The Dead Sea Scrolls
Introduction
In the spring of 1947, three young Bedouin shepherds were in the area called Qumran, which is on the northwest side of the Dead Sea, apparently tending their flock. One of the young shepherds amused himself by throwing rocks at a cave opening in the cliffs to the west of the plateau at Qumran. One of the stones went into the cave and made a shattering noise. The Bedouin did not enter the cave that day, but when one of them did venture in two days later, he found ten clay jars. One of those jars held three ancient manuscripts. The rest of the containers were empty, but later four additional scrolls were found hidden in that cave. This initial find led to a scouring of the area, which revealed more caves and more manuscripts. The discovery of those ancient documents, appropriately called the Dead Sea Scrolls, is regarded by many as the most significant archaeological finding in the twentieth century and as nothing short of providential. This chapter surveys three points regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls: the literature comprising the Dead Sea Scrolls (hereafter DSS); the community producing the DSS; and the theology undergirding the DSS.
The Literature Comprising the DSS
The publication of the DSS stretched from 1947 to 1991, creating a storm of controversy along the way. Such an academic tempest stemmed from inadequate numbers to piece together and translate the scrolls, scholarly hoarding of the manuscripts, and, until late in the process, non-Jewish participation in the project. Keep in mind that the DSS are composed of over 900 separate manuscripts in over 25,000 pieces. Some of the scrolls were almost totally intact (like the Great Isaiah Scroll), but most of them had deteriorated into small fragments, many of them the size of postage stamps. So the task of organizing and putting the fragments back together was huge. Finally, however, all of the DSS were published in 1991. The scrolls themselves date from about 160 BC to AD 68. Four types of literature comprise the DSS: Old Testament books, apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature, commentaries on the Prophets, and writings about the community.
One of the clay jars that held the Dead Sea Scrolls.s
Old Testament Books
Over two hundred Old Testament manuscripts have been found in the eleven caves associated with the DSS, representing every Old Testament book except Esther. The Pentateuch is the division most represented in the DSS. This stands to reason, for the community was extremely devoted to the Mosaic Law. The Prophets (especially Isaiah) receive the next highest distribution of manuscripts, undoubtedly because the community applied these prophecies to itself as well as appealed to them as the basis for its messianic expectation. Except for Psalms and Daniel, the Writings are not heavily drawn upon. The Psalms were utilized in the sect’s worship, and Daniel’s predictions were believed to be actualized in the group. Beyond these examples, the presence of the Writings is minimal.
Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphical Literature
By apocryphal or Deuterocanonical literature we mean those Jewish works written after the close of the Old Testament (400 BC). Although they most probably found a place in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), these books have never been considered by official Judaism to be inspired. Nevertheless, Jews have rightly held the apocrypha in high regard, both for its historical and ethical value. In fact, some Christian traditions (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) include them in their canon. Four apocryphal pieces were found in the DSS caves: Tobit, Sirach, Psalm 151, and the Epistle of Jeremiah.
In addition to apocryphal literature, pseudepigraphical works were discovered among the DSS. The pseudepigrapha are Jewish materials written in the last centuries BC and the first two centuries AD, and are not considered canonical by Jews or Christians. Nevertheless, they are valuable historically, ethically, and theologically in that they provide a window into the thought of early Judaism. Three especially are dear to the Qumran community that produced the DSS: 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Commentaries on the Prophets
One of the fascinating discoveries that emerged in the DSS was the Qumran community’s unique interpretation of the biblical prophets. Labeled pesher (derived from an Aramaic term meaning “interpretation”), this hermeneutical method contemporized Old Testament prophetic oracles by applying them to current events relative to the Qumran people. Two assumptions informed their approach: (1) they believed that the biblical prophets ultimately referred not to their own time in biblical history, but to the latter days of history; and (2) the Qumran readers also believed that they were living in the end-time and that therefore many of the biblical prophecies pertained to them. They also believed that spiritual insight for grasping the meaning of the text was given to the Qumran members by God. The method itself unfolds in the following steps: the biblical verse is quoted; the formulaic phrase occurs, “its interpretation concerns” (pesher); the application to the day of the Qumran expositor is supplied.
