Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use: Qumran

Abstract

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT UseQumran Gregory Y. Glazov, John Thomas Willis, Christopher T. Begg, and Todd R. Hanneken 1380. [CD] Kengo Akiyama, "The gēr in the Damascus Document: A Rejoinder," RevQ 28 (2016) 117-26. Qumran texts evince two attitudes to the gēr, i.e., a hostile one, as in 4Q174 (Florilegium), and a favorable one, as in the Damascus Document. Two scholars have attempted to reconcile this divergence. K. Bertholet posits a diversity of definitions for the term, with most texts preserving the biblical meaning of "resident alien" while texts like 4Q174 associate the term with "converts," in accordance with a Hasmonean era usage. Y. M. Gillihan, assuming the Qumranites to be thoroughly anti-Gentile, explains the positive attitude of some texts as a legal-rhetorical fiction reflecting a polemical criticism of their opponents who failed to look after the gērîm in line with Scripture. K. challenges the logic that seeks to explain the diverse viewpoints by positing that the negative one has to be regarded as fictional by noting that this meaning can easily be inverted. K. proposes that the diverse textual attitudes toward the gēr are best seen as reflections of diverse attitudes held by different members of the yāḥad.—G.Y.G. 1381. [DSS] Kenneth Atkinson, "The Identification of the 'Wicked Priest' Reconsidered: The Case for Hyrcanus II," Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls, 68-84 [see #1505]. Although it is difficult to reconstruct history from the Dead Sea Scrolls, historical information can be inferred from these texts. This is especially true of the pesharim. But such study is often fraught with difficulties, because most of the documentation for the late Second Temple period has not survived and Josephus does not describe in full the events of the first cent. b.c.e. There is no reason to think that the "Wicked Priest" was a fictional figure. An examination of the known facts of the life of Hyrcanus II, when read in light of the pesharim, suggests that he is a probable candidate for the latter's Wicked Priest. Although no figure completely matches the ambiguous allusions in the pesharim, Hyrcanus II is the most likely referent for the pesharim's Wicked Priest allusions.—J.W. 1382. [DSS] Claudia D. Bergmann, "Future Foods and Future Feasting: Tracing the Idea of the Meal in the World to Come in Qumran Literature," Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls, 127-47 [see #1505]. The DSS do not present the positive aspects of the end of days in a coherent system. But there are hints in this regard in the literature found at Qumran. Endtime feasting is mentioned, e.g., in 4Q504 2 iv, which speaks of the Davidic messiah satisfying the needs of the human body; in 4QPsf (4Q88) 9:8-14, which paints images of abundance and of feeding the poor; in 4Q521 2 ii, which imagines God or a divine agent feeding the poor and those fearing God; and in 1QSa 2:31-32, which portrays the messiah's preparations for a meal, but does not state explicitly whether this is a future meal or one that anticipates the future. There are three possible reasons why Qumran literature shows only traces of the idea of a meal as part of life in the world to come: (1) Events of the world to come pertain to the [End Page 469] mysteries of God's knowledge (1QS 4:18); (2) the messiah in the Qumran literature takes precedence over future meals; and (3) an emphasis on the world to come becomes prominent only after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 c.e.—J.W. 1383. [DSS] George J. Brooke, "The Visualisation of the Sacred at Qumran," Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls, 225-40 [see #1505]. One should avoid claiming too much about the identity and practices of the religious group that lived at Qumran. Still, it is clear that some members of a sectarian association lived there for about a century and a half before the destruction of the settlement in 68 c.e. One can gain some understanding of the residents' life at the site by...