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

344 ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND NONRETALIATION
own hand (1QS 6.25–27); the other identifies the penalty (six months,
later emended to one year) for breaching either the prohibition against
vengeance or the one against bearing malice (7.8–9). All of these regulations
for conduct with fellow members indicate the necessity of measures
to diffuse tension and hostility within the holy community.
Conduct in relation to outsiders is not discussed until the end of 1QS
(9.16–23; 10.17–11.2), except for the general posture of “hatred”
(1.10–11), the practice of “cursing” (2.4–18; 5.12), and the expectation of
separation, including economic separation (2.25–3.6; 5.1, 10, 13–20;
7.24–25; 9.8–10). Stance toward outsiders is further clarified in the rules
for the Maskil:
And let him not rebuke the men of the Pit nor dispute with them; let him
conceal the maxims of the Law from the midst of the men of perversity.
…;
Everlasting hatred for all the men of the pit in a spirit of concealment.
He shall surrender his property to them and the labor of his hands,
as a slave to his master and as a poor man in the presence of his overlord.
But he shall be a man full of zeal for the Precept,
whose time is for the Day of Vengeance. (1QS 9.16–17, 21–23)
These themes are reaffirmed in the segment of the Vows of the Initiates
(1QS 10.8–11.2a) pertaining to social and personal conduct (10.17–11.2).
Bracketing this segment are the following vows:
I will not return to any man the reward of evil
((r lwmg #y)l by#) )wl),
with good will I pursue each one (rbg Pdr) bw+b);
for judgment of all the living is with God,
and it is he who will render to each man his reward.
I will not envy in a spirit of wickedness,
and my soul shall not covet the wealth of violence.
And I will not engage in a legal dispute (byr) against the men of the pit
until the Day of Vengeance;
and I will not withdraw my wrath from men of perversity,
and I will not be pleased until the determination of judgment. (1QS
10.17–20)
…;
(I will vow)… to return humility (hwn() to the proud of spirit,
and (to respond) with a contrite spirit (hrb#n xwrb) to the men of deviating
(h+m y#n)), the pointers of the finger, the speakers of evil, and
the acquirers of wealth (Nwh ynqm). (11.1–2)
The following salient points must be recognized in the above quotations.
First, unique in DSS literature is the prohibition against retaliation,