Writings about the Community
The fourth major type of literature in the DSS relates to writings concerning the Qumran community itself, which may be conveniently classified under four genres (literary styles): legal, eschatological, liturgical, and sapiential (wisdom).
1. The legal type of literature in the DSS is basically composed of four foundational documents that stress the utmost importance of the Mosaic law for the Qumran community: the Damascus Document, the Rule of the Community, the Temple Scroll, and Some Works of the Torah.
2. The eschatological (end-time) literature in the DSS reflects the community’s apocalyptic self-understanding. That is to say, the Qumran sect viewed itself to be the true Israel, the righteous remnant with whom God was establishing his new covenant in the last days (see, e.g., 1QS 1:1; CD 4:2). As the faithful of God, the people of the DSS equated their sufferings with the severe messianic woes that Judaism expected would test Israel before the advent of the Messiah (CD 1:5–11; 20:13–15; 1QH 3:7–10). The community’s exile into the desert (Qumran) under the eventual leadership of the Teacher of Righteousness was understood to be the final preparation for the arrival of the messianic age.
Probably the sect’s scrupulous observance of the Mosaic law was motivated by the belief that if Israel kept the Torah, the Messiah would come (cf. CD 4:1–17 with the following rabbinic literature [ca. AD 200–500]: Pirke’ Abot 2:8; b. Sanh 97b; Sifre Deut 34). But by the same token, the period of trials to which the sect was exposed was predetermined by God (CD 1:5–11; 1 QM [War Scroll, Cave 1]). The DSS harbor the hope for the two Messiahs of Aaron and Israel (CD 20:1; 1QS 9:11–12). At that time the sons of light (the Qumran members) will wage war against the sons of darkness (everybody else) and will prevail, thus ushering in the kingdom of God (1 QM) and the New Jerusalem (4QFlor 1:11–12; New Jerusalem texts [5Q554–55]). In anticipation of that day, the Qumran sect observed a messianic meal (1QS 2:11–22), worked at overcoming the evil inclination within them by submitting to the law and the good inclination (the struggle between the two was expected to give way to the cosmic eschatological holy war; 1QS 3–4), and convened to worship God with the angels, which was a proleptic experience of the coming messianic age.
3. Besides the biblical Psalms, other DSS were utilized in a liturgical setting, notably the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH = Hodayot) and the Angelic Liturgy (4QShirShabb; 4Q400–405; 11Q17). The former consists of some twenty-five psalms and takes its name from the verb that introduces these poems: ‘odekah (“Thank you [Lord]”). Form analysis of these hymns suggests they fall into two categories. The first group is written in the first person singular, quite possibly by the Teacher of Righteousness. These lament hymns recount the author’s struggles with his enemies and petition God to vindicate his servant. The second group of hymns in the Hodayot seems to articulate the experiences of the community, which match those of their founder.
The lament form of the Hodayot suggests they served a liturgical purpose. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that they also express the notion that the congregation is united with heaven in a cultic setting to join the angels in worship.
The last mentioned theme is central to the Angelic Liturgy or Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice (4QShirShabb), a collection of poems designed to be read on the Sabbath. These psalms give instruction on how and when to praise God, based on the solar calendar. One of their striking features is the correspondence of heavenly and earthly worship. These materials also borrow from the language of Ezekiel 1 and its presentation of the glorious throne of God. In doing so the Angelic Liturgy serves as an important witness to the pervasiveness of mysticism in early Judaism.
4. That wisdom is vitally important in the DSS is evident from the fact that they preserved the canonical wisdom books, fragments of the popular wisdom work Sirach (ca. 180 BC), and approximately fourteen other wisdom texts (e.g., 4Q184–185; 4Q413–419; 4Q424; 4Q521; 4Q525).Wisdom at Qumran was essentially the Essenes’ (see below) reinterpretation of the Mosaic law.
The great Isaiah Scroll, a particularly well-preserved text of Isaiah dating to 100 BC.
