Session I
Prof. Moshe Bernstein
Yeshiva University
Re-editing Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Perspective on Old Texts
Having had the experience of editing together with Professor Eileen Schuller three very fragmentary Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts for DJD 28, I am now involved in re-editing a number of others. With Professor George Brooke, I am producing a new edition of DJD series, volume V, by J.M. Allegro. With Dr. Esti Eshel, I am working on a text edition and commentary on the Genesis Apocryphon, a text which never appeared in DJD, but which was edited first by Nahman Avigad and Yigael Yadin and then by Joseph A. Fitzmyer (whose third edition of this document has just appeared). It should be apparent that these two tasks differ from one another in certain respects, but are quite similar in others.
I should like to take the opportunity offered by the theme of the conference to consider an unusual new perspective on old texts, namely the process of producing new editions and commentaries against the backdrop of earlier ones. This problem is not unique to the editing of Qumran texts, but applies equally well to a subsequent edition of any text after an editio princeps has been produced. What makes it particularly interesting for Qumran scholars is that we have produced in recent years (not to mention over the last half century) a wealth of editiones principes, with commentaries of differing scopes, in the Discoveries in the Judean Desert series. Some have been the subject of subsequent editions, while others, even some of the earlier published texts, have not been re-edited since they originally appeared in DJD.
It is likely that in the near future many of these texts are going to be the subject of editions which differ from those in DJD. Based on my experience of working on the two editions mentioned above, I should like to discuss a variety of the issues which confront subsequent editors of the published texts. Among other topics, I will address the following issues: the divergent goals of different sorts of editions, first and later; the relationship of commentaries to the broader secondary literature; and how we can improve later editions.
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Prof. Emanuel Tov
Hebrew University
Use of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Text Editions of Hebrew Scripture
This paper surveys the use of the texts found in the Judean Desert in the apparatuses of the various text editions of Hebrew Scripture, especially in the most recent ones. The paper focuses on the completeness and precision of such recording, and develops some ideas regarding systems to be used in future editions.
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Dr. Paul Mandel
University of Haifa
When a Scribe Is Not a Scribe: A Second Look at the Enochic Scribal Traditions
In several passages in the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), Enoch is given the title "scribe" ("of righteousness" or "of truth" [12:1, 15:1]; "skilled scribe" [92:1]; and "distinguished scribe" [4QEnGiants]). This appellation appears also in the Book of Jubilees' account of Enoch (4:16-24), where we are told, among others, that he was the first born on earth to learn the art of writing, and that he wrote down a testimony against man as well as an account of what he was shown on earth and in the heavens. From here and other passages it would seem that Enoch's scribal functions are connected in some way to his skill in the actual "physical" scribal art of reading and writing. The use of the word "scribe" to describe the functions of important individuals is, of course, not limited to Enoch: Ezra is named "scribe of the law," and Ben Sira's ode to the scribe (chapters 38-39) is well known. It is common to understand these appellations as relating the activities of the "wise man" to the ancient "scribe," who, in dealing with writing and books, was necessarily of the learned class.
I propose here an altogether different approach to the meaning of "scribe" in these passages. While obviously etymologically connected to the ancient word for the "physical" scribe, the Aramaic noun sapar attained, in the linguistic context of the Neo-Babylonian Mesopotamian culture, a meaning unrelated to that of writing and divorced from any connotation of books or book learning. In its semantic travels from Aramaic to Akkadian and back to Aramaic, the word acquired the meanings of "ambassador," "envoy" and "spokesman," specifically in the role of one who served as spokesman and "interpreter" of the divine or imperial ruler, expounding and instructing the messages of the ruler to his subjects. It is precisely in this role that Enoch is called "scribe" in the passages referred to above. Moreover, it is this meaning of the Aramaic sapar that explains its use as an appellation for other figures prominent in Aramaic-Jewish texts, such as Ezra and Ahiqar, as well as in later Aramaic and Hebrew texts, where it became an appellation for the teacher of (divine) law, as is attested by its idiosyncratic use in the Targum, in Ben Sira, and by the Jewish-Greek translation, grammateus, used to denote the class of "scribes" mentioned frequently in the New Testament (and in Maccabees), and, indeed, being the very same word used in the Greek translation to Enoch. In all these cases, no necessary connection to books or writing is intended.
