identified with the eschatological high priest.
\n19. Damascus See comment on 6:5.
\n19\u201320. \u201cA star stepped forth out of Jacob and a staff arose out of Israel\u201d Quoting Num. 24:17. This verse is also understood in a messianic sense in 4QTestimonia (4Q175) and in other ancient Jewish (see the Targumim, ad loc; T. Levi 18:3; T. Jud. 24:1; J. Ta\u2019an. 68d\u201369a) and Christian (Rev. 22:16) sources.
\n20. the prince of all the congregation This figure is usually identified with the royal messiah, who is the counterpart of the priestly messiah in the sectarian dual messianic scheme. Cf. comment on CD 19:10\u201311. For Rabbinic reference to a differing notion of two messiahs, see B. Suk. 52b.
\n20\u201321. he will destroy all the sons of Seth An allusion to the end of Num. 24:17. This refers to the royal messiah\u2019s military function.
\n7:21\u20138:1 This echoes the events described in CD 7:13\u201314. Manuscript B has an overlapping but variant text, referring to a future escape (see CD 19:10).<\/p>\n
CD 8<\/p>\n
1\u20132 A warning to covenant members who have failed to observe the legal requirements.
\n2\u201321 These lines are paralleled with variants in manuscript B (CD 19:14\u201334).
\n3 Allusions to Hosea 5:10. Although Judah is identified with the community above (CD 4:11; 7:13), the context implies that \u201cthe princes of Judah\u201d are outsiders, perhaps political rulers of the time. The Hebrew word for princes (sarim) plays on the word \u201cdeparters\u201d (sarim). Cf. CD 1:13; 7:13; 8:4.
\n4. a blemish adhered (to them) Perhaps an interpretive rendering of Deut. 13:18, with \u201cblemish\u201d
\n(mum) replacing \u201canything\u201d (me\u2019umah).
\n4\u20135. the way of traitors See comment on CD 1:12.
\n5. wicked wealth Cf. CD 6:15.
\n5\u20136. avenging and bearing grudges \u2026 against his brother Alluding to Lev. 19:18. Cf. CD 6:20.
\n6. hating his neighbor Cf. Lev. 19:17; CD 7:2.
\nignored the relation of his flesh That is, they married relatives forbidden to them by the laws of incest. Cf. CD 5:7\u20138.
\n7. incest The Hebrew word (zimah) may also refer to unchastity in general. See Judg. 20:6; M. Avot 2:7; M. Ket. 5:5.
\nwealth and profit The same phrase appears in criticisms of the corrupt elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
\ndid what was right in his own eyes See comment on CD 3:6.
\n8. wantonness See CD 2:17\u20133:12.
\n9. walking in the way of the wicked ones See Ps. 1:1.
\n9\u201312 An allusion to Deut. 32:33. The interpretation relates the wicked ways of the \u201cprinces of Judah\u201d to their love of foreign customs and predicts their destruction at the hands of an unnamed Seleucid or Roman leader.
\n12. \u201cbuilders of the barrier\u201d and the \u201cwhitewash-daubers\u201d The epithets appear to refer to the princes of Judah mentioned above. They derive from Ezek. 13:10 and scold those who lead Israel astray by perpetuating a delusional reality. Cf. CD 4:19.
\n13. one who weighs the wind \u2026 Spouter of the Lie For these epithets, see Mic. 2:11. See comment on CD 1:14.
\nagainst whose entire congregation God\u2019s anger was kindled Cf. CD 1:21\u20132:1.
\n14\u201315 A conflation and reworking of Deut. 9:5 and 7:8.
\n17\u201319. for theirs (is) the covenant \u2026 wantonness of their heart As in CD 3:10\u201313, the original covenant with Israel is now limited to community members. Those disloyal to the new covenant will be punished.
\n20\u201321 These lines appear to be distinct from the preceding material and perhaps refer to the rebuking of servants by their masters. The sources of the allusions are unclear. For Gehazi\u2019s disobedience and Elisha\u2019s reaction, see 2 Kings 5:26\u201327. As for Baruch, his disobedience may have been inferred from an interpretation of Jeremiah\u2019s rebuke in Jer. 45:5.
