Category Archives: Dead Sea Scrolls

Levites and early Christians

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The First Christians / pt. 12 We have recently looked at the Testament of Levi as a Naṣarene-inspired work. Another work, one found at Qumran (1Q21) and known as “The Words of Levi,” seems to have been an earlier version of Test. Levi and has a similar tone. The Naṣarenes and Qumran were antagonists (as were Yeshu and the Teacher of Righteousness), and the fact that some Naṣarene writings were found in the Qumran caves suggests to me that the DSS was a library and not the repository of a single sect. Levi—the third son of Jacob and Leah—is accorded particular reverence in a number of works, including the Naṣarene Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P), where two patriarchs are accorded special … Continue reading →

The early Christians and Qumran

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The First Christians / pt. 8 Early Enochian literature of the second century BCE (the Book of Watchers, Dream Visions, etc.) was very popular at Qumran, as attested by the many copies that survive in the DSS. However, Naṣarene literature of the first century BCE is spectacularly absent from the DSS, including the Parables of Enoch which we have looked at in recent posts. Other works that were inspired by the sect of the Naṣarenes are also absent from the DSS. We should recognize that the early followers of Yeshu—those who lived in the mid- to late-first century BCE—were not yet called Naṣarenes. The name “Naṣarene” came after their founding prophet was dubbed “haNotsri,” which means “the guardian, preserver.” Thus: Yeshu haNotsri, … Continue reading →

The Parables of Enoch—Pt. 3

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The First Christians / pt. 7 The Parables of Enoch (chapters 37–71 of 1 Enoch) is a unique composition dating to the last decades of the first century BCE. It has been preserved as part of the First Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), but scholars have noted that it does not fit its context, neither as to theology nor vocabulary. Its dating is also different: the remaining parts of 1 Enoch have been dated to late II BCE, while the Parables of Enoch are dated a century later (more on dating below). One writer has opined: “I think we should not even rule out the possibility that the authors of the Parables might have been Jewish Christians.”  The theology of the Parables—in … Continue reading →

The prophet Yeshu, Pt. 9—The ministry of Yeshu

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For our purposes, the witness of the Dead Sea Scrolls must be considered much more valuable than either the Talmud or Samaritan writings, for the DSS were written within a generation or two of the events that they describe. The sectarian DSS writings (especially the Pesharim) describe contemporary events of interest to the Yachad, including political developments, the founding of their community (Damascus Document), difficult relations with the Jerusalem priesthood (MMT, etc), and the activity of the renegade preacher Yeshu/Jonathan in Samaria. These all occurred in the first half of the first century BCE: Finally, a few texts from Cave 4 actually refer to historical individuals by name. These references, though isolated, are of enormous importance, as will be seen … Continue reading →

The prophet Yeshu, Pt. 8—The DSS, Yeshu, and Samaria

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In the previous post I identified Yeshu ha-Notrsi—whom I consider to have been the founder of Christianity—as a significant figure written about in the Dead Sea Scrolls: “the Man of the Lie.” Once this identification is made, it becomes possible to investigate the ministry and death of Yeshu via the DSS. I have already noted that Yeshu, on his return from Egyptian exile shortly after the death of Aexander Janneus in 76 BCE, probably went to Samaria. This suspicion was initially based on evidence from Samaritan sources. They, however, are very late (dating to the Middle Ages). Welcome confirmation of a period of Yeshu’s activity in Samaria is now also to be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. (a) “Therefore … Continue reading →

The prophet Yeshu, Pt. 6—The founder: Who was he?

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Seeking information regarding the founder of Christianity, the religious texts we have thus far examined in this series of posts have come from extremely disparate traditions. I list them here in general chronological order: — the New Testament (II CE) — the Church Fathers (II–V CE) — Talmudic Judaism (3rd–6th cent. CE) — medieval Judaism (XII CE) — medieval Samaritan writings (XIV CE) Of the above-listed texts, the most useful have been those from Talmudic Judaism. In numerous passages the Rabbis refer caustically, irreverently, and angrily to an apostate figure who obviously discommoded them greatly. Given the already-emerged movement called Christianity, the Talmud is extremely cautious in its treatment of Yeshu, often resorting to euphemisms (Baalam, Ben Stada) and repeated censorship through history. Over a … Continue reading →

The prophet Yeshu—Pt. 4: A brief historical overview c. 100–63 BCE (cont.)

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About the time that Yeshu ha-Notsri was born (c. 100 BCE) a gifted priest began to call for Sadduceean reform. He is referred to in the Dead Sea Scrolls as the Righteous Teacher, or Teacher of Righteousness (Moreh Tsedek). This was the reign of Alexander Janneus, and the Teacher of Righteousness was evidently looked upon favorably by the king. We can conclude this on several grounds: (1) the Dead Sea writings are pro-priestly and thus generally aligned with the Sadducees, as also was King Janneus; (2) the DSS (as also Janneus) oppose the Pharisees, whom the scrolls label “Seekers of Smooth Things”; and (3) at least one Dead Sea work explicitly praises Janneus (see In Praise of King Jonathan, 4Q448). … Continue reading →