May 8, 2009, 9:24 am by dc-agape.

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The Apocryphon of Judah

The title of this Tractate is rather deceiving.  An Apocryphon is usually a book that brings secret teachings to the reader.  It might be that this Tractate is so fragmentary that we have lost the “secret” part.  The only part that has survived is the story of Joseph’s second encounter with his brothers in Egypt (Gen 44:1-45:15).  It is told from the perspective of Judah, the brother that suggested selling him into slavery years before this reunion (Gen 37:26-27). 

In this narration Joseph’s love for Ben-Ami (yes, I am using Rachel’s name for her son instead of Abraham’s choice) is completely absent.  And if we believe that it is written from Judah’s perspective, only Judah receives the greatest expression of brotherly love.  This is in severe contrast to the Book of Genesis.  This Tractate’s purpose was to downplay the importance of the relationship between the brothers of Rachel and to bring importance to the reunion between Joseph and Judah.  If you remember the history of Israel, Judah became an independent kingdom separated from the rest of Israel after the reign of Solomon.  After the Assyrian conquest of Judah both nations were “reunited”.  This Tractate was most likely written to smooth over the differences between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel.

Looking at it from an Atheist’s perspective, I see how easily religious texts can be “rewritten” for political purposes.  It is true that this particular Tractate did not survive to become part of the Holy Word of God as we know it.  Yet, this Tractate was held in high regard by a particular sect of Israelites.  Somehow this sect could ignore the Torah and allow this Tractate to either supersede or compliment the Book of Genesis.  I wonder what would have happened if the Romans had not destroyed the Temple in 70AD.  Would this Tractate still be circulated?  Would we have a completely different perspective on the Book of Genesis if that were the case?  I ask these questions because the sect that kept this Tractate was dedicated to the survival of the Temple.  When the Temple was destroyed this sect lost any religious power that it held.

When reading the Dead Sea Scrolls, one must keep a few things in mind.  First, the sect that held these Tractates was linked directly to the existence of the Temple.  Second, this sect was of an unknown group.  It was neither part of the Pharisees, Sadducees, or Essenes.  From some of the other writings we know that this sect was much more wide spread than the Essenes, but that it did not accept either the Pharisees or the Sadducees either.  Third, we must understand that, as a result, this Jewish sect interpreted the Torah, the Nevi’im, and Ketuvim differently than the other religious sects of the time.  Which sect was correct?  Which sect truly understood the meaning of the Old Testament?  And, as a result of these last two questions, do we understand the Old Testament correctly?  All of modern day Jewish and Christian faith relies on these questions.  Can we risk being wrong?  Should we risk being wrong?  Or should we recognize that as with most legends from mythology that the Old Testament is just that: mythology!

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March 12, 2009, 8:29 am by dc-agape.

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Geniza A Col 14:18-22

4Q266 Frag 10 Col 2:1-15

4Q270 Frag 7 Col 1:6-15

4Q266 Frag 11 Col 2:15-20

The rest of the Damascus Document is about personal responsibility.  The punishment for most of these iniquities is harsh, but they at least teach personal responsibility.  That is something that cannot be said of today’s religions.  Only in Islam are there even rumors of people paying high prices for their own iniquities.  Christianity has become such a “feel good” religion that the Catholics have the harshest punishment…say “Hail Mary” three times and call me in the morning!

I will be listing these punishments that are described in the section of the CD for each iniquity that a member commits.  They range from cutting rations to permanent expulsion from the community.  Something that the NT did hint at:

1^st Cor 5:13 God will judge those outside.  “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth about sexual sin.  And he tells them to expel the wicked!  Very similar to what the authors of the Damascus Document require:

1)  Anyone lying about money (for any reason) would be expelled from the common meal and have their rations reduced for six days.

2)  Anyone bearing an illegal grudge would be expelled from the community for 200 days and then on return have their rations reduced for an additional 100 days.

3)  If that grudge was capital in offense, the expulsion would be permanent.

4)  The act of not taking counsel would require expulsion for a year with reduction in rations for an additional six months.