\n21. all the men who entered the new covenant in the land of Damascus Manuscript A breaks off here, and the remainder of the Admonition appears in manuscript B (19:33\u201320:34). The parallel material in manuscript B (19:33\u201320:1) continues and warns apostate members that they will be excluded from the community from the period of the death of the Teacher until the coming of the messiah of Aaron and Israel.<\/p>\n
CD 19<\/p>\n
1\u20137 Manuscript B begins here. These lines overlap with 7:5\u201310, but with significant variants.
\n1\u20132 An allusion to Deut. 7:9. Manuscript A omits the explicit quotation.
\n2\u20135 The text here is longer than in manuscript A. The source of scriptural support is the same (Num. 30:17).
\n7. Zechariah the prophet The following citation comes from Zech. 13:7. This differs from manuscript A, which instead quotes Isa. 7:17, followed by a lengthy interpretation (CD 7:10\u201321).
\n9. the poor of the sheep For the image of sheep as the saved remnant of Israel, see Jer. 23:3\u20134. Cf. 1 En. 90.
\n10. these will escape at the time of the visitation Referring to the final judgment. Manuscript A refers here to \u201cthe first visitation,\u201d which is an event from the past (7:21\u20138:1).
\n10\u201317 These lines have only partial parallels in manuscript A (8:1\u20134). The reference to \u201cthe messiah of Aaron and Israel\u201d and the citation of Ezekiel appear only in manuscript B.
\n10\u201311. messiah of Aaron and Israel Although the word \u201cmessiah\u201d is singular, grammatically the Hebrew may refer to two figures, a priestly redeemer and a royal one. Such a dual messianic expectation is found explicitly in 1QS 9:11 and is implied by 4QTestimonia (4Q175) and likely also by CD 7:18\u201321. Cf. CD 12:23\u201313:1; 14:19; 20:1.
\n12. \u201cTo make a mark upon the foreheads of those who sigh and groan\u201d An adaptation of Ezek. 9:4.
\n13. avenging sword of the covenant\u2019s vengeance See comment on CD 1:17.
\n13\u201314 A warning to backsliders from the new covenant. Cf. CD 8:1\u20132.
\n14\u201334 Parallels CD 8:2\u201321 (manuscript A) with variants.
\n15\u201316 From Hosea 5:10. See comment on CD 8:3. The interpretative gloss of 8:4 is absent here.
\n21. their sin Not mentioned in the parallel text of CD 8:8.
\n22\u201326 An allusion to and interpretation of Deut. 32:33. See comment on CD 8:9\u201312.
\n27. to Israel Absent from the parallel text in CD 8:14. As in 8:14\u201315, the following citation is a conflation and reworking of Deut. 9:5 and 7:8.
\n30\u201331. theirs (is) the covenant (with) the fathers See comment on CD 8:17\u201319.
\n31\u201332. against them and against all who follow after them Absent from the parallel text in CD 8:18.
\n32\u201334. and thus (is) this judgment \u2026 in the land of Damascus Cf. CD 8:18\u201321. Note that the reference to the word of Jeremiah and Elisha to their servants is absent here.
\n19:33\u201320:1 A warning to apostate members of the new covenant.
\n35. will not be accounted \u2026 will not be written An allusion to Ezek. 13:9, which is directed against false prophets. Ezekiel further promises that such figures will remain in exile forever. Here, Ezekiel\u2019s words are applied to apostate members of the new covenant.<\/p>\n
CD 20<\/p>\n
1. the unique Teacher Another name for the leader and founder of the group, the Righteous Teacher.
\ngathered in A Hebraic euphemism for death. Cf. Num. 20:26; Gen. 25:8. Most scholars date the passing of the Teacher to near the end of the 2nd century BCE.
\nmessiah from Aaron and from Israel See comments on CD 19:10\u201311.
\n1\u20138. and this (is) the judgment \u2026 cursed him In contrast to the preceding and following material, this section allows for the possibility that disobedient members be punished temporarily. In this sense, it resembles the sectarian penal codes preserved in Rule of the Community (1QS 6:24\u20137:25) and in the Damascus material from Qumran Cave 4 (4QDa 10 i 11\u2013ii 15).
\n2. the men of perfect holiness An epithet for community members. See comments on CD 1:20\u201321 and 7:5.
\n3. who is melted in the midst of a furnace An allusion to Ezek. 22:22.
\n4. whose lot did not fall The Qumranites believed that humanity was divided into the two predetermined cosmic \u201clots\u201d of good and evil. See, for example, 1QM 13:5; 1QS 2:2, 5.
