Qumran Prayer as an Act of Righteousness

Abstract

The development of statutory, communal prayer within Judaism of late Antiquity is often described as the result of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The liturgical texts found in the Qumran caves have raised significant questions about the origins of such prayer within second Temple Judaism. Some recent scholarship of Jewish liturgy recognizes that the reality is more complex than this simple view of replacement. However, Qumran scholarship, in general, continues to present prayer in the Qumran community as a substitute for the rejected sacrificial system of the Temple in Jerusalem. The present study makes a case for understanding the community's practice of prayer as an act of righteousness contributing to the holiness and righteousness central to the life of the community. The deterministic Qumran community also dismissed the possibility that confession of sin could effect God's restoration, and instead required "perfection of way" from all its members in order to maintain holiness and obtain atonement. Speech, in general, and prayer, in particular, functioned as essential acts of righteousness and obedience to God's Law, marking the passage of time according to the holy calendar and securing atonement for the holy community.