THE IMPACT OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS?

No plobrem. We all ip slup once in a while.

Now, where werewe? The Dead Scree Souls . . .

Nazarenes Qumran and the Essenes

INTRODUCTION

The modern efforts to restore New Testament understanding to its Nazarene Jewish origins has often focused on parallels with Rabbinic Judaism (which descends from Pharisaic Judaism). There is much to be said for such parallels and I do not oppose these comparisons. However many of the Nazarene movement have neglected the very significant parallels between the New Testament, the Nazarenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls and Essene Judaism. In this article we will begin to explore this aspect of Nazarene roots. This material is far from exhaustive, yet shows that such exploration can be very productive for our understanding of Nazarene Judaism.

Qumran and the New Testament

In regards to the New Testament The Dead Sea Scrolls tell us a great deal about the language, customs and doctrinal issues of first century Judah. To begin with the Scrolls are written primarilly in Hebrew and Aramaic, demostrating these to be the languages of the place and time of the NT. Additionally the Scrolls tell us of the early existance of a belief in two Messiahs, a belief which appers in the NT in the form of a belief of two comings of one Messiah. Yet another example can be seen in the light which the Dead Sea Scrolls shine on Jn. 2:6 "And there were there six water-pots of stone, set for the purification of the Jews, concerning each two or three measures." In the past this verse seemed obscure but a passage in the DSS (Temple Scroll col. 56) tells us that if any woman who was menstrating was to enter a room, anything stored in potery vessals (which are porous) becomes impure. As a result archaeologists find huge stone pots used during the period between about twenty BCE and seventy CE. These stone vesals seem to have been used by Jews of the first century to prevent food and drink from becoming unclean, thus explaining Jn. 2:6. This almost certainly proves that John's Gospel was written in Israel aound the first century by a Jew. One final example can be found in the book of Luke, where twice the twelve students of Yeshua argue over who is greatest (Lk. 9:46; 22:24) at first glance it looks like the twelve are unseemingly arogant! However, once again, the Scrolls shed some light on this passage. The Scrolls tell us that, at least within the Qumran community, laymen were ranked by there leaders so that "every man in Israel may be made aware of his status in the community of G-d" (Manual of Discipline ii, 19-25) priority of seating was based upon these ranks (Damascus Document xiv, 3-12). Although in the past Rabbinic documents informed us that such rank and priority of seating existed among Rabbis in the rabbinic schools, it is only in the Dead Sea Scrolls that we learn that, at least in the Qumran community, such ranks existed among the students and laity. Now it becomes clear that Yeshua's students were conerned as to there individual status, which was normal for their culture, not merely bickering over who was best.

One of the most interesting significances of the Dead Sea Scrolls is the surprising number of parallel phrases found only in the Dead Sea Scroll and the New Testament (and most particularly the writings of John).

Some of these phrases include:

* "he that does truth" (Jn. 3:21 & Manual of Discipline 3, 21)

* "works of G-d" (Jn. 6:28 & Man. of Disc. 4, 4)

* "angel of Satan" (2Cor. 12:7 & Damascus Document 16, 4)

* "B'lial" (2Cor. 6:14 & Man. of Disc. 1, 16f; Dam. Doc. 4, 13; etc.)

There are also several phrases involving extended metaphores relating to light and darkness. In general this metaphore can be found in Rom. 13:12; 2Cor. 6:14; Eph. 4:17;5:14 & Dam. Doc. 4,3. Several specific parallel phrases appear using this extended metaphore, such as:

* "light of life" (Jn. 8:12 & Man. Disc. 3, 7)

* "he that walks in darkness" (Jn. 8:12; 12:35 & Man. Disc. 3, 21)

* "sons of light" (Lk. 16:8; Jn. 12:36; Eph. 5:8; 1Thes. 5:5 & Man. Disc. 1, 9; 2, 24; 1QM)

One of the more significant parallel phrases is the phrase "living water" (Jn. 4:10 & Dam. Doc. 4, 4-5; 7, 9-8, 21). This metaphore later appears in Rabbinic Judaism, to describe "running water" used in T'villah (Baptism) ceremonies. In John chapter four "living water" is symboliclly drawn from Jacob's well, and brings salvation and eternal life. In the Manual of Discipline "living water" is the teachings of the community and is symbolicly drawn from the well of Num. 21:18 which is identified by the Scroll to be sybolic of the Law. Thus we may conclude that in Jn. 4 Yeshua draws upon a Midrash (allegorical interpretation) which existed in his time.

Another very significant term used in the Scrolls is the phrase "Holy Spirit." which is used twice in the Tenach, but is very commonly used in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. In the Dead Sea Scrolls the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which, like "waters of purification" cleanses man from wickedness (Manual of Discipline iv, 12-13). A mission not unlike the mission of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Another unusual parallel phrase used both in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the New Testament is "a book sealed with seven seals" (Rev. 5:1 & 4Q550; Col. 4 line 5).

Perhaps the most astoundijng parallel text between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament is the profound parallel between Q=Mt. 11:4-6 = Lk. 7:22 and 4Q521. In The Gospels Yeshua is recorded as saying:

Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the glad tiding preached to them.
(Luke 7:22-23 and Matthew 11:4-5)

This closely parlles the Messianic criteria given in 4Q521:

[the hea]vens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the holy ones. Seekers of the L-rd, strengthen yourselves in His service! All you hopeful in (your) heart, will you not find the L-rd in this? For the L-rd will consider the pious (hasidim) and call the righteous by name. Over the poor His spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with His power. And He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal Kingdom. He who liberates the captives, restores sight to the blind, straightens the b[ent] And f[or] ever I will cleav[ve to the h]opeful and in His mercy . . .

And the fr[uit . . .] will not be delayed for anyone. And the L-rd will accomplish glorious things which have never been as [He . . .] For He will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor. . . He will lead the uprooted and knowledge . . . and smoke (?)
(Michael O. Wise, translation)

The existance of so many common phrases both in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the New Testament is of the upmost importance. Some of these phrases may be idioms of first century Hebrew and Aramaic. Other phrases may be technical theological terms used in discussing Jewish religion and mysicism in the first Century. We cannot, of course, be certain if any or all of these terms were Essene terms, or if they were common to Judaism in general. What we can be certain of is that the presence of these terms in the New Testament proves its first century Jewish origin. Moreover, the presence of these terms in non-New Testament Jewish literatur of the same time period will help us to better understand what these terms meant to the first Century Semitic mind.

Yochanan and Qumran

To trace the origin of the Nazrenes we must first examine the figure of Yochanan (John) the Immerser (baptist). As the Goodnews according to Mark begins:

The beginning of the goodnews of Y'shua the Messiah,... John came immersing in the wilderness...
(Mk. 1:1, 4)

As George Howard has pointed out, "...there was a John the Baptist sect that existed from early times and continued perhaps for centuries." (The Gospel of Matthew according to a Primitive Hebrew Text by George Howard; 1987; p. 205; see Acts 18:5-19:7; Justin, Trypho 80; Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions 1:54:60) Such a sect still exists in Iraq today. Howard has also noted:

In Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew John the Baptist emerges as a much more important figure than in Greek Matthew. The Greek Matthew may well represent a later corrective to the more primitive statements made about John the Baptist in Hebrew Matthew before the followers of John the Baptist were seen as a threat to trunkline Christianity."
(ibid).