The author of the Book of Jubilees, however, in his revision of the Enochic material, understood the term "scribe" literally in relation to Enoch, and therefore ascribed to him specific "physical" scribal functions, such as the invention of writing. This apparently served to aid the depiction of Enoch as predecessor to Moses, the 'scribe' of the written Torah.
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Session II
Prof. Bilhah Nitzan
Tel-Aviv University
Education and Wisdom in the Dead Sea Scrolls in Light of their Background in Antiquity
Archeological and literary evidence from Egypt, Mesopotamia and Israel, as well as from the Hellenistic milieu demonstrate some of the educational systems current in antiquity, and the importance attributed to education. These include the teaching of reading and writing, practical wisdom instructions, religion, philosophy, art, etc. In some cases the educators, such as family members, sages, or special schools, are explicitly or implicitly mentioned. Diverse data concerning education in the Jewish society are available in the biblical and post-biblical books of wisdom. These include Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, The Wisdom of Solomon, and such sapiential texts from Qumran as 4QInstruction (4Q415-418a, 4Q423, 1Q26), 4QInstruction-like Composition B (4Q424), Mysteries (1Q27, 4Q299-300), The Wiles of the Wicked Woman (4Q184), 11QPsa 154, the lecture of the sage in 1QS 3-4, the text of 1QSa 1:1-8, and others. Rabbinic literature also adds to our knowledge concerning education in Jewish society during the post-biblical period.
The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether and how the Qumran theology and way of life influenced the systems and themes of the education of children and adults. The paper will focus on the one hand on traditional systems and themes common to the teaching of wisdom at Qumran and in other Jewish circles, and on the other hand, on the systems and themes of education and wisdom that are unique to the Qumran circle. The comparison will focus on selected examples.
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Dr. Michael Segal
Yale University
The Watchers Story (Jubilees 5): An Empirical Model for the Literary Development of Jubilees
The brief, enigmatic passage describing the interaction between the Sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen 6:1-4) addresses the issue of the boundary between the human and divine realms. The myth was developed extensively in Jewish literature of the Second Temple period, most extensively in 1 Enoch. 1 Enoch 6-11, which presents a detailed description of the sins of the Watchers, is the product of the combination of two main traditions: (1) Angels led by Shemihazah sinned by having intercourse with human beings and produced giants. There is no connection between this sin and the biblical Flood story (Gen 6:5ff.). (2) The angel Asael taught forbidden knowledge to women and caused them to sin. Jubilees 5:1-12 is directly dependent on Enoch 10-11, both regarding the order of events, and the details of the Watchers myth. Various interpretive difficulties in Jubilees 5 can be solved in light of this dependence, such as the double punishment of the Watchers, the separate punishments for the Giants and humanity, the accusation that the people were guilty of cannibalism, the nature of the "new creation" (vv. 11-12), and various doublets throughout the chapter.
Special consideration will be given to: (1) the two different interpretations of the 120-year time period of Gen 6:3, one in the rewritten narrative and the other in the chronological framework; (2) the nomistic section found in vv. 13-18, which has no parallel in Enoch 10-11. This new passage changes the focus of the Watchers myth from the question of the origin of evil to a paradigm of reward and punishment, presenting God as a righteous judge. These additional verses are marked by specific legal terminology found throughout the book in legal passages juxtaposed with rewritten narratives. The chronological framework and legal passage have been superimposed by the author of Jubilees 5 on an already rewritten text (Enoch 10-11). Furthermore, the concepts of law and chronology are fused in the introduction and conclusion of the book, and in the original title, מחלקות העתים לתורה ולתעודה.
This example can be used as a model to describe the literary development of Jubilees as a whole, and to explain other cases throughout the work where there is tension between the rewritten narratives on the one hand, and the chronological framework or juxtaposed legal passages on the other.
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Dr. Eyal Regev
Bar-Ilan University
From Enoch to John the Essene: An Analysis of a Sect Development
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many attempts have been made to reconstruct the historical development of the so-called "Qumran community". Some scholars discussed specific passages in which they sought to find clues for origins, disputes and divisions within the Qumran movements. Others made more general suggestions regarding different phases of development. The present paper attempts to suggest certain socio-historical correlations between several major texts, leading to a reconstruction of the development of the Qumran movement from its pre-organic phases to its possible split into consecutive movements (these suggestions should be considered as tentative and do not claim to cover all the gaps in Qumran social history).