5)  Even just the act of speaking coarsely would leave a member with expulsion for three months and reduced rations for 20 days.

6)  Disturbing someone else talking would be punished by a reduction in rations for ten days.

7)  Sleeping in the meeting hall would be punished by expulsion for 30 days and reduced ations for an additional ten days.

8)  Anyone leaving the general meeting more than three times without an excuse would have their rations cut for ten days.  Further exits would cause the cut to last for 30 days.

9)  Being seen naked would have a member expelled for six months.  Even just allowing a glimpse of the penis, would cost a member expulsion for 30 days with reduced rations for 10 more days.

10)  Laughing foolishly would have been punished by expulsion for 30 days and reduced rations for an extra 15 days.

11)  Just gesturing with the left hand was bad enough for 10 days worth of reduced rations.

12)  Speaking slander would cause a member to be banned from the common meal for one year.

13)  Slander against the community that person was sent away permanently.

14)  If someone was still willful of heart and broke the fundamentals of Yahad, they were to be sent away for two years.  If that person wants to return, it would be allowed.

15)  Anyone disagreeing with the rulings of the general membership would be sent out never to return.

16)  Anyone taking food from someone else must return it.  The rest of the scroll is too damaged to read the punishment.

17)  Members could “fornicate with their wives” in a way that was not acceptable to the regulations.  That member would be sent out, never to return.

18)  Complaint against “the fathers” was instant expulsion from the membership.  But complaints against “the mothers” only received reduction of rations for ten days.  This was because women had no status in the community.

How would you like to live in that society?  These were harsh punishments for simple infractions, but they did teach the members personal responsibility for their actions.  This is what I always thought religion was supposed to do.  But I am obviously wrong, because the “Christians” in the US definitely do not have any punishment for wrong doings.  I do know that some people believe that attending religion services is form of “atonement”.  In fact, I will leave you with this joke about the difference between a Baptist and a Catholic:

Baptists “sin” on Saturday night. In this way they have to go to church Sunday morning and repent.  Catholics go to mass on Sunday to repent and be forgiven of past sins.  In this way they can continue to sin during the next week.

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March 11, 2009, 10:02 am by dc-agape.

I have two post left in the Damascus Document.  This one will be about the rules of leadership, rank within the Wadi camp, and tithes.  The last post will be about punishment for members that do not follow the covenant to return to the Law of Moses.  The punishments are quite severe.  I plan on covering two tractates from the Nag Hammadi Library after that.  One post will be an introduction to the Library; the second post will be “The Prayer of the Apostle Paul”.  Since that one is extremely short, I will also cover “The Apocryphon of James”.  I am not sure how many that will take but it is 16 columns long.  Since I have taken so long on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi, the OT, and the NT, I feel that I have taken too little time with the Holy Qur’an.  I will return to that Holy Book and use the advice that I have received from my Thailand Muslim commenter.  I will start at the end of the Qur’an (Al-Nās: The Men) and plan to work my way back to Al-Naba’: The Announcement.  If I understand the concept properly that is last 36 Surahs of the Text.

Now back to the Damascus Document.  One of the first rules of the camps is that of camp population.  For every 10 members in a camp it was required that a priest be present.  This priest would preferable be from the ranks of the sons of Zadok.  But if not enough “sons” were available it could be any qualified Levite.  Qualification required Knowledge of the Book of Meditation.  Unfortunately, no trace of this Book has yet been found (Google Books – The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story by Kenneth Hanson).  One of the reasons for the requirement of so many priests is described immediately in following row.  Only a priest could isolate and evaluate the condition of skin diseases.  One man ruled the camp, no matter how large, this was the Overseer.  His responsibilities were to teach, care for the members, and remove anything that might oppress or crush his congregation.  He was also required to test any new members.

The Overseer was also the only person who could give permission to the congregants to bring people to the camp, give permission to buy or sell outside the camp, and give permission to allow for marriage or divorce.  But the Overseer was not allowed bear a grudge against any member for transgressions.