A careful reading of the Gospels will show that John the Baptist had his own "disciples" (Jn. 1:35) who continued on as such, apart from the Y'shua movement even after John and Y'shua had died (Acts 19:1-3). The flavor of John chapter one also indicates that John did not live alone in the wilderness, but lived with a comunity of followers near Bethabara (Jn. 1:28) a town just eight miles from Qumran.

Now one of the most important similarities between John the Baptist and his disciples, and the Qumran community is quite obviously that of geography. As mentioned, John and his disciples resided "in the wilderness" near a town just eight miles from Qumran. Infact the caves in which the scrolls were found are just five miles from the location along the Jordan at which John was baptizing. Both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament use the phrase "in the wilderness" (drawn from Is. 40:3) almost as a proper noun, to describe this area. One NT passage in particular seemed a mystery until the discovery of the Scrolls. Luke 1:80 states:

"...the child [John the Baptist] grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel." What would a child be doing "in the wilderness?" Could John have been raised at the Qumran community? An apocraphal tradition once circulated in the Church of the East may offer some insight. The Protevangelion of James, once read in some eastern churches, records a tradition that at the time of the slaughter of the innocents, Elizabeth took her son and went up unto the mountains, and looked around for a place to hide him; and there was no secret place to be found. Then she groaned within herself, and said, O mountain of YHWH, receive the mother with the child. For Elizabeth could not climb up. And instantly the mountain was divided and received them. And there appeared to them an angel (or messenger) of YHWH, to preserve them."
(Protevangelion 16:3-8)

Could this tradition be preserving an ancient tradition that John and his mother were taken in through an opening in the mountains (a cave) and a "messenger of YHWH" at Qumran took them in. This possibility is stengthened by the fact that Hugh Schonfield has shown that there are a number of parallelisms between DuTillet Hebrew Matthew and the Protevangelion, "which cannot be accidental." (An Old Hebrew Text of Matthew's Gospel by Hugh Schonfield; 1927; p. 25-30,40). Moreover Joesphus tells us that the Essenes commonly raised other peoples children (Josephus; 2:8:3). Thus it would seem that John the Baptist was raised up in the Qumran community.

As a Levite, and decendant of Zadock, John would have held a prominant place in the Qumran community, which favored the priesthood heirs. However, John's normal life at Qumran was interupted when "the word of G-d came to John... in the wilderness" (Lk. 3:2). In a rigid community where everyone had a rank and no one spoke out of turn, John's message may not have been welcome. This would explain why John and his disciples relocated near nearby Bethabara.

Both Matthew and Mark tell us that John ate locusts (Mt. 3:4; Mk. 1:6). (Of course Leviticus lists these insects as kosher (Lev. 1:20-23)). Now The Dead Sea Scrolls tell us that the Qumran community also made locusts as part of their diet. In fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls even tell us how they were to be cooked (Dam. Doc. xii, 11-15).

Both the Qumran community, and John quoted Is. 40:3 as being a prophecy fortelling of their work (Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:3; Lk. 3:4; Jn 1:23; Dam. Doc. viii, 12-14; ix, 20). This verse appears in most New Testament as:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of YHWH; make straight in the desert a highway for our G-d."

However, the contor markings in the Masoretic Text give us the understanding:

The voice of one crying "In the wilderness prepare the way of YHWH; make straight in the desert a highway for our G-d."

As a result of their use of this verse, both John and the Qumran community referred to themselves as being "in the wilderness" and both the Qumran community and the early believers in Y'shua called their movement "the way".

Another strong parallel between John and the Qumran community is that of the importance given to the practice of water immersion/baptism (Heb: T'vilah). The Torah requires "washing" for "uncleaness" (Lev. 16-18) and "uncleaness" can result from sin (Lev. 18:1ff for example.) King David spoke of this practice in the Psalms (Ps. 51:2, 7). In the Qumran comunity this practice was given great importance (Man. Disc. 3, 4f; v, 13; Dam. Doc. 10, 10-13) and it was certainly regarded as of high priority to John (Mt. 3:6, 11; Mk. 1:4-5; Lk. 3:2-3, 7; Acts 19:3-4). Both believed that water baptism was only symbolic of a greater cleansing of wickedness performed by the Ruach HaKodesh (Man. Disc. 4, 12-13).

One final similarity between John and the Qumran community was that both stressed that the day of fiery judgement was eminently aproaching. Now having discussed the similarities between John the Baptist and the Qumran community, let us note the differences. Essenes always wore white (Josephus; 2:8:3) yet John wore camel's hair (Mt. 3:4). Secondly, the Qumram community only ate food provided by their community yet John foraged for himself (Mt. 3:4). Finally and most importantly the Qumran community was not even a little bit evangelical. The Manual of Discipline specificly commands its adherents to "bear unremitting hatred towards all men of ill repute... to leave it to them to pursue wealth and mercenary gain... truckling to a depot." (Man. Disc. ix 21-26). But John called these men of ill repute to "Repent, for the Kingdom of G-d is offered." (Mt. 3:2). This new teaching must have been the "word of G-d" which John "received in the wilderness" (Lk. 3:2) since it is later echoed by Y'shua (Mt. 4:17) and Y'shua's disciples (Mt. 10:7).

As a result of the new light shined on the NT by the Dead Sea Scrolls, we may now conclude that John the Baptist was raised in the very community which wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. That the word of G-d came to John, and he began teaching an evangelical message of repentance. A message which was unacceptable to the Qumran community. That message probably caused a schism which resulted in John the Baptist and his disciples relocating to Bethabara, just eight miles from Qumran. This new group became a John the Baptist sect which has continued to this very day, and which held a close relationship to the Messianic movement surrounding Y'shua.

Yeshua and the Essenes

While Yocahan was essentially an Essene, Yeshua did not apear to live the Essene lifestyle, as we read in Mt. 11:18-19:

Yochanan came neither eating nor drinking…

The Son of man came eating and drinking…

Nonetheless there are many important similarities between the teachings of Yeshua and those of the Essenes/Qumran community.

Yeshua went out into the wilderness to be tempted (Mt. 4:1f). Yeshua’s twelve talmidim (students) remind us of the council of twelve at Qumran (Manual of Discipline 1QS 8:1). Yeshua’s twelve talmidim seemed to be headed by three (Kefa (Peter), James (Ya’akov) and Yochanan (John) and the twelve laymen of Qumran were headed by three priests (1QS 8:1).

