“The well the princes dug, the nobility dug it with a rod.” From the looks of it, this Bible verse seems to have nothing to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls sect. On further examination, this verse characterizes the theology and community life of the Qumran. Through two important Jewish Sectarian works, the Damascus Document and the Rule of the Community, researchers can analyze the complicated and peculiar rules and regulations that held these sects together. The Damascus Document and the Rule of the Community have many common themes such as having hierarchical organizations with priests wielding substantial power and similar theology about how God set these Israelites apart as a holy remnant due to the wickedness of the world. On the other hand,
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For instance, the Damascus Document stated that “[n]o members of the camp are allowed to bring anyone into group except by permission of the Overseer of the camp.” In contrast, the sect that wrote the Rule of the Community had a harsher attitude towards outsiders. “None of the Perverse Men is to enter purifying waters used by the men of Holiness…[o]ne must keep far from him in every respect for this it is written, ‘Keep far from every false thing.’” This sect used a verse from Exodus 23:7 to justify why they kept far away from outsiders. This passage exemplified the notion that this sect was a splinter group of the original group that made the Damascus Document because of the more distrustful attitude towards people not in their community. The different history of these sects explains why there was such paranoia towards outsiders in the Rule of the …show more content…
In his Antiquities, he described the Essenes as people who “send votive offerings to the temple but perform their sacrifices employing a different ritual of purification.” Joesphus’ description of the Essene sect is like what was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Jewish Sectarians from both the Damascus and the Rule of the Community rejected Israel’s main religious ideology because these Jews thought they God chose them as the holy remnant of Israel and that the mainstream Jewish religious figures were wicked and impure. Likewise, Josephus’ described an Essene sect that was similar to the Rule of the Community in being celibate and having no women in their community. However, he also mentioned how some Essene groups allowed their members to marry which was also similar to the rules of the community stated in the Damascus Document. The Damascus Document clearly allowed its members marry in order to propagate. On the other hand, the Rule of the Community did not have any rules about marriage or women for that matter. Thus, the description of these two sects in Joesphus’ works gives credence to the fact that these Jewish sects were Essenes and existed in the Intertestamental Period as
For instance, the Damascus Document stated that “[n]o members of the camp are allowed to bring anyone into group except by permission of the Overseer of the camp.” In contrast, the sect that wrote the Rule of the Community had a harsher attitude towards outsiders. “None of the Perverse Men is to enter purifying waters used by the men of Holiness…[o]ne must keep far from him in every respect for this it is written, ‘Keep far from every false thing.’” This sect used a verse from Exodus 23:7 to justify why they kept far away from outsiders. This passage exemplified the notion that this sect was a splinter group of the original group that made the Damascus Document because of the more distrustful attitude towards people not in their community. The different history of these sects explains why there was such paranoia towards outsiders in the Rule of the …show more content…
In his Antiquities, he described the Essenes as people who “send votive offerings to the temple but perform their sacrifices employing a different ritual of purification.” Joesphus’ description of the Essene sect is like what was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Jewish Sectarians from both the Damascus and the Rule of the Community rejected Israel’s main religious ideology because these Jews thought they God chose them as the holy remnant of Israel and that the mainstream Jewish religious figures were wicked and impure. Likewise, Josephus’ described an Essene sect that was similar to the Rule of the Community in being celibate and having no women in their community. However, he also mentioned how some Essene groups allowed their members to marry which was also similar to the rules of the community stated in the Damascus Document. The Damascus Document clearly allowed its members marry in order to propagate. On the other hand, the Rule of the Community did not have any rules about marriage or women for that matter. Thus, the description of these two sects in Joesphus’ works gives credence to the fact that these Jewish sects were Essenes and existed in the Intertestamental Period as