Rank with the camp was very caste-like.  The priests were first this included where they sat and first dibs on speaking.  Second were the Levites, followed by the “children of Israel”, and finally the proselytes (the new converts).  This was obviously a religious sect, which only allowed “the children of Israel” grudgingly into their camp. 

More qualification for the priests and Overseer were related on the 14^th column.  Age limits were in place.  The priest had to be between the ages of 30 and 60, while the Overseer could only be between the ages of 30 and 50.  The authors again repeat that the priest had to be learned in the Book of Meditation, but now included all the regulations of the Law, and the capacity to “speak them in the proper way”.  The Overseer also had to be “master of every secret of men and of every deceptive utterance”.  Wow, I wish we had some of these Overseers in out US government: wouldn’t be great if someone could know all the secrets of men?  Wouldn’t be great if someone was the master of every deceptive utterance?  Assuming that this knowledge was used to expose the deception!  The Overseer was also responsible for organizing (ensuring) the proper order of entering buildings, sitting, and talking.

This group also required a tithe: at least two days pay was to be provided to the group.  This tells you that these members actually had jobs!  They were not an isolated group.  They interacted with Israelite society enough to receive a salary (very similar to the way the Amish do here in the US.  At least this tithe went for good things: the wounded, the poor, the needy, the elderly, the sick, the captive, the virgin girl with no support, the boy with no support, and for common business.

As a gay atheist, this is how the Christian Church should also be formatted.  But of course, that is just wishful thinking.  Communal living has such a bad name to day due to the Traditions of Men.  Yet this is also how the disciples lived in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Maybe this is why YHWH is so angry with the world today!  The “christians” aren’t living together and leaving the government alone!  You christians know that you are supposed to submit to the governing authorities.

Romans 3:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.

Notice that it says “everyone must submit”!  Let’s see the definition of everyone, the definition of must, and the definition of submit (all from dictionary.com).  Now that those words are clearly defined…Christians are not allowed to interfere with government.  Now get out of the government!

Posted in Damascus Document, Dead Sea Scroll, Traditions of Men | Print | 12 Comments »

March 10, 2009, 10:43 am by dc-agape.

Geniza A Col 10:14 – 11:18

These are the rules for the Sabbath, there are no punishments listed for breaking these rules, so they really aren’t like the Laws in the Damascus Document (CD). 

1)      The most important is when it starts.  It is the sixth day.  It is measured as starting by the “time that the solar orb is above the horizon by its diameter”. 

2)      No course of empty words should be spoken.  Basically, no cursing and no false promises.

3)      They could not seek out anyone who owed them money from a loan.

4)      They could not go sue in court over property or money.

5)      Even talking about work that needed to be done on the first day of the week was prohibited.

6)      This is an odd one.  It would almost seem that people could not go into “the field” for any reason.  As it goes on to say “to do his desired activity”. 

7)      No one was allowed to travel more than “1000 cubits” (500 yards, 457.2 meters - convertme.com) outside the city they were in.

8 )      This one has three rules that are relate.

a.      Anything eaten had to be prepared the day before.

b.      Nothing remaining in the field could be eaten.

c.       And unless someone is in the “camp” they could not “drink”.  I hope this means wine and not all liquids!

9)      While journeying on the Sabbath, bathing seems to be ok, but drawing the water into a vessel is out.

10)  They could not send a substitute to do their work on the Sabbath.

11)  They could not where dirty clothes on the Sabbath.  It is not clear if they were allowed to launder them or at least freshen the cloths up on the Sabbath, which was the only option for where dirty clothes on the Sabbath.

12)  There is something about “crossing Sabbath borders” on the Sabbath.  Anyone have a clue what that means????

13)  A person is allowed to graze their animals up to 2000 cubits away from town (1000 yards, 914.4 meters).  If the animal was uncooperative, the owner “could not raise his hand or hit it with a fist” to make it go out and graze.

14)  No one should carry things into or out of their house.

15)  This is also a list of related things that could not be done on the Sabbath.

a.      Opening a sealed vessel.

b.      Carry any medicine.

c.       Pick up stones or dust in the house.

d.      Carry a baby.

16)  Servants, maids, and employees were free from being “provoked” on the Sabbath.

