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

GORDON M. ZERBE 323
The more general denunciation against unjust wealth, without reference
to the sacrifices, is picked up in the corresponding indictments in CD
8.2c–12a (= B 19.15–24a), which originally were probably also directed
against the ruling priestly class, although later applied to apostates from
the community. 11
and they defiled themselves in the ways of lust and in the wealth of iniquity
(CD 8.5) h(#r Nwhbw twnwz ykrdn wllwgtyw
and they became overbearing for the sake of wealth and gain
(CD 8.7) (cblw Nwhl wrbgtyw
This last denunciation is closely paralleled in the condemnation of priests
in Jub. 23:21, 12 further indicating the antipriestly character of the rhetoric.
In these texts economic injustice is a matter of “uncleanness” and
occasioned as a vow or a free-will offering, or as a devoted thing), perhaps also with
tithes (cf. Num 8:8–22; Lev 22:1–16; 27:1–25; Deut 12:6–26; 23:19–23; on Nbrq
coordinated with rdn and bdn, see, e.g., Lev 22:18; on Mrx, see further Lev 27:21,
28–29; Num 18:14). Cf. the reference to the practice of Nbrq in Josephus, Ant. 4.73
in the context of a discussion of priestly and temple revenues (4.68–75); and cf. the
indictment in Mark 7:11. On vows, see further Edward P. Sanders, Jewish Law from
Jesus to the Mishnah (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990), 51–57; on
Corban, see Albert I. Baumgarten, “Korban and the Pharisaic Paradosis,” JANESCU
16–17 (1984–85): 5–17; on criticisms of the priests in general, see Sanders, Judaism,
182–89.
10. According to T. Levi 14:1–6, priests will steal sacrifices, be covetous for gain, fornicate,
profane the priesthood, and pollute the sacrifices (cf. 16.1). According to Jub.
23:21 priests in the end times will exalt themselves for gain and will defile the sanctuary.
The rhetoric against oppression and pride in wealth of the ruling class is scattered
throughout the 1 Enoch (91–107; in 94:6–11; 95:7; 96:4–8; 98:6; 99:13–15;
100:6; 101:5; 102:9; 103:9–15; 104:6; against “unjust wealth,” see 97:8–10; 103:5). Yet
there is also a reference to improper practice regarding “devoted things” in 95:4: “Woe
to you who pronounce anathemas so that they may be neutralized [lit., loosened]!”
(OTP 1:76). On the importance of 1 En. 91–107 for Qumran, see George W. E.
Nickelsburg, “The Epistle of Enoch and Qumran Literature,” JJS 33 (1982): 333–48.
Ps. Sol. 8 charges the ruling elite with incest, adultery, trading wives, menstrual blood
in the sanctuary, and plundering the temple. T. Mos. 6:1 charges the Hasmonean
priests with committing “great impiety in the Holy of Holies.” On the rhetoric in the
pesharim, see below, including defilement of the temple in 1QpHab 12.8–9. Cf. Mark
11:17, temple as a “den of thieves,” based on Jer 7:11. On criticism of the temple establishment
and priests for economic justice in the targumic traditions and in rabbinic literature,
see Craig A. Evans, “Opposition to the Temple: Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls,” in Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. J. H. Charlesworth; New York: Doubleday,
1992), 236–41.
11. For example, Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, “A Literary Analysis of Damascus
Document XIX,33–XX,34,” RB 79 (1972): 562. For the application to apostates, see
CD-B 19.16–21.
12. Jub. 23:21: “They will lift themselves up for deceit and wealth so that one shall
take everything of his neighbor” (OTP 2:101).