Enoch and Jubilees: The Qumran movement seems to originate from Enoch and Jubilees, since it shares many of their social and halakhic characteristics. Emphasis will be given to the tension of all these movements with the surrounding society and how that tension increased in Qumran.
The Yahad Sect and the Followers of the Damascus Covenant: In a recent article (Revue de Qumran 21.2 [2003], 233-262), I suggested that the organization of these two groups indicates that the Yahad sect antedated the followers of the Damascus Covenant. Here additional support for this view will be given, on the basis of the different roles of revelation in the two sects.
The Essenes: The similarities and differences between the Essenes on the one hand and the Yahad sect and the followers of the Damascus Covenant on the other, would be explained by the suggestion that the movement Philo and Josephus described as the Essene is an outgrowth of the Qumran movement. Emphasis will be given to the Essene involvement in Judean politics in contrast to the complete withdrawal of the Yahad.
The method used in the analysis of each text and "phase" draws on the sociological theory of sectarianism (e.g., what are sectarian markers and how can sectarianism can be "measured"), on anthropological theories of the role of revelation in the formation of new cults, and on analogies from modern sects such as the Hutterites, Amish and Shakers.*
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Ms. Yoon Lee
Ewha Womans University, Korea
The Rhetorical Effect of the Dualistic Language in 1QM from a Deconstructive Perspective
What are the implications of binary-dualistic terms such as the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness" in 1QM? What does the "violent hierarchy" between the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness" imply? Scholarship has been devoted to the ethical-psychological-cosmic features of Qumranic dualism, but has almost completely overlooked its socio-political dimension. Yet we need to pay special attention to "subversive danger" when the Qumran community calls itself the "Sons of Light" and their opponents the "Sons of Darkness." In this study, I demonstrate that this Qumranic dualism involves a socio-political dimension. In view of the socio-political connotations behind dualism, the terms, "light" and "darkness," can be viewed as signifiers referring to binary structures such as the visible and the invisible, the represented and the underrepresented.
This socio-political imbalance is deconstructed by dualistic terms such as the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness in 1QM. The popular notion of dualism as quasi-equivalent to universalism (shown in the debate between Collins and Davies in Vetus Testamentum) needs to be overcome, and a subtle strategy of dualistic language should be employed to subvert the established discourse of power. The dualistic language in 1QM, therefore, aims to present two purposes in its literary composition: 1) the author attempts to reveal that the members would be the real "Sons of Light" on the basis of their covenantal relationship with God; and 2) the Kittim are yet another foreign power that will soon pass away. Thus, the temporal gap between the present and the future is presented as the "crucible" period of wartime, during which the Qumran community is urged to keep faith with the covenantal relationship with God.
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Session III
Dr. Vered Noam
Tel Aviv University
External Materials Incorporated into Sectarian Work: the List of David's Songs
The vast variety of Qumran texts is still stimulating an extensive scholarly debate as to the provenance of the different compositions. Does a certain work indeed represent the Qumran sect, or did it originate in broader Jewish circles? Was it brought to the Qumranian library from a non-sectarian context, or did it actually develop in a period prior to the rift which created the Yahad sect? In the current paper, I will argue that the methods applied by some of the authors of these works, as well as the materials used by them, make the question of identification much more complicated. It seems that various kinds of material of all genres, originating from diverse segments of Jewish Second Temple society and rooted in different periods, were available to the Jewish authors of the last centuries B.C.E. These sources include stories, pseudoepigraphic works, apocalyptic writings, etc., but also different kinds of lists and ancient halakhot. It is possible that sources which characterized one Jewish group could have been integrated into later works, compiled by an opposing group, after being carefully reworked. In this paper, I will present an example of such a process. I will try to show how an early halakhic list, which originally functioned in the context of the lunar calendar, was transformed into a totally different piece of literature and integrated into a prominent representative of the solar calendar, namely the passage designated 'David's Compositions' in the Psalms Scroll.
