సాక్ష్యం 3. It opens the door of freedom to those who are in bondage.
4.Fasting encourages the sharing of one’s house with the homeless.
5.Fasting allows to share the bread with the destitute.
6.It will also prompt one to share the clothing with the naked.
We can also see the importance of fasting mentioned by Queen Esther in the Bible. On the thirteenth of Adar, the day before Purim, Queen Esther of ancient Persian kingdom, engaged herself in a dancing act which would have cost her life. She happened to meet her husband King Ahasuerus without prior permission to plead for her people (the Jews), who were threatened by Haman the prime minister. Before she took that venture, She asked all Jews to go on fast from dawn to dusk the day before Purim. This Purim holiday was actually one of the important festivals to Jews. Though it is mentioned in the Bible in the book of Esther, it never achieved the status of Biblical holidays, like those ordained in the Pentateuch. Chapter : 2
THE WRITERS OF
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
This topic is really fascinating. It is concerned more to the new interpretation about the origin and meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls. Those scrolls had become more controversial. Yet fascinating subject to the research scholars and historians to know more and more about them; since the time of their discovery in the Qumran caves in the year 1947 by the shepherd boy by name Bedouin, In this context a professor Norman Golb challenged some people who said they were written by a small desert dwelling people. But he pointed out those scrolls were produced by people of ancient Judaism then they were kept in the library of Jerusalem and finally smuggled out of the capital city at the time of the attack of Romans in 70 AD.
The Professor Norman Golbeloquently depicted the spiritual fervor of the people at that time who lived and wrote. “Actually it was the time of wonderful writings of great books like the Hebrew Holy Bible and the birth of the New Testament. In the Qumran plateau, the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and Khierbet Qumran dominate the Sea’s North Western Shore. Even though it was mentioned in any ancient source it had drawn the attention of the explorers; during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Then in 1940 an eminent historian and archeologist Michael Avi- Yonah perceived at a fortress among mainly military sites in the Judaean wilderness. Their main purpose during Biblical and intertestamental time was to defend Jerusalem from the enemies beyond the river Jordan and the Dead sea. Then in 1947after the publication of the Avi -Yonah’s map which contained this information that Bedouin tribes men made their wonderful discovery of the first seven scrolls in the cave. It was just a kilometer North of Khirbet Qumran. And it was the time of the out break of enmity between the Jews and Arabs following the partition of mandatory Palestine During that critical time this discovery caused a great excitement among other people to go toward Jerusalem and beyond, to find out some other places of discovery. Those scrolls were undoubtedly a contribution of the antiquity which had been hidden there for about two thousand years ago. And those scrolls became a great value to the history of Judaism and early Christianity.
One of the first text discovered and named later as “Manual of discipline”. It is said about the sectarian group of believers who resembled ancient fascist sect known as the “Essenes”. Then the scholars like pliny the Elder in the later first century A.D found out in his natural history that a group of Essenes lived on the western shore of the Dead sea, somewhere above the town of “En Gedi”. He further said that those Essenes did not marry and lived isolated life; but only with palm trees as their company. According to another historian by name Josephs the Essenes were one of the three sects of philosophies of the Jews in the second Temple Palestine.
