‘jewish doctrine takes three forms’ 153
God. The men of knowledge shall rebuke him in accordance with his sin
against the time when he shall stand again before the Assembly of the men
of perfect holiness. But when his deeds are revealed, according to the inter-
pretation of the Law in which the men of perfect holiness walk, let no man
defer to him with regard to money or work, for all the Holy Ones of the
Most High have cursed him.^71
The group evidently harboured deep grudges against those who had
betrayed the community in the past:
And thus shall it be for all among the first and the last who reject (the pre-
cepts), who set idols upon their hearts and walk in the stubbornness of their
hearts; they shall have no share in the house of the Law. They shall be
judged in the same manner as their companions were judged who deserted
to the Scoffer. For they have spoken wrongly against the precepts of right-
eousness, and have despised the Covenant and the Pact – the New
Covenant – which they made in the land of Damascus. Neither they nor
their kin shall have any part in the house of the Law. From the day of the
gathering in of the Teacher of the Community until the end of all the men
of war who deserted to the Liar there shall pass about forty years. And dur-
ing that age the wrath of God shall be kindled against Israel; as He said,
‘There shall be no king, no prince, no judge, no man to rebuke with justice.’
But those who turn from the sin of Jacob, who keep the Covenant of God,
shall then speak each man to his fellow, to justify each man his brother, that
their step may take the way of God. And God will heed their words.The texts do not name either the Scoffer or the Liar. Presumably their
identity was obvious to the sectarians themselves.^72
The contents of the new covenant embraced by the sect can only be
deduced from the concerns evidenced in the sectarian scrolls. It had
little in common with the new covenant adopted by early Christians
some generations later. Presumably a large part consisted in instructions
for the ascetic lifestyle, ritual ablutions and sacred meals, which set
these Jews apart from others. Numerous wisdom writings confirm an
emphasis on both ethics and knowledge: ‘You are a poor man. Do not
say: Since I am poor, I will not seek knowledge. Shoulder every discip-
line, and ... refine your heart, and your thoughts with a multitude of
understanding.’ Running through a great deal of sectarian literature is a
concern for the end of days, in which (as envisaged in the War Scroll)
the members of the Yahad were expected to take a leading role and the
Sons of Light could expect eternal life: ‘God has given them to His