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orion-list Guilty Corpses



Dear listmembers,

    At 4QpNah 3+4 ii 6 there is the statement, "Many guilty corpses shall 
fall in their days."  The same phrase occurs at 1QM 14:1, where the priests 
and the army of the sons of light wash off the blood of the "guilty corpses" 
of the enemy the morning after battle (this washing probably involving the 
purifying sprinkling of the Red Heifer ceremony).  
    My question is whether these corpses are guilty (asham) in the sense that 
(1) they are the dead bodies of the impious, the enemy, the sinful, or 
whether (2) they are asham in the sense that all corpses are impure.  
    Are there any Talmudic passages that have a similar phrase or might shed 
light on this issue?  Any other thoughts might be helpful.  
   My main interest in this issue is whether the phrase "guilty corpses" 
definitely implies that the bodies in Pesher Nahum are those of the seekers 
of smooth things or the victims of same.  This is relevant for establishing 
whether the pesher unit describes the fall of the dominion of the seekers of 
smooth things or the violence that occurs under that government.  

    Thanks,
    Russell Gmirkin
For private reply, e-mail to RGmyrken@aol.com
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