the pentateuchal books found there. Examples are 4QMMT (see fig. 48),
which lists more than twenty legal points on which the group differs from
those whom they address; and theTemple Scroll(see fig. 46), which de-
scribes a grand future temple and all that will accompany it, such as the
festivals, and represents and paraphrases a large part of the material in Ex-
odus 25 through Deuteronomy. Additional texts, only fragmentarily pre-
served, deal with various aspects of the Law (e.g., ones that treat issues of
purity and impurity [4Q274-279]; calendar texts [4Q317-330]). Other sorts
of legal texts, ones that supply laws specifically for the group, are theRule
of the Community(see fig. 41) and theDamascus Document,the latter of
which includes a lengthy halakic section. The legal texts from Qumran
show that the kind of reflection that was later codified in the Mishnah and
the Talmuds was at home in a much earlier time and was practiced by a
group representing a very different point of view from the one found in
the rabbinic works.Wisdom Literature
A major sapiential work, the Wisdom of Ben Sira, was written in Hebrew
(more than half of which has been recovered) at some time in the early
second centuryb.c.e.The lengthy book (51 chapters) stands in the tradi-
tion of Proverbs, offering wise teachings on a range of practical issues. It
marks an additional step in the sapiential tradition by teaching that the
place where wisdom is to be found is in the Law of Moses (see also Bar.
3:9–4:4) and that the essence of wise behavior is to fear God. Ben Sira also
differs from earlier wisdom literature by surveying Israel’s history and the
divine guidance in it. The Hebrew work was rendered into Greek by the
author’s grandson, whose preface explains the situation, purpose, and time
of the translation.
A second example of a wisdom text is 4QInstruction, a work repre-
sented in several copies among the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q415-418, 423;
1Q26). It offers prudent instructions to a younger person on familiar top-
ics, but it also has characteristics which distinguish it from its predecessors
in the wisdom tradition. One expression that appears a number of times is
“the secret of what is/will be” — apparently meaning the secret teaching
about the true character of the creation and of history. The work also in-
corporates eschatological teachings into a wisdom work.88
james c. vanderkamEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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