Cultic Spiritualization

Religious Sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Throughout the history of research on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the investigation of religious sacrifice has been neglected. This book examines the views of sacrifice in the non-biblical sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls, through exploration of the historical and ideological development of the movement related to the scrolls (the DSS movement), particularly from the vantagepoint of the movement's later offshoot group known as the Qumran community

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Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

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SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4241-1

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- Hardback (In Print) ISBN 978-1-4632-4241-1

Publication Status: In Print

Series: Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and its Contexts33

Publication Date: Apr 26,2022

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 393

Languages: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-4241-1

Price: $110.95

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Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls beginning in 1947, its material witness and evocative content have captured the religious imagination of scholars and the general public alike. Hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the excavated material content has illuminated and revitalized the vast fields of biblical-related scholarship. To date, investigation of the material discoveries related to religious sacrifice has received limited attention. In this study, Jamal-Dominique Hopkins examines the traces of the life and archaeology of Qumran, and the cherished views of sacrifice in the non-biblical sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls. Hopkins explores the historical and ideological development of the Jewish priestly movement related to the scrolls, focusing predominantly on the vantage point of the movement’s later offshoot group known as the Qumran community. This panoramic examination of sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls offers a historical reconstruction of this principal community and its gripping story. Hopkins reveals the development of a community, from its pre-Qumranic to Qumranic settlement stages, which chose to spiritualize the Jerusalem temple and sacrificial practices. As a consequence of being driven into the Qumran desert, in the absence of the physical temple in Jerusalem, this nomadic priestly community viewed itself as “temple.” In exchange for actual animal sacrifice, through the acts of prayer and praise, the community offered the fruit of their lips as an alternative modality of sacrifice. In leaving the larger community, this Qumran community thus became an eschatological community engaging in the practice of cultic spiritualization.

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"Jamal-Dominique Hopkins has tackled an immensely important topic for understanding turn-of-the-era Judaism and Christianity. In what ways the cultus could be spiritualized, especially with reference to sacrifice, was vital for the Christian movement in its thinking about atonement and it was vital for post-70 Judaism that no longer had a temple or altar. Cultic Spiritualization lays a foundation on which future study in this topic must be built." -- Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University

"Jamal-Dominique Hopkins’s book offers a new window into the idea and practice of sacrifice at Qumran. Hopkins’s reconstruction not only contributes to an understanding of sacrificial and non-sacrificial worship at Qumran, but further intervenes in the discourse surrounding the origins and shifting identity of the community at Qumran and the textual history of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This book is a welcome addition to scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Judaism." -- Yael Landman, Assistant Professor of Bible, Jewish Theological Seminary

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	Contributor	Biography
	Jamal-DominiqueHopkins	Jamal-Dominique Hopkins (Ph.D., University of Manchester, U.K.) is Associate Professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. His research explores the intersection of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran Studies with Biblical Literature and Black Religious Thought.

