The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

240 THE DREAM OF A NEW JERUSALEM AT QUMRAN
to the first century B.C.E., the most likely date is the middle of the second
century B.C.E. 42 Some scholars argue that the work originated in a context
completely independent of the sect, whereas others see it as a typical
sectarian composition. Most persuasive is the hypothesis that it originated
in the same priestly circles from which the sect later emerged, belonging
to the formative period of the Qumran community, a time before its crystallization
as a sect and withdrawal to the desert. 43 The genre and significance
of the work have also been debated. Hartmut Stegemann has
argued that it was intended to be a sixth book of the Torah, a new biblical
book that would conclude the five books of Moses. Ben Zion
Wacholder argued that it was written as a biblical book intended to
replace the Mosaic Torah. Yigael Yadin and others have concluded that it
is a rewritten Torah intended to unify the five books of Moses and to
solve various problems in the biblical text. Florentino García Martínez
and others have argued that the Temple Scroll is a work of interpretation,
a revealed and normative interpretation not intended to replace the
books of Moses, but to be read alongside them as their authoritative and
definitive interpretation. 44
The first column of the work is missing. The second column quotes
or rewrites the words God spoke to Moses in Exodus 34, in the context
of the renewal of the covenant after the incident of the golden bull. In this
passage, God promises to drive out the Amorites, the Canaanites, and
other peoples so that the people of Israel may inhabit the land; God forbids
Israel to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. Although
the passage refers to the first settlement, it is likely that it had contemporary
significance for its author or editor and original audience. They and
the sect that eventually emerged from their movement probably did not
expect a new settlement of the land, since the exile had ended long
before. But the admonitions about not associating with the inhabitants of
the land may have meant for them a separation from those who did not
agree with their interpretation of the Torah, including both fellow Jews
and Gentiles.
As the renewal of the covenant in Exodus 34 is followed by plans for
the construction of a sanctuary, the tabernacle, in Exodus 35, so also the
fragment related to the renewal of the covenant in column 2 of
11QTemple a (= 11Q19) is followed by a fragmentary account in column
42. Ibid., 242–43; Lawrence H. Schiffman dated the work to the second half of the
reign of John Hyrcanus, who ruled from 134–104 B.C.E.; idem, “Temple Scroll,”
ABD 6:348–50.
43. García Martínez, “New Perspectives,” 243–44.
44. Ibid., 244.