\nmen of knowledge Cf. 4Q427 7 i 20, where community members are termed \u201cthose who await knowledge.\u201d
\n6. interpretation of the Torah Hebrew: midrash hatorah. This phrase refers to the legal exegesis of the sect. Cf. 1QS 8:15\u201316. This is one of the earliest post-biblical references to the term \u201cmidrash,\u201d which is later used by the Rabbis to refer to their legal and homiletical biblical exegesis.
\n7. let no man share with him in wealth or in labor The disobedient member is to be treated like an outsider to the community. See 1QS 5:10\u201320; cf. 1QS 7:18\u201321.
\n8\u201313 A further warning to disobedient community members.
\n8\u20139. the first and the last A reference to the teachings of the early community or a parent movement (\u201cthe first\u201d) and to those of the current community (\u201cthe last\u201d). See comment on CD 4:7\u20138.
\n8. holy ones Likely a reference to supernatural beings. However, at times in sectarian writings, the phrase may be reasonably interpreted as referring to the earthly elect, who are comparable to angels. Cf. 1QS 4:23 and 1QM 12:8.
\n10. house of the Torah That is, the community. This recalls the designation of the community as \u201cthose who observe the Torah in the house of Judah\u201d in 1QpHab 8:1; cf. 7:11.
\nneighbors Another group of apostates from the community.
\n11. men of mockery In Isa. 28:14, the \u201cmen of mockery\u201d are the devious leaders of Jerusalem. 4QpIsab (4Q162) shows that the sect applied Isaiah\u2019s phrase to the contemporary leadership in Jerusalem.
\nstatutes of righteousness The rulings of the Righteous Teacher. Cf. lines 31\u201333.
\n12. Damascus See comment on CD 6:5.
\nnew covenant See comment on CD 6:19.
\n14. gathered in Hebrew he\u2019asef, a euphemism for \u201cdied.\u201d See comment on line 1.
\nuntil the end of all the men of war The language comes from Deut. 2:14, which speaks of the wandering of the Israelites in the desert until all the \u201cmen of war\u201d of that generation had perished as God had promised. In this context, the men of war are the Jewish enemies of the sect.
\n15. Man of the Lie See comment on CD 1:14.
\n40 years This period of time between the death of the Teacher and the final judgment is typological. Just as biblical Israel was rewarded with entrance into the Promised Land after 40 years in the desert, so too, God\u2019s redemption awaited community members after 40 years of suffering evil.
\n15\u201316. during that time God\u2019s anger will be kindled against Israel See comments on CD 2:8\u201310 and 4:8\u20139. Cf. 6:10, 14.
\n16. \u201cThere is no king and no prince\u201d An allusion to Hosea 3:4, understood as referring to the absence of the Teacher\u2019s leadership.
\n17. but the penitents from sin (among) Jacob Alluding to Isa. 59:20, which promises that a redeemer will rescue these penitents.
\n17\u201320 An allusion to Mal. 3:16 with expansions. The context of this and the following quotation from Malachi is the eschatological judgment.
\n20\u201321 An allusion to Mal. 3:18.
\n21\u201322 A conflation of Exod. 20:6 and Deut. 7:9.
\n22. house of Peleg A cipher for a group whose identity remains unclear. According to Gen. 10:25, Peleg son of Eber was so named because \u201cin his days the earth was divided [niflegah].\u201d
\nholy city That is, Jerusalem.
\n24. the people That is, the corrupt majority.
\naccording to his spirit Cf. 1QS 4:26, which explains that God has cast the lot of every living being \u201caccording to its spirit\u201d (of good or evil). See comment on CD 20:4.
\n24\u201325. holy council The council of the community. Cf. 1QS 2:25; 8:21.
\n25. broken through the border of the Torah That is, they have disobeyed sectarian legal rulings. Rabin notes that the use of this phrase is reminiscent of the use of Eccles. 10:8 (\u201che who breaches a stone fence will be bitten by a snake\u201d) in B. Shab. 110a to signify violation of Rabbinic law. See also T. H. ul. 2:22\u201323.
\n27. these precepts A reference to the long set of rulings following the Admonition.
\n28\u201330. we have [sin]ned \u2026 your judgments against us (are) true Another version of this confession appears in 1QS 1:24\u201326. The language is rooted in passages such as Ps. 106:6 and Dan. 9:5 and is similar to the Rabbinic forms of confession (e.g., M. Yoma 3:8).
