H — Miscellanea

Part 5

'The Development of the Jewish Scripts', in The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of W. F. Albright, Garden City, NY, 1961, 133-202. Cf. O. R. Sellers, 'Radiocarbon Dating of Cloth from the 'Ain Feshkha Cave', BASOR, 22-4. G. Bonani et al. 'Radiocarbon Dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls', 'Atiqot, 25-32. A. J. T. Jull et al. 'Radiocarbon Dating of Scrolls and Linen Fragments from the Judean Desert', Radiocarbon, 11-19. The quotation appears on p. 17. Cf. most recently in The Essenes According to the Classical Sources, Sheffield, 1089, 12-23. The co-author of this volume, Martin Goodman, has recently questioned the use of the evidence by Josephus to prove the Essene identity of the sect, arguing that Josephus never presents a full picture of the Jewish scene of his time and that consequently he may have referred to a group merely similar to the Essenes. Cf. 'A Note on the Qumran Sectarians, the Essenes and Josephus', JJS, 161-6. Despite my admiration for his learning, I exceptionally beg to differ. For a fuller argument, see below, pp. 46-8. G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective, London, 1994, 117. For a major restatement of the whole subject, see Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Minneapolis-Assen/Maastricht, 1992. Cf. 'Biblical Proof-texts in Qumran Literature', JSS, 493- 508. It should be noted, however, that the Damascus Document quotes also the Book of Jubilees and a work attributed to the Patriarch Levi. It

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is unclear what their status was. Cf. J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4, Oxford, 1976. Cf. E. Schürer, G. Vermes, F. Millar and M. Goodman, The History of the Jewish People in the Age ofJesusChrist, III, Edinburgh, 1986, 250- 68. Cf. 'Historical Texts C-E, 40331-333', ed. J. A. Fitzmyer, DJD, XXXVI, 281-9. Cf. 'Qumran Forum Miscellanea II: The so-called King Jonathan Fragment ', JJS, 294-300. For a more detailed exposition, see Chapter below. Cf. War 11, 567; III, 11, 19. Cf. War 11, 152-3. Cf. F. García Martinez, 'Qumran Origins and Early History: A Groningen Hypothesis', Folia Orientalia, 113-36; F. García Martinez and A. S. van der Woude, 'A Groningen Hypothesis of Qumran Origins and Early History', RQ, 521-42. G. R. Driver, The Judaean Scrolls: The Problem and a Solution, Oxford, 1965; C. Roth, The Historical Background of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Oxford, 1958. 'The Problem of Origin and Identification of the Dead Sea Scrolls', Proceedings ofthe American Philosophical Society 124/1, 1- 24; 'Who Hid the Dead Sea Scrolls?', BA, 68-82; 'Khirbet Qumran and the Manuscripts of the Judaean Wilderness: Observations on the Logic of their Investigation', JNES, 103-14. For a criticism of the Golb thesis, see Timothy H. Lim, 'The

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Qumran Scrolls: Two Hypotheses', Studies in Religion 21/4, 455-66. Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? - The Search for the Meaning of the Qumran Manuscripts, Scribner, New York/London, 1995. This volume repeats a completely misconceived attack on the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies and on myself as director of the Centre's Forum for Qumran Research, although the facts misinterpreted by Professor Golb have been set out correctly by G. Vermes and P. Alexander, 'Norman Golb and Modern History'. At the Scrolls Symposium held at the Library of Congress in Washington on 21-2 April 1993, Magen Broshi, Director of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, delivered a powerful rebuttal of the Golb conjecture as well as the speculative theory advanced at another conference, held in New York in December 1992, by Pauline Donceel-Voûte, in whose view Qumran was a winter villa built for wealthy inhabitants of Jerusalem and the room which de Vaux identified as a scriptorium a dining hall, 61-84). Against the latter theory, see R. Reich, 'A Note on the Function of Room at Khirbet Qumran', JJS, 157-60, For P. Donceel-Voûte the Qumran complex constitutes a country estate, a villa rustica, 24-35), and the same theory is propounded by Yizhar Hirschfeld, 161-89). According to A. Crown and L. Cansdale, Qumran was a luxurious hostelry for merchants, 24-35, 73-8). The mainstream opinion that the ruins are the remains of an Essene religious settlement is forcefully maintained by M. Broshi in 'The Archaeology of Qumran: A Reconsideration' and 'Was Qumran, indeed, a Monastery?', in Bread, Wine, Walls and Scrolls, Sheffield Academic Press, 198-210, 259-73. For the latest and very