The others were pharisees and Sadducees. The main occupation of them was agriculture. Josephus and philo both historians agreed on one point that is the way of the life of Essenes. Josephus described that the Essenes belief in God was completely in control of all earthly things. They also believed the soul of man was immortal and the soul would be rewarded or punished after this life. The result depends upon the deeds they do in this world. They thought it was injustice to maintain slaves. They followed the laws of Sabbath observances and ritual purity. The Essenes believed that the body was a prison house to the soul, until the time of death. THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE JEWS
Albright expressed his opinion and agreement regarding the developing theory. He said that the scrolls had been written by a group of Essenes who lived near the Qumran caves where the scroll manuscripts were discovered. On the whole all the readers agreed and Indorsed the statement of Albright in our desertation also. We naturally refer to the writers of the text to the Essenes covenanters of Qumran. Just at that peak time the war of Israel’s independence was over and Jerusalem became a divided city. Then a team of catholic and protestant scholars were working in the Judaran wilderness on one hand the Arab infected Jerusalem priests and students were working on the other. In such conditions it is quite but natural the enmity between the Jews and Muslims increased a lot. Just at that time professor ElizarSukenik, of Hebrew university who was also an esteemed archaeologist somehow managed to look into the seven newly discovered texts. He felt extremely happy to see them and purchased three out of seven. Then in 1954 the remaining four were purchased in the united states for Israel Museum. At present all the seven texts were safe and secure in the shrine of the books. At that time the scrolls included two texts of the Biblical book of prophet Isaiah as well as the works that were completely unknown to anybody. One of them appeared to be a collection of religious Hymns or “Hodayot” , which were in the style of Biblical psalms; and from them only eighteen columns and various fragments were preserved. In addition to that, a short commentary (presher) on the book of Habakkuk or presher Habakkuk or Habakkuk commentary was found. He was a minor prophet in the Bible.
As mentioned in that commentary there was an imaginative description of a war which was supposed to have taken place in the apocalyptic era between the good and evil people (troops) of humankind. It is known as in the earliest days as “war between the sons of light against the sons of darkness”. This was called finally “war scrolls”. Added to that a work of eleven columns was also found and its paras (paragraphs) described a gigantic ceremony for the purpose of following and leading a virtuous life. The original scrolls purchased by sukenik were, the “Hodayot”, the war scroll and one of the two manuscripts of the book of prophet Isaiah. After sometime the remaining four texts were purchased by his son “yegaelyadin” in New York city from the Syrian Metropolitan of Jerusalem; Mar Athanasius Samuel. We shall look into this last text later because of its importance as it is connected with the “Manual of Discipline”.
This “Manual of Discipline” contained many things like important instructions in several columns followed by the description of the ceremony of imitation, set out procedure in order to gain admission into the group and also a mode of disciplined behavior to become members. They were also instructed to leave all their wealth to lead a spiritual life which would lead to physical purity. Along with this they would take together ceremonial meals also which we call “love feast”. Then they were to participate in discussions to disclose the secrets of Pentateuch and conduct meetings connected groups, laws and good behavior among themselves. Then in 1957 some other discoveries of scrolls and scroll fragments were found in Judean wilderness; But only a small group of scholars were authorized to study and publish them. The research work has been continued by different scholars on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and its manuscripts team happened to publish the first volume of texts in 1955. And in the same year, the excavation of the Khirbet Qumran area was stopped surprisingly the scholars could see the first printed volume of the texts. FIRST SCROLLS DISCOVERY IN 1947
According to some reliable information a sect of Jewish people inherited the area of Khirbet Qumran in antiquity. From those occupied Jews, a group of them happened to write the scrolls and this took place not during the reign of “Hosmonean” or during the reign of Romans, but in the “Middle Ages”. The handwritings of the scrolls resembled Palestine Jewish inscriptions of intertestamental times. Along with the scrolls in the caves some ancient Greek Biblical fragments a good number of written old Canaanite or palaeo Hebrew scripts were also found. But the Jars found in some of the caves and the scrolls in them indicated they belonged to the period of Roman rule. It is proved that those writings were of Jewish authors composed exactly between 150 B.C. and 100 A.D. which were included in the manuscripts of the Septuagint (i.e. the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture by 70 eminent Jewish priests in Alexandria during the reign of Alexander the Great). But they were not recognized as canonical or holy by rabbinical Judaism.