\n31. first precepts The laws promulgated by the early community or a parent movement. See comments on CD 4:7\u20138 and 20:8\u20139.
\n33. will be joyous and happy An allusion to Ps. 40:17 or 70:5.
\n34. they will see his salvation Adaptation of Ps. 91:16.
\nthey took refuge in his holy name Alluding to Zeph. 3:12, which refers to the remnant of Israel as \u201ca poor, humble folk.\u201d Sectarian texts often refer to the community as poor. See, for example, CD 19:9; 1QpHab 12:3, 6. Although manuscript B ends here, 4QDa 4 appears to contain the continuation of this blessing.<\/p>\n
4QDe 2 i 9\u2013ii 21<\/p>\n
2 i 9\u2013ii 18 Baumgarten notes that this list of transgressions is broadly similar to the list of curses of particular sinners appearing in Deut. 27, \u201calthough the sins here reflect the special concerns of Qumran legists.\u201d
\n2 i 10. [go]at demons The sin would be the offering of sacrifice to such demons. See Lev. 17:7.
\ninquires of ghosts and familiar spirits This transgression is derived from Lev. 20:27. Cf. CD 12:3.
\n2 i 11. profanes the name It is unclear whether this is a result of the preceding transgression or connected with a separate action. Cf. CD 15:3.
\n2 i 16\u201319 These lines deal with transgressions of a sexual nature, the details of which are unclear. Lines 18\u201319 may refer to the sin of engaging in marital relations on the Sabbath. Cf. Jub. 50:8. Rabbinic tradition allows and encourages marital relations on the Sabbath (e.g., J. Ket. 30b, 5:7; B. Ket. 62b).
\n2 ii 5\u201310 These lines refer to sins concerning various types of dues owed to the priests.
\n2 ii 6. planting [in the fourth year] The reconstruction is in line with the Qumranite interpretation of Lev. 19:24, according to which the fourth-year produce from newly planted trees is granted to the priests. See comment on 4QDa 6 iv 1\u20135.
\n2 ii 7\u20138 For the tithing of cattle and sheep, see Lev. 27:32. These are assigned to the priests also in 4QMMT B 63\u201364.
\n2 ii 8. redempti[on of the firstlings] For the redemption of firstborns, see Num. 18:15.
\n2 ii 9. sheep Likely referring to the first shearing, which, according to Deut. 18:4, belongs to the priests.
\nassessment money for the redemption of their person Cf. Lev. 27:1\u20138, which delineates the monetary values of various classes of people with respect to dedications to the LORD. Cf. 4Q159 1 ii 6.
\n2 ii 10 For this case, see comment on CD 9:13\u201315.
\n2 ii 11. defiling his holy spirit The offense is unclear. But cf. CD 5:11\u201312 and 7:3\u20134.
\n2 ii 12 The reference to these physical afflictions in this context may reflect that they were seen as symptomatic of sin.
\n2 ii 13 Cf. Temple Scroll (11Q19) 64:6\u20139, where such treason is punishable by hanging.
\n2 ii 14. those anointed with the holy spirit As in CD 2:12\u201313 (see comment), this refers to the prophets.
\n2 ii 15. slaughters an animal or a beast that is pregnan[t This prohibition is based on Lev. 22:28. Cf. 4QMMT B 36\u201338 and Temple Scroll (11Q19) 52:5.
\n2 ii 16. causing blood to stir Sexual relations with a pregnant woman are prohibited since coital pressure might cause bleeding and render intercourse illicit. Cf. CD 5:7.
\ndaughter [of his brother] For criticism of uncle-niece marriages, see comment on CD 5:7\u20138.
\n2 ii 18 This line likely indicates that those who commit the previous sins provoke the prescribed wrath of God.
\n2 ii 19\u201321 A direct call to hearken similar to those appearing in CD 1:1; 2:2, 14; and 4QDa 1 a\u2013b 5. Since in each of these cases the call introduces an admonitory passage, the same is likely true here. However, the following text is lost.<\/p>\n
4QDa 5 ii 1\u201315; 4QDb 5 iii 1\u20138; 4QDh 2 1\u20132; 4 i 5\u201311<\/p>\n
0\u20133 Since the fragment as a whole is concerned with laws pertaining to priests, these lines likely view public reading of the Torah as a priestly function. Cf. Josephus, Ant. 4.209. The worry here is that priests with reading impediments will mispronounce a word, leading to an error in a capital case.