Josephus, speaking of the Essenes writes:

...and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own; and they go into such as they never knew before, as if they had been ever so long acquained with them. For which reason they carry nothing with them when they travel into remote parts, though still they take their weapons with them, for fear of thieves.
Accordingly there is, in every city where they live, one appointed particularly to take care of strangers, and provide garments and other necessaries for them.
(Josephus; Wars 2:8:4)

This provides interesting cultural context for Yeshua's instruction to his Talmidim:

...Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your moneybelts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for the worker is worthy of his food. Now whatever city or town you enter, enquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
(Mt. 10:9-11)

Also note that Yeshua and his Talmidim traveled armed (Lk. 22:38) Were Yeshua and his Talmidim circulating to some extent within the Essene community network?

Many of Yeshua’s halachic teachings parallel those of the Qumran community. Yeshua opposed the taking of oaths (Mt. 5:34) as did the Essenes (Josephus; Wars 2:8:6; Manual of Discipline 1QS 15:1-3). Y'shua's use of Gen. 1:27 to prove his halachic position on divorce is paralleled in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

...they are caught in two traps: fornication, by taking two wives in their lifetimes although the principle of creation is: "male and female He created them."
(Dam. Doc. Col. 4 line 20 through Col. 5 line 1)

Yeshua’s halachah on the issue of "CORBAN" (an offering) being used as an excuse to violate Torah in Matthew 15:1-8 parallels a similar ruling at Qumran (Damascus Document 16:13).

Matthew records a very interesting event involving Yeshua snd the Temple Tax:

...they that recieved tribute came to Kefa (Peter) , and said, Does not your master pay tribute? He said, Yes. And when he came into the house Yeshua prevented him, saying, what do you think, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Kefa (Peter) said to him, of strangers. Yeshua said to him, Then the children are free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go you to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give to them for me and you.
(Mt. 17:24-27)

Here Kefa indicates the Yeshua pays the Temple tax, but Yeshua indicates that neither himself, nor Kefa nor aparantly any of his followers owe the Temple tax. Yeshua does not seem to argue that he does not owe such a tax because he is the Messiah, for he extends the same privilage to Kefa and aparantly all of his followers. Is Yeshua teaching against Torah? The answer is no. The Torah does command that a Temple tax must be payed by every male 20 and older (Ex. 30:11-16) but is ambiguos as to how often it must be payed. The Pharisaic Halachah (and aparenetly the Sadducean Halachah) had the tax being paid annually during the month of Adar (m.Shek. 1:1, 3) However the Qumran community had a different Halachah. They taught:

...concerning the Ransom: the money of the valuation which a man gives as ransom for his life shall be half a shekel in accordance with the shekel of the sanctuary. He shall give it only once in his life.
(4Q159 Frag 1; Col. 2; lines 6-7)

Now if Yeshua held to this Essene Halachah then He would not believe that he or his followers owed the tax, if they had already paid it at least once in their lifetime. This would explain why Kefa said that Yeshua pays the tax, while Yeshua claims that he and his followers don't owe the tax.

Like the Qumran community Yeshua speaks allegorically of "Living Water" coming from a well. . In John chapter four "living water" is symboliclly drawn from Jacob's well, and brings salvation and eternal life. In the Manual of Discipline "living water" is the teachings of the community and is symbolicly drawn from the well of Num. 21:18 which is identified by the Scroll to be symbolic of the Law. Thus we may conclude that in Jn. 4 Yeshua draws upon a Midrash (allegorical interpretation) which existed in his time (Jn. 4:10 & Dam. Doc. VI, 4-5; VII, 9-VIII, 21).

Yeshua’s use of the Passover Sader as a sort of Messianic banquet certainly reminds us of the Messianic banquet of the Qumran Essenes (Josephus; Wars 2:8:5; Manual of Discipline 6:3-6 & 1QS Sa. 2, 17-20). The Qumran material even reads "the Messiah of Israel shall reach for the bread" (1QSa. 2:20-21) a phase which certainly reminds us of the "Last Supper" account of the New Testament.

There were however some very important point with which Yeshua greatly disagreed with the Essenes. The Essenes held the strictest rules of resting on the Sabbath than any of the Jews (Josephus; Wars 2:8:9) The Qumran community, with its stricter Halacha likely did not permit healing on the Shabbat at all. They did not allow carrying medicine on the Shabbat nor did they allow using a tool to save a life on the Shabbat (Dam. Document col. 10; lines 14-18). Now Y'shua's Halacha on the issue seems to have been less strict. There is conflict between Yeshua and Qumran on the plucking and rubbing of wheat in Mt. 12:1=Lk. 6:1=Mk. 2:23. The activity described is clearly permitted by the Torah in general, though not necessarily on the Shabbat (Duet. 23:26 (23:25 in non-Jewish editions)). This was forbidden by Qumran halacha which stated:

"A man may not go about in the field to do his desired activity on the Sabbath... A man may not eat anything on the Sabbath except food already prepared."
(Dam. Doc. Col. 10; lines 20-22).

Also Yeshua’s teaching that it is permitted to rescue an animal from a pit. (Mt. 12:11 and Lk. 14:3-6) is in direct conflict with Qumran Halacha.(Dam. Doc. col. 10; lines 14-18).

Finally the Qumran community had a intense hated for outsiders. The Manual of Discipline even states the community members should "bear unremitting hatred towards all men of ill repute…" (1QS 11:21f). This hatered greatly contrsts with such teachings of Yeshua as the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Ya’akov HaTzadik and Qumran

There are also many parallels between Ya’akov HaTzadik (James the Just) and the Essenes of Qumran. The title "HaTzadik" ("the righeous"; or "the Just") reminds us of the title of the Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran scrolls. Ya’akov, like Yeshua discouraged swearing (James 5:12) as did the Essenes (Essenes (Josephus; Wars 2:8:6; Manual of Discipline 1QS 15:1-3). Ya’akov’s admonition to be "doers" of the word (James 2:21-27) reminds us of the very term "Essene" which may come from the Hebrew "OSSIM" ("doers" [of the Torah]). Finally Ya’akov’s discourse on the use of the toungue (James 3:1-12) closely parallels the Manual of Discipline (Col. 10:21-11:2).

Paul and Qumran

Paul was clearly of Pharisaic rather than Essene background (Acts 24:5) and had been a student of Gamilel (Acts 22:3). Nonetheless there are several parallels between Paul and Qumran. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damscus reminds us of the Qumran community who made a New Covenant at Damascus. It is also of interest that Paul spent years in Damascus before beginning his ministry (Gal. 1:16-17).

There are several Parallels between Paul’s teachings and those at Qumran. Paul’s teaching often involved what he called "mysteries" (Eph. 3:3-4; Col. 1:12 etc.) as did the Qumran Scrolls (Hab. Commentary 1QpHab 7, 4-5; Man. Of Disc. 40, 5; Hodayot 7, 26). Paul often used metaphores of light and darkness (2Cor. 6:14; Rom. 13:12) as the Qumran scrolls do ( Damascus Document 4, 3). Paul allegorically compared the Nazarene community to the Temple (Eph. 2:20-22) while the Manual of Discipline makes the same comparison of the Temple with the Qumran society (1Qs 8:5-9). Paul’s use of the phrases "works of darkness" and "works of light" (Eph. 4:17; 5:14) are paralleled at qumran (Dam. Doc. 4:3). Both Paul and the Scrolls refer to men as "vessels of clay" (2Cor. 4:7 & Hodayot 11, 3). Paul’s concept of "partakers of the inheritance of the Holy Ones" (Col. 1:12) is similar to the phrase "heirs in the legacy of the Holy Ones" (1Qs 11:7-8) found in the Manual of Discipline. Paul’s terms "Belial" (2Cor. 6:14) and "Angel of Satan" (2Cor. 12:7) also appear in the scrolls ("Belial" in 1Qs 4, 13 and "Angel of Satan" in 1Qs 16:4).