The originals of those Hebrew and Greek writings were all almost lost and forgotten. And regarding this “Manual”, is a text of highly spiritualizing quality. The deeper meaning is totally centered on the meaning of Torah, which has to be properly studied and understood. The author of the texts gave his opinion regarding the words of Joshua in 1.8 should be always in the minds of Israelites both day and night, the words concerned to Law and the importance of the Ten Commandments. They should remember also the words of prophet Isaiah (40.3). “A voice call out in the wilderness hears ye the way of the Lord”, have consonance with this idea a special meaning. “When all these became a unity in Israel they will be separated through those rules from the settlement of the men of wickedness going to the wilderness to clear there the way of the Lord as written “In the desert clear ye the way (for the Lord) make ye strait in the wilderness a path for our Lord, ( this is the expanding of the Torah that (the Lord commanded through Moses, to do according to every revealed thing season by season. Keeping this in mind, the author of the Manual suggests that the deeper meaning of the words of Isaiah about going into the wilderness was what John the Baptist did after centuries. The most influential single idea promulgated was that the Manual of Discipline described the beliefs and practices of a sect of Jews who lived in Kherbet Qumran. It is finally decided what was found in the Manual of Discipline could be found in the other discoveries of scrolls in the caves.
The Bedouin happened to discover six other scrolls out of the first Qumran cave. Two of them were concerned to the above mentioned scrolls of the book of prophet Isaiah and one of the four was unknown writing like the Manual. Then another text was about the Aramaic romance known as Genesis Apocryphan. It contained some imaginative tales based on the early lives of some people in the book of Genesis. They were like Lamech, Noah and Abraham who related the details of their lives. One of the texts was called “war scroll” which clearly depicted a giant battle may have to like place in an age to come. In that text the writers gave full details of the Apocalyptic terror of the battle from the beginning itself.
In that dreadful war, two different people would involve. This warfare is connected to the attack of the sons of light, against too many of the sons of darkness. The participants as the sons of darkness are – the army of Biblical, the troops of Ecldm, and moab, the troops of Ammonites, the army of Philistia the troops of the Kittim of Assur and other allied forces who perpetuate wickedness against the covenanted people. The opposite side army is the sons of Livi, the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin and also the diaspora of the desert shall fight against the heathens in the manner of one troop after another diaspora of the sons of light return from the desert of the nations to encamp at the desert of Jerusalem. (Column 1 lines 1-7)
With the discovery and publication of “manual”, some scholars found certain lines common in both the texts, “the Manual and the Damascus covenant”. The same words and ideas were repeated in both of them. Then the text “Pesher Habakkuk and the liturgical Hodayot” put for scruitiny some parallel reputation of some words and ideas emerged between both the texts. The final outcome of all these statements is that all the discoveries are interconnected, in using the same words and expressing the same ideas. The pesher on Habakkuk was more fascinating and historically more important than the text of Hodayot. It represented the ancient writer, who wished to relate his statement as a minor prophet Habakkuk in the Bible. WHAT IS THE DAMASCUS COVENANT ?
The Lord remembered the covenant of the ancients and raised from Aaron men of understanding and from Israel men of wisdom. He made His law known to them and they dug well. “The well the princess dug, that the nodes of the people, delved with the staff”. (Numbers 21.18) The “well” is Torah and the diggers are the representatives of Israel who left the land of Judah and lived in the land of Damascus. The scholar who identified the Essenes of Qumran was surprised to find two sects of them following a common religious system in the same district of the Dead Sea. These two sects lived together for two centuries with common habits with religious rituals and ceremonies.
According to Qumran Essene theory, the Messianic Ruler was one of the seventy fragmentary manuscripts that were found in cave alone. Once it was exploded and excavated, people found a variety of the remains of some Hebrew liturgy texts and twelve of them were scriptural writings. They were including the fragments of the scroll of Leviticus, written in the Old canonistic palaeo Hebrew script which indicated their age. There were also non – Biblical texts as fragments which were the commentaries on the biblical, Micah, Zephaniah and psalms; In general it is quite similar to the pesher Habakkuk which was found earlier. Then in February 1956, a Ta-amaresh Bedouin located another scripts in cave 3 which is the North of Khirbet Qumran. It was called (11 Q) which had some of the most important treasures.How far, the copper scrolls that were discovered at Masada manuscripts and the seize of Jerusalem are worthy for debate The discovery of copper scrolls in cave 3 in 1955, appeared to be a great improvement in the scroll research. The contents of the text found in a recess behind the manuscripts provided most important issues for new understanding of scrolls origins. The discovery of scrolls and the site of Khirbat Qumran placed an indilible impression in all subsequent debates. The copper scroll found in two sections and it could not be unfolded immediately because of three reasons –
1)Due to its long age.