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Dr. Cana Werman
Ben Gurion University
Priestly Halakhah: A Working Definition
The basic guiding principles of priestly halakha at Qumran are analyzed in light of the Day of Atonement and the Wood Offering ceremonies as well as laws found in the Temple Scroll and other fragments. An examination of the texts, including suggested new readings and reconstructions, enables us to detect the extent to which Qumran priestly halakha conforms to biblical law. This study sheds light upon the Qumranic treatment of the concepts of purity and impurity, the role assigned to sacrifices, and the definition of intentional and unintentional sin. In addition, it explores how Qumran halakha related to the traditions of the masses and the degree to which it permitted the masses to participate in the sacred sphere.
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Prof. Michael A. Daise
Albright Institute
Ritual Density in Qumran Practice: Ablutions in the Serek Ha-Yahad
This paper broaches Qumran religious practice from the vantage point of what Catharine Bell calls "ritual density." Ritual density is the degree to which ritual plays a role in the life/piety of any given group; the ratio of ritual to other aspects of life in the day-to-day operations of a community. This paper applies such an issue to Qumran practice, asking, How can we distill the amount of ritual actually practiced at Qumran from texts that prescribe it? And, what results emerge when such methodology is applied to ritual washing in the Serek Ha-Yahad?
Determining ritual density from texts faces the problem that even halakhic documents may assume as many rubrics as they prescribe. A way forward has been forged by Jacob Milgrom, especially in his treatment of Levitical purity rites. On the premise that purity regulations reflect a coherent "system," he deduces an internal logic behind them, by which he then infers their practice elsewhere, even in loci at which they are otherwise absent; e.g., ablutions after menstrual and chronic discharges, despite their absence from Leviticus 15.
The same assumption can be applied to Qumran sectarian literature, with like effect, as seen with ritual ablutions in the Serek Ha-Yahad. On its face, the Serek Ha-Yahad gives ablutions little explicit attention: 1QS 5:13b-14b (and 4QS parallels) implies they were to precede access to tohorah; and 1QS 3:4b-5b states their desired effect will be voided apart from prior entrance into the covenant. Far more can be gleaned, however, (1) if it be assumed that the sequence of ablutions before tohorah reflects an internal logic (guarding the purity of tohorah) and (2) if further references to tohorah then be considered: that access to tohorah was attained in the initiation process (1QS 6:16c-17); that it was regained in rehabilitation after discipline (passim 1QS 6:24-7:25; 8:16b-9:2); that concern for the purity of tohorah was exceeded by concern for the purity of mashqeh (1QS 6:20c-21a; 7:18b-21). On these further premises it can be deduced that Qumran sectarian practice was, in fact, "dense" with ablutions; and this carries implications for other rites in other documents.
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Prof. Martha Himmelfarb
Princeton University
The Polemic against the Tevul Yom: A Reexamination of Text and Context
Much of the recent discussion of the history of halakhah understands the halakhic works among the Scrolls to represent a priestly halakhah that was in competition with the halakhah of the Pharisees/sages from very early times. Scholars who take this view see the insistence that purity is restored only after sundown of the appropriate day as a signature of priestly halakhah and read the passages in the Temple Scroll, MMT, and 4QD that require waiting until sundown as engaged in a polemic against the Pharisees, who embrace of the concept of the tevul yom.
In this paper I suggest a different way of understanding the insistence on waiting for sunset. In my view, the position of the texts just mentioned is neither necessarily sectarian nor polemical, but exegetical. The texts respond to the fact that the purity laws of Leviticus sometimes mention the time of day that purity is achieved, sundown, but other times neglect to mention a time of day. Their response is to require waiting for sundown even when Leviticus does not mention the requirement. The emphasis they place on the requirement does not reflect a polemic against an opposing position, which in my view does not yet exist, but rather an effort to gain acceptance for their reading of Leviticus.
The polemic on the subject comes later, and it comes from the Pharisees-or even the rabbis, since the famous passage in m. Parah refers not to Pharisees but ziqnei yisrael. The remarkable thing about this mishnah's position on the red heifer, as Menahem Kister has noted, is how it violates the plain sense of the Torah. Perhaps the position is staked out to differentiate its adherents from the competition, the motive Albert Baumgarten has suggested for some sectarian polemic.
