The group of sectarian scholars who stored the manuscripts in the Qumran Caves were an apocalyptic group who defined their own rules and sets of behaviors apart from mainstream Jewish life as defined by the Temple at Jerusalem. While this group describes themselves as the 'Sons of Zadok' in the scrolls, scholars for the most part believe this sect to have been the Essenes, one of three main schools of philosophy in the Hebrew religion at the time (the others are Pharisees and Sadducees). Observing holy days is an important pillar of daily life in any religion, and the calendar of religious festivals was an important difference between the sect of the scrolls and that of mainstream Judaism.
This document provides a record of the Sabbaths, first days of the months, and the festivals of the Dead Sea sect by priestly division and according to the solar calendar. The Dead Sea sect used a solar calendar of 364 days in the year thus the sectarian calendars were six years long rather than one. The solar calendar stood against the more popular 354 day lunar calendar used in the Temple. This lunar model was victorious in the calendar wars of the period and is still the form used by normative Judaism to this very day. Parchment, Hebrew language, written 1st century B.C.E.
The founder of the sons of Zadok sect was a man known in the documents as the 'Teacher of Righteousness' and, contrary to the claims of some, this man lived a good century or two before Jesus and his associates.
This document provides a record of the Sabbaths, first days of the months, and the festivals of the Dead Sea sect by priestly division and according to the solar calendar. The Dead Sea sect used a solar calendar of 364 days in the year thus the sectarian calendars were six years long rather than one. The solar calendar stood against the more popular 354 day lunar calendar used in the Temple. This lunar model was victorious in the calendar wars of the period and is still the form used by normative Judaism to this very day. Parchment, Hebrew language, written 1st century B.C.E.
The founder of the sons of Zadok sect was a man known in the documents as the 'Teacher of Righteousness' and, contrary to the claims of some, this man lived a good century or two before Jesus and his associates.
Primary Source
- Jodi Magness, 2002. The Archaeology of the Dead Sea Scrolls. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
