Most modern scholars believe that the inhabitants of Qumran belonged to a secessionist sect of Essenes, the Community of the yahad, who had left Jerusalem.


“On the west side of the Dead Sea, but out of range of the noxious exhalations of the coast, is the solitary tribe of the Essenes”
(Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis V, 73)

Khirbet Qumran is situated at the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, some 40 km east of Jerusalem. The name “Qumran” is modern; it is derived from the Arabic qamar, meaning “moon.” The name of the site in the Second Temple period was apparently Secacah. Jewish settlement at Qumran began around the year 100 BCE. It came to an end in 68 CE, when the Romans destroyed the settlement during the Great Revolt. Most modern scholars believe that the inhabitants of Qumran belonged to a secessionist sect of Essenes, the Community of the yahad, who had left Jerusalem. Two main structures have been identified at the site: a square building in the east, and another building in the west, built around an ancient water cistern, a remnant of some earlier settlement dating to the First Temple period. The eastern building was the inhabitants’ community center, with a kitchen, scriptorium, library, and refectory, which also doubled as an assembly hall. The western building seems to have served as an administrative center. A sophisticated water system and several ritual baths, concentrated around the refectory, were also discovered at the site, as was a large cemetery, with some 1,200 graves, which was situated nearby.

Archaeological finds indicate that most of the sectarians lived in tents, booths, and, particularly, in caves hewn in the marl terrace opposite Khirbet Qumran and near it.


“And when these become members of the Community in Israel according to all these rules, they shall separate from the habitation of unjust men and shall go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him [= of God]”
(Community Rule VIII, 13)

Archaeological finds indicate that most of the sectarians lived in tents, booths, and, particularly, in caves hewn in the marl terrace opposite Khirbet Qumran and near it. Found in these caves were oil lamps, mezuzot, wooden tools, pottery, and other everyday items. In addition, a network of paths was discovered near some of the caves, probably used by the sectarians on their way to and from the communal complex. This is attested by the many nails found along the paths, presumably fallen from their sandals. The sectarians chose to live in the desert despite the arduous conditions. They regarded the desolation of the desert as a symbol of purity, an eschatological paradise, and a refuge from the corruption of society and culture, in the spirit of the Pentateuch and the Prophets. A life of isolation in the desert was necessary in order to segregate themselves from what they considered to be an impure world, and because they believed in their role as heralds of imminent redemption.

Daily activities at Qumran began and ended with prayers and benedictions.


“Before the sun is up they utter no word on mundane matters, but offer to him [= the sun] certain prayers, which have been handed down from their forefathers, as though entreating him to rise”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 5)

Daily activities at Qumran began and ended with prayers and benedictions. Immediately upon rising, the sectarians hurried down the paths from their living quarters to the communal complex, where they recited the morning prayers together. They apparently wore phylacteries (tefillin) on their heads and arms while praying; some of them may, in fact, have worn them all day long, as a mark of special piety. The phylacteries discovered at Qumran are the oldest ever found. Among the scrolls were copies of approximately one hundred biblical psalms, two hundred non-biblical prayers (mostly otherwise unknown), and many other liturgical works. Together, they attest to the essential role of prayer in the sectarian experience. The prayers were probably regarded as a substitute for the sacrifices offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, as we read in the Community Rule (IX, 5): “And prayer rightly offered shall be as an acceptable fragrance of righteousness, and perfection of way as a delectable free-will offering.”

The members of the Community were not permitted to retain personal property, but rather shared all their possessions.


“Riches they despise, and their community of goods is truly admirable”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 3)

The pottery workshop, spindles and pieces of fabric, and remains of baskets, mats, and rope found in the archaeological excavations of the site indicate that the sectarians also produced pottery, textiles, and basketry. We may assume that they used these products themselves, but they also may have sold some of them in markets. Both the scrolls and classical sources report that the members of the Community were not permitted to retain personal property, but rather shared all their possessions: “Then when he has completed one year within the Community . . . his property and earnings shall be handed over to the Bursar of the Congregation . . .” (Community Rule VI, 18–19). Some of the finds unearthed at the site have therefore been interpreted in this light: a hoard of silver, possibly containing the coins deposited by new members with the collective at the end of their first year of candidacy; and an ostracon (inscribed pottery shard), whose inscription may attest to the practice of handing over the candidate’s possessions to the Community.

After purifying themselves through ritual immersion, the sectarians gathered in a special hall for a communal meal.