Finally, if I am correct, it raises the question of whether any of the other differences between the schools of halakhah can be read this way. If so, a reconsideration of the supposed relationship between the schools of halakhah is in order.
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Session IV
Prof. Sarianna Metso
Albion College
Prescriptions and Practices: The Case of the Communal Oath
This paper examines the different ways religious legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities and the different functions such legislation served in these communities. It is often assumed that by the Second Temple period, laws governing Jewish life and religious praxis were created primarily through scriptural exegesis. However, I will argue that the reverse seems also to have been the case: some of the community legislation seems to have been derived not from Scripture, but simply from the exigencies of communal life, and only secondarily argued as resting on scriptural authority, as means of legitimization. Moreover, religious legislation served the important task of reflecting and shaping community identity, and as such, its purpose was ideological, to express religious and social philosophy. In this paper, the communal oath in the communities of Ezra-Nehemiah and of the Essenes is studied as a test case.
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Dr. Stephen Pfann
University of the Holy Land
Lottery and Social Organization at Qumran and in the Dead Sea Scrolls
The act of casting lots was commonplace in Judaism throughout most of its history. The term "lot" in the Bible is generally used to translate the Hebrew word (goral). The role of the Divine in this act was stated categorically in the book of Proverbs: 'The lot (goral) is cast into the lap but its every decision is from the LORD' (Prov 16:33). The practice was especially associated with priestly activities (Neh 10:34, 11:1). The apportionment of land was determined by the priest Eleazar through drawing lots (Josh 19:51). At the Temple the lots took on various forms. The special use of the Urim and Thummim was the responsibility of the High Priest. The duties of the priests were determined by casting lots (1 Chon. 24-25). The Levites cast lots at the Temple gates in order to determine which tasks each Levite would carry out on a specific day (1 Chron. 26:13-16). Under Nehemiah, ten percent of the people determined by lot were set aside to live in Jerusalem, (Neh. 11:1-2).
It is therefore not surprising that lots should be found at Qumran. At least fifty-nine lots were discovered at Qumran during the course of R. de Vaux's excavations.
The term "lot" at Qumran is used for both the lottery, which is already determined in heaven as well as the paraphernalia used for a lottery on earth. At Qumran the lottery, when cast under the supervision of a priest, was considered to be influenced by the order that was already determined in heaven above. The lots were cast when determining the order of members within the community which had already been subdivided by division (Priests, Levites, Israelites and Proselytes), and then again by deeds and spirituality.
This practice at Qumran and in the Dead Sea Scrolls will be further elucidated.
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Dr. Noah Hacham
Dept. of Jewish History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Exile and Self-Identity in the Qumran Sect and in Hellenistic Judaism
Diaspora theology is one of the outstanding features of the Qumran sect. This theology includes various and diverse elements of self-identity: although living physically in the Holy Land, they considered themselves as being in exile. On the other hand, they regarded the יחד as a substitute for the Temple. Diaspora theology was, of course, prevalent in Hellenistic Judaism too. However, the circumstances of the separation of both groups from the religious and national center in Jerusalem were different. The Qumran sect was persecuted by the Jerusalemite priests and could not participate in the cult in the Temple because of their resolute objection to those priests' rules. In general, however, diverse reasons prompted the Jews of the Hellenistic world to leave the Holy Land, and they traditionally accepted the centrality of Jerusalem. The question arises as to what extent are the two Diaspora theologies similar: Do the different historical circumstances of the two groups create different theologies? Or is the common phenomenon of exile the dominant factor in the shaping of Diaspora theology? By comparing the writings of the two groups I will focus on this question, try to define models of Diaspora theology, and create varied definitions, phenomenological and historical, of both Exile and Diaspora.
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Fr. Etienne Nodet,
Ecole Biblique
Benei Zadoq, Sadducees, Priests
Introduction
It has been taken for granted that the Sadducees (a) were especially connected to the priesthood and (b) formed a conservative party faithful to the ancient Zadokite priestly dynasty, which was removed by the Hasmoneans after the Maccabean crisis.