\n4 The remains are too fragmentary to determine the case.
\n5\u20137 These lines refer to the disqualification of priests who have been taken captive by non-Jews from Temple service and eating sacrificial food.
\n7. within the curtain Referring to the inner sanctuary, the holiest portion of the Temple (cf. Lev. 16 and Exod. 16). According to Lev. 16, only the high priest had access to this area. This law thus may be directed specifically toward the high priest.
\n8\u201311 Disqualifying treasonous and apostate priests from Temple service. Priests are charged with apostasy in a number of Second Temple period writings.
\n12 This may be part of a prohibition barring laypeople from asking for the counsel of an apostate priest.
\n14\u201315 Based on the lack of connection with the preceding material, these lines appear to introduce a new section.<\/p>\n
4QDa 6 i 1\u201312; 4QDd 7; 4QDg 1 i 20\u20131 ii 1\u20132; 4QDh 4 ii<\/p>\n
A composite text of overlapping fragments interpreting the laws of skin disease found in Lev. 13. The present passage is likely the background to CD 13:4\u20137.
\n1\u201311 Cf. the priestly examination described in Lev. 13:2\u20138.
\n2\u20133 Skin disease is caused by the presence of \u201cspirit\u201d (Hebrew rua\u1e25; cf. lines 7, 14, 20) that disrupts the normal blood flow in the arteries. Healing occurs with the return of blood to the arteries and by its movement \u201cup and down\u201d (cf. lines 7, 20\u201321). Parallels to this physiological conception are to be found in ancient Greek medical writings and the Jewish medical work Sefer ha-Refu\u2019ot attributed to Asaph (6th century CE?).
\n5. living [skin] In Lev. 13:10\u201315 this phrase is used to describe \u201craw\u201d or infected skin. Here, it may refer to healthy skin over against \u201cdead\u201d or affected skin.
\n10. living flesh That is, affected flesh, in the sense of Lev. 13:10\u201315.
\n11. [tzara\u2019at] A type of skin disease, discussed at length in Lev. 13\u201314. It is mentioned again in lines 13 and 21.
\n13. malignant tzara\u2019at Cf. the appearance of the same phrase in Lev. 13:51\u201352 with respect to infected garments.
\nscall Cf. the laws of Lev. 13:29\u201337.
\n15\u201316 A comparable analogy appears in Lev. Rab. 13:3.
\n17 Adaptation of Lev. 13:33.<\/p>\n
4QDg 1 ii 3\u201317<\/p>\n
3\u20137 An apparent expansion of the laws of male genital discharge found in Lev. 15. There, a distinction is made between abnormal discharge (zav) and normal discharge (shikhvat zera), that is, seminal emission. Whereas the defilement caused by the latter type of impurity lasts for only one day (Lev. 15:16\u201317), the defilement caused by the former type lasts for seven (15:13\u201314). Here, however, it seems that no distinction has been made between normal and abnormal discharges. Normal cases of seminal emission are viewed as causing the longer seven-day period of defilement.
\n4. lustful thoughts The case of a man who has had a seminal emission due to his own lascivious thoughts.
\n5. his contact Hebrew maga\u2019o refers to derivative uncleanness contracted by people or objects touched by one with an abnormal discharge. Hence, if \u201chis\u201d refers to the man with lascivious thoughts from the previous line, he is being judged as carrying the strict impurity of the zav.
\n6 Cf. Lev. 15:13, 16.
\n7\u201317 These lines contained laws pertaining to genital discharges of women.<\/p>\n
4QDa 6 ii 1\u201313<\/p>\n
1\u20132. approaches [her has the s]in of menstrual impurity upon him Cf. Lev. 15:24.
\n2. s]in The equation of moral and ritual impurity was common at Qumran. See comment on CD 9:21\u201323.
\n2\u20133 Cf. Lev. 15:25. Here, any continued bleeding after the allotted seven days is considered an abnormal discharge (zavah), which requires seven further days of purification. Rabbinic law is less stringent and stipulates that the status of a zavah is achieved only after three consecutive days of postmenstrual bleeding. See Sifra Metsora, Parashat Zavim 5.
\n3\u20134 For the defilement of the Temple through menstrual impurity, see comment on CD 5:7. Temple Scroll (11Q19) 48:14\u201316 implies that its author held the same ruling.