2)Due to its brittleness.
3)Due to its inflexibility.
Most of the words in that copper scrolls were correctly understood by Heidelberg scholar K.G.Keedin during his visit to Jerusalem.
Later Keedin published an article, which suggested about the scrolls as they contained the description of Essene treasures and his view point was totally occupied. Next in the book of Dr.JohnAllegore of Manchester university, written about the scrolls, he first transcribed and translated. He published his book on the copper scroll independently and gave detailed information about it.
After the discovery of copper scrolls and made enough research the scholars became more enthusiastic to discover more and more ancient manuscripts near Jerico city and some scholars began their search around Jerusalem called Judean wilderness for further evidence. Eventually Israel’s attention was drawn toward Masada, the great rock forties in the desert in the south of “En Gedi”. It is about fifty kilometers from Qumran caves. Masada was under the states of Israel from its inception and Israeli archeologists conducted a survey during 1955-56. Then the capture of Masada was a final major event in the first revolt. After that the Romans established a garrison there. In course of time some habitation took place, during the Byzantine period. But in a very short time that place became desolate and deserted filled with dust and debris as centuries passed.
Sometime later two seasons of digging archeologists under the direction of YigadYadin uncovered the whole area of Masada including Herod’s palace and part of that site was used by the sicaree and the refuges that came from Jerusalem during the period of resistance against the hard core Romans. Among the ruins the scholars found many artifacts of the period, inscribed coins, jars with the names of their owners and at least fifteen more important Hebrew texts. Among those fragments scrolls there were two scrolls concerned to the book of Deuteronomy and to the book of “Ezekiel”. They were found in a building which was identified as a Synagogue and some other texts were found in rooms near the great wall in the area of Masada. And many more in a particular room of chamber of rampart. Those good number of fragments were included with the fragments of “Leviticus” fragments of two copies of psalms twenty six fragments of the original texts of wisdom of Ben Sire (=Ecclesiasticus) fragments of the two copies of Jubilee literary texts, documentary papers in Hebrew, Greek and Latin parts of the so called songs of the Sabbath sacrifice “otherwise known as Angelic Liturgy texts”.
Generally speaking the literacy loads were of the same pattern that were found at Qumran caves. In 1960 some of the fragments of Qumran such as “the songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice” were published and the editor said that the work was included with the publication of calendar dividing the year into twelve months of thirty days each month. But some of the early writers pointed out that such a calendar was peculiar to the “Qumran Essenes”. Actually many of the defenders came from Jerusalem before and following the capture of Jerusalem city by the Romans in 70 A.D. The discovery of this and the Qumran like fragments would give a clear idea that, the fragment scrolls found in Masada and fragment scrolls found in Qumran caves all were composed by a sect of Essenes who lived around Qumran caves. But Allegro believed the Essenes had nothing to do with hiding them in a cave near the monastery. Regarding the treasure it belonged to the Temple in Jerusalem and the priests of the Temple had already taken precautions to keep that treasure out of the reach of the plundering Roman soldiers. The Essenes also followed the same method as followed by the Temple priests to hide their library.
YigealYadin published another Qumran manuscript in the year 1977. Then he explained what he had written (to the scholars) and everybody was happy with his wanting. Then after ten years he gave an announcement in Jerusalem about the scrolls that contained important rules connected to the God’s Temple of Jerusalem. Later he called it Temple scroll. He came to know the origin of the scrolls was the Qumran cave 11 and in fact it appeared to be a mystery. But Yadin called it Qumran scroll. It is said, actually nobody knew from which place it had come or by whom it was given to Yadin. One thing is proved. The antiquate dealer received $105000 as the cost of that scroll which was called the Temple scroll.
