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

340 SOCIOLOGICAL AND LITURGICAL DIMENSIONS
Its interpretation concerns the congregation of the Poor Ones; thei]rs is the
inheritance of all the great [ones;] they will take possession of the high
mountain of Isra[el, and on] his holy [moun]tain they will delight.… (frags.
1–10, 3.10–11)
The third, and in some ways the most important, element in the sociological
vocabulary of Psalm Pesher 1 is the question of “whom.” What sociological
insights and sensitivities help us perceive the sociology of the
community? In particular, what are the defining contours of communal
self-identity? Admittedly, the issue of Qumran self-identity is somewhat
elusive, since the character of identity differs, depending on the text, and
the very nature of self-identification involves subjectivity. 68 Yet, while
provenience and ideology do place strictures on identity, they never
close it.
Looking closely at Psalm Pesher 1, we find parts of this “whom,” which
we may describe as a dynamic, collective first-person singular, I—an image
of the collective self that begins to disclose knowledge of self-identity.
Three reflections help to define this “whom.”
First, this self-identity is evident in how language receives power. From
Psalm Pesher 1 the community learns of its divine inheritance through
revealed and special interpretive power. Against other Jewish communities,
especially the ruling priesthood in Jerusalem, the Qumranites claim
unique ability to discern the true meaning of Scripture. In their view, God
has provided them with the gift to discern what to others is hidden—the
source of this gift being Scripture (God’s inviolate Word) and the means
being the pesher methodology. Moreover, this gift has established them
as the new prophets of God, deriving power, authority, insight, and
salvific knowledge from sacred Scripture. The quintessential prophet in
their history or midst is clearly the Righteous Teacher, who fits perfectly
Weber’s definition of prophet, “a purely individual bearer of charisma,
who by virtue of his mission proclaims a religious doctrine or divine command.”
Why? It is because “the prophet’s claim is based on personal revelation
and charisma.” 69 Not only is this portrayal of the Righteous
Teacher evident in many pesharim, but in Psalm Pesher 1 he is presented
as “the Interpreter of Knowledge” (1.27), “the pillar” (3.16), and the one
who stands “be]fore God with purposeful speech” (4.27).
68. Carol Newsom captures this complication in the title of her helpful essay, “The
Case of the Blinking I: Discourse of the Self at Qumran,” in Discursive Formations, Ascetic
Piety and the Interpretation of Early Christian Literature (ed. V. L. Wimbush; Semeia 57;
Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992). See pp. 13–23.
69. Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion (trans. E. Fischoff; 4th ed.; Boston: Beacon,
1956), 46.