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competent archaeological account see Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Grand Rapids, 2002. In January 1996, two Israeli archaeologists investigated man-made caves close to the settlement which, in their opinion, were used as sleeping quarters by members of the sect. See M. Broshi and H. Eshel, 'How and Where Did the Qumranites Live?', Dead Sea Discoveries, 328-48. Cf. e.g. John Strugnell, 'Moses Pseudepigrapha at Qumran', in Archaeology and History in the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Lawrence H. Schiffman. 'Hebrew Biblical Manuscripts from the Judaean Desert: Their Contribution to Textual Criticism', JJS, 10-19. It may also be wondered why the librarians of Jerusalem should have chosen such a distant place to hide their manuscripts when equally inaccessible caves could have been found closer to home? See his numerous articles in JJS between 1951 and 1955. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, London, 1970. Jesusthe Man: A New Interpretation from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Doubleday, London and New York, 1992; Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Harper, San Francisco and NewYork, 1992. Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, London and New York, 1992. See my review of The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered in the TLS of December 1992 and 'The War over the Dead Sea Scrolls', The New York Review of Books, August, 1994, 10-13. 60

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Cf. below, pp. 472-3. Cf. below, p. 614. Cf. G. Vermes, Jesus the Jew, London, 1973, 67-9; The Religion ofJesusthe Jew, London, 1003,102-3. See also G. Vermes, 'Qumran Forum Miscellanea I', JJS, 303-4, and Emile Puech, 'Une apocalypse messianique', RQ, 475-522. Cf. Targum Neofiti, Fragmentary Targum and Pseudo-Jonathan on Gen. iii, 15. S. Talmon in F. M. Cross and S. Talmon, Qumran and the Origin of the Biblical Text, Cambridge, Mass. 1975, 380. The Dead Sea Scrolls Forty Years On, Oxford, 1987, 15-16. On this, see G. Vermes, The Religion of Jesus theJew,London and Minneapolis, 1993. The absence of any mention of the 'sons of Zadok, the Priests' in MMT deals a serious blow to the hypothesis that a proto-Sadducaean priestly group lurks behind this document. The basis of this theory is that three legal doctrines voiced in MMT are attributed to the Sadducees in rabbinic literature. But the soundest position is to consider these teachings as priestly halakhot, held by the forerunners of the Qumran Community and the later Sadducees. The Therapeutai or Egyptian ascetics of Philo adopted celibacy, but formed separate male and female communities whose members met for worship. A badly damaged manuscript from Cave,

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repeatedly mentioning old men and women, is interpreted by J. M. Baumgarten as probably alluding to a similar institution, 125-35). 4Q502 consists of papyrus fragments. Its editor, M. Baillet, gave it the title 'Marriage Ritual', which is almost certainly a misnomer. Not a single coherent section of this liturgical composition has survived; hence no meaningful translation can be supplied. However, it is worth noting that fr. contains the phrase 'daughter of truth' and an allusion to the examination of women concerning their 'intelligence and understanding'. Josephus states in connection with the marrying Essenes that they trained their women - like their men - for three years. This interpretation of the data yielded by the excavation is that of R. de Vaux. In her recent brilliant survey, Jodi Magness questions de Vaux's theory regarding the first phase of the limited sectarian occupation of the Qumran site during the second half of the second century BCE and argues that the communal buildings were first erected around BCE. If she is right, the initial edifice was already on a relatively large scale and would correspond to the needs of an already well- established group. In fact, her theory is compatible with the early Hasmonaean beginnings of the sect based on literary considerations, albeit without supporting archaeological evidence. The Zadokite affiliation of the Teacher of Righteousness may be supported by circumstantial evidence. According to the older version of the Community Rule, represented by 4Q258 and 256, the democratic 'Congregation' constituted the supreme authority of the Community with ordinary priests forming the top layer in doctrinal and legal administration. This position is attributed to the 'sons of Zadok', members of the high-priestly family, in the revised 1QS v. In other words, at some early stage in the history