17)  This one also has more than one idea combined.

a.      If an animal gives birth on the Sabbath, no one is to assist the animal.

b.      If an animal falls into a well of pit on the Sabbath, no one is to pick the animal up out of the well.

18)  If Gentiles are nearby, that place is unacceptable as a place to rest on the Sabbath.

19)  They were not allowed to make a profit on the Sabbath.

20)  If anyone fell into a body of water no one else could help them out.  I hope everyone could swim for up to 24 hours back then!

21)  Only “the Sabbath whole burnt offering” was allowed to be sacrificed on the Sabbath.

And I thought the Blue Laws (Wikipedia) of the Southern States of the US were bad!I remember them being much stricter than even what is written in Wikipedia.  Wikipedia focuses on alcohol sells.  When I lived in South Carolina, basically the only business that could operate was the gas station, and that was for the sale of gasoline only.  Hospitals were the only other thing that could be open on Sunday.  Today the Blue Laws are only related to alcohol, so it makes sense that the internet would be more focused on the present interpretation of the Blue Laws

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March 9, 2009, 7:40 am by dc-agape.

Geniza A Col 9:1 – 12:22

The Damascus Document (CD) finishes the laws for the general Israelite population, more likely the other Yahad sects, in these columns.  Some of the topics covered are Lev 27:28, making accusations, oaths, lost property, witnesses, judges, the water of purification, keeping the Sabbath, sacrifices, the sanctuary, the demon possessed, contact with Gentiles, and impure foods.  Most of these laws are barely even a paragraph (no fragmentation) in length.  Only the law of keeping the Sabbath is covered in great detail.  As a result, I will leave that one to last…if the post becomes too long I will cover it tomorrow.

The authors of the CD do rewrite the Word of God in this section of Leviticus.  While the Law of Moses allowed for the devotion of a person to YHWH, here the authors tell us that if any person is proscribed that they should be put to death.  Since the Law talks about setting a person aside to YHWH as holy and yet the authors talk about making a person an outlaw, we must assume that the Gentiles felt that this was illegal.  The required action was to but the person devote to YHWH to death by the Gentile law.

The section on accusations against other Israelites basically ends up that anyone making these accusations without a second witness, or in anger, or to tarnish the other’s reputation is actually a “vengeance-taker” or “grudge-bearer”.  This accuser will actually guilty of breaking the commandment of Lev 19:17.  As a result, anyone holding a grudge is guilty of the same sin that they hold against their neighbor on top of the sin of being a grudge-bearer!  For only YHWH can take vengeance or hold a grudge (Nahum 1:2).  Isn’t YHWH just so sweet and loving, and don’t you just want to snuggle up close to him?

As for the qualification of judges, four must be of the descent from Levi and the other six can be from any tribe.  No tie breaker like the US supreme court.  But they cannot be younger than 25 nor older than 60.  In fact, at the age of 60 they must retire.  The authors believed that not only did YHWH shorten the lifespan of humankind after the fall, but he weakened their minds before life was over!  That idea does not have verse to back it up.  But obviously the authors felt that anyone over 60 had to great a chance of becoming senile.

The waters of purification for a person had to be clean and deep enough to create a ripple.  The waters of purification of a vessel or object had to be deep enough to completely submerge the object.  There was also concern about the cistern used; it could not have been touched by anything unclean.

Any sacrifice made, and any worship attendance must be made while the person had been made pure.  In fact, being ceremonially clean was more important than actually attending assembly.

The city of the Temple was actually a holy place.  As a result, the act of having sex was not allowed in the entire city!  That act of sex would defile “the city of the Temple with their uncleanness.”  Since Jerusalem was the city of the Temple, I wonder how many times a day the Temple was made unclean?  Let’s hope that the Temple Scroll sheds more light on this topic!

The verdict against the demon possessed was not as harsh as that of a necromancer or a medium.  The latter two would be put to death.  It would seem that the demon possessed defiled the Sabbath on occasions.  The demons possessed were allowed a chance to “recover”.  They had to be watched for an entire seven years before being allowed back into the assembly.

