| |
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1960 in a cave on the
western Dead Sea shore near a ruin called khirbet Qumran. Eleven caves from the
Qumran area have since yielded manuscripts, mostly in small fragments. About
sixty percent of the scrolls have so far been published. These were composed or
copied between 200 B.C. and A.D. 70, mostly around the lifetime of Jesus, by a
small community living at Qumran.
Contents They comprise three main kinds of literature: (1) copies of Old
Testament books, the oldest we now possess; (2) some non-biblical Jewish books
known from elsewhere (such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees), probably written by the
Essenes; (3) the community's own compositions, including: biblical commentaries
(for example, on Habakkuk and Nahum), which interpret biblical prophecies as
applying to the community and its times; rules of community conduct; and
liturgical writings such as prayers and hymns.
The Essenes The Qumran community belonged to the Essenes, one of four major
Jewish religious movements described by the first century A.D. historian
Josephus, but, strangely, unmentioned in the New Testament. The origins of the
Essenes are uncertain: one major view is that they descended from the "Pious,"
who had fought for religious independence with the Maccabees; on another view
they originated in Exile in Babylonia, returning to Palestine sometime in the
third or second century B.C. They opposed the cultic laws operating at the
Temple, rejecting its priesthood, and following a different calendar. They lived
apart from other Jews in strictly-disciplined groups. One such rather special
group lived at Qumran. Unlike many Essene groups, they were celibates, and they
traced their origin to a "Teacher of Righteousness," a messianic figure of whom
little is known except that he was a priest, possibly a high priest. The Qumran
biblical commentaries speak of his confrontation with a "Wicked Priest,"
possibly a Maccabean high priest of about 150 B.C.
Beliefs and Practices The Scrolls show a surprising variety of beliefs,
accounted for by two hundred years of community history, beginning with a belief
in an eminent "end of days" which faded as the fulfilment did not materialize.
Like other Essenes, they believed that by observing their own interpretation of
the Jewish law and by frequent ritual bathing they preserved a faithful remnant.
Thus they were ready for the restoration of the land by God, who would punish
the wicked through two messiahs--one priestly, one lay. They had an interest in
angels, astrology, and prophetic prediction. Peculiar to Qumran was a dualistic
view of the world in which God had appointed an angel of light (one of his names
being Melchizedek; see Gen. 14; Heb. 7) and an angel of darkness to govern the
world, all persons being assigned to the realm of one or the other. They also
avoided the Temple and developed distinctive liturgical beliefs and practices
based on a communion between earthly and angelic worship.
|