Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T01:29:30.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Inner and Outer Cleansing at Qumran as a background to New Testament Baptism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

B. E. Thiering
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'
Type
Short Studies
Information
New Testament Studies , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , January 1980 , pp. 266 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Braun, H., Qumran und das Neue Testament (Tübingen, 1966, I & II), 2, 1–10Google Scholar; Flusser, D., ‘The Baptism of John and the Dead Sea Sect’ in Rabin, C. and Yadin, Y. (eds.), Essays on the Dead Sea Scrolls in Memory of E. L. Sukenik (Jerusalem, 1961 (Hebrew))Google Scholar; Schütz, R., Johannes der Täufer (1967)Google Scholar; Robinson, J. A. T., ‘The Baptism of John and the Qumran Community’, in Twelve New Testament Studies (London, 1962)Google Scholar; Scobie, C. H. H., John the Baptist (London, 1964)Google Scholar, and ‘John the Baptist’ in Black, M. (ed.), The Scrolls and Christianity (London, 1969)Google Scholar; Cullmann, O., ‘Secte de Qumrân, Hellénistes des Actes et Quatrième Évangile’, in Les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte (Colloque de Strasbourg, Paris, 1957)Google Scholar; Black, M., The Gospel and the Scrolls (Berlin, 1959), pp. 565–79Google Scholar, and The Scrolls and Christian Origins (London, 1961), pp. 98–101Google Scholar; Betz, O., ‘Die Proselytentaufe der Qumran-sekte und die Taufe im Neuen Testament’, R.Q. I (1958), 213–34Google Scholar; Jeremias, J., ‘The Qumran Texts and the New Testament’, Exp. T. 70 (1958), 68–70Google Scholar; Kuhn, K. G., Die Schriftrollen vom Toten Meer, Eυ. Th. 11 (1951–1952), 72–5Google Scholar; Carmignac, J., Le Docteur de Justice et Jésus Christ (Paris, 1957), pp. 82–95Google Scholar; Daniélou, J., ‘La communauté de Qumrân et l'organisation de l'Église ancienne’, Revue de l'Histoire et de Philosophie religieuses, 1 (1955), 104 ff.Google Scholar; Cross, F. M., The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modem Biblical Studies (London, 1958), pp. 151, 1977Google Scholar; Milik, J., Ten Years of Discovery in the Wilderness of Judaea (London, 1959), p. 102Google Scholar; Schmitt, J., ‘Le milieu baptiste de Jean le Précurseur’, Revue de Sciences religieuses 47 (2–4, 1973), 391–407CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Spicq, C., ‘L'Épitre aux Hébreux: Apollos, Jean-Baptiste, les Hellénistes et Qumran’, R.Q. 1 (1958), 365–90Google Scholar; Brownlee, W. H., ‘John the Baptist in the New Light of Ancient Scrolls’, in Stendahl, K. (ed.), The Scrolls and the New Testament (London, 1957), pp. 33–53Google Scholar; Rowley, H.H., ‘The Baptism of John and the Qumran Sect’ in New Testament Essays (Manchester, 1959), pp. 218–29Google Scholar; Davies, A. P., Der Fund von Qumran (Wiesbaden, 1957)Google Scholar; Dupont-Sommer, A., Aperçus préliminaires sur les Manuscrits de la Mer Morte (Paris, 1950)Google Scholar; Johnson, S. E., ‘Paul and the Manual of Discipline’, H.T.R. 48 (1955), 157–65Google Scholar, and ‘The Dead Sea Manual of Discipline and the Jerusalem Church of Acts’, in Stendahl, K. (ed.), The Scrolls and the New Testament (London, 1957), pp. 129–42.Google Scholar

2 . Wernberg-Møller chooses the sense ‘council’ (= community). But Lohse, Brownlee, Vermes, Guilbert, Leaney, translate ‘counsel’. without has this sense in IQS 1. 13, 6. 4, 6.9, 8. 18, 9. 2, 9. 17, 11.22. Translations and commentaries of IQS: Lohse, E., Die Texte aus Qumran: Hebräisch und Deutsch (Munich, 1964)Google Scholar; Wemberg-Møller, P., The Manual of Discipline (Leiden, 1957)Google Scholar; Leaney, A. R. C., The Rule of Qumran and its Meaning (London, 1966)Google Scholar; Guilbert, P., ‘La Règle de la Communauté’, in Carmignac, J. et al. , Les Textes de Qumran Traduits et Annoés, I & II (Paris, 1961, 1963)Google Scholar; Vermes, G., The Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London, 1962, 1965, 1968)Google Scholar; Brownlee, W. H., The Dead Sea Manual of Discipline, B.A.S.O.R., Supplementary Studies, nos. 10–12 (1951)Google Scholar; Milik, J. T., ‘Manuale Disciplinae’, Verbum Domini 29 (1951), 129–58.Google Scholar

3 Some translators (Guilbert, Vermes, Leaney) take as a preposition linking ‘true counsel’ with ‘ways’. Lohse, Wernberg-Møller, Brownlee, read ‘God’. The ‘truth of God’ (cf. ‘his truth’: IQS 1. 11, 15, 19; 2. 26; 3. 24; 4. 20; 5. 10) is the special doctrine given by God to the community.

