Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered - The Preterist Archive

and (You are) the maker of everything, who established (10) [the Peoples according to their families
and their national languages. You 'made them to wander astray in a wilderness without a Way,' (11)
but You chose our fathers and to their seed gave the Laws of Your Truth (12) and the judgements of
Your Holiness, 'which man shall do and thereby live.' And 'boundary markers were laid down for us.'
(13) Those who cross over them, You curse. We, (however), are Your redeemed and 'the sheep of
Your pasture.' (14) You curse their transgressors while we uphold (the Law).' Then he who was
expelled must leave, and whosoever (15) eats with him or asks after the welfare of the man who was
excommunicated or keeps company with him, (16) that fact should be recorded by the Mebakker /
Overseer according to established practice and his judgement will be completed. The sons of Levi and
(17) [the inhabitants] of the camps are to gather together in the third month (every year) to curse those
who depart to the right or (18) [to the left from the] Torah. And this is the exact sense of the
judgements that they are to do for the entire Era (19) [of Evil, that which was commanded [for al]l the
periods of Wrath and their journeys, for everyone [who dwells in their camps and all who dwell in
their cities, al]1 that [is found in the 'Final M]idra[sh] of the Law.'
Notes:
(35) First Letter on Works Reckoned as Righteousness (4Q394-398)
Previous Discussions: J. T. Milik, 'Le travail d'édition des manuscrits du désert de Juda', (SVT 4) 24;
DJD 3, 222-5; E. Qimron and J. Strugnell, 'An Unpublished Halakhic Letter from Qumran', in Biblical
Archaeology Today: Proceedings of the International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem,
April 1984 (Jerusalem, 1985) 400-407; idem, 'An Unpublished Halakhic Letter from Qumran', Israel
Museum journal 4 (1985) 9-12 and Plate 1; L. H. Schiffman, 'The New Halakhic Letter (4QMMT)
and the Origins of the Dead Sea Sect', Biblical Archaeologist, (June, 1989) 64-73; R. H. Eisenman, 'A
Response to Schiffman on MMT', The Qumran Chronicle, 2-3, (Cracow, 1991) pp.94-104. Most
important photographs: PAM 43.477, 43.490, 43.491, 43.492 and 43.521, ER 1427, 1440, 1441, 1442
and 1471. We present an eclectic text that follows no one manuscript where they overlap. Internal
analysis shows that this text and the Second Letter were originally separate works, although two
manuscripts (4Q397-8) copy them together. Note that several fragments of 4Q398 evidently belong in
'Legal Exposition', Lines 48-56, but cannot be precisely placed and are not represented here. Further
note that the calendrical exposition is attested by 4Q394, and it is our perception only that it is an
integral part of the First Letter.
(36) Second Letter on Works Reckoned as Righteousness (4Q397-399)
See (35) above. Most important photographs: PAM 42.838, 43.476, 43.489 and 43.491, ER 1045,
1426, 1439 and 1441. Note that 4Q398 is longer at Lines 11-13 than the form of the text that we
present. Note also that the ending of the Second Letter differs slightly in 4Q399 as compared with
4Q398. We present the version contained in 4Q398 here.