Two laws regarded contact with Gentiles.  The first law forbade killing a Gentile for profit.  The only time killing a Gentile was acceptable was when the entire commonwealth of Israel agreed.  The second law was about selling property to a Gentile.  A Yahad Jew could not sell sacrificial clean animals; neither could they sell the produce from the threshing floor nor the winepress.  The fear that these things might be sacrificed to other gods was overwhelming.  Even more the Yahad Jew could not sell servants or maid servants to a Gentile, because these people had entered the covenant of Abraham.

The final section is about the laws that the Yahad Jew had to follow included eating impure foods (like bee larvae) and preparation of fish and locust.  Unclean objects could convey their uncleanness to humans.  And all the items in a house where someone had died were to be treated as an impure work tool.  The treatment of these last items was covered in 4Q271 Frag 2 of my post on Fragmentary Laws.

I will cover the Sabbath Laws tomorrow in a special post dedicated to that subject.  The document writers felt that these laws required extra special details.  In fact it took the writers over 27 rows of the document (nearly one entire column) to cover these laws.  So I feel that I should be as concerned about them as well.

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March 8, 2009, 1:33 pm by dc-agape.

Geniza A Col 15-16

I am separating these two columns out from the rest of Geniza A because the 1951 publication of the “A and B” documents does not have these two columns.  Both these columns and, in fact, the rest of the Damascus Document (CD) continues with the regulations that are required to remain within the covenant with YHWH.  It would seem from reading and studying other points of view that the communities that these regulations refer to as the Yahad are the greater sect that the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls are loosely affiliated with.  Very similar to individual churches in a single protestant denomination having slightly different rules than the denomination they belong to.

These two columns are about the Yahad requirements.  Most of these two columns also refer to taking the oaths and vows of the larger sect.  They begin with the difference between taking an oath on the Laws of Moses verse an oath taken on the covenant of the Yahad.  With a striking warning:  by vowing to the Laws of Moses any breach in the vow is a defilement of the name of YHWH.  In this case, the person will bear the burden of sin and die.  A vow on the covenant a breach of the vow will only require confession of sin and restitution for that sin.  Does this sound familiar?  Where in the Old Testament does it make commandments for the confession of sin?  In fact, in the OT, confession of sin usually brought stoning or banishment.  So this is definitely a new wrinkle on Judaism.  It seems very similar to the teachings of Christianity.  Since these sects were active within a century of Jesus’ time, there is no doubt that they influenced his teachings.  The more I read the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes evident that Jesus was not making up new things but was using the best of the religious doctrine of the time between the many Jewish sects (Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and this Yahad group to name a few).

This covenant that they can make an oath on without penalty of death is actually an oath to return to the Laws of Moses.  A new member of the Yahad must be examined by the “Overseer” (much later in the CD). Interestingly, the new member cannot be instructed about what the Overseer will examine!  The new member must come before the Overseer without any knowledge of what to expect.  It would seem the purpose of this was to test if the new member would return to the Laws of Moses with “a whole heart and with a whole soul”. 

If the new member passes this examination, he is required to study for one full year any area of the Law that he was weak in understanding.  But the Yahad were picky about who could be tested.  They required that “no simpleton, ignoramus, weak of sight, lame, crippled, deaf, or below the age of accountability could join the congregation.  There was the promise that the day the new member took the oath the “Angel of Obstruction” would leave him.  In other words, this sect whole heartedly believed that YHWH obstructed his chosen from understanding the Laws of Moses.  Freewill shattered once again!

Oaths are important to this sect.  Any promise made would have to be carried out, even if the promise required the death of the oath maker.  Worse was that any oath made that violated the Laws of Moses could not be carried out, even if by doing so the oath taker died.  Fathers and husbands could annul a woman’s oath if it violated the oath to follow the Laws of Moses.  Obviously, this sect did not give equal rights to woman as to men.  If they did the women would know when a vow was in violation of the Law of Moses.

