Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use: Qumran

Abstract

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT UseQumran William J. Urbrock and Christopher T. Begg William J. Urbrock University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America 1604. [DSS] Anonymous, "New Scrolls from the Judean Desert," BARev 47 (2, 2021) 17. Some parchment fragments dated to the 2nd century c.e., featuring Greek translations of the Books of Zechariah and Nahum, were recently recovered from the so-called Cave of Horrors. Photo-illustrated.—W.J.U. Google Scholar 1605. [The Origins of the Qumran Sect] Bezalel Bar-Kochva, "The Beginnings of the Qumran Sect: A Proposed Identification of Its Founders and the Circumstances of Its Formation," Zion 86 (3, 2021) 425-79 (Hebrew). My article treats the long-debated question of who founded the Qumran sect and what were the circumstances of its formation. Basing myself on data from the DSS, 1 Maccabees, and Josephus in my first section, I attempt to determine when the sect was formed. I propose that this happened between 170 and 166 b.c.e., during the period of the forced Hellenization of Judea, more specifically during the time of the religious decrees of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Section two addresses the genealogical attribution of the sect's founders by analyzing the mentions of the Sons of Zadok in the DSS. I agree with those who hold that this name was not simply a symbolic designation but rather reflects the genealogical origin of the sect's leadership group from the family of the "Sons of Zadok," who for generations held the office of high priest down to Antiochus's days. Section three treats the scattered [End Page 576] references in the Damascus Document to the severe sin of the sect's founders. I reject the theological explanations that have been advanced concerning the nature of their misconduct, such as their "innate sin," and argue that the sin(s) in question were actual, concrete misdeeds, either in the realm of human interaction or in the human–divine relationship, or sins involving ritual or sexual impurity. On the basis of the data presented in the first section, my final section seeks to identify the sect's founders, via a focus on events that occurred in Jerusalem in the years between 170 and 166 b.c.e. Through a process of elimination, I conclude that the founders of the sect were a tiny group of priests from the Sons of Zadok family who were part of the moderate Hellenizing faction and who fled from Jerusalem after Jason was deposed in 168 b.c.e. from his position as high priest. The group found refuge in the desert, where its members underwent a lengthy process of repentance which led them to embark on a path of extreme halakhic stringency. In an afterword, I briefly discuss the implications of my proposed identification of the group's founders for the understanding of the halakhot and customs of the group, in particular its overall halakhic rigidity and the ascetic aspects of its praxis. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1606. [The DJD Series] Devorah Dimant, "Sixty Years of Publications on the Dead Sea Scrolls: Discoveries in the Judean Desert in Perspective," Hebrew Texts and Language, 52-78 [see #1691]. D.'s account of the DJD series unfolds under two main headings: (1) History of the Project (with subdivisions The Early Years [1948–1960], The Interim Period [1961–1990], and The Concluding Period [1990–2010]); and (2) The DJD Series in Perspective, subtitled Format and Contents. Her survey concludes with a listing of the titles, editors, and dates of all 40 of the DJD volumes. See also #1252.—C.T.B. Google Scholar 1607. [Miqṣat Maʿaśe ha-Torah] Jonathan Kaplan, "Putting 'the Torah' Back into 'the Book of Moses' in Miqṣat Maʿaśe ha-Torah: a new proposed reconstruction of 4Q397 14-21 6," JSP 30 (4, 2021) 228-31. In this article, I build upon observations by Émile Puech regarding the available space in 4Q397 14-21 6, one of the manuscripts of Miqṣat Maʿaśe ha-Torah (MTT), in order to propose an alternative reconstruction...