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of the sect there was a Zadokite takeover. Combining this information with the account of CD, we may reasonably surmise that the change occurred with the arrival of the Teacher of Righteousness sent by God to take care of the 'plant' of Aaron and Israel, who had been groping, leaderless, for twenty years. The crisis in the Zadokite ranks in the 160s BCE, following the secession of Onias to Egypt, provides the likeliest background for these events. In this connection it may not be irrelevant to note that according to 4Q266 fr. ii priests who had emigrated among the Gentiles were disqualified. To these four outstanding Essenes we may now add possibly the name of a Bursar or Guardian, Eleazar son of Nahmani, mentioned in one of the Qumran ostraca, and the three imperfect members, Yohanan and two men called Hananiah mentioned in 4Q477. See above, pp. 31-2. Another metaphorical use of Lebanon is implied in the quotation of Isa. x, in the Rule of War. 4Q268 adds: to me. 4Q266 fr. ii, adds: so that from all the paths of the sinners you shall keep away. Or: men called. Or: when he acted wickedly against Israel the first time. 4Q266, fr. ii, adds: of which Moses said: MS. B continues: by the hand of the prophet Zechariah: Awake, O Sword, against my shepherd, against my companion, says God.

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Strike the shepherd that tbe flock may be scattered and I will stretch my hand over the little ones. The humble of the flock are those who watch for Him. They shall be saved at the time of the Visitation whereas the others shall be delivered up to the sword when the Anointed of Aaron and Israel shall come, as it came to pass at the time of the former Visitation concerning which God said by the hand of Ezekiel: They shall put a mark on tbe forebeads of those who sigh and groan. But the others were delivered up to the avenging sword of the Covenant. MS. B inserts: they have entered the Covenant of repentance but they have not turned, etc. MS. B adds: bore witness against the people, so will He love, etc. The end of the Exhortation of CD is followed in 4Q266, fr. 4, lines 11- 12, by a badly preserved allusion to the Messiah: 'God will set up a shepherd for His people and he will feed them in pastures..' 4Q266, fr. i, adds: and draw near. 4Q266, fr. ii, 8; 270, fr. iii, add: And that which He said: Or: through. adds: and from one month to another. Or: in any. Or: his field. Or: show bitterness to. 4Q270, fr. v, adds: day. Or: transgress.

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92 4Q266, fr. i, adds: to the congregation. This reading, which has been queried by many, including myself, seems to be confirmed by computer image enhancement. E. Puech prefers to read yitgalleh,'will be revealed'. For the contents of the badly damaged columns III-XII, see p. 191. Reading dglyw with the Samaritan Pentateuch against the traditional rglyw. Computer enhancement, initiated by George Brooke, has made this reading certain. The inclusion of these documents in the 1997 edition was made possible by the kindness of F. M. Cross and Esther Eshel, who generously put at my disposal in advance their decipherment of the two inscribed potsherds. If the editors' reading is correct, line may also be understood as alluding to the completion of a year of initiation in the Community, at the end of which the novice had to hand over his property to the Bursar of the sect according to Community Rule: 'And if it be his destiny, according to the judgement of the Priests and the multitude of the men of their Covenant, to enter the company of the Community, his property and earnings shall be handed over to the Bursar of the Congregation who shall register it to his account and shall not spend it for the Congregation.' 'El'azar son of Nahmani, mentioned in line 2, may have been the Bursar of the Community in the first century CE.