\n4. sunset The instruction of waiting until evening after immersion to become fully pure in this and several other Qumran purity laws is intended as a polemic against the Pharisaic concept of tevul yom, according to which a partial state of purity is achieved immediately after daytime immer-sion. The Rabbis record the other side of this polemic at M. Parah 3:7.
\n5\u201313 Laws pertaining to the impurity of the parturient. Cf. Lev. 12 (see further, Jub. 3:8\u201314 and 4Q265 7 ii).
\n10. capital [of]fense Presumably referring to her entry into the Temple while still in a state of impurity. No such law appears in Lev. 12. Cf., however, Num. 19:20.
\n11 The mother\u2019s impurity barred her from breastfeeding her newborn. This sectarian ruling is unparalleled in biblical or Rabbinic law.<\/p>\n
4QDe 3 ii 12\u201321<\/p>\n
12\u201319 Much like the Mishnah tractate Pe\u2019ah, these lines elaborate upon the Torah laws concerning agricultural gleanings to be left for the needy, and define the maximum amount to be gleaned (see Lev. 19:9\u201310; 23:22; Deut. 24:19\u201321).
\n12. single grapes That is, lacking the form of a cluster. Cf. M. Pe\u2019ah 7:4.
\nten berries This upper limit of what may be taken by the poor is perhaps derived from some combination of the numbers mentioned in Isa. 17:6: \u201cOnly gleanings shall be left of him.\u2026 Two berries or three on the topmost branch, four or five on the boughs of the crown.\u201d
\n13. seah A unit of capacity, approximately 12 liters.
\nbet seah The amount of land necessary for the planting of one seah worth of seed. Thus, the upper limit to be gleaned by the poor is capped at the amount of seed used to produce the harvest. Cf. the talmudic discussion stipulating the proper amount to be gleaned by the poor in relation to quantity of seed in B. BM 105b.
\ndoes not yield its seed That is, a scanty harvest.
\n14. terumah Biblical Hebrew term for offerings given to priests (e.g., Deut. 12:6) or the tithe owed to the Levites (Num. 18:24). This line seems to indicate that a terumah portion does not need to be taken from the gleanings of a poor harvest. Cf. M. H. al. 1:3.
\n16\u201317 These disasters are comparable to those mentioned in M. Pe\u2019ah 2:7. There, stricken fields are exempt from the donation of the corner of the field (pe\u2019ah), unless half of the harvest is salvaged (2:8).
\n18 The priestly gift of the terumah must even be extracted from the gleanings of the poor, provided that it is substantial. Rabbinic law holds that gleanings are exempt from this requirement. See M. Hal. 1:3.
\n19. isaron A measure equaling about one third of the seah that has been gleaned.
\n19\u201321 This passage draws on Num. 15:20, which refers to the setting aside of bread as a holy offering (h. allah). Rabbinic tradition understands this offering as coming from the dough (see M. Hal. 3:1), whereas here it is to come from the bread. The interpretation here may derive from the identification of the offering of Num. 15:20 with the \u201ctwo loaves of bread\u201d to be offered on Shavuot, mentioned in Lev. 23:17.<\/p>\n
4QDa 6 iv 1\u20135<\/p>\n
Leviticus 19:24 commands that the fourth-year produce of a newly planted tree is to be \u201cset aside for jubilation before the LORD.\u201d Here, this commandment is interpreted as requiring that such produce be given to the priests. The same ruling appears in several other Qumran scrolls (4QMMT B 62\u201363; Temple Scroll [11Q19] 60:3\u20134; Jub. 7:35\u201337; 1QapGen 12:13\u201315; and see 4QDe 2ii 6). This differs from the Rabbinic interpretation, which calls for such produce to be eaten by its owners in Jerusalem like produce of the second tithe (Sifrei Be-Midbar 6).
\n3. land of sojourning Perhaps indicating that this law regarding fourth-year fruit is also applicable outside of the land of Israel. Cf. M. Kid. 1:9.<\/p>\n
4QDf 2 1\u20136<\/p>\n
This section is concerned with the issue of tithing.<\/p>\n
2. ephah \u2026 bat These two biblical metrological terms are deemed the equivalent of a tenth \u1e25 of a \u1e25omer in Ezek. 45:11. The same point is made in 4Q513 1\u20132 i 4 (cf. 4Q159 1 ii 13\u201314).