This paper aims at challenging these two statements, the outcome being a renewed view of the DSS benei Zadoq, Levites and priests.
The argument is developed in five steps:
1. An investigation of the following two items demonstrates that there has never been such a thing as Zadokite priests: a) the priestly lists in the Bible; b) the connection of the Oniad priests to Simon the Righteous.
2. Nehemiah (during his second journey) best substantiates that the Pharisees were a lay movement while the Sadducees, who appear at the end of the 2nd cent. BCE, were a kind of reformers (like the Qaraites much later): back to Scripture !
3. Since they were benei Zadoq, the Sadducees were very involved in Temple politics. Nonetheless, they were neither typical priests nor connected with the high priesthood. The statement of Acts 5:17 (the Sadducean party close to the high priest) is misleading, for the only Sadducean high priest was Ananus, in 62.
4. Benei Zadoq ? There are two biblical references : a) Zadoq, the first high priest of the First Temple, has no clear genealogy ; b) those who are to be the priests and Levites of the ultimate Temple are termed "sons of Zadoq," which seems to be a quality and not a genealogical requirement.
5. The goal of the Essene community is to be priestly, but outside of the official Temple. According to the CD, the inhabitants are "benei Zadoq, Levites and Priests". But nobody is a "ben Zadoq" by birth; the members are admitted through some process, hence there is a fourth class, the candidates. These are apparently the four classes Josephus refers to in his remarks on the Essenes.
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Session V
Prof. Doron Mendels
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Societies of Memory in Antiquity
The paper will discuss memory in ancient societies (as a follow-up of my book on the subject), with special attention given to 1 Maccabees.
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Prof. Loren T. Stuckenbruck
University of Durham
The Legacy of the Teacher of Righteousness and the Dead Sea Scrolls
This paper explores the legacy of the Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran community documents (esp. the Damascus Document and the pesharim), and asks the question: How is this figure remembered by subsequent generations of the community? Since the paper is not concerned with who the Teacher of Righteousness was (historical personage) or with a historical reconstruction, the knowledge transmitted about him in the scrolls is reviewed in order to illuminate what this 'memory' of the Teacher contributed to the community behind the authors who referred to him. Thus the Teacher's identity (1) as a priest, (2) as interpreter of biblical tradition par excellence, (3) as founder of the community, and (4) as one who had conflicts with the Man of Lies and the Wicked Priest is investigated in relation to what this signified for the later Qumran community. The resulting conundrum is that, although the Teacher was immensely significant for the community, the documents themselves do not actually reveal a great deal about him. What is revealed, however, may be said to reflect the community's "collective memory"; the traditions selected to tell about him serve to reinforce the community's developing ideology about itself.
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Prof. Lawrence Schiffman
New York University
Memory and Manuscript: Books, Scrolls and the Tradition of the Dead Sea Scrolls
One of the greatest curiosities of the field of Qumran Studies is that while the "scrolls" make numerous references to books, there are virtually no mentions of "scrolls." The authors of the vast literary and theological treasure we term the Dead Sea Scrolls thought of themselves as standing in the biblical tradition, and so they wrote "books" (sefarim). The tradents-- scribes, teachers, or just plain sectarians--saw themselves as preserving and passing on ancient books, authored by ancient Israelite figures, or more recent restatements of ancient teachings by their own leaders. Indeed, the method of preservation and transmission of these texts, similar to that of the books of the emerging scriptural canon, meant that for the Qumran sectarians even the most recent of compositions was a continuation into the present of the memory of the past. The written word, preserved in carefully constructed and copied books, traversed the periods of history and bound the memory of the past to the present. This general theory will be supported by a careful analysis of the appearances of terms for books and writing in the scrolls corpus and their close connection to the pre-Qumranian Aramaic traditions. Finally, we will show how our modern terminology for these "books," namely "scrolls," documents," "compositions," and "texts," serves to demote these texts back into the recesses of the Jewish historical memory, creating an ancient sectarian library where in ancient times, in the view of the collectors, these books constituted the heritage of the survivors of ancient Israel.