Preface................................................................................... xiii
Acknowledgement ................................................................... xv
Abbreviations ........................................................................xvii
Introduction .............................................................................. 1
A. Introduction .................................................................. 1
B. Methodology ............................................................... 14
C. Definition of Key Terminology .................................... 18
1. Spiritualization ....................................................... 18
2. Eschatology ............................................................ 20
3. Qumran and Qumran-Related Community .............. 21
D. The Contents of This Study ......................................... 22
Chapter One. The Debate about Sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls ... 25
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................... 25
B. 1947-1977 .................................................................. 26
1. Introduction ........................................................... 26
2. The Seminal Study Concerning the Debate about
Sacrifice .............................................................. 27
3. The Initial Debate about Sacrifice in Light of the
Archaeology........................................................ 32
4. The View of the Community as Sanctuary in the
Initial Debate about Sacrifice .............................. 39
C. 1977 to 1991 .............................................................. 43
1. Introduction ........................................................... 43
2. The Debate about Sacrifice: From 1977 to 1991 .......... 45
3. The Debate about Sacrifice in Light of the
Archaeology: From 1977 to 1991 ........................ 50
4. The View of the Community as Sanctuary in the
Debate about Sacrifice: From 1977 to 1991 ........ 51
D. 1991 to the Present ..................................................... 55
1. Introduction ........................................................... 55
2. The Debate about Sacrifice: From 1991 to the
Present ............................................................... 56
3. The Debate about Sacrifice in Light of the
Archaeology: From 1991 to the Present .............. 61
4. The View of the Community as Sanctuary in the
Debate about Sacrifice: From 1991 to the
Present ............................................................... 64
5. The Status of Liturgical Texts in the Debate about
Sacrifice .............................................................. 67
E. Summary ................................................................ 69
Chapter Two. The Essene View of Sacrifice According to Philo
and Josephus ................................................................... 71
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................... 71
B. Philo’s Description of the Essene View of Sacrifice ...... 72
C. Josephus’ Description of the Essene View of Sacrifice .. 78
1. Introduction ........................................................... 78
2. Accepting or Rejecting the Reading of οὐκ in the
Text .................................................................... 81
3. Εἰργόμενοι: Middle or Passive? ................................. 87
4. Ἐφ᾽ αὑτῶν τὰς θυσίας ἐπιτελοῦσιν: They Sacrifice
(What) by Themselves? ....................................... 90
D. Summary: The Relation between the Essene View of
Sacrifice and the Movement Related to the Dead Sea
Scrolls ...................................................................... 92
Chapter Three. Qumran Archaeology and Sacrificial Cultic
Matters ............................................................................ 95
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................... 95
B. Brief Introduction to the Qumran Site ......................... 97
C. The Cultic Nature of Khirbet Qumran .......................... 97
1. Introduction ........................................................... 97
2. The Investigation of the Qumran Site in view of
de Vaux’s Study .................................................. 98
D. Summary .................................................................. 122
Chapter Four. The Description of Sacrifice in Light of the Book
of Jubilees: Its Interpretation by and Status for the DSS
Movement ..................................................................... 125
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................. 125
B. Brief Description of Extant Texts ............................... 128
C. Description of Cultic Matters in Relation to the Scrolls
and Movement ....................................................... 131
1. Introduction ......................................................... 131
2. The Place of the Description of Temple Motifs ...... 132
3. The View of the Patriarchs as Priest-Like .............. 139
4. Description of Sacrificial Regulations in Relation
to the Scrolls and Movement ............................. 142
D. Summary .................................................................. 165
Chapter Five. The View of Sacrifice in the Damascus Document ... 167
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................. 167
B. Brief Description of Extant Manuscripts ..................... 169
C. The Literary Structure of the Damascus Document .... 172
D. Cultic Matters in the Manuscripts of D ...................... 175
1. Introduction ......................................................... 175
2. Cultic Matter in the Admonition Section of D ....... 176
3. Cultic Matters in the Legal Section of D ................ 182
E. The Status of Cultic Matter in D after the Qumran
Settlement ............................................................. 194
F. Summary ................................................................... 195
Chapter Six. The View of Sacrifice in the Temple Scroll .......... 197
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................. 197
B. Brief Description of the Extant Manuscripts ............... 198
C. Brief Overview of the Temple Scroll’s Content ........... 202
D. The Compositional Status of the Temple Scroll:
Determining its Provenance .................................... 204
E. The Basis on which to Understand the Temple Scroll’s
Cultic Regulations .................................................. 206
1. Introduction ......................................................... 206
2. The View of the Temples in the Temple Scroll ....... 209
F. The Temple Scroll’s Cultic Material as Protest ........... 217
G. The Use of the Temple Scroll at Qumran: Its Study and
Practice as a Substitute for Sacrifice ....................... 218
H. Summary .................................................................. 220
Chapter Seven. The View of Sacrifice in MMT ....................... 221
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................. 221
B. Brief Description of the Extant Manuscripts ............... 224
C. A Brief Analysis of MMT’s Structure and Form .......... 225
1. Introduction ......................................................... 225
2. The Tone of MMT: Determining the Document’s
Initial Literary Genre ........................................ 226
D. MMT’s View Concerning Sacrificial and Purity Related
Matters .................................................................. 230
1. Introduction ......................................................... 230
2. Description of MMT’s Cultic Content .................... 235
3. Conclusions on MMT’s Cultic Content ................... 255
E. Summary: The Status of Cultic Matter in MMT after the
Qumran Settlement ................................................ 256
Chapter Eight. The View of Cultic Matters in the Rule of the
Community ................................................................... 259
A. The Purpose of this Chapter ...................................... 259
B. Brief Description of the Extant Manuscripts ............... 261
C. The Literary Structure, Form and Redaction History of
S ............................................................................ 264
D. Priestly Authority in S: 1QS V 1-10 in view of 4Q256
IX 2b-3a and 4Q258 I 2-3a ..................................... 268
E. The Makeup of the Community of S .......................... 269
F. Cultic Matter in Manuscripts of S............................... 270
1. Introduction ......................................................... 270
2. The Community as Temple; A Source of
Atonement ........................................................ 272
G. Entering into the Covenant .................................. 276
H. Calendrical Matters ................................................... 277
I. Summary: The Overall View of Offering Praise, Prayer
and Study as Substitutes for Sacrifice ..................... 279
Chapter Nine. The View of Sacrifice in the Songs of the Sabbath
Sacrifice ................................................................................ 281
A. Purpose of This Chapter ............................................ 281
B. Brief Description of the Extant Manuscripts ............... 282
C. Literary Structure of the Text .................................... 283
D. Cultic Matter in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice ..... 286
1. Introduction ......................................................... 286
2. The Sacrificial Ideology of the Angelic Priest and
the Sectarian Priesthood ................................... 288
3. The Sacrificial Ideology of the Heavenly Temple
and Community as Temple................................ 291
4. Atonement without Sacrifice ................................ 297
5. Sacrifice; Offering The עו לה or Not Offering the
298 ................................................................... עו לה
E. Summary ................................................................... 300
Chapter Ten. The View of Sacrifice in 4QFlorilegium ............ 301
A. Purpose of this Chapter ............................................. 301
B. Brief Description of Extant Manuscript ...................... 302
C. Cultic Matter in 4QFlorilegium.................................. 304
1. Introduction ......................................................... 304
307 ................................................................ מקד ש א דם. 2
מקד ש י רשא ל. 3 in Opposition to 316 ..................... מקד ש א דם
D. Summary .................................................................. 320
Conclusion ............................................................................ 321
Bibliography ......................................................................... 329
Index .................................................................................... 365

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