However Paul also contrasts Qumran theology. His commentary on Hab. 2:4 (in Gal. 3:11, Rom. 1:17 & Heb. 10:37-38 see my Hebrews Commentary on this passage) seems to be a rebuttal to that of the Qumran community (1QpHab 8, 1-3). In fact Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews seems aimed at those with an Essene background. (See SEMITIC LIGHT ON HEBREWS by James Trimm).

THE NAZARENES AND ESSENES

Yeshua’s ministry got started when he visited Yochanan’s community in the wilderness. It was here that Yochanan decalred him to be the Messiah and it was here that he first met the first of his talmidim (disciples/students) Kefa (Peter), Andrew and an unnamed student whom most identify as Yochanan (John) the Talmid (Yochanon tends to avoid mentioning himself by name in his Gospel). These men were likely of an Essene background as Yochanan the imnmerser had been (John 1).

Yeshua’s followers had much in common with the Essenes. Both were called "The Way" (Acts 9:2 & 1QS 9,18) and "B’nai Or" (Sons of Light) (Lk. 16:8; Jn. 12:36; Eph. 5:8; 1Thes. 5:5; Man. Of Disc. 1,9; 2, 24; 1QM). Like the Essenes they shared all things in common (Acts 2:44-45; Josephus; Ant. 18:1:5; Wars 2:8:3) and lieing about such assets was regarded as a great sin (Acts 5:1-10). Although further study is needed, there may be some good connections between the Qumran hierachy and that of the Nazarenes. Both groups seemed to have made some use of the Book of Enoch (1Enoch 1:9 is quoted in Jude 1:14-15; seven fragmentary copies of Enoch were found at Qumran). Like the Qumran community, the Nazarenes also seem to have used Hebrew manuscripts of Tanak books which agreed in places with the text behind the Septuagint. The Nazarene belief in two comings of the Messiah is similar to the Qumran belief in two Messiahs. The Qumran community believed in a priestly Messiah who was a Melchizadek figure whom they termed EL, ELOHIM and YHWH (11Q13), a figure they believed was prophecied of in such passages as Dan. 9:24-27; Is. 52 (and presumably 53) and Is. 61:1. In like manner the Nazarenes saw their Messiah Yeshua as a Melchizadek figure (Hebrews 7) who fulfilled the very same prophecies.

What do the similarities mean? First of all these many similarities place both the Nazarenes and the New Testament firmly in the context of first century Judaism. These similarities also make it apparent that the Essenes were likely forerunners of the Nazarenes. This however should not subtract from the Pharisaic roots which are also apparent among the Nazarenes (which I will soon cover in another companion article). By recognizing that the Essenes were our forerunners we may now move forward in greater light. Knowing where we came from helps us to move forward with accuracy in reconstructing the Nazarene movement. Moreover understanding the Essene element in the sayings of Yeshua (and the rest of the New Testament) will help us to understand them better. Finally recognizing the Essene factor in Nazarene halachah will aid us in understanding the nature of Nazarene Halachah and Halachic authority and how it relates to that of Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees as well as modern Rabbinic Judaism (which descends from the Pharisees).

In closing I quote from the Intriduction to THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS; A New Translation; by Wise, Abegg and Cook:

For Jews the Qumran texts say, "Our family was larger than you knew." The watchword is diversity. Modern [Rabbinic] Judaism comes from Pharisaism, but in the first two centuries B.C.E. and C.E. there were also other kinds of Judaism, and it was not obvious that the Pharisees would be the ones still standing at the end of the day. Understanding the world of the first century C.E. now means understanding the fact of diversity, and the scrolls have helped cultivate a sense of the historical complexity of the matrix of Judaism and early Christianity. The scrolls teach, indiectly, a message the scroll writers themselves would have repudiated; that is, that there are different ways of being authentically Jewish. Any effort to "reclaim the scrolls for Judaism" must acknowledge that truth.
(THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS; A New Translation; by Wise, Abegg and Cook; p. 34)

James Scott Trimm

APPENDIX:

NINETEEN PARALLELS BETWEEN JOSEPHUS' ESSENES AND THE QUMRAN YACHAD

I have here given only references to Josephus' accounts of the Essenes since these elements are well known as qualities of the Qumran YACHAD:

1. Both had a strong belief in predestination (Ant. 13:6:9)

2. Both held all things in common (Ant. 18:1:5; W. 2:8:3)

3. Both distrusted the wiles of women (w. 2:8:2)

4. Oversser for each community (W. 2:8:4)

5. Daily bathes for purification (w. 2:8:5)

6. Ritual banquet meal (w. 2:8:5)

7. Only speak in turn (w. 2:8:5)

8. Strict hierarchy (w. 2:8:6)

9. Avoided swearing (w. 2:8:6)

10. Studied [aparantly unique] writings of ancients (w. 2:8:6)

11. New members initiated into the Society/YACHAD by taking an oath(w. 2:8:7)

12. The Society/Yachad is a unique group which one may not freely join but must be initiated into (w. 2:8:7)

13. Sect has its own special books which they preserve which include lists of Angels.(w. 2:8:7)

14. Heinous sinners are excomunicated from the Society/Yachad (w. 2:8:8)

15. Forbid spitting in their assembly (w. 2:8:9)

16. Stricter rules on resting on Sabbath than any other Jews (w. 2:8:9)

17. Would not remove a vessal on Sabbath (w. 2:8:9)

18. Both were hyper-puists (w. 2:8:9-10)

19. Neither was in any way evangelical (w. 2:8:7)

James Trimm

Back to Mormonism Researched

The Dead Sea Scrolls & Book of Mormon - Parallels

Summarization/Research and notes by Kerry A. Shirts

Here is some more background to the Book of Mormon. Far from being scared to death of criticisms, we rather study things out and see just what the issues are. I believe these backgrounds such as this Dead Sea Scrolls issue, as well as the Lachish Letters, and the Jaredites, all show that the Book of Mormon is actual ancient history and fits in with the ancient history genre far better and stronger than in a 19th century setting. We see why Spaulding and the View of the Hebrews pale in comparison to the real Book of Mormon background and authenticity.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Mormon

I try to read both approaches to the Book of Mormon, the one which claims a 19th century view of the origin and the ancient view. I find that the ancient view has at least as many supports as the Joseph Smith environmental view. The one BIG problem I feel however is that the environmental view does NOT explain any of the ancient parallels, but just ignores them. But the ancient parallels ARE telling indeed! How does it happen that there are not just one or two or three but dozens of similarities between the communities at the Dead Sea and those in the Book of Mormon?

