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

350 ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND NONRETALIATION
and social morality in contrast to “purity” questions, or perhaps, taking into
account the nature of the rhetoric, as the primary “purity” question (cf.
Mark 7:1–23; Matt 23:23–24).
When we look at the overall sociological profiles of the two movements,
however, some sharp differences come into relief. 95 While these
differences are sometimes exaggerated, they significantly affect our
comparison of the themes of economic justice and nonretaliation, as we
shall see.
The case of Paul and nonretaliation is a good illustration of the need
to take into account the ideological framework in textual comparison. On
the one hand, among the closest verbal parallels to Paul’s maxims on
nonretaliation (Rom 12:17–20; 1 Thess 5:15) 96 are those of 1QS
10.17–20, taking into account all early Jewish or Christian texts. The
dependence of Paul on Qumran texts, however, can be ruled out since
the basic contents of the moral maxims were widely known in Judaism.
Nevertheless, there have been significant attempts to interpret Paul from
the paradigm of the Qumranic perspective. 97
Indeed, it has become clear that Paul’s ethical injunctions on nonretaliation
in relation to outsiders are far more apocalyptically framed and
motivated than most Christian interpreters would admit. While the
Qumran texts might provide heuristic insight, the actual conclusions can
be drawn from Paul’s own letters: his maxims (at least when applied to
relations with outside opponents) do not appear overtly as a love ethic
aimed at reconciliation with all opponents; they are framed within a context
of eschatological vindication and judgment, and are not unrelated to
his view that the elect will also participate in the eschatological judgment
of outsiders. His exhortation is, however, different from 1QS in significant
points: in particular, it includes an explicit prohibition against “cursing”
(Rom 12:14; 1 Cor 4:12); and the unilateral quest to be at peace
(Rom 12:18) is not presented as a facade to conceal the hatred toward
outsiders. 98 Moreover, Paul’s conversionist vision, that all outsiders are
95. For major differences in the sociological features of the two, see James H.
Charlesworth, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Historical Jesus,” and Howard C. Kee,
“Membership in the Covenant People at Qumran and in the Teaching of Jesus,” in
Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. J. H. Charlesworth; New York: Doubleday, 1992),
22–30 and 104–22 respectively.
96. For other Pauline texts in the field of nonretaliatory themes, see Rom 12:9, 12,
14; 1 Cor 4:12–13; 6:1–8; 13:4–5; 2 Cor 2:7–10; 6:4, 6; 11:20; Gal 5:20, 22; Phil 4:5;
1 Thess 3:12; 5:13–14.
97. Stendahl, “Hate, Non-Retaliation, and Love,” 347–55.
98. For detailed argument, see Zerbe, Non-Retaliation, 211–69.