The last sections of Column 16 rows 13-20 are very fragmented.  They describe the rule of freewill offerings.  It seems that these freewill offerings must not come from stolen goods or gained by extortion.  Anyone doing such a thing would be punished.  But the punishment seemed to be in the form of a “fair evaluation” in retribution, most likely in a monetary amount.  That seems very odd to me.  First, how do they determine how much was stolen or extorted to begin with?  Second, the stolen or extorted goods had a monetary value.  This seems very similar to today’s punishment of multimillion dollar companies or athletes by requiring them to pay a percent or two of their net income.   It does not punish them nor does it make them stop doing the exact same thing again.

And that is the crux of the problem with religion in the first place.  Religion gives no one a good enough reason to stop the “sin” that they have committed.   They pay a little price (maybe it is a little extra tithe or a small amount of guilt) and continue to do the exact same thing.  Religion does not teach the full value of the action people take that harms others.  Yet in Humanistic Atheism we recognize that our actions do hurt other people.  It is that recognition that inhibits us from doing what we know will hurt our fellow humans.  For example, almost all Atheists recognize the harm caused by bigotry (Life Without Faith) and discrimination (National Institute of Health). 

Posted in Damascus Document, Dead Sea Scroll, Atheism, Freewill, Readings | Print | 4 Comments »

March 7, 2009, 12:19 pm by dc-agape.

With the release of all the documents found in the caves of the Qumran Wadi to scholars the Damascus Document (CD) has additions to it that were not available to the 1951 print by Millar Burrows.  Because of this, more fragments of the document can now be studies.  In this post I will relate some of the laws that the authors of the Document felt were needed to be clarified.  These fragments come from Cave 4 and are documents # 266-267, and #270-271.  I think I will keep the order that Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr, and Edward Cook  have chosen in “A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls” printed by Harper San Francisco, in 2005.

4Q266 Frag 5 Col 1 (complimented by 4Q267 Frag 5)

This is actually very fragmented but seems to be an introduction to the section of the Document that covers the Laws that must be kept.  It warns about the willful heart and the return to the sins of the ancestors.  But it seems to be directed at the repentant of Israel, the sons of Zadok, and the priests.  Nothing much more than that can be gleaned from this section.

4Q270 Frag 2 Col 1:10 – 2:21

The first column is a warning to those people who sacrifice to satyrs, seek necromancers and mediums, profane the name of YHWH, women who have a bad reputation, and men who sleep with their wives during her menstruation.  But due to the missing parts it actually does not say if these actions are good or bad!  We are to assume that these are all equally bad “sins” in the minds of the authors.

The second column is about the sacrifices to be given to the Aaronites, yes that right, not the Levites, but to the sons of Aaron.  And boy is this a heck of a list.  All the first fruits, from the harvest, including livestock, and even first born children (cash is acceptable).  But not only the first harvest and first born, this includes the first shearing of the flock, and an additional 20% to sin restitution. 

The authors then changes gears to what actions people take that should banish others from society.  These are not laws for the author’s sect, these are laws for all the Israelites.  Some of the actions that deserve banishment are defiling the Holy Spirit (the Blasphemy Challenge), skin disease, unclean bodily discharges, revealing secrets to Gentiles, rebellion against leaders, those that speak lies against YHWH, the slaughter of animals with fetuses, sex with a woman who is menstruating, and homosexuality.  This column fragment ends with a command to the righteous to listen to these words and not fall into the traps listed above.

4Q266 Frag 5 Col 2 (complimented by 4Q267)

Here we get to see what is required of the priests.  The authors start with a requirement that anyone reading from the Book of Law must have a clear, calmly control of their voice.  If anyone read aloud with a harsh voice or too quickly they should “incur the penalty of death”!  And that is one of the nicer punishments.  If any Aaronites are captured by Gentiles his name will be stricken from all genealogies.  The same punishment goes for any Aaronites who would teach false worship practices, or eats food with blood still in it.  That’s one way to keep the riffraff from changing anything!