1. The idea that God's people, the wanderne Gottesvolk, who are always moving into the desert, has now come out in grand style with the Dead Sea Scrolls. But the Book of Mormon was the first document to come out with the pattern of a persecuted minority who leaves the nation which is about to be destroyed (Lehi out of Jerusalem; Nephi who left again once he got into the New World, Alma and his community in the wilderness, etc.).

2. Book of Mormon people like the Qumran community have a passion for writing, making records for everything.

3. The Qumran Community know of an ancient tradition of the sealing up and the burying of holy books in time of danger, to come forth in their purity at a later time.

4. They engage in the practice themselves, using their most valuable material a copper scroll and gold sheets on which they laboriously labor to engrave their message in a cramped and abbreviated script.

5. Both Qumran and BofM peoples apply all the scriptures to themselves in a special way and never tire of presenting and discussing proof texts.

6. Both societies had an open ended view of the scriptures and revelation and knew of no canon of the Old Testament and accepted some of the apocryphal writings as inspired writings. This was once a most loudly denounced and ridiculed aspect of the BofM.

7. The "Church of Anticipation" that is a pre-Christian church is prominant in both the scrolls and the BofM.

8. Both peoples kept the Law of Moses in all its perfection and were cool towards the "Jews at Jerusalem" who they felt had been false to the covenant by their worldliness.

9. They both felt themselves to be the elect of God, the true Israel, chosen to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.

10. Both think of themselves as Israel in the wilderness and consciously preserve the camp life of the desert.

11. Both suffered persecution and expected to suffer more. Both required seeking refuge by moving from one place to another.

12. Both societies were under the leadership of inspired men (designated in both traditions as "stars") - prophets and martyrs.

13. Their main message was of the Messiah to come.

14. Their exhortation was to "righteousness" and "repentance" Israel must turn from her sins and return to the covenant.

15. In both cases a sign of the return to the covenant and to purity was a baptism with water.

16. Both societies were headed by 12 chiefs from whom was chosen a special presidency of three.

17. Both groups formed into groups of 50 for instructional and administrative purposes, each group being under a priest.

18. In both socities the old priesthood was still respected and the leaders had to be legitimate priests.

19. In both societies the chief priest or leader of the whole church traveled about among the congregations giving instructions and exhortations.

20. Both societies were secretive and exclusive but would admit membership to anyone in Israel who sought to live the covenant in righteousness.

21. Both societies strictly observed the Sabbath, but set aside another day of the week for their special meetings.

22. Whoever joined were required to share their earthly wealth with all their fellows.

23. Both groups were hierarchical and authoritarian, a feeling of perfect equality prevailed.

24. All devoted their lives to religious activity (studying, preaching, discussion, prayer, and singing and composing hymns) and to physical labor, even the leaders working for their own support.

25. Both societies headquarters were at special watering places in the desert with sheltering clumps of trees.

26. They both probably had communal meals, like the Essenes.

27. Both respected the temple and anticipated its perfect restoration. Nephi's community built a replica of Solomon's temple the first thing and time they could get to it.

28. Both regarded the Law of Moses as a preparation, it pointing their minds forward to a fuller revelation of salvation.

29. Doctrinally, the fundamental teaching of both societies was the idea of a divine plan laid down in heaven from the foundation of the world, each individual having a claim or "lot" in the knowledge and the fruits of the plan.

30. Historically the plan is unfolded apocalyptically in a series of dispensations, each divine visitation being followed by the apostasy and punishment of the people, which made a necessity of a later restoration of the covenant.

31. This restoration is brought about through the Righteous Remnant, the few who remain faithful in Israel and continue to look for the Messiah and the signs of his coming.

32. The series of visitations and "ends" will be consummated with a final destruction of the wicked by fire.

33. Meanwhile all men are being tested: Both teachings lay great stress on the dualistic nature of this time of probation in which there must be an opposition in all things.

34. Both bodies of scripture (Dead Sea Scrolls and BofM) show a peculiar affinity to the writings of John.

35. Both groups designate themselves as "the poor", emphasizing their postions as outcasts from the society.

With the parallels continuing to pile up we wonder when it will be noticed that the BofM contains and is an authentic genre of literature from the Near East, much more so than a book form Joseph Smith's environment.

(for more, see Hugh Nibley, "Since Cumorah" pp. 300ff)

With the Dead Sea Scrolls and the ancient societies such as the Rechabites we see that the flight into the wilderness motif is ancient and we also see how God's people have always been fleeing into the wilderness, such as Cain going into the land of Nod, Abraham leaving his hometown to go into a strange country, Moses and the Israelites going into the Sinai wilderness, the Rechabites in Jeremiah's day, the prophets from the Lachish Letters fleeing from the city Jerusalem before it was destroyed, Lot fled from Sodom and Gomorrah, in the Sumerian epic, the wandering and homeless Gilgamesh (often identified by scholars as Adam) travels through a dark desert in search of the water of life and the plant of immortality, and so the city of Enoch was also suddenly removed to an iccassible place. In every case, the wicked world was left behind soon to be destroyed.And the motif is *nowhere* stronger than in the Book of Mormon where groups of people are always fleeing into the wilderness.

As Kaseman pointed out, In Jewish tradition the pious man who flees to the desert is represented by Elias, as the counterpart of Adam, the sum and type of righteous souls, as well as the High Priest.

Kaseman begins his remarkable study of the Christian community of ancient times as God's people wandering through the wilderness by observing that a state of homeless migration is the normal manner of existence of those who are the bearers of reveltion. For them everything is guided by revelation (cf. the Nephites Liahona!) it is all directed from the other side. Their whole life is oriented towards the "epangelia", the promise which is the goal of their journeyings. Their life and mission on earth was for them a confident journeying, from a heavenly past to a heavenly future, or in the words of the Apostolic Fathers and the Dead Sea Scrolls, "the way of light is out of one eternity and into another." This way of life was set out by God from the beginning of the world. It is a temporal sojourn in a foreign and strange land.

It is not surprising to see in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the sectaries setting up their camps in deliberate imitation of Israel in the desert, or to learn that many scholars see in John the Baptist, the voice in the wilderness, the surest link between these sectaries and the first Christians. Some have detected wandering Israel in the organization of the Apostolic Church, in which all the general authorities received nomadic apostolate. John's description of the Church as a woman who flees to the wilderness always captivated the imagination of later churchmen.