4 See p. 275 below for the reasons why ‘Spirit of holiness’ is used.

5 . Manuscript I from cave 4 reads: . Cf. CD 2. 12 … . Lohse therefore translates: ‘durch den heiligen Geist (der) der Gemeinschaft in seiner Wahrheit (gegeben ist)’. Wernberg-Møller: ‘by the holy spirit of the community in His truth’. Guilbert (accepting ):‘“ par l'esprit sanetifie dans une fidélité commune”, littéralement “par l'esprit sanctifié à la Communauté par sa fidélité”’. Leaney, Brownlee, Milik do not take as ‘the community’. But it is the most commonly used name for the community, and could not have been used without reference to it.

6 A.J. xviii. 117.

7 See Flusser (ref. note 1).

8 Robinson, p. 16. See also Kuhn, K. G. (‘The Lord's Supper and the Communal Meal at Qumran’, in Stendahl, K. (ed.), The Scrolls and the New Testament (London, 1957), pp. 65–93)Google Scholar whosays that the bath of immersion mediated the divine forgiveness of sins. Black, M. (The Scrolls and Christian Origins, p. 98, note 1) calls this statement a ‘capital error’.Google Scholar

9 Scobie, ‘John the Baptist’, p. 64.

10 Leaney, , The Rule of Qumran …, p. 139.Google Scholar

11 See Lehmann, M. R., ‘“Yom Kippur” in Qumran’, R.Q. 3 (1961), 117 ff.Google Scholar

12 Scobie, ‘John the Baptist’, p. 63.

13 Robinson, ‘The Baptism of John…’, p. 18.

14 Braun, , Qumran und das Neue Testament, 2, 6–7.Google Scholar

15 Black, Gospel and Origins, Other writers who stress the repeated washings include Brownlee, Cullmann, Rowley, Jeremias (refs. note I).

16 Qumran und das Neue Testament, pp. 6–7.

17 Brownlee, (‘The Servant of the Lord in the Qumran Scrolls. II’, B.A.S.O.R. 135 (1954), 33–8Google Scholar; ‘Whence the Gospel According to John?’, in John and Qumran, ed. Charlesworth, J. H. (London, 1972), pp. 166–94, on P. 175)Google Scholar, followed by Robinson (p. 23) reads as referring to an individual, a Messiah. But the majority of other writers read it as a collective (see Leaney, p. 157, Wernberg-Møller (pp. 85–6), Vermes, G. in Scripture and Tradition in Judaism (Leiden, 1961)Google Scholar, for discussion of the point.) in I. 23 of the same column is best understood as a collective; see also 10. 18. IQS before the addition of 8. 16b-9. II (4QSe) does not appear to deal with single messianic figures.

18 Reading for with Guilbert, Vermes, Wernberg-Møller. Cf. Yadin, Y., J.B.L. 74 (1955) 40–3Google Scholar. Vermes: ‘frame’.

19 Wernberg-Møller, following Brownlee, reads , with : ‘destroy… from them’. Lohse agrees with Yadin in reading . Yadin (‘A Note on DSD 4: 20’, J.B.L. 74 (1955), 40–3)Google Scholar connectsit with Arabic ‘suffer from indigestion’, translating ‘the inward parts of the flesh’. Guilbert ‘entrails’. It is possible, however, that the form results by metathesis from , and means ‘from the defilements of his flesh’ (from ‘stain’). Our argument depends, not on this word, but on ‘flesh’.

20 Leaney, , The Rule of Qumran…, p. 158.Google Scholar

21 Wernberg-Møller, , The Manual of Discipline, pp. 86–7.Google Scholar

22 Cf. Starcky, J., ‘Les quatre étapes du messianisme à Qumran’, R.B. 70 (1963), 481–505, p. 486.Google Scholar

23 Cf. Jeremias, G. (Der Lehrer der Gerechtigkeit, Göttingen, 1963) who speaks of ‘eine über mensch-liche Grenzen hinausgehende Funktion’ (p. 268) for the messianic leader.Google Scholar

24 Carmignac, J., ‘Les Dangers de l'Eschatologie’, N.T.S. 17 (1971), 365–90Google Scholar; ‘Conjectures sur les ficrits de Qumran’, Revue de Sciences religieuses 2 (1957), 140–68Google Scholar; review of Stegemann, Die Entstehung der Qumrangemeinde, R.Q. 8 (1973), 277–81Google Scholar; ‘Notes sur les Pesharim’, R.Q. 3 (1962), 505–38.Google Scholar

26 ‘Les Dangers de l'Eschatologie’, pp. 375–6.

27 See Winston, D., ‘The Iranian Component in the Bible, Apocrypha, and Qumran. A Review of the Evidence’, H.P. 5 (1966), 183–216.Google Scholar

27 See my article, ‘The Biblical Source of Qumran Asceticism’, J.B.L. 93 (1974), 429–44.Google Scholar

28 Leaney, , The Rule of Qumran…, p. 158.Google Scholar

29 See art. βπτω in Kittel, T.W.N.T.

30 Abba, R., ‘Priests and Levites in Deuteronomy’, V.T. 27, 3 (July 1977), 257–67.Google Scholar

31 See Leaney, , Rule of Qumran…, pp. 34–7Google Scholar onthe meaning of Spirit in IQS, also Audet, J.-P., ‘Affinités littéraires et doctrinales du Manuel de Discipline’, R.B. 59 (1952), 219 ff.Google Scholar; R.B. 55 (1953), 41 ff.Google Scholar

32 See J. Daniélou (ref. note 1).

33 It is hoped to undertake a further analysis of the stages of initiation, including the place of the water-washing, in a subsequent study.

34 Cullmann, O., Baptism in the New Testament (London, 1950), p. 10.Google Scholar

35 Robinson, , ‘The Baptism of John…’, p. 17.Google Scholar