Book of the Covenant (30:1-31:40) 473Among the Essenes at Qumran, the new covenant finds fulfillment in a
separated community (ybd) that believes it is living in the "last days." This
community has important similarities to the early Church. Members of the
Qumran community swore an oath to uphold a covenant variously described
as a "covenant of God," an "eternal covenant," a "covenant of repentance," a
"covenant of steadfast love" (bsd), and a "new covenant." Essene covenant the-
ology is contained in two sectarian documents found among the Dead Sea
Scrolls: the Manual of Discipline (lQS), and the Damascus Document (CD),
which also goes by the name of the Zadokite Document. The latter was known
before the Dead Sea discoveries, two fragmentary medieval codices having
been found in the genizah of the Cairo Synagogue in 1896, which were pub-
lished in 1910 (APOT II 785-834; Rabin 1958). The Damascus Document con-
tains three references to a "new covenant" that people have entered into "in
the land of Damascus," a cryptonym for their place of exile in the Qumran
desert (cf. Amos 5:26-27). The "new covenant" references are CD 6: 19; 8:21 =
19: 33/34; and 20: 12 in Rabin (also Gaster 1976), and 8: 15; 9:28, 37 in APOT II.
Seven MSS of the Damascus Document were found in Cave 4, some tiny frag-
ments also in Caves 5 and 6 (Cross 1995: 72; IDB Supp 210). Also, in the Pesher
on Habakkuk found at Qumran ( lQpHab ), there may originally have been a
"new covenant" reference in 2:3; however, the MS has a lacuna where scholars
think "covenant" once stood, leaving the reading uncertain and opinions
about it divided.
The Essene Jews who separated themselves from the rest of Judaism and
relocated in the Qumran desert did so in order to be reborn as the New Israel.
According to Cross (1995: 71), the word "community" (ybd) as used in the
Manual of Discipline is eschatological-i.e., it means "Israel of the New Cov-
enant." People entering this new covenant were required to return to a serious
study of the Mosaic Law; required also of each member was strict obedience to
the Law's demands as understood in light of interpretations given by the
priestly hierarchy. At the top of this hierarchy was the Teacher of Righteous-
ness, the original leader of the sect and also the author, perhaps, of the Man-
ual of Discipline. The Damascus Document is from a later period, after the
Teacher's death (Cross 1995: 96). The community bore an unmistakable stamp
of legalism; nevertheless, that legalism was informed by the prophets, whose
great legacy at Qumran was the conviction that sin lay deep within the human
soul and only through repentance and purification was a restored relationship
with God possible. The Damascus Document in 19: 16 (APOT II 9. l 5B) called
the Qumran covenant a "covenant of repentance" (bryt hswbh). Repentance
had to precede purification, which was accomplished in the initiatory baptis-
mal rite (M. Black 1961: 94).
This new covenant was to be eternal. Whatever else this signified, it at least
meant that anyone entering the covenant was expected to remain within it for
life ( 1 QS 3: 11-12). The covenant was renewed annually, at which time all
members underwent evaluation. This covenant had its obligations, and like
the Mosaic covenant these obligations were fortified with blessings and curses