Lena,DCHindley wrote:I'll see if I can find it tonight. DCHLena Einhorn wrote:DCHindley: If you find your copy of Cecil Roth's book, could you specify some of the closer analogies between the DSS and Josephus? It sounds interesting, and online I can only find that Roth, and Driver, suggested that the Teacher of Righteousness would have been Menahem, or Eleazar ben Yair, but nothing about why they make that very interesting assessment (other than the fact that some parallel texts to those found at Qumran were also found on Masada)
I did find Roth's The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Historical Approach (1958, reissued 1965), and because a copy of it does not appear to be available online, I also OCR scanned it into PDF format.
Roth thinks that the Teacher of Righteousness of the DSS best fits Menahem, master of Masada, or possibly his relative Eleazar, the son of Jairus (War 2.447), who after the death of Menahem escaped back to Masada with the remnants of their fighting men and remained there until 73 CE when they took their own lives rather than surrender to the besieging Romans. Menahem himself was son of Judah the Galilean (War 2.433), who was the "sophist" who had created the "4th philosophy". To Roth, these figures were all relatives of the robber chief Hezekiah, a captain of a band of robbers active in Galilee on the borders of Syria who was caught and killed by Herod when he was starting his military career (Ant 14.159).
The Absalom of the sectarian DSS was the Apsalom who shared Menahem's unhappy fate (War 4.448).
The Wicked Priest was Eleazar, the son of Ananias the high priest, who was at the time of Menahem's attempt to seize power the Captain of the Temple (War 2.409), and had persuaded his fellow priests not to accept any gift or sacrifice from foreigners to start the rebellion in 66 CE.
The Lion of Wrath may be John, son of Levi, of Gischala (War 2.585 etc.).
The Man of Lies may be same as the Wicked Priest (Eleazar ben Ananias), or may be Simon son of Gioras (War 2.652 etc.).
Roth, followed by S G F Brandon, Jesus and the Zealots (1967), called all followers of the 4th philosophy of Judas the Galilean "Zealots" despite the fact that Josephus does not give this name to a defined revolutionary group until the beginning of the rebellion in 66 CE.
Since the book is still under copyright, I will refrain from posting citations directly here, but if you or anyone else wants to use it for research, please send me a Private Mail (PM) with your e-mail address through the board interface and I'll forward you a copy.
DCH
For a quick orientation of the Chronology Roth proposes, here is a modified form of a table he provides in the front matter of the book:
B.C. |
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE FOR THE HISTORY OF THE ZEALOTS AND QUMRAN SECT |
---|---|
46 | Hezekiah’s revolt suppressed by Herod, and Hezekiah is executed. |
31 | Earthquake destroys Qumran. |
4 | Judah ben Hezekiah’s revolt at Sepphoris, which is recaptured by the Romans and sacked; Judah and his followers find refuge in Damascus ? |
A.D. | |
4-6 | Judah introduces Zealot ideas into Judaea. Qumran reoccupied, i Revolt and death of Judah. |
46-8 | Execution of Jacob and Simon ben Judah. Menahem ben Judah becomes head of the sect. |
52-60 | Sicarii begin activity. |
66 | Menahem seizes Masadah. Menahem takes command in Jerusalem and defeats Romans. |
66 (Sept.) | Menahem goes to the Temple and is assassinated by priestly party; his kinsman Eleazar leads his followers back to Dead Sea area. |
67? | Simon bar Giora joins Zealots at Masadah but sub* sequently leaves them. |
67 (Passover) | Zealots storm Engedi. |
68 (June) | Vespasian captures Jericho and visits Dead Sea. |
70 (summer) | Fall of Jerusalem. |
? | Fall of Herodium and Machaerus. |
73 | Fall of Masadah and death of Eleazar ben Jair. Repression of Zealots in Egypt and Cyrene. |
114/5-116/7 | Zealot revolts in Egypt, Cyrene, Mesopotamia, Cyprus. |
Here is Hugh Schonfield's (not quite "orthodox") Chronology of NT times, which might help put the whole matter in better relative perspective.
"How can you follow the show without a program?" shouts the Usher.
APPENDIX J
THE CHARACTERS OF THE QUMRAN DOCUMENTS
The following is a summary of the characters mentioned in the Qumran literature, with what is stated about them. Sometimes the same person may be referred to under two slightly different characteri- sations (e.g. The Man of Lies and the Preacher of Lies) but no account is taken of this here. On the other hand, occasionally an epithet may be omitted when a person has just been referred to: e.g. the Wicked Priest seems to become The Priest immediately afterwards. Though this is assumed here, the differentiation is clearly indicated. No attention has been paid to hypothetical reconstructions however persuasive.