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Prof. Yaron Z. Eliav
University of Michigan
Rabbis Remembering their Past:The Case of the Temple Mount
In many rabbinic texts, the sages convey information, both directly and indirectly, about their past as individuals, a group, and a nation. Scholars in the last century and a half have invested tremendous effort in weighing the credibility of these records. This study explores a different angle of the historicity issue -- rabbinic collective memory, the set of conventions and images that organizes narratives and discourses about the past. Portrayals of the Temple Mount in tannaitic literature create the impression that they derive from the milieu of Second Temple Judaism. Rabbinic sages in the post-70 era present a picture of the Temple Mount as an essential part of the preceding Second Temple Jewish experience and an inseparable part of reality in that earlier generation's consciousness. The current study refutes this widespread notion; it maintains that the authors of rabbinic literature endowed a relatively peripheral biblical appellation, namely the term "Temple Mount," with an aura of holiness and transformed it to represent a concept of sacred space. This innovative development led them to redesign their view of the present and at the same time remake their memory of the past.
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Session VI
Dr. Torleif Elgvin,
Lutheran Theological Seminary
The Use of Scripture in 4QMysteries
The paper will analyze the use of Scripture in 1Q/4QMysteries. Like other sapiential writings, 4QMysteries alludes to biblical verses and integrates them freely in the running text without any quotation formulas. This anthological method reflects a conscious exegetical attitude to the Scriptures, which are viewed as highly relevant for the challenges of the authors and their readers.
Both Mysteries' selection of biblical verses and the way they are used will be scrutinized. Lange, Tigchelaar and I have published papers on 4QMysteries and have suggested time and milieu of the origin of this composite work. An analysis of Mysteries' use of Scriptures may confirm or sharpen some of our suggestions. The results will be compared with related writings such as 4QInstruction and Enochic writings.
4QMysteries alludes and refers not only to the Torah and the Prophets, but also to various parts of the Psalter, Proverbs and Qohelet. If Mysteries is indeed a pre-Maccabean work (so Tigchelaar and myself), its use of Scriptures may give some indications about the status of the ketubim in the pre-Maccabean period.
4QMysteries may constitute the earliest example both of hekhalot-style praise as well as meditation of the mysteries of creation, and thus testifies to the early roots of these traditions in Second Temple Jewish thought.
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Prof. Crispin Fletcher-Louis
London
Further Reflections on the Divine and Angelic Humanity in the Dead Sea Scrolls
This paper will briefly summarise the arguments of my 2003 book, All the Glory of Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls with a view to clarification of its principle theses. I will discuss published critical responses to the theses and attempt to locate the book's thesis in the context of my wider work on Second Temple Judaism more widely. The majority of the paper will then offer new evidence for my contention that a particular vision of Adam and Israel as God's image underlies the divine and angelic humanity texts in the scrolls. Adam and Israel are thought to function as God's image in a way analogous to the role of an idol as an embodiment of a pagan god. That the authors of the scrolls thought this way can be seen from a subtle piece of religio-political propaganda in the War Scroll: where Roman military paraphernalia are adorned with the language and imagery of the gods, in the War Scroll it is Israel and her fighters whose identity is inscribed on her armour and weaponry. Whilst this aspect of the War Scroll's military prescriptions has otherwise puzzled commentators it can now be seen to reflect a widespread understanding of the biblical "Image-of-God-in-Humanity" theology.
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Prof. Philip Alexander
University of Manchester
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Genealogy of Western Mysticism
Reservations that some scholars have had about the possibility of mysticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls are misplaced. On any reasonable definition of the term mysticism, there was a mystical praxis at Qumran. This paper will survey the evidence for this claim in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, the Hodayot and related texts. It will also argue that Qumranian mysticism throws important light on the genealogy of Western mysticism. That Qumranian mysticism anticipates later Jewish Heikhalot mysticism has long been recognized, and this paper will attempt to clarify and explain historically this fact. But it will also argue that Qumranian mysticism should now be seen as part of the genealogy of Christian mysticism as well. It belongs to what Bernard McGinn calls the 'Jewish matrix' of Christian mysticism (though McGinn does not specifically mention it!), and foreshadows in significant ways the angelic spiritualities of later Christian mystics. The Scrolls should provoke a radical rethink of the origins of Christian mysticism. The paper will again suggest some ways in which Qumranian mysticism could be historically linked
with the later Christian mystical tradition.
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