The Hebrew text of the Temple scroll cave 11 and Yadin’s commentary appeared in 1977 with some predictable view forced upon the readers. In 1952 thousands of manuscript fragments in cave 11 were unearthed and most of them were kept in the Rockefeller Museum and deposited in that ground floor workroom. And in that ground floor a team of scholars joined together and sorted out the Biblical and non-biblical fragments. Then between 1952 and 1954 a most gifted scholar. Father Josef Milik of Poland identified some fragments of the acts of “Torah” which he refered to (4 Q Mishn) which means (fragments of a work in early rabbinic (Mishnic) Hebrew found in Qumran cave 4).
The importance of the observations of Milik about the “acts of Torah” gave the impression that it was written either in the first or middle of the first century, but the truth is far off from its existence. And Milik made use of some passages from the acts of the Torah text for the purpose of his discussion during the first century A.D. Them he produced a documentary work at the same time. After some years, the Temple scroll was published which resulted a program of ritual observance which was not found in the earlier publication of the same scrolls. The temple scroll and the system of Jewish law of the second Temple periods one could point out an occasional exceptions, parallel rules, prohibition of sexual relationship in the Holy city were found in both the Damascus covenant and in the Temple scroll. So it became impossible to keep direct correspondence between the Temple scroll and other systems of Jewish law, and this fact was known to people through different sources. The calendar of the Temple scroll was prepared in accordance with the early rabbinic calendar and did not agree with the Qumran sect. The writer of the acts of Torah describes in his epistle and said we have separated ourselves from the majority of the nation as a result of the specific differences in ritual practices he listed.
The Hebrew term the writer used for “ We have separated” was – parashmu – and this word had taken its roots in pharisees (Hebrew – pereeshim which means separatists). This term was applied only to pharicus who were well noted in history. In this context some writers suggested that because they studied and observed thoroughly the Biblical laws of purity. And the term “we have separated” was not found in any other Qumran scrolls. The language used was also idiomatic. The phrases were affectionate toward one another and well cultured. They always maintained harmonious relationship among themselves whereas the behavior of Sadducees was quite opposite. They used to be unfriendly among themselves and their intercourse with their peers appears more crude as if they have been dealing with the aliens.
The author of the acts of Torah called the Pentateuch with the title, the book of Moses and this expression was also not found in anyother scroll. The other books he particularly respected were the books of prophets the book of David called psalms. He made special mention of David and his son, Solomon, how they received abundant blessings from God, and how the sons of David were forgiven. The most astonishing events in the case of the author were his wonderful statements about the “End of Days”. He first wrote that the “End of Days” (aharithayayamin) was upon the Israelites that they would return to the Lord one day and the wicked be punished. According to Josephus a popular Jewish historian, it was the phrase who believed that souls had power to survive death and there are rewards and punishments under the earth. For those people who lead a pious life God would show them the easy way of life. Regarding Sadducees Josephus said, they had rejected the idea of fate altogether. Even the Gospels and the Book of Acts confirmed that they had no belief in compensatory after life or “End of Days”. Actually this concept is quite contrary to the other Jewish people.
The Sadducees because of their strange way of life never expressed their views about the “End of the Season” in the moral and religious context and also they never spoke of reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked. Josephus a popular Jewish historian clearly spoke about the Essenes and their idea about afterlife. But their opinion was not a satisfactory answer to the author of the act of Torah. The faith of the Essenes was that the body would perish and become futile; but the soul would become immortal. But for the Essenes the souls of good had lived above, beyond the seas. Regarding the wicked their souls would be chastised in a murky dungeon. As a matter of fact, one or two laws of the acts of Torah are to be applied to so called Sadducees on the contrary would express that they like to remain unclean or impure till evening.
Josephus while writing circa in 75 A.D describes fundamentally two groups among Essenes. Those who would celebrate and those who were not, and in addition to them, the Sadducees, as well as more pharisees. Apart from them there were also Zealots and Secarie whom Josephus called sectarian groupings. However the scrolls made it clear that the number of religious groupings among the Jews was more than the number mentioned by Josephus. Many fragments were published from Masada very recently. They were concerning to the rebels during the revolt by Zealots and other Jews against Romans. In addition to fragment texts the manuscripts of Sabbath songs (angelic liturgy) which were known in several names of manuscripts were found in Qumran in Masada. In fact, many of the works found in Qumran, were the common heritage of the second Temple of Jerusalem and did not originate in nor confined to Qumran sectarian circle.