The BofM having this fleeing into the wilderness theme, is one of the *surest* indications that it is strictly authentic and Jewish, to be sure. This is the background one must seek and learn of in order to see the genius and realistic historical and authentic Book of Mormon. (see also Hugh Nibley, "An Approach to the Book of Mormon", pp. 115-124)

The authenticity of the Gold Plates on which the Book of Mormon was inscribed has often been questioned until the finding of the Darius Plates in 1938. Many other examples of sacred and historical writing on metal plates have been found since (C. Wright in By Study and Also by Faith, 2:273-334, ed. J. Lundquist and S. Ricks, Salt Lake City, 1990). The brass (bronze) plates recall the Copper Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the metal being used to preserve particularly valuable information, namely the hiding places of treasures—scrolls, money, sacred utensils—concealed from the enemy. The Nephites were commanded, "They shall hide up their treasures…when they shall flee before their enemies," but if such treasures are used for private purposes thereafter, "because they will not hide them up unto [God], cursed be they and also their treasures" (Hel. 13:19-20) Hugh Nibley - "Book of Mormon Near Eastern Background, in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1)

Parts of Robert Cloward's entry is below.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Certain aspects of the scrolls have particularly interested Latter-day Saints. For example, the Essenes of Qumran accepted the concepts of continuing revelation and open canon much as Latter-day Saints do, in contrast to the current teaching of most Christians and Jews. Qumran commentaries on the books of Habakkuk, Nahum, and other prophets from the Old Testament contain new Essene prophetic interpretations of world events of the last days, and the Qumran Temple Scroll claims to be a direct revelation to Moses. Similarly, Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible does not contain all of God's word, but that he has revealed his will to prophets in the Book of Mormon and to Joseph Smith, and he continues to reveal new truths to modern prophets.

Latter-day Saints point out that the Bible does not require or demand its own uniqueness. Now the Qumran library has shown that some of the most pious and observant Jews around the time of Christ consulted not only extrabiblical texts but also a variety of differing texts of the biblical books. For the Essenes, the sacredness of scripture did not impose a fixed or standard text. For example, their library contains several versions of the book of Isaiah, with minor differences in wording. They used both long and short versions of Jeremiah. They had varying collections of the Psalms. This open-mindedness about scriptural words and editions is similar to LDS views (see, for example, various LDS accounts of the creation). The Dead Sea Scrolls provide evidence that the successive theological concepts of (1) an authoritative text, (2) a fixed text, and ultimately (3) an inerrant text originated with Pharisaic or rabbinic Judaism.

Some people have made much of comparisons between Essene practices and those of the New Testament church, or between both of these and elements of Mormonism. For example, Essene cleansing rituals are in some ways similar to New Testament baptisms, and Essene ritual meals can be interpreted as sacramental. Some see the Christian idea of conversion in the Essene doctrine that an individual is elected to the community by deliberate choice and initiation rather than by birth and infant circumcision. Some relate the Essene communal council, with its twelve men and three priests, to Jesus' calling of twelve apostles and favoring among them Peter, James, and John, or to the Latter-day Saint organization with twelve apostles and a three-member First Presidency. The role of New Testament or modern LDS bishops seems to correspond to many of the functions of the Qumranic maskil, or "guardian."

For Latter-day Saints, the emergence of such parallels is not surprising. The covenants of the Old and New Testaments are more alike than different. They proceed from the same God. However, the similarities are counterbalanced by radical differences between Essene practices and the teachings of Jesus Christ, of Paul, or of the Church in modern times. Notably, the Essenes taught their adherents to hate their enemies. Their sect was strict and exclusive. Their ideas of ritual cleanness effectively barred women from the temple and from the temple city of Jerusalem. Such Essene doctrines are opposite to later Christian and LDS teachings. Similarities between Essenism and Christian or LDS concepts should therefore be explained as a dispersion of ideas among groups that share ancient connections rather than as evidences of more intrinsic relationships.

Bibliography

For a more ample general statement, see S. Kent Brown, "The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Mormon Perspective," BYU Studies 23 (Winter 1983):49-66. Hugh Nibley discusses broad patterns in An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Since Cumorah, and The Prophetic Book of Mormon, in CWHN, [Collected Works of Hugh Nibley] Vols. 6-8. For a listing of editions of the scrolls, see Robert A. Cloward, The Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Selected Bibliography of Text Editions and English Translations, Provo, Utah, 1988. ROBERT A. CLOWARD

Robert Bennett's partial entry into the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, is also interesting from a Dead Sea Scroll perspective.....

Latter-Day Saints (LDS)Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (D&C 115:4) sees itself as a restoration of the original Church of Jesus Christ "of Former-day Saints." Members of the Church in the time of Christ are often referred to as "saints." Actually, the word "saint" predates Christ, and it is used thirty-six times in the Old Testament. It appears sixty-two times in the New Testament. The term "Christian" appears only three times in the New Testament, used by others to identify the followers of Christ. At the time of Christ and the Apostles, the term "saint" was accepted as a proper name for anyone who was a member of the Church, and was not used as a term of special sanctity as in earlier and later traditions. The phrase "latter days" designates the period leading to the last days and the series of events that will culminate in the reappearance of Christ to all the world. By referring to themselves as Latter-day Saints, members of the Church reaffirm their historical tie to original Christians (the Former-day Saints of the New Testament) but differentiate the two time periods. Also, they are striving to become sanctified through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

The name unites three themes: (1) the restoration theme, since the term has a New Testament origin; (2) the preparation theme, since the Saints in the latter days anticipate the coming of Christ; and (3) the revelation theme, since the name was received by revelation and recorded in Doctrine and Covenants, section 115.

It is interesting to some that the people of the dead sea scrolls also called themselves Latter-day Saints. These individuals believed themselves tied to the prophets and the covenant (hence the name Saint) and anticipated the imminent coming of the messiah (hence the term Latter-day).

Bibliography

Cross, Frank M., Jr. The Ancient Library of Qumran. New York, 1961.ROBERT BENNETT

W. D. DAVIES & TRUMAN G. MADSEN's partial entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism is most interesting also in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.3, SCRIPTURE

The idea of an open canon has meant historically a certain openness to other historical, apocryphal, and pseudepigraphical sources. Modern scripture assures Latter-day Saints that important records will yet come to light (cf. 2 Ne. 29:10-14; A of F 9). The Old Testament Apocrypha contains many things "that are true" but also many interpolations (D&C 91); "To those who desire it, should be given by the Spirit to know the true from the false" (HC 1:363). By analogy, other documents recently recovered (e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi library, and related inscriptions and fragments) are viewed as instructive, though not canonical. In some cases, their teachings anticipate and echo authentic scriptural materials...

The importance of linguistic, contextual, historical, and literary approaches to scripture has been emphasized in the LDS Church in several ways: a School of the Prophets was organized in the very infancy of the Church where Hebrew, Greek, and German were studied as biblical aids; the alternative Bible translations, including the revisions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST), were used; official preference was given for the King James Version on the grounds of its literary style and its availability to other Christian groups, and others; various editions of biblical and latter-day scriptures, including critical texts, Bible dictionaries, and selective utilization of burgeoning efforts of worldwide biblical scholarship were utilized...

In the history of canon, various stages or periods have witnessed exegesis, expansion, and the glosses and stylistic alterations that also change substance. One can argue that over the centuries this process has worked in the direction of textual improvement and power; but one can maintain equally that there have been departure and dilution and textual corruption. Latter-day Saints see both processes at work. "Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors" (TPJS, p. 327). On the other hand, the Bible and other texts are impressively preserved, with sufficient light to bless and condemn. For their part, Latter-day Saints ultimately trust the inspiration of the Spirit...

