The Qumran Community as Temple
Column 8
4[ . . . ] When these things exist in Israel 5the Community council shall be founded on truth, to be an everlasting plantation, a holy house for Israel and the foundation of the holy of 6holies for Aaron, true witnesses for the judgment and chosen by the will (of God) to atone for the land…
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This excerpt from the Rule of the Community, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, envisions the Qumran community as a substitute for the Temple, which the sectarians considered corrupt and defiled.
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Related Guide
What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
2nd Century BCE–1st Century CE
Found in caves in the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea Scrolls preserve the writings of an ancient Jewish sect.
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