Basing on the above said information it became crystal clear that the scrolls and texts discovered at different places have become main source for the study of Judaism in different stages in the last centuries before the Common Era. It was a peak time that a number of Qumran officials began to suggest a name to the theory. According to their suggestion, some of the texts found in the cave had not been composed at Qumran but they were brought from some unknown place. John strunell, who was still official Editor of the acts of Torah said that with the participation of Elisha Qimran he completed a six hundred page commentary on the brief text.
He clearly said Judaism is a racist religion. It is the very existence of Jews as a group and as members of Jewish religion. Regarding, the Sabbath laws, his opinion was that they are the excuse or examples of laziness. As indicated already about the Qumran scroll, there was no correct date of their writing. They were not originated in a full millennium earlier. They appeared more remote in time and offered only five or six hundred examples of Hebrew manuscripts which were spread over three centuries. It is said total of fourteen ancient Hebrew texts were examined and eight out of them were found in Qumran two of them from Masada, and the remaining four did not have any address at which place they were discovered. During the year 1980, the spread of the Samizdat version of the acts of Torah had been continued and through this the member of scholars were increased and came to know the importance of the text. Then in1989 a good number of scholars who gathered at Poland in the second conference to discuss on the Torah agreed to prepare a suitable version of that and distributed the copies in Germany. And the publication of the acts of Torah surprised even the two editors of those volumes because those samizdat version was already became popular among people. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF DEAD SEA SCROLLS?
According to historical background, the Dead Sea scrolls and the surrounding area played a very crucial role in the sociology of knowledge. A group of scholars planned to mention about these texts became necessary to control the ideas of their origin. And this control plan was amply demonstrated by the American scroll exhibition. During the process of opening the scrolls and those who were holding monopoly tried to maintain control over their opponents. The value and importance of the scrolls and their basic importance found necessary for our understanding of Judaism and Christianity. After thorough research it is proved that those scrolls were inferior both literally and spiritually and they did not provide any link between Biblical and rabbinic itself. After knowing about three major problems which required correct resolution who wrote those manuscripts, what actually they wanted to convey to the people and primarily what must be their intrinsic value as spiritual and literacy productions. A historian of the Jews would have concerned more for the value of the scrolls for correct understanding the true history of Jews and also about the earlier Palestinian Christianity and during what period they were written. It is asserted that the Qumran scrolls were deposited in the caves approximately in 70 A.D as contemporary account.it is said those scrolls did not contain either gospels or rabbinic dicta – to Essenes to study them at suitable time.
The persecution of Jews by the heathen king Antiochus Apiphanes and the Maccabean revolt led to the spiritual and material independence of the Jewish nation both in Judaea and outside. The Jewish monotheism was saved with the momentous results. In the second century B.C after centuries of subjection to the imperial powers an independent state had arisen under the leadership of Hasmaneans and gradually spread over whole of Palestine and finally achieved international recognition and status. As a result of that, Palestine religiously and naturally became “Greater Judaea”. And this fact was stamped on the religious cultural and ethnic character of the country for a long time. Many of the Qumran scrolls reflect the development and the remaining new literature dates from the inception of the Roman domination of Palestine in 63 A.D. Some scholars of the New Testament demonstrate many parallels between the ideas it contained and those found in the scrolls.
One of the most important text the Damascus covenant, had become well known and its identity was debated before the Qumran discovery. Inspite of many earlier identifications suggested for its text the discovery of the same text in the caves......... confirmed a link between Damascus document and the literature of Qumran community. According to Josephus Essenes men who married took every precaution to ascertain good moral and physical character. A fragment was published in the catalogue which gave an unworthy women in marriage to man or vice versa is like violating the Pentateuch injection against wearing normal garments or cloths.
The discovery of pottery was confirmed the connection between the scrolls found in the caves and the artifacts found nearby khirbet Qumran ruins. It was believed by the scholars and people that the sects(people) hid the scrolls in jars and kept the jars in the caves just for the sake of safety. The community rule (the Manual of Discipline) would tell us about the sect we believe lived in the Qumran area and that sect must be Essenes. It seemed some Torah precepts (the acts of Torah) appeared to have been written in the form of letter, by the leader of Qumran community.
