On Appeals to an Imperfect past in a Present Future: Remembering the Israelite Wilderness Generation in the Late Second Temple Period

The Damascus Document explicitly remembers the Israelite wilderness period as a time of disobedience and rebellion, with dire consequences that endured for generations. At the same time, the same text calls for a communal organization that mimics that of the Israelites during their wilderness period...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smith-Christopher, Daniel L. 1955- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2018]
In: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2018, Volume: 28, Issue: 2, Pages: 123-142
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Damaskusschrift (Qumran Scrolls) / Memory / Bible. Exodus 18,23-27 / Bible. Deuteronomium 1,15 / Eschatology
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HD Early Judaism
Further subjects:B Hebrews
B Eschaton
B Dead Sea Scrolls
B Wilderness
B Damascus Document
B Paul
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The Damascus Document explicitly remembers the Israelite wilderness period as a time of disobedience and rebellion, with dire consequences that endured for generations. At the same time, the same text calls for a communal organization that mimics that of the Israelites during their wilderness period (Exod. 18.25; Deut. 1.15). This appeal to an imperfect past in a document that faces an imminent or even present eschaton finds close parallels among other texts from the latter half of the Second Temple period. This article argues that these similar strategies of remembering and re-deploying the past shed light on possible motivations for the Damascus Document's seemingly incoherent approach to Israel's past.
ISSN:1745-5286
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0951820718823393