Chapter Navigation
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
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CHAPTER THREE
The Damascus
DOCUMENT
“Every word of G-d is flawless... Do not add to his words, or He will rebuke
you and prove you a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
Of all of the writings found in the Qumran caves, none give us a better idea of who the writers of the scrolls were than the scroll dubbed the “Damascus Document.”
This scroll states that 390 years after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, or 196 BC, G-d remembered his Abrahamic covenant promise, and caused a root of Israel and Aaron the priest to “inherit His land and prosper on the good things of His earth.”1 The term “root of Israel and Aaron” means the Levitical priesthood and the high priest system as established by G-d’s command to Moses.
The scroll goes on to say that because of the group’s “repentant hearts and good deeds,” twenty years later, or 176 BC, G-d raised up for them a “Teacher of Righteousness” to guide them in the ways of His heart.2
At the same time, a "Scoffer" arose in Israel that led the people astray from the ways of righteousness and taught the people the ways of “smoothness.”
The Scoffer condemned and persecuted the just. According to the Damascus Document, the Scoffer and the kings of the people willfully rebelled against G-d by leading them in the ways of the wicked kings of Greece. The scroll indicates that a remnant of righteous believers entered into a new covenant in the land of Damascus. It also foretells the coming Messiah out of the House of Aaron and Israel who would lead the righteous in a war against the wicked “Sons of Darkness.” 3
The scroll states this “priest-king” would exact vengeance on the wicked for all that they had done. He would reestablish the authority of a righteous high priest from the line of Zadok over the Jewish Temple and its services. The scroll is very critical of those running the Temple. Whoever wrote this document believed the high priest in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem at that time was unclean.
Key Points in the
Damascus Document
A group of priests formed in the year 196 BC and started a new covenant in Damascus.
Twenty years later, the Teacher of Righteousness took control of the group around 176 BC.
At this time, a “Scoffer” arose who persecuted the group and the Teacher with the aid of the Greek king. The Scoffer led part of the group into sin by defiling the Temple, and caused the people “to wander in a pathless wilderness ... abolishing the ways of righteousness...”4
The Teacher of the community was “gathered in,” which the author believed started “the end of all the men of war who deserted to the Liar.” The author also believed this process would take 40 years (“there shall pass about forty years”). Apparently, the Teacher was killed by the Scoffer, and this started the 40-year long war to end all wars.5
The righteous members of the group became the “House of Separation” when they left the Holy City.6
The scroll foretells the coming of two Messiahs out of the “House of Aaron and Israel.”7
The scroll describes an organizational hierarchy for members of the covenant which starts with the “Guardian” of the congregation. According to the scroll, the Guardian shall instruct the groups in the works of G-d, and determine who gets into the group and what rank members will have. The Guardian “shall be from thirty to fifty years old and will have final say on all the group’s activities.” The Guardian was the ultimate authority that settled disputes between members.8
The scroll states that every ten members of the congregation shall have a priest that rules the group of ten. All camps of these groups of ten shall be enrolled by name, starting first with the priest; then, the Levites; then, regular Israelites; and finally, proselytes. This hierarchy is how members were arranged in meals and group meetings. Each member was assigned a rank.9
The scroll gives a long series of rules for group members, including: rules for bathing; keeping the Sabbath -- including not assisting a beast to give birth or lift it out of a pit if it falls in one on the Sabbath; prohibitions against sleeping with a woman in the “City of the Sanctuary”; prohibitions against selling clean beasts or birds to Gentiles lest they offer them in sacrifice; commands to give two days of every month’s earnings to the poor and needy; rules for members with children that required them to force their children to take an oath to the covenant upon the age of enrollment; requirements for all new members to study for a full year under the Guardian before partial membership is granted; and, prohibitions against membership for madmen, lunatics, simpletons, the blind, the maimed, the lame, the deaf, and the underaged.10
Notes from the Chapter:
The Damascus Document
1. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 127, Penguin Press, New York 1997
2. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 127, Penguin Press, New York 1997
3. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 135, Penguin Press, New York 1997
4. The Dead Sea Scrolls by Millar Burrows
page 187, Viking Press, New York 1955
5. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 134, Penguin Press, New York 1997
6. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 135, Penguin Press, New York 1997
7. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 134, Penguin Press, New York 1997
8. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 136, Penguin Press, New York 1997
9. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 141, Penguin Press, New York 1997
10. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes
page 140, Penguin Press, New York 1997