“After this purification, they assemble in a private apartment … pure now to themselves, they repair to the refectory, as to some sacred shrine"
(Josephus, Jewish War, viii, 5)

After purifying themselves through ritual immersion, the sectarians gathered in a special hall for a communal meal. In a room adjacent to this hall, more than a thousand dining and serving utensils were discovered. During the meal the participants probably sat on mats, in rows parallel to the long walls of the building; according to Josephus they dined in absolute silence. Their food included bread, dates, date honey, dairy products, meat, and “new wine” (possibly unfermented grape juice).

The sectarians aimed to establish, in the desert, a community that would serve as a “spiritual temple” or, as the scrolls put it, a “temple of man,” that is, a human substitute for the Temple in Jerusalem. Their lives were therefore modeled symbolically on the lives of the priests serving in the Temple. Indeed, their communal meals may have even symbolized the sacrificial rites. Another possibility is that the meal was perceived as a prefiguration of the banquets of the righteous in the End of Days.

The Qumran sectarians believed that God had granted them knowledge of profound cosmological secrets, including knowledge...


“They shall be neither early nor late for any of their appointed times"
(Community Rule I, 14–15)

The Qumran sectarians believed that God had granted them knowledge of profound cosmological secrets, including knowledge of the true calendar and the exact times of the festivals. In their view, strict obedience to this calendar was a primary religious duty.

The sectarian calendar, based on the heavenly course of the sun, consisted of 364 days. These were divided into twelve months, each comprising 30 days except for the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months, which had 31 days. Festivals always fell on the same day of the week: Passover on Wednesday, Shavuot on Sunday, and Yom Kippur on Friday. The origins of this calendar lay in an ancient Jewish tradition (mentioned, for example, in the pseudepigraphical Book of Jubilees and First Book of Enoch); some scholars believe that it was even used in the land of Israel in the First Temple period.

In contrast to the Judean Desert sectarians, the priestly establishment in Jerusalem followed the lunisolar calendar that had been adopted by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BCE. Some authorities think that the controversy surrounding the calendar was one of the decisive motives for the sect’s decision to leave Jerusalem.

The prevailing view among modern scholars is that the community at Qumran consisted mainly of men, from priestly circles, who lived as strict ascetics...


“They shun pleasures as a vice and regard temperance and the control of the passions as a special virtue”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 2)

The prevailing view among modern scholars is that the community at Qumran consisted mainly of men, from priestly circles, who lived as strict ascetics, abstaining from all carnal pleasure and physical luxury and devoting themselves entirely to the worship of God. The fact that many of the scrolls deal with such matters as marriage, sexual relations, and family law can be explained by a single passage in Josephus, which relates that besides those Essenes who scorned wedlock, there were those who did in fact take wives (Jewish War VIII, ii, 13).

As for the skeletal remains of women and children found in the cemetery, it has been suggested that these belonged to modern Bedouin burials. Regarding the hairnets and jewelry that were uncovered scholars have variously attributed them to the wives of the sectarians; wives of the BarKokhba rebels or even to Christian or Muslim women buried at the site in later times.

Evidence of agricultural activity is provided by scythes, a hoe, and traces of date palms, fronds, dried dates, and pits discovered at Khirbet Qumran and its environs.


“They are then dismissed by their superiors to the various crafts in which they are severally proficient and are strenuously employed until the fifth hour”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 5)

In keeping with its separatist nature, the community at Qumran functioned as an independent productive unit, fulfilling its basic needs by maximum exploitation of the natural resources available nearby. After the morning prayers, each member went off to his daily work. The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, in his description of the Essenes, wrote, “Some of them are farmers, proficient in sowing and growing plants; some of them are shepherds, who rear various animals; and some of them deal with swarms of bees” (Philo, Apologia pro Iudaeis XI). Indeed, in the vicinity of Ein Feshkha, about 3 km south of Khirbet Qumran, remains have been found of a building and installations that may have belonged to a farm where date palms were cultivated. Further evidence of agricultural activity is provided by scythes, a hoe, and traces of date palms, fronds, dried dates, and pits discovered at Khirbet Qumran and its environs. In addition, various cereals, mainly barley, were probably grown in the el-Buqei‘a Pla in, above the ridge. Remains of animal bones unearthed near the eastern building indicate that the members of the Community may have also raised farm animals and hunted ibexes, and some authorities believe that they bred fish in the area of Ein Feshkha.

Ritual immersion was widely practiced by Jews at this time, but the way in which the sectarians observed it differed from that of other Jews.