Latter-day Saints are not alone in this position. For instance, H. J. Schoeps shows that Jewish criticism of the ideas of temple and sacrifice were changed when the Bible was assembled (Davies, p. 61). And over the centuries, changes have often led away from, rather than toward, a refinement of original Christian norms and practices.

Plain meaning has also been a leading principle in LDS exegesis. "My soul delighteth in plainness," said the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi 1 (2 Ne. 31:3). Nothing can override the plain meaning of the text (cf. Talmudic tractate Shabbath 63a). This position is neither a refusal to see subtle and layered meanings in the text nor a theologically a priori position that permits allegorical excess, as in the teachings of some early rabbis and Christian schoolmen. Deeper meanings cannot be superimposed on a text of scripture, but are to be found by divine aid in the intent and spirit of the original author (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20-21). For all their complexity and diversity, the scriptures are written in ordinary language; for instance, the working vocabulary of the Book of Mormon comprises fewer than 2,300 basic words...

For Latter-day Saints, the scriptures are not reducible to scientific history, sociology, or folklore; a simple set of fundamentals, commandments, and legal apparatus; charming parabolic accounts; esoteric and hidden names with mystical connections that have a power and life of their own. The scriptures are the result of an outpouring from on high whose present meaning and relevance to a person require painstaking study and direct inspiration...

Objecting to the views of the Torah as a closed world, Martin Buber wrote, "To you God is one who created once and not again; but to us God is He who "renews the work of creation every day.' To you God is One who revealed Himself once and no more; but to us He speaks out of the burning thornbush of the present…in the revelations of our innermost hearts—greater than words" (p. 204). This statement captures much of the spirit of the LDS approach to scripture. Meaning and power rise against "hardening" traditions and sponsor trust in the living witness of the Spirit to illumine, clarify, and sanctify scripture as the "present truth."

Bibliography

Buber, Martin. Great Jewish Thinkers of the Twentieth Century, ed. S. Noveck. Clinton, Mass., 1963.

Clark, J. Reuben, Jr. "When Are Church Leaders' Words Entitled to Claim of Scripture?" Church News, July 31, 1954, pp. 9-11.

Davies, W. D. "Reflections on the Mormon Canon." Harvard Theological Review 79 (1986):44-66. Reprinted in Christians Among Jews and Gentiles, ed. G. W. E. Nicklesburg and George W. MacRae, S.V., pp. 44-66. Philadelphia, 1986.

Osborne, D. Juvenile Instructor 27 (Mar. 15, 1892):173.

Stendahl, Krister. "The Sermon on the Mount and Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon." In Meanings, p. 100. Philadelphia, 1984.

Welch, John W., and David J. Whittaker. "Mormonism's Open Canon: Some Historical Perspectives on Its Religious Limits and Potentials." F.A.R.M.S. Paper. Provo, Utah, 1986.

W. D. DAVIES & TRUMAN G. MADSEN

Finally, summarizing Hugh Nibley's interesting article "More Voices From the Dust," we find that:

The most startling disclosure of the Essene documents so far published is that the sect possessed, years before Christ, a terminology and practice that have always been considered uniquely Christian. The Essenes practiced baptism and shared a liturgical repast of bread and wine presided over by a priest. They believed in redemption and in the immortality of the soul. Their most important leader was. . . a Messianic prophet-priest blessed with divine revelation. . . . Many phrases, symbols, and precepts similar to those in Essene literature are used in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospel of John and the Pauline Epistles.

This was not only a "startling disclosure" but also a very disturbing one. Many Jewish and Christian scholars heaped scorn on the scrolls years after their discovery, or even refused to consider them at all, calling them a hoax, a "conglomeration of words. . . written by an uneducated Jew in the Middle Ages," "a garbage collection," and whatnot, for a Dupont-Sommer pointed out from the first, if the scrolls are genuine, then the scholars have been wrong all along in their conception of Christianity and Judaism. Worst of all is the maddening habit these writings have of "jumping the gun" on the New Testament. The Gospel of John, for example, "employs the vocabulary characteristic of the DSD," that is, the Manual of Discipline, written years before the gospel. Much of this literature is biblical, and yet it is not biblical: thus "the hymns in the collection are reminiscent of the latest biblical psalms, and more especially the psalm in the prologue of Luke. They draw heavily on the Psalter and Prophetic poetry for inspiration, and borrow direct phrases, cliches, and style. However, neither in language, spirit, or theology are they biblical." That is to say, they are not "biblical" in the sense that modern critics use the word, though they were obviously believed by their authors to be completely biblical. Either those ancients did not understand the Bible, or else the moderns don't. Yet Dr. Brownlee is willing to concede that their rendering of the scriptures "greatly enriches and improves upon the original form [sic]," and that "it will no doubt receive considerable use on the part of both ministers and rabbis who become familiar with it."

Forced to accept the proofs that something like a New Testament church was in full bloom before New Testament times, Mr. G. L. Harding, who has been a most active figure in the discovery and preservation of the scrolls, can only conclude that John the Baptist and even Christ must have acquired much of what they taught in the bosom of the Qumran community itself: "John the Baptist. . . must have studied and worked in this building [the main assembly hall of the sect, near the Qumran caves]: he undoubtedly derived the idea of ritual immersion or baptism from them. Many authorities consider that Christ himself also studied with them for some time. . . . These, then, are the very walls He looked upon, the corridors and rooms through which He wandered and in which He sat, brought to light once again after nearly 1900 years.

Now with the discovery and admission of the existence of typical New Testament expressions, doctrines, and ordinances well before the time of Christ, the one effective argument against the Book of Mormon collapses....

[Kerry's note - Interestingly, Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise's transaltion of the newly released scrolls in 1992, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, secure this position even stronger as there are now scroll fragments dealing with the Messiah, who will resurrect the dead, heal the sick, and cause the blind to see!]

Dr. Cross, eager to allay the misgivings that must inevitably follow the overthrow of accepted ideas of Church history and doctrine, explains the resemblance between the Christian and pre-Christian churches as traceable to a common tradition: both "draw on common resources of language, common theological themes and concepts, and share common religious institutions." But this common tradition was not that of conventional Judaism, let alone Hellenistic philosophy; it was the ancient tradition of the righteous few who flee to the desert with their wives and children to prepare for the coming of the Lord and escape persecution at the hands of the official religion. Qumran seems to have been the camping-place of such holy fugitives as early as the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., that is, as early as the days of Lehi. The Book of Mormon clearly states that its people consider themselves to be in this particular and peculiar line of Israelite tradition. The discoveries at and near Qumran now prove not only that such people existed, but also that they produced a peculiar type of literature, and it is to the Book of Mormon that one may turn for some of the most perfect examples of that literature. And so the voices whispering out of the dust on the shores of the Dead Sea may yet provide some of the most powerful confirmation of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

John Tvedtnes in his review of Wesley Walters notes that:

Recently released fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered nearly half a century ago at Qumran support the view of the Book of Mormon that a knowledge of a savior-messiah was had in ancient Israel.13 One scroll describes a messianic figure who would speak in parables and warns that his opponents would malign him. Another document anticipates the idea that the Messiah would raise the dead. A scroll fragment of only five lines speaks of a "leader of the community" being "put to death" and mentions "piercings" or "wounds." The same text uses such messianic terms as the staff, the branch of David, and the root of Jesse. An Aramaic scroll contains concepts found in Luke 1 and even parallels some of the language of that chapter. Both documents refer to a messiah descended from the house of David. Each uses the phrases "he shall be called the son of the most high," "he will be great upon the earth," and "his kingdom is an eternal kingdom." Another messianic text speaks of the Messiah ruling over heaven and earth, healing the sick, and providing a resurrection from the dead. All of the concepts in this text are found in the Book of Mormon, often in the same combinations found in the Qumran document.

