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

CHARLESWORTH AND MCSPADDEN 341
These observations raise the question, “Is the Righteous Teacher not
only ‘the Prophet;’ but also an example of the charismatic?” 70 He is
clearly a charismatic, using Weber’s terminology and methodology for
the ideal-type, because he not only embodied (see sections of 1QH) but
was also affirmed by the social unit at Qumran, especially articulated in
the pesharim, as the unique holder “of specific gifts of the body and
spirit,” which were “believed to be supernatural” and obviously “not
accessible to everybody.” From the images of him mirrored in the
Qumran Scrolls, especially the pesharim, the Righteous Teacher is one
“who knows only inner determination and inner restraint.” He “demands
obedience and a following by virtue of his mission.” His charismatic
authority was also enhanced by his patronymic origins; he was one of the
legitimate priests, not only one of the Sons of Aaron, but also most likely
a Zadokite. 71
The term and concept “mission,” used by Weber, is crucial; the
Righteous Teacher is the prophet to whom God finally chose to reveal all
his mysteries. All other Jews, especially the reigning high priest, misperceive
God’s will. Otherwise they would not so flagrantly disobey and
insult God by breaking his commandments. The Righteous Teacher also
makes claims on the social group he leads, and “it is the duty of those to
whom he addresses his mission to recognize him as their charismatically
qualified leader.” 72 The Righteous Teacher thus is a stellar example of
Weber’s social model for the charismatic.
These comments lead to some caveats. According to Weber, the
“corporate group which is subject to charismatic authority is based on
an emotional form of communal relationship.” 73 This applies to Qumran
and the allegiance and even adoration accorded by the Qumranites to
the Righteous Teacher; but much of what Weber also claims does not
apply to Qumran sociology. He states that the “administrative staff of a
charismatic leader does not consist of ‘officials.’” At Qumran it does.
70. For more discussion of the concept of charisma, see Bryan R. Wilson, The Noble
Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1975). Appropriate for comprehending the Righteous
Teacher’s charisma is Wilson’s insight that “charisma challenges the existing order”
(26) and that charisma “appears to be a response to…social disruption” (27).
71. James H. Charlesworth agrees with Ben Zion Wacholder that Moreh has-sedeq
seems to be a paronomasia on “Zadok.” See Ben Zion Wacholder, The Dawn of
Qumran (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1983), 99.
72. The quotations are from Max Weber, Essays in Sociology (trans. H. H. Gerth and
G. W. Mills; New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), 246–47; italics his.
73. See Max Weber, Social and Economic Organization (trans. A. M. Henderson and T.
Parsons; New York: Free Press; and London: Collier Macmillan, 1947), 360; most of
what follows in the above discussion is found on this and the following pages.