“They again assemble in one place and, after girding their loins with linen cloths, bathe their bodies in cold water”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 5)

As noon approached, the members of the Community stopped working to purify themselves in ritual baths (miqva’ot), a necessary condition for participation in the communal meal.
Ritual immersion was widely practiced by Jews at this time, but the way in which the sectarians observed it differed from that of other Jews, in two main respects: Non-members were not permitted to immerse themselves in the ritual baths together with the members of the Community; and all members of the Community were required to immerse themselves before the communal meal, for only those who were in state of purity were allowed to partake of it, a rule recalling the biblical prescriptions for priests. Besides the many ritual baths found at Qumran, additional objects provide further evidence of the importance of purity to the sectarians.

Scholars hold that the stone “measuring cups”, which were not susceptible to impurity, were used mainly for ritual hand washing. A mattock found in one of the caves recalls Josephus’s statement that the Essenes used a special tool to dig a deep hole in the ground, into which they relieved themselves, believing that feces defiled the body
(Jewish War II, viii, 9).

The Community thus combined profane with spiritual affairs during the week, until the advent of the Sabbath day.


“And the Congregation shall watch in community for a third of every night of the year, to read the Book and to study the Law and to bless together”
(Community Rule VI, 7–8)
“They . . . are stricter than all Jews in abstaining from work on the seventh day”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 9)

The workday at Qumran lasted until dusk, when the members of the Community immersed themselves in the ritual baths once again, in order to purify themselves before the evening meal. The nighttime hours served not only for rest, but also for spiritual pursuits: the study of the Law and communal prayer. The Community thus combined profane with spiritual affairs during the week, until the advent of the Sabbath day.

The sect’s Sabbath laws were extremely rigorous, the day being used primarily for prayer and study. The scroll known as “Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice” reveals some details of their worship. It consists of thirteen hymns recited by certain angels, one hymn every Sabbath for the fifty-two weeks of the year, so that each hymn was recited a total of four times a year. As the title indicates, these hymns were considered a substitute for the sacrifices that were offered on the Sabbath in the Temple; the sectarians believed that in singing them they were emulating the songs of the angels in the heavenly Temple.

The sect’s belief in the End of Days when these two camps would engage in battle.


“This is the day appointed by Him for the defeat and overthrow of the Prince of the kingdom of wickedness”
(War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness XVII, 5–6)

The members of the Community of the yahad retired to the desert out of a deep conviction that they were living in the End of Days and that the final Day of Judgment was close at hand. They believed that all the stages of history were predetermined by God, and thus any attempts by the forces of the “Prince of Darkness” and “all the government of sons of injustice” to corrupt the “Sons of Righteousness” were destined to fail.

The sectarians divided humanity into two camps: The “Sons of Light,” who were good and blessed by God – referring to the sectarians themselves; and the “Sons of Darkness,” who were evil and accursed – referring to everyone else (Jews and gentiles alike). They believed that in the End of Days these two camps would engage in battle, as described in detail in the scroll called “The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.” This work, which provides a detailed account of the mobilization of troops, their numbers and division into units, weaponry, and so forth, states that at the end of the seventh round of battles, the forces of the “Sons of Light,” aided by God Himself and His angels, will vanquish the “Forces of Belial” (as Satan is called in the sect’s writings), and the members of the Community will return to Jerusalem to engage in the proper worship of God in the futureTemple, as described in “The New Jerusalem” scroll.

More than two hundred extra-biblical prayers and hymns preserved in the scrolls.


“Before meat the priest says a grace . . . .When breakfast is ended, he pronounces a futher grace”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 5).

The community at Qumran was profoundly religious and devoted all its energies to the worship of God. The sectarians believed that the angels were their companions and that their spiritual level elevated them to the border between the human and the divine. The atmosphere of sanctity that enveloped them is evident from the one hundred biblical psalms and more than two hundred extra-biblical prayers and hymns preserved in the scrolls. Most of the latter were previously unknown; they include prayers for different days (even the End of Days), magical spells, and so forth.

Among this abundance of literary texts is a unique genre of hymns called Hodayot or “Thanksgiving Hymns,” on the basis of their fixed opening formula, “I thank Thee, O Lord.” Scholars have divided the eight manuscripts of the Thanksgiving Hymns into two main types: “Hodayot of the Teacher,” in which an individual (the sect’s “Teacher of Righteousness”?) thanks God for rescuing him from Belial (Satan in the sect’s writings) and the forces of evil, and for granting him the intelligence to recount God’s greatness and justice; and “Hodayot of the Community,” hymns concerned with topics relevant to the Community as a whole. Both types extensively employ such terms as “mystery,” ”appointed time,” and “light” and express ideas characteristic of the Community’s beliefs, such as divine love and predestination.