The Community Producing the DSS
Though debate continues to rage over who wrote the DSS (Essenes, Zealots, Sadducees, Jewish military outpost, etc.), the majority view remains the Essene hypothesis. This understanding also assumes a connection between the DSS and the community revealed by the Qumran excavations. Four pieces of data seem to confirm that the Essenes at Qumran wrote the DSS. First, sociologically the DSS were written by a sectarian, marginalized group, which matches Pliny the Elder’s description of the Essenes (Natural History, AD 77). Second, the archeological evidence connects the DSS with Khirbet Qumran, a site that fits Pliny the Elder’s geographical description of the Essenes (see his Natural History 5.73). Indeed, Pliny’s placement of the Essenes to the west of the Dead Sea, with En-gedi to the south, nicely fits Khirbet Qumran. This is all the more so since the area Pliny describes shows no archaeological evidence of having been inhabited by any other communal group besides the one at Qumran. Third, the paleographical evidence indicates that numerous duplicate copies of manuscripts as well as various styles of handwriting characterize the DSS. This strongly suggests that Qumran was the library or headquarters of a larger movement, which aligns well with Josephus’s description of various branches within the Essene following ( Jewish War 2.8.4 [124]; Ant. 18.1.5 [22]). Finally, historically, the period of Qumran existence, which ranged from the mid-second century BC to AD 68, is in agreement with the time frame mentioned by Josephus regarding the Essenes (Ant. 13.5.9 [171]; Life 1.2). Moreover, it is significant that the period when Qumran was not inhabited, 31–4 BC, correlates with the reign of Herod the Great. Josephus specifically states that the Essenes were highly respected by that ruler (Ant. 17.13.3), implying a relationship between the two (the lack of occupation of Qumran and Herod’s approval of the Essenes). It is a reasonable conjecture that the Essenes, because they enjoyed a positive relationship with Herod, felt no need to live in the desert at that particular time.
The Theology Undergirding the DSS
Most likely, the theology driving the DSS is the familiar Old Testament theme of the story of Israel: sin-exile-restoration. Thus Israel broke the law of Moses; God sent Israel into exile as punishment; Israel will be restored to her land if she returns to the law of Moses. The DSS adhere to this story line, except that they reinterpret the law of Moses along the lines of their sectarian, strict perspective. This is clear from one of the DSS’s earliest foundational documents: Some Works of the Torah (4QMMT). 4QMMT is a short text consisting of three parts: (1) a calendar, consisting of lines 1–20, (2) a section of laws extending from lines 21–92a, and (3) an epilogue composed of lines 92b–118.
The sin-exile-restoration pattern is evident in the epilogue: (1) Israel repeatedly sinned against the Lord from the time of Jeroboam to Zedekiah (lines 104–5); (2) consequently, God rained the Deuteronomic curses on the nation (the exile) (lines 97, 101, 130–36); (3) but true Israel, the Essene community, has repented of its sin (lines 101–2) by segregating itself from the rest of the people (lines 92–94). This has secured for the covenanters the Deuteronomic blessings (restoration) (lines 100, 103–4, 106–8).
Furthermore, the laws required to be followed in order to experience the Deuteronomic blessings are the community’s halakah, which lines 1–92a are devoted to explaining. These consist of the covenanter’s stringent reinterpretation of purity regulations and Sabbath-keeping. It is the sectaries’ commitment to these rules that has caused them to separate from society (lines 92b–94). The Qumran community is thereby justified by God (line 117).
Space does not permit individual treatment of the other DSS. But that data can be summarized under the following categories: (1) wisdom as the sectaries’ reinterpretation of the Mosaic law; (2) the realization of the eschatological Deuteronomic blessings in the Qumran community; and (3) the actualization of the Deuteronomic curses on nonsectarian Jews and gentiles.
It is transparent in all of this that the DSS operate under the assumption that the Torah (more strictly defined) must be kept in order to remain in the covenant, a relationship that excluded gentiles and non-Qumran Jews.
The ruins of one of the buildings at Qumran, the community that probably produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some scholars believe that the scrolls were copied in this very room, but it is difficult to be certain.
Conclusion
The DSS impact the Bible in two major ways. First, the DSS help to identify and confirm the text of the Hebrew Bible. Second, though there is no direct link between the DSS and the New Testament, the story of Israel as reinterpreted eschatologically by the DSS distinctively reminds one of the New Testament. The difference is, of course, that the latter portrays Jesus as the true Messiah who has brought an end to the law of Moses and that, therefore, salvation is by faith in Christ alone.