4Q272 Frag 1 Col 1 (complimented by 4Q266 Frag 6)

This section is about sores and scabs including wounds due to splinters and stone that occur to any Israelite.  The priest is to inspect the wound for size, shape, color, and thickness.  Seven days later the priest is to re-examine the wound.  If it has improved the person is healthy and all is well.  Otherwise, the person has an incurable skin disease.  And we know what happens to them, they are outcasts for the rest of their lives.

4Q266 Frag 6 Col 1:5-16 (complimented by 4Q272 Frag 1 Col 2)

Here are the rules for diseases that affect the hair and beard.  It also includes manly discharges.  The priest is to shave the entire head or beard except the diseased area.  Seven days later the priest is to re-examine the area.  If it has not spread the person is healed.  If not, well we know what that outcome is as well…another outcast.  The man who has a discharge is to be washed with water and anyone who touches him before he bathes must also bath.  Wow, that’s not too harsh a punishment for masturbation!

4Q266 Frag 6 Col 2

Here are the laws for menstruation and child birth.  By having intercourse with a menstruating woman the man picks up her defilement.  If she has a discharge outside of her period she also becomes unclean.  The punishment seems to be equal for all three cases…for eight days they are not allowed to enter the  sanctuary.

The laws for childbirth are very odd.  If the woman has a boy she is unclean for seven days and is required to remain in blood purification for 33 days.  But if she has a girl, she is unclean for two weeks and will remain in blood purification for 66 days.  During this time she is not allowed to eat consecrated food or enter the sanctuary.  So this society actually punished woman for having girls!  It is like it wasn’t YHWH choice whether the woman gave birth to a boy or a girl.  The one caveat for the woman is that if she cannot afford a lamb for the burnt offering she is allowed to use a turtledove or a pigeon.

4Q266 Frag 6 Col 3 + 4Q270 Frag 3 Col 2 (complimented by 4Q267 Frag 6)

These are more laws about the harvest, gleaning and tithes.  It covers the harvests from grapevines, olive trees, and the field.  To say the least this one section is very disjointed and fragmentary.  It also uses the archaic measurements of seah (1.5 gallons/7 liters) and ephad (4.65 gallons/21.1 liters).  Thanks to convert center for the conversations.

4Q271 Frag 2:1-6

This fragment continues the required tithes, this time including the threshing floor. With the commandment that no one should set anything aside or use any product of the harvest until a priest could bless it.  That’s making sure you get the correct tithe!

4Q271 Frag 2:8-13

The first laws are about Gentile objects and things touched by a corpse.  The fear that Gentile might have used any object in the devotion to pagan worship required that only items purchased from Gentiles that were “straight from the furnace” could be brought into the “zone of purity”.  In the case of materials that had touched a corpse, these thing could not be used unless sprinkled according to specific regulations.  Fragment 2 ends with an odd requirement anyone who is unclean when he sees the sunset.  But any young man, below a certain age, this does not apply to.

4Q271 Frag 3:1-15

This is the last of the fragmentary Laws.  But numerous different topics are discussed.  Fragment 3 covers four different laws.  The first is about repayment of debts.  In the year of the Jubilee his debts will be released by YHWH himself.  Why can’t we have that?  Then the commandment that men and women should not dress alike is addressed.  The third law in this fragment is about business transactions including betrothals.  Anything that an Israelite sells, they must confess all the defects to the purchaser.  This includes betrothals of a daughter.  It also includes a requirement that the betrothal must be of proper status.  The authors use examples that are wrong such as plowing with an ox and an ass, or the mixing of wool and flax.  Marriage to a woman of ill-repute is the last law that is commented on in the fragments.  I love that the translators use the phrase “do the deed”.  A man can marry such a woman if she is examined by dependable and knowledgeable women prior to the marriage.  But her prior “deed” should not be revealed to the public.

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March 6, 2009, 9:30 am by dc-agape.

Geniza A Col 7:6 – 8:21

Geniza B Col 19:33 – 20:34

These two sections from the different Geniza documents complete the Exhortation portion of the Damascus Document.  What follows these are a section of fragments and then the full document continues.  These fragments and the rest of the document contain specific Laws that the community felt would help the righteous live better lives.  It was not all the laws but a selection of the Laws.  But these laws were separated into those for the entire Israelite community and those who lived in the author’s sect.

