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

348 ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND NONRETALIATION
are (a) the permission of judicial action against outsiders (Gentiles; and
presumably other Jews) in matters of property (CD) in contrast to the
complete withholding of judicial action in the present order of time
(1QS); (b) a less-strident posture in relation to the Gentiles (proselytes,
slaves) in CD; (c) no evidence in CD for “concealed hatred” of outsiders,
for the central role of the elect in eschatological vengeance, or for the
facade of subservience as the proper attitude in the present.
These differences in both themes are significant, adding weight to the
supposition that CD and 1QS represent two sociological profiles and situations.
87 Using Bryan Wilson’s typology, we can identify the particular
sectarianism of 1QS as “introversionist withdrawal”; CD might be classified
as a more moderate example. 88 That these significant differences—
among many others, however—can be found within one general
movement is not surprising when compared to other examples of sectarian
reaction. 89
When we compare the Jesus movement and the previously identified
streams represented by the DSS in regard to their overall sociological profile,
87. Sanders, Judaism, 352–64, focusing on food, purity, and the temple, concludes
that 1QS is “sectarian,” “fully separate from the rest of Judaism,” whereas CD reflects
an “extreme party.” For another survey, see Philip R. Davies, “Communities in the
Qumran Scrolls,” Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association 17 (1994): 55–68, who, however,
argues that CD; 1QS; and 1QS a project “utopian” situations and do not necessarily
reflect actual communities.
88. Bryan R. Wilson, Magic and the Millennium (New York: Harper & Row, 1973),
43–48; but his categories of “utopian,” “revolutionist,” and “conversionist” sectarian
reaction also fit features of the community envisioned by 1QS. For sociological analyses
of Qumran, see John J. Collins, “Was the Dead Sea Sect an Apocalyptic
Movement?” in Archaeology and History in the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. L. H. Schiffman;
Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), 25–51; Jean Duhaime, “Relative Deprivation in New
Religious Movements and the Qumran Community,” RevQ 16 (1993): 265–76. In
comparison to 1QS, the Laws of CD indicate a greater interaction with the surrounding
world, and CD’s dualistic ideology is not as sharp, suggesting that its sense
of alienation was not as pronounced. Toward a sociological profile of CD as representing
a sect, see Philip R. Davies, “The ‘Damascus’ Sect and Judaism,” in Pursuing
the Text (ed. J. Kampen and J. C. Reeves; JSOTSup 184; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1994),
70–84.
89. One cross-cultural parallel (mutatis mutandis) to the case of Essenes is the socalled
sectarian Anabaptist movement in turbulent sixteenth-century Europe. Within
the broader movement, one finds instances of the notions of temporarily withholding
the sword until the eschatological day arrives (Hans Hut) and of using the sword to
establish the kingdom of God on earth (Münsterites and Jan of Leyden), both within
a wider movement otherwise marked by the absolute rejection of the sword.
Moreover, while most communities were committed to mutual solidarity and to charity,
some communities eventually practiced complete community of goods
(Hutterites). See J. Denny Weaver, Becoming Anabaptist (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press,
1987), 52–70, 83–91.