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

CHARLESWORTH AND MCSPADDEN 345
the community. 78 As Psalm Pesher 1 shows, survival occurs when all members
of the community adhere to this symbolization.
Third is the association of a name. Psalm Pesher 1 identifies the community
with an important titular designation. It is dxyh; see dxyh tc(b
in frags. 1–10, 2.15 and dxyh td( in frags. 1–10, 4.19. In this pesher,
as throughout the Qumran library, the term dxyh “the Community”—as
already intimated, is a terminus technicus. 79 Already in the present work we
have used Ya4h[ad as a means of indicating the group at Qumran, but its
significance is greater than its function as a synonym.
The noun derives from the verbal root dxy which in the Qal, usually
in the Imperfect, denotes “to be united” (Gen 49:6, Isa 14:20) and “to
come together” (Ps 122:3). Etymologically linked with it is another
important term, the cardinal number one, dx) (in Hebrew) and dx (in
Aramaic), “one.” Thus, the two terms (dxy and dx)) are linked etymologically
(cf. also Heb. dyxy which means “singular,” “only”). The community,
the Ya4h[ad, is “One.” It is singularly united with one purpose and
aligned with One God. The community is defined by solidarity. As members
of the Ya4h[ad, the Qumranites live, act, and think as one. 80
Myth and ritual clearly had social functions within the community. As
W. Burkert argued, “myth and ritual can form an alliance for mutual
benefit.” And these two, myth and ritual, “became a major force in forming
ancient cultures.” 81 These sociological reflections help us comprehend
the myth that shaped the pesharim and the ritual that helped to establish
the close knit social group.
CONCLUSION
Thinking sociologically, one can imagine that many of the Qumranites
would have experienced significant tensions and frustrations. One tension
seems ancient in the history of Israel: the individual’s search for meaning
between solidarity with Israel and some individuality. At Qumran the
sociological tension was the relationship between the life of the collective
78. Here we acknowledge the influence of the work of Mary Douglas found in her
Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology (New York: Pantheon Books, 1982).
79. For a list of other termini technici in 4QpPs a (= 4Q171) see, Charlesworth, The
Pesharim and Qumran History, 40–41.
80. For more on the usage of this term prior to the Qumran Community see,
Shemaryahu Talmon, “The Qumran dxy,” 53–60.
81. Walter Burkert, Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1979), 56–57.