Mark and Qumran - The Teacher of Righteousness?
Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:38 am
I've been studying the writings from Qumran. According to the Qumranic writings, they had predicted that 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness the End of Days would come. The way that this group saw the end of days was essentially as a final battle between righteous Jews and the Kittim (Gentiles). As described in the War Scroll, this would be a real physical battle on earth, initiated by the Jews (Sons of Light) against the Sons of Darkness (Gentiles), and once the battle started the armies of heaven would come to assist the Jews and ensure their victory.
So what I wonder is, do we know for sure that the hostilities that sparked the First Jewish-Roman War weren't initiated by this Qumranic sect because the 40 years had come to pass since the death of the Teacher of Righteousness?
Furthermore, I've noticed several striking similarities between the Qumranic Commentary on Isaiah and the Gospel of Mark, as well as similarities with the Commentary on the Psalms. It is in the Commentary on the Psalms that the prediction that the battle of Armageddon would begin 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness.
The First Jewish-Roman War started in 67 CE. 40 years prior to 67 CE is 27 CE, which is during the reign of Pilate.
This could be coincidence, but it is interesting.
It leads me to wonder, did the Qumranic sect play a role in instigating the First Jewish-Roman War because they believed that it was time for the final battle against the Kittim to begin?
Did the author of Mark know of this prediction and use it to make this association in his story?
It seems that certainly the Qumran sect believed that the End of Days was going to happen in the first century CE. The way they talk about the End of Days is very similar to how Paul talks about it - as something that was going to happen very soon.
It's clear that the author of Mark was using the letters of Paul and the Jewish scriptures as the basis upon which to craft his narrative. But he could well have been using other sources too. Given Mark's heavy use of Isaiah and the Psalms, and Mark's use of Daniel (which is not directly used in the letters of Paul but is discussed in the Qumranic writings), it seems possible that the writer of Mark may also have been familiar with some of the works we find in the Qumranic trove, in which Isaiah and the Psalms are heavily discussed scriptures. In addition, the Qumranic writings contains parables almost identical to those in Mark. So it seems possible that "Mark" possessed writings that we also find at Qumran.
If that's the case, "Mark" could have known of this prediction that the battle of Armageddon would happen 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness and be using that as the basis for his placement of the death of Jesus under Pilate, alluding to the First Jewish-Roman War as Armageddon and Jesus as the Teacher of Righteousness (though this is not who Jesus actually was).
I don't know that any of this makes sense, I'm, just speculating...
So what I wonder is, do we know for sure that the hostilities that sparked the First Jewish-Roman War weren't initiated by this Qumranic sect because the 40 years had come to pass since the death of the Teacher of Righteousness?
Furthermore, I've noticed several striking similarities between the Qumranic Commentary on Isaiah and the Gospel of Mark, as well as similarities with the Commentary on the Psalms. It is in the Commentary on the Psalms that the prediction that the battle of Armageddon would begin 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness.
The First Jewish-Roman War started in 67 CE. 40 years prior to 67 CE is 27 CE, which is during the reign of Pilate.
This could be coincidence, but it is interesting.
It leads me to wonder, did the Qumranic sect play a role in instigating the First Jewish-Roman War because they believed that it was time for the final battle against the Kittim to begin?
Did the author of Mark know of this prediction and use it to make this association in his story?
It seems that certainly the Qumran sect believed that the End of Days was going to happen in the first century CE. The way they talk about the End of Days is very similar to how Paul talks about it - as something that was going to happen very soon.
It's clear that the author of Mark was using the letters of Paul and the Jewish scriptures as the basis upon which to craft his narrative. But he could well have been using other sources too. Given Mark's heavy use of Isaiah and the Psalms, and Mark's use of Daniel (which is not directly used in the letters of Paul but is discussed in the Qumranic writings), it seems possible that the writer of Mark may also have been familiar with some of the works we find in the Qumranic trove, in which Isaiah and the Psalms are heavily discussed scriptures. In addition, the Qumranic writings contains parables almost identical to those in Mark. So it seems possible that "Mark" possessed writings that we also find at Qumran.
If that's the case, "Mark" could have known of this prediction that the battle of Armageddon would happen 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness and be using that as the basis for his placement of the death of Jesus under Pilate, alluding to the First Jewish-Roman War as Armageddon and Jesus as the Teacher of Righteousness (though this is not who Jesus actually was).
I don't know that any of this makes sense, I'm, just speculating...