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

298 QUMRAN COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND TERMINOLOGY
The variant in 1QS 5.2–3 has been widely discussed. Whereas
Vermes speaks of two different traditions, 37 C. Hempel has developed the
thought further, speaking of a Zadokite recension, the marks of which
can also be seen in the text of 1QSa. 38 R. Kugler discusses another variant
concerning the sons of Zadok in 1QS 9.14 par. 4QS e 3.10 (4Q259;
qwdch ynb par. qdch ynb), arguing that the form in 1QS typifies a later
recension indicating that the Zadokite priests had not always had a
prominent role in the community but gained that position only at a later
stage. In his view the Zadokites, however, remained obedient to the superior
maskil. 39 Although developments in the text can be due to historical
changes in the community, I do not find it compelling in 1QS 5.2–3 nor
in 1QS 5.9–10. Both of the substitute wordings occurring in 1QS are
heavily loaded with theological vocabulary: The sons of Zadok are
referred to as “the priests who keep the covenant” and “seek his will,” 40
and the men of the community as those “who hold fast to the covenant”
and “who together willingly offer themselves for his truth and to walk
according to his will.” If one attributes the motive for replacing the term
Mybrh to theological factors, then these two changes are in line with
other redactional changes made in the section.
Other examples of editorial changes involving organizational terminology
are the instances in 1QS 5 where the words dxy and tyrb have
been added to the text secondarily. The case in 1QS 5.20–22 par. 4QSd
2.1–2 is probably the most illustrative (the words lacking in 4QS b,d but
added in 1QS are in italics): “…they shall examine his spirit…under the
authority of the sons of Aaron who have willingly offered themselves in
the community to establish his covenant and to pay attention to all his
statutes which he has commanded men to perform, and under the
authority of the multitude of Israel who have willingly offered themselves
to return in the community to his covenant.” A similar kind of insertion
occurs in 1QS 5.5–6 par. 4QS b 9.5 par. 4QS d 1.4: “…that they may
lay a foundation of truth for Israel, for the community of the eternal
37. Vermes, “Preliminary Remarks,” 255.
38. Charlotte Hempel, “The Earthly Essene Nucleus of 1QSa,” DSD 3 (1996):
253–69, and “Community Structures,” 83–84.
39. Robert Kugler, “A Note on 1QS 9:14: The Sons of Righteousness or the Sons
of Zadok,” DSD 3 (1996): 315–20.
40. Following her position that “sons of Zadok” signify an elite group within the
community, Hempel (“Community Structures,” 84n58) also interprets 1QSa
1.22b–25 from a perspective of historical development. Her observation, however,
that “authority is attributed in a…convoluted fashion to the sons of Aaron in line 23
and to the sons of Zadok in line 24,” rather suggests that the term “sons of Zadok”
was interchangeable with “sons of Aaron” as designations for the priests.