\n3. deviate by offering from the lambs [on]e out of a 100 According to Ezek. 45:15, one sheep out of 200 is to be donated. This law appears to forbid deviation from this ratio, even when it would double the gift.
\n4\u20135 Properly tithed food may not be eaten before the priestly blessing. Cf. the Qumranite prohibition against eating at communal meals prior to the blessing of the priest (1QS 6:5; 1QSa 2:17\u201321).
\n5 This line seems to deal with circumstances in which one might be exempt from the tithing requirement. Baumgarten calls attention to comparable material in M. Ma\u2019as. 2:1\u20135.<\/p>\n
4QDf 2 7\u201313; 4QDd 8 i 3; 8 ii 1\u20136; 4QDe 3 iii 19\u201321<\/p>\n
8. blood of their sacrifices That is, blood from pagan sacrifices, which defiles that which comes into contact with it. According to Rabbinic law, pagan offerings are counted among the most severe sources of impurity (see B. Avod. Zar. 32b; cf. Jub. 22:16\u201317; Acts 15:20).
\n9\u201310 A blanket prohibition against metals deriving from idols. The Mishnah, however, permits possession of fragments from broken idols and allows for the nullification of idolatrous items by their Gentile owners (M. Avod. Zar. 3:2; 4:4\u20135).
\n10. from the furnace This guarantees that the metal has not been previously used for idolatrous purposes.
\n10\u201312 For corpse impurity and purification ritual, see Num. 19 and Temple Scroll (11Q19) 49\u201350.
\n12. period of wickedness See comment on CD 6:10.
\n13. [sun]down The same requirement appears in 4QMMT B 14\u201316. See comments on 4QDa 6 ii 3\u20134. The Rabbis held that one who had immersed that day was fit for most purposes even before sundown (see the interpretation of Num. 19:19 in B. Yoma 43b).
\nage to pass The minimum age is 20 years old. See comment on 15:6.
\n[shall no]t [sprinkle] The same rule appears also in 4Q277 1 7. This contrasts with the Rabbinic position, which allows the participation of minors (see M. Parah 12:10; B. Yoma 43a).<\/p>\n
4QDe 4 1\u20138<\/p>\n
This passage deals with the ordeal of the woman suspected of adultery (sotah) described in Num. 5:11\u201331.
\n2 This line refers to a witness to a meeting between the married woman and another man. According to Num. 5:13, the ordeal is required when \u201cthere is no witness against her.\u201d However, the interpretation here may be in line with that of the Rabbis, who take Num. 5:13 to mean that there was no witness to the adultery, but that there was a witness to a liaison. See M. Sot. 1:1.
\n3 A woman who was raped is not required to undergo the ordeal. The ruling is based on an interpretation of the words \u201cwithout being forced\u201d in Num. 5:13. The same interpretation appears in Rabbinic exegesis (see Sifre Num. 7; Rashi on Num. 5:13).
\n4 If the reconstructions are correct, the wife is suspected of being pregnant because of the cessation of her period.
\n7. not take from [his] hand The woman may not take the vessel holding the water she is to drink from the priest\u2019s hand since she may defile him.<\/p>\n
4QDf 3 2\u201315; 4QDb 7; 4QDd 9; 4QDe 5<\/p>\n
5 The issue at hand concerns the reversion of property to its original impoverished owner in the jubilee year. Cf. Lev. 25:28.
\n6. release h[im from all] his sins Cf. 11QMelchizedek (11Q13) 2 6, where the economic release mandated for the jubilee and sabbatical years is understood as a metaphor for spiritual liberation from sin at the end of days.
\n6\u20137 Prohibition against transvestism deriving from Deut. 22:5.
\n7\u201310 Elaborating on the prohibition of business fraud appearing in Lev. 25:14. Cf. M. BM 4:3\u201312.
\n11 Cf. the same ruling in 4Q415 11 5.
\n12 Nondisclosure of the bride\u2019s physical defects is equated with misleading the blind. The curse derives from Deut. 27:18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
parents \u2026 with their nestlings Josephus\u2019s language is extremely close to Deut. 22:6\u20137 LXX, which concerns fledglings and their parents. The same law is cited in a similar context in Philo (Hypothetica 7.9) and alluded to in Pseudo-Phocylides 84\u201385; cf. M. Hul. 12:1\u20135. spare animals that work, even in enemy territory This may be related … <\/p>\n