The section today covers a part that may have been misplaced and misused since the Documents original binding.  This is followed by a section of what could be learned from fulfilled prophecy. There is a section of moral exhortations which is ended by the conclusion of what will happen if Israel will follow these exhortations.

I cannot describe how refreshing it is to read when these authors use the OT to prove a point or a prophecy.  Unlike Jesus, who attempted to make the prophecy fit his actions, these authors used word of word the OT verses to make the point.  For example the text uses a verse from Isaiah 7:17:

Col 7:11-12 which says “Days are coming upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house that have never come before, since the departure of Ephraim from Judah”, that is, when the two houses of Israel separated.

When you compare the two wordings they are exactly the same, Isaiah continues with the concept of bring the King of Assyria.  Which is exactly what happened, Damascus (free dictionary) was part of the Assyrian kingdom when the “wrath of YHWH” was brought down on IsraelThe authors go into a little detail about the prophecy of Amos 5:27 and Amos 9:11.  It is quite a stretch of the imagination to make the interpretation fit the verses. But the author’s claim that the “king” is the congregation, the “foundation” is the book of the prophets, and the “star” is the Interpreter of the Law. 

In the Geniza B there is a slight change.  Instead of using Isaiah, this section uses Zechariah.  It turns to the same result.  Those who are righteous will survive, and those who are evil will be given to the sword.

The authors then tell us what can be learned from the fullfullment of these prophecies.  Those that fall for Belial will be destroyed.  Those like the Boundary-Shifters (those who cherry pick the Word of God) will be too sick to be healed, and blaming these sickness on these peoples traitorous practices.  These evil people would bore grudges against his neighbor (we have a few today that do that); they would be indifferent to the suffering of their brothers; they would love money to an extreme; and they would practice fornication.  Man, does this sound like the some of the leaders of the Christian Church’s to you?

The authors then warn about a prophecy from Deut 32:33, where the “snakes” are the kings of the Gentiles and the “wine” is the Gentiles customs, and the “poison of the vipers” is the King of the Greece.  And those who are the Shoddy-Wall-Builders (those who do not have a strong faith in YHWH) will be lead astray. 

The authors insert a paragraph about how YHWH will keep his promises.  But the people of Israel must separate themselves from the unclean, the Gentiles and the Jews who deal with the Gentiles.  But they continue with the warning that it is not the people that YHWH loves, it is that YHWH loved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he will remember the covenant with their descendants.  Wouldn’t that just make you feel a warm and cozy inside, knowing that there was nothing you could do to please YHWH?

In the Geniza B transcript the rest of the exhortations are reproduced.  The Geniza A did not have this section.  But Geniza B refines the sect’s outlook on exhortation.  One of the interesting things that crops up in this entire document is that the Messiah does not come from the House of David.  No the authors are quite clear that it will be the “Messiah from Aaron and Israel”.  In fact, Aaron (Jewish Encyclopedia) is from the house of Levi, not Judah (where David comes from).  So of course this sect would not believe in Jesus, he did not fit their understanding of the Messiah.  Remember these men followed the “Sons of Zadok” who were also from the house of Levi.

In the end of the exhortation, the author’s continue with the commandments to separate from those who are “sick of obeying the virtuous rules”.  In other words, anyone who “falls away” should be shunned.  This also sounds so familiar and we can see the similarity here:

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

The authors predict that 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness will be a time of wraith from WHYH.  But those who repent would help their brothers during this time of wraith.  At the end of this time the ability to determine the guilty from the innocent would be restored to the people.  Then all the guilty will be punished.

The exhortation ends with a very common sounding prayer:

Geniza B Col 20:28-30 and coming in accordance to the law, always obeying the Teacher and confessing to God as follows:  “We have wickedly sinned, we and our ancestors by living contrary to the covenant laws; and true are Your judgments against us” and do not act arrogantly against His holy laws

Now doesn’t that sound familiar?  Yes, here is a copy almost identical to it, the Sinner’s Prayer (Christian-centered mall).

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