After proper discussion of previous chapters reviewedthe outcome of all that must have correctly understood by the readers. It is undoubtedly a most progressive period in the history of Jewish people. The scholars studied and every one of the fragment scroll was investigated some other scrolls, containing non-sectarian poetry were psalms scrolls found in the cave 11. They were also included non-canonical Hymns, which frequently reflected the Hellenistic ideas and the songs of Sabbath sacrifice from the cave which contained fragments of at least such six poetic compositions and the cave 4 had some more poetic writings. They reflected various shades of religious expressions and one of the most important among such was pseudo epigraphic psalms collection.
The biblical citations that were used in the non-biblical texts were also not in uniform. As already quoted earlier, the Jewish people did not settle, upon the canonized “Holy Scriptures” until second century A.D. The calendar was also showed a wide variety of practices among the intertestamental Jews. In addition to that the brotherhood system was also not mentioned in the Damascus covenant which was put in the American exhibition through an interesting cave 4 fragment. Many such written fragments were found in the Qumran caves and among them one such doctrinally divergent in nature was “the acts of Torah”. The strange thing here was the author of the acts of the Torah, used Hebrew of a proto- Tannaitic in character and the same method was used in the copper scroll, also But the Temple scroll reflected an independent method of its own.
When the scholars neglected the question of scrolls relationship to Rabbinic Judaism the earliest Christianity occupied an important place. And majority of writers in this subject found striking links between the ideas and practices in the manuscript. Therefore there were some similarities to early Christian practices and ceremonies were observed among the features of the scrolls to gain public attention. One of such practice was communal meal, (what we call now-a-days as love feast). There were some passages also from two valuable scrolls that described this system of communal meal in details. The first scroll that mentioned this system was Manual of Discipline. As mentioned in the passage whenever ten people of the council of “yahad” come together for meal, they would sit according to their ranks. At that time a priest was supposed to announce blessing and then they would start their meal of bread and wine. The same type of passage was found in the scroll of Messianic rule, too. Here, the Messiah of Israelites was Jesus Christ. The same type of passages we can find in three Gospels and in the writings of Apostle Paul. Baptism according to the New Testament is a sign of one’s entrance into faith. We can also say a pre-requisite qualification and mandatory for achieving salvation. There is a passage in the Manual of Discipline concerning Baptism. It is said the unraputed persons would not be allowed to enter into the waters of Baptism.
Baptismal rituals were wide spread in early rabbinic and Christian times. According to the book of Acts all the early Christians lived together and had everything in common. They used to sell away their properties and share that with others who needed. Likewise those who wanted to remain as the members of the community must give away all their properties was unique and praiseworthy and it could be found in two groups in ancient Judaism.
There were some common features between the scrolls and the New Testament which after illuminated the latter in the important ways particularly in the area of biblical interpretations. Nothing like commentaries spiritually appeared in the New Testament but the general understanding of the nature of Jewish scriptures and its proper use of prophesies are found there and in the scrolls. Majority of the scrolls and in the New Testament we find a belief in a God who is intimately involved in human affairs either punishing or rewarding His people according to His judgment. In contrast the Sadducees belief was that God remained aloof from the affairs of the world but no such text was found in the Qumran caves.
At certain occasions a myriad of angels acted as mediators between God and man. Angels were found in many of the scrolls who used to help the human beings in booths in war scroll (Column 7,11) guiding their actions in the same part of the Manual of worship the Almighty God in “the songs of the Sabbath sacrifices”. In the Gospels of the New Testament also, we come across angels in certain functions. According to the Gospel of Luke (chapter 1 and 2) the angels had announced the coming of Jesus and his parents. In the book of revelation, we come across how the angels worshipped God in the Temple of heaven (chapters 4-5) and continued the punishment of God against the unrighteous (chapters 9-
10). Some similarity between the doctrine of two spirits was also found in the Manual (column 3) and certain New Testament passages.