ABBREVIATIONS
D Damascus Covenant
H Habakkuk Commentary
Ho. Hosea Commentary fragment
Ps. Psalms Commentary fragment
N Nahum Commentary fragment
M Micah Commentary fragment
T.S. Thanksgiving Psalms
TOR Teacher of Righteousness.
• Has communications from God which are not credited by the Treacherous with the Man of Lies (H. 2: 1-3):
• is in opposition to Man of Lies but not helped by the House of Absalom (H. 5:10-12):
• told by God all the secrets of the prophets (H. 7:4-5): belief in him will save those in the House of Judah who fulfil the Law (H. 8:1-3):
• for the sin committed against him and his counsel, the Wicked Priest will be punished (H. 9:4-7):
• is attacked by the Wicked Priest on the Day of Atonement &c. (H. 11:4-8):
• (Teaches?) those who voluntarily join the chosen (M).
• The Teacher is a Priest (?) who built a community . . . (Ps):
• is raised up by God 410 years after ‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon’ to teach those who know righteousness and to instruct the last generations what would happen in the last generation (D. 1:11-2):
• arises in the End of Days (D. 8:12-3):
• the men of the Brotherhood ( יחד ) will listen to him (D. 9:20-28).
TOTB Teacher of the Brotherhood ( מורה היח)י(ד ).
• Those who defect will not be included, between the time of his gathering in and the rise of the Messiah of Aaron and Israel (D. 8:35-20:1):
• it will be 40 years from his gathering in to the end of the warriors who went with the Man of Lies (D. 30:14-5).
WP Wicked Priest.
• Was originally called by name of truth (H. 8:8-9):
• after he ruled Israel he became proud, abandoned God, betrayed commandments for gain, stole, collected wealth of the men of violence who rebelled against God, took the wealth of Gentiles (H. 8:9-13).
• (The Priest) rebelled, and in retribution was tried by the wicked and tortured (H. 8:16-9:2):
• pursued the Teacher of Righteousness to swallow him up &c. (H. 11:4-8).
• (The Priest)’s shame greater than his glory:
• he drank the cup of anger and was disgraced (H. 11:12-5):
• was punished for his maltreatment of the poor and the simple ones of Judah who carry out the Torah (H. 12:2-6):
• performed abominations in Jerusalem, defiled the Sanctuary, stole from the poor (H. 12:8):
• sent (?) to kill . . . but was punished (Ps.).
MOL Man of Lies.
• With the treacherous (does not believe) the instruction of the Teacher of Righteousness from the mouth of God (H. 2:1-2):
• publicly rejects the Torah, and is not opposed by House of Absalom (5:11):
• leaves with Men of War (D. 20:14-5).
POL Preacher of Lies.
• Misleads many to build a city of vanity in blood and to establish a community in falsehood:
• their labour will be in vain as they will be judged in fire to punish their insults to God’s chosen (H. 10:9-13):
• preached falsely (D. 8:13).
• Mentioned (M).
MOS Man of Scoffing.
• Preached falsely to Israel (D. 1:14-5).
LOW Lion of Wrath,
• Smote with his great ones and counsellors (N.):
• hung men up alive (N.).
• Mentioned (Ho).
LP Last Priest.
• Put forth his hand to smite Ephraim (Ho).
• With his Counsel, the Priest will be attacked by the Wicked of Ephraim and Manasseh in the approaching time of trial, but will be redeemed by God (Ps.).
LPOJ Last Priests of Jerusalem.
• Gather wealth from booty of Gentiles, but it will ultimately be captured by the armies of the Kittim (H. 9:12).
EP Ephraim.
• Attacked by the Last Priest (Ho):
• became ruler above Judah (?) (D. 7:13)
E&M Ephraim and Manasseh.
• Their Wicked Ones will stretch forth their hand against the Priest and his counsellors at the time of testing (Ps.).
MOSI Makers of Smooth Interpretations.
• Invite . . . tros King of Greece to Jerusalem (N):
• persecuted by Lion of Wrath (N.):
• persecute writer of Thanksgiving Psalms (T.S.);
• the making of smooth interpretations will be punished (D. 1.18-19).
HOA Absalom, House of.
• With their counsellors did not help the Teacher of Righteousness against the Man of Lies (H. 5:9-13).
HOJ Judah, House of.
• Those in it who perform the Torah will be saved from the House of Judgement for their belief in the Teacher of Righteousness (H. 8:1-3):
• there will be no further admission to it (D. 4:11).
SOOJ Judah, Simple Ones of.
• Sentenced to destruction by the Wicked Priest (H. 12:4).
WOJ Judah, Wicked of.
• Will be cut off from the Camp with others who broke the boundary of the Torah (D. 20:26-7).