the-bible-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls

HEINZ-WOLFGANG KUHN 185
yet we may wonder if they are the “same” words and phrases despite the
language barrier (in the cases discussed above, nevertheless, I would
speak of “parallels”). The other question is more difficult: We can ask
which “parallels” seem to prove or suggest a certain acquaintance of Paul
with traditions of the Qumran community; such knowledge need not be
direct. For those “parallels” it is necessary to presuppose that certain ideas
originated in the Qumran community or were of major importance for
the community, as with the term “children of light.”
A certain acquaintance with traditions of the Qumran community—
though Paul is writing before 68 C.E., the destruction of the Qumran settlement
and a possible dispersion of Qumran people—could be argued
especially for the understanding of the community as temple and God’s
planting (B 1), for the community as “children of light” (B 2), for the concept
of predestination (B 5), for the phrase “works of the Law” (C 4), and
also for the already-mentioned set of ethical traditions (D 3).
It thus is important to distinguish between two approaches to investigating
the impact of Qumran on Paul; we seek (1) to achieve a better
understanding of Paul through Qumran texts, and (2) to examine Paul’s
possible acquaintance with Qumran traditions. A direct contact of Paul
with the writings of the Qumran community is in no place probable; it
can even be denied.