Abominated Temple and a Holy Community: The Formation of the Notions of Purity and Impurity in Qumran

Abstract

The Hebrew roots milt: and tArm (pure and impure) and their equivalents occur with great frequency in the vocabulary of the scrolls from Qumran. This is not merely a lexical observation. The importance of purity and the separation from defilement for the Qumran sectarians cannot be overemphasized. The evidence from other sources, however, viz. Apocrypha, New Testament, and especially rabbinic literature, testify to the special concern of purity among other circles in second temple Judaism, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees. In a way, it seems that during the Hasmonean and Herodian periods there was competition within Judean society for who was the most scrupulous observer of purity. Indeed, the purity boundaries in the Community Rule were stricter than those of any other Jewish group. Interestingly, they treated other scrupulous observers of purity as impure heretics who were indifferent to the purity laws.2 Although the subject of purity has been discussed extensively in previous publications, there is no systematic analysis of its various theological components, implications for the sectarians' social life, or