Empirical evidence, which will be examined in detail in this chapter,
suggests that in the context of Qumran the calendar had less to do with
sectarianism than is commonly assumed. The perception that calendar diver-
gence was a socially (and religiously) divisive issue seems only to have
developed later, in the context of late-antique Christianity. This perception
was related to the Christian pursuit of calendar unification, which needs to be
understood not just in terms of the struggle between heresy and orthodoxy,
but also in terms of the relationship between the Roman Empire and Chris-
tianity in late Antiquity.
It is perhaps not surprising that the scope of this chapter is confined to
Judaism and Christianity. The phenomena of sectarianism and heresy appear
to have been unique to these religions, perhaps because of their monotheistic,
exclusivist attitudes to truth—even if this explanation is probably over-
simplistic. One would be hard pressed, at all events, tofind examples of
sectarianism and heresy in the context of other ancient cults and religion.^3
The study of calendars in relation to sects, heresies, and schisms belongs
specifically to Judaism and Christianity, and therefore to late Antiquity,
which makes thisfinal chapter the most appropriate way of concluding this
study.
- JEWISH SECTARIAN CALENDARS
Biblical originsIf there ever was calendar sectarianism among the Jews of the Seleucid and
post-Seleucid era, it would not have been a very ancient tradition. In the
Hebrew Bible, there is virtually no trace of dissent or disagreement among
ancient Israelites regarding how the calendar was to be reckoned—indeed, the
question of how the calendar is reckoned does not feature in the Hebrew Bible
at all. The only passage relevant to calendar schism, perhaps, is King Jero-
boam’s so-called calendar reform, described in the source as follows:
And Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month, on thefifteenth day of the
month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So he did in
Beth-El, sacrificing to the calves that he had made...on thefifteenth day in the
eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made
a feast for the children of Israel (1 Kgs. 12: 32–3).(^3) Humfress (2008) 133 suggests, however, some continuity between late Republican Roman
expulsions of disruptive, alien cults (such as of Bacchus or Isis) and late Roman Imperial
legislation against heresies.
Sectarianism andHeresy 359