According to the Manual human souls have been guided by the two spiritual angels. The spirit of light would try to lead the humanity in the way of righteousness and rule over all righteous individuals whereas the spirit of darkness would try to tempt the people to act wickedly and rules completely over the wicked Satan appears in the New Testament as a spirit frequently tempts people to do evil. He once tried to tempt even Jesus Christ to do some evil.
According to early Christians most of the people followed only the ways of wickedness. Instead of the ways of truth and towards God. And this same idea was expressed by the authors of Damascus covenant. At that time the priests happened to be the central figures in the Damascus covenant and also in the “Manual of Discipline”, even though they did not perform any sacrificial performances in the Manual. The early Christianity and the authors of the scrolls looked for some alternatives in the place of sacrificial system to avoid humanity from sinful life. It seemed one of the scrolls also mentioned about the Messiah of Israelites who was put to death. The most striking difference between the New Testament conception and “war scroll” the pesher Isaiah the pesher on psalms and other scrolls was that in the New Testament the people of God had no part in the said battle, but the vengeance of God left to Him and to His angels. This might be in reality one of the striking difference between the New Testament ideas and those found intermittently among the scrolls. For example, it is said in the book of proverbs, “When your enemy falls rejoice not”, (24.17) and “If your enemy be hungry give him bread to eat”. (35.21)
This New Testament time again urged the readers or true believers not only to love and care one another but also to love and do good to them. This same idea was repeated in the rabbinic literature as well. But in those scrolls, the teachers, enemies and the foreign nations and ungodly were spoken of and they were not shown any mercy. The Manual of Discipline orders eternal hatred in a spirit of secrecy for the men of perdition. The Qumran caves texts also spoke about its end of a Messiah, who would raise the dead on behalf of His Father God. Let us look into the following passage carefully. The heavens and the earth will have their Messiah, the sea and that is all in them. He will not turn aside from the commandment of Holy ones. Take courage all you, who seek the Lord in His work. Will you not thus find the Lord, all you who bear hope in your heart?
Surely the Lord will seek out the pious and will call the righteous by name. Over the poor will His spirit hour, faithful ones will He restore by might. He will honor piousness on the throne of the eternal kingdom, Release the captives, make the blind to see, raise up those bent low. Forever will I cling to Him against the powerful and trust. His loving kindness And His goodness will be forever, His Holy Messiah will not be slow in coming. As for the wonders that have not Henceforth been the Lord will do them when the Messiah comes. Then will he heal the sick, and resurrect the dead, to the oppressed will he announce glad tidings........... he will lead the Holy ones, he will separate them.
The above mentioned Messianic actions showed a kind of supernatural powers that Jesus had exercised according to the Gospel of John, when he saw his dead friend Lazarus. That occasion gave chance to Jesus to say: “I am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me even though he may die, he will live again”. It is really surprising to find in a scroll fragment from Qumran cave 11 some details of Melchizedeck. As described in the scroll fragment Melchizedeck was a heavenly spirit. His picture depicted in the scrolls was completely different, that was shown in the book of Hebrew. His way of life and other things were not confined to early Christian circle, but totally to the product of a hidden Palestine Jewish community. By the end of second century A.D the church became more gentile than the Jewish. As a result, its theology and practice increasingly reflected the non-Jewish atmosphere.
Some texts from Jerusalem libraries and some hard collection that were hidden in the wilderness of the Dead sea, scrolls were the remains and miraculously recovered of a hoard of spiritual treasures of the Jewish people of second century commonwealth period. With the publication of more scrolls the Judaism of that period became more complex and richly textured. The Jews as a matter of fact were in their own desperate position because they were anticipating the destruction of the Temple. It was actually the physical embodiment of Jewish ideas. They were under the impression that they preserved all the scrolls to the people of the world would one day able to know the greatness of Jewish ideology. The constant effort of hiding the writings of the Jews at the first Revolt became an act of desperation. By that risk and efforts of hiding the script of Hebrew tongue and many other such writings of the Palestinian Jews were given the chance of survival. Chapter : 3