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Qumran Community

Decent Essays

Theology of the Qumran Community The discovery of the Dead Sea Scroll was an important impact in history. It is known to be the oldest manuscripts dating back between 200 BCE and 70 BCE, with some small portion of the texts dating back to the 3rd century BCE, and some extant material dating to the first century BCE. The scrolls consist of 900 manuscripts that were written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic and were discovered in eleven caves outside of the Judean desert. The manuscripts are either biblical or non-biblical and it includes many subjects and literary styles as well as significance religious literature. The first scrolls were found by a local Bedouin named Muhammad edh-Dhib in 1946 in what is now called Cave 1 and since then it …show more content…

In order to understand their theological beliefs and system, we must know about this community and who were they. The Essenes were a religious Jewish group thriving during the last two centuries of the Second Temple era (150 BCE – 70 CE). It is important to know about this community because the scrolls were associated with them. One of the texts of the Dead Sea Scroll known as the Rule of the Community is described as the “manual of disciple” and it has always been a central element in the Essenes’ identification. The Rule of the Community is a crucial text for understanding the community’s way of life. It deals with various subjects such as the admission of new members into the group, handling meals, and theological …show more content…

The Qumran community looked into the end of days through prophetic scriptures. The notion of the end of days is the common belief of experiencing judgment and salvation. According to Vanderkam & Flint, it has a positive and negative side (pg. 264). In the negative side, the end of days will involve a period of trails “where the forces of Belial redouble their efforts to defeat the ranks of the righteous” (4Q174) In the positive side, for those who are chosen, it will be a time of purifying. Another crucial information to know about the Qumran’s’ view of the end of days is the meeting of messianic characters in the scrolls. These are found in the Shoot of David and the Interpreter of the Law, where they talk about two messiahs. “One was to be the messiah of Aaron, a priestly messiah, while the other was to be the messiah of Israel, a royal messiah of Davidic descent.” (Lesson, week #6). The Qumran community believed that in the end of days, God will interfere and will send leaders of the future that will take part in the final heavenly victory over

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