John A. Tvedtnes, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, p.220

So exciting things are happening with the Dead Sea Scrolls for Mormons and the scriptures. We need to keep our eyes on these things for a bit, there is a lot more to come!

To: restornu

I think the problem is system wide.

14 posted on 11/30/2002 1:07 PM MST by drstevej
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/798210/posts?page=14#14

Are those the only books you have? :)

***Are those the only books you have? :) ***

No, hardly. When we moved 2 years ago it took 66 book boxes for my library.

Restornu, don't just dismiss this article.

Deal with it.

I am trying not to use the language that best describes book #3. Pornographic garbage works well though. :-)

There are over 11 million LDS, Sorry I don't know all of them! If I were to go an give a talk on a topic like this I guess I would be labled a Mormon lecture, Yet I did not recieve a calling from the Church to do this!

I guess I would sound impressive with the lable but I just a member with an opinion!

Now I have the love of the Word and passion, but because I might think something is so, dose not make it so!

Just not familar with his work!

If you notices the post that I use the writers always say if is not offical church docutment! Yet many are scholars in their own right!

BTW I have often found those who diapute the LDS stuff always pharase and it is not the original wording!

Whew!

How do you go about posting here? You defend, or try to at least, the Mormon church. Did you recieve a calling from the church to do that?

***If I were to go an give a talk on a topic like this I guess I would be labled a Mormon lecture***

Hopefully you would be more accurate and not play fast and loose with associations.

And as an aside. Even though I disagree with fTD on many things, I respect his knowledge in this area. One more example of how we Christians can disagree on some things, but agree that your religion is false.

Amen! Thank you for those kind words.

What?!? I think the absurdity of #23 on your list (prepared by Kerry Shirts) pretty well sums up this nonsense.

Quote:
23. Both groups were hierarchical and authoritarian, a feeling of perfect equality prevailed.
End Quote

Are you seriously suggesting that a ‘perfect feeling of equality’ prevails in either modern day Mormonism, or Ancient Judaism? Obviously written by a man?!

You were dead on about both groups being hierarchical and authoritarian, but...a little hint. Neither of these principles has ANYTHING to do with equality! In fact, they're quite the opposite. Since you are clearly misunderstood as to the meaning of these terms, I'll help you out.

World English Dictionary definition of Authoritarian:

1. Imposing or enforcing strict authority to order, at the expense of personal freedom; oppressive; illiberal.
2. Showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial.

and Hierarchy:

1. A system of persons or things arranged in a graded order.
2. A body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks.

While I agree that both Mormonism and ancient Judaism were both of the above, they are/were certainly not based upon any form of equality. In case you don't understand what that means:

Equality:

1. The status of being equal, esp. in status, rights, and opportunities. Syn. fairness, justice.

In other words, the EXACT opposite of authoritarian and hierarchical! The rest of this list is just as bad. Most of the parallels you've listed are either completely false, or too general to indicate a legitimate parallel between the Mormons and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls (scholars aren’t even sure if it was the Essenes only, or multiple groups who authored the scrolls). More importantly, you've blatantly ignored the differences between these groups in attempt at misleading readers into believing their is an association when there is not. I mean, being ruled by men (#12 on your list), doesn't really separate the Mormons or the Essenes from any other religion of our time or group of people of theirs, does it?

If similarities as general as being hierarchical, keeping a written record of your activities, being led by men, and being oppressed for your beliefs are indicative of a theological (or any other) association, then we could purport a connection between any two groups we choose!

Your 'research' reeks of one group (who has historically had a difficult time finding ANY archaeological evidence to support their scriptures)grasping at straws and trying to convince others by posting this nonsense publicly. Shame on you. I can only hope everyone who's read this post before me has had the sense to research these claims for themselves and realized how misleading they are.

What?!? I think the absurdity of #23 on your list (prepared by Kerry Shirts) pretty well sums up this nonsense.

Quote:
23. Both groups were hierarchical and authoritarian, a feeling of perfect equality prevailed.
End Quote

Are you seriously suggesting that a ‘perfect feeling of equality’ prevails in either modern day Mormonism, or Ancient Judaism? Obviously written by a man?!

You were dead on about both groups being hierarchical and authoritarian, but...a little hint. Neither of these principles has ANYTHING to do with equality! In fact, they're quite the opposite. Since you are clearly misunderstood as to the meaning of these terms, I'll help you out.

World English Dictionary definition of Authoritarian:

1. Imposing or enforcing strict authority to order, at the expense of personal freedom; oppressive; illiberal.
2. Showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial.

and Hierarchy:

1. A system of persons or things arranged in a graded order.
2. A body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks.

While I agree that both Mormonism and ancient Judaism were both of the above, they are/were certainly not based upon any form of equality. In case you don't understand what that means:

Equality:

1. The status of being equal, esp. in status, rights, and opportunities. Syn. fairness, justice.

In other words, the EXACT opposite of authoritarian and hierarchical! The rest of this list is just as bad. Most of the parallels you've listed are either completely false, or too general to indicate a legitimate parallel between the Mormons and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls (scholars aren’t even sure if it was the Essenes only, or multiple groups who authored the scrolls). More importantly, you've blatantly ignored the differences between these groups in attempt at misleading readers into believing there is an association when there is not. I mean, being ruled by men (#12 on your list), doesn't really separate the Mormons or the Essenes from any other religion of our time or group of people of theirs, does it?

If similarities as general as being hierarchical, keeping a written record of your activities, being led by men, and being oppressed for your beliefs are indicative of a theological (or any other) association, then we could purport a connection between any two groups we choose!

Your 'research' reeks of one group (who has historically had a difficult time finding ANY archaeological evidence to support their scriptures)grasping at straws and trying to convince others by posting this nonsense publicly. I can only hope everyone who's read this post before me has had the sense to research these claims for themselves and realized how misleading they are.

What am I to make of this noobie are you Rip Van Winkle??

swhitt21
Since Feb 9, 2011

To: CubicleGuy; Grig; Utah Girl; rising tide; White Mountain
43 posted on Saturday, November 30, 2002 8:04:28 PM by restornu

What am I to make of this noobie are you Rip Van Winkle??

I don't know resty - perhaps you can do something reallllllllly wild and answer a question for once.

I see you are tracking me....

are you swhitt21?

This thread has been DEAD for 9 years!

Surely by now it STINKETH!