The Temple Scroll, the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls (8,149 m), comprises 66 columns of text.


“They shall not profane the city where I abide, for I, the Lord, abide amongst the children of Israel for ever and ever”
(Temple Scroll XLV, 13–14)

The Temple Scroll, which deals with the structural details of the Temple and its rituals, proposes a plan for an imaginary Temple, remarkably sophisticated and, above all, pure. This plan is based on the plan of the Tabernacle and of Solomon and Ezekiel’s Temples, but it is also influenced by Hellenistic architecture.

The scroll is written in the style of the book of Deuteronomy, with God speaking as if in first person. Some authorities consider it an alternative to the Mosaic Law; others, a complementary legal interpretation (midrash halakha). This work combines the various laws relating to the Temple with a new version of the laws set out in Deuteronomy 12–23. Its author probably belonged to priestly circles and composed it at a time before the Community left Jerusalem for the desert, in the second half of the 2nd century BCE. It was apparently written against the background of the controversy centering on the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Temple Scroll, the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls (8,149 m), comprises 66 columns of text.

A glimpse of the lives of those pietists through the “Rule” literature that governed their lives.


“They live together formed into clubs, bands of comradeship with common meals, and never cease to conduct all their affairs to serve the general weal”
(Philo, Apologia pro Iudaeis 11, 5).

Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we had no knowledge of the Essenes’ way of life other than the evidence provided by classical sources (Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder) and a few allusions in rabbinic literature. The discovery of the scrolls has given us a rare first-hand glimpse of the lives of those pietists through the “Rule” literature that governed their lives. This literature, later to evolve in a Christian monastic context, is unknown in the Bible, and its discovery at Qumran represents the earliest testimony to its existence.

The work known as the “Community Rule” is considered a key to understanding the Community’s way of life, for it deals with such topics as the admittance of new members, rules of behavior at communal meals, and even theological principles. The picture that emerges from the scroll is one of a community that functioned as a collective unit and pursued a severe ascetic lifestyle based on stringent rules. The scroll, written in Hebrew, was found in twelve copies; the copy displayed here, which is almost complete, was discovered in 1947.

The exegetical works written by the sectarians deal with the interpretation of the laws of the Pentateuch.

“There are some among them who profess to foretell the future; . . . and seldom if ever do they err in their predictions”
(Josephus Jewish War II, viii, 12).

The sacred writings were the basis for the intellectual and spiritual experience of the members of the Qumran Community, and the purpose of their interpretation was in order “to do what is good and right before Him as He commanded by the hand of Moses and all His servants the prophets” (Community Rule 1, 1–3). The exegetical works written by the sectarians deal with the interpretation of the laws of the Pentateuch (such as the Temple Scroll), of various biblical stories (such as the Testament of Levi), and, in particular, of the words of the Prophets.

The method of biblical interpretation known as pesher is unique to Qumran. The pesharim may be divided into two types: those dealing with a specific subject (such as 4QFlorilegium), and those written as running commentaries. In pesharim of the second type, the biblical text is copied passage by passage in the original order, and each passage is explained by turn. Most of the “running” pesharim, of which there are about seventeen, are based on books of the Prophets, such as Isaiah, Nahum, or Habakkuk; there is also one pesher on the book of Psalms, which the Community also regarded as a prophetic work. The interpretations themselves are prophetic in nature and allude to events related to the period in which the works were composed (hence their importance for historical research). With a few exceptions, they name no historical personalities, but employ such expressions as “Teacher of Righteousness,” ”Priest of Wickedness,” or “Man of Falsehood.”

The literary works of the Second Temple period which, for religious and other reasons were forbidden to be read (in public?).


“Against them, my son, be warned! The making of many books is without limit”
”(Ecclesiastes 12:12)

Besides the biblical books, there are many other literary works of the Second Temple period which, for religious and other reasons, were forbidden to be read (in public?) and were therefore not preserved by the Jews. Ironically, many of these works were preserved by Christians: the apocryphal books (such as Ben Sira and Judith) were preserved in Greek in the Septuagint translation of the Bible, and in other languages based on this translation; the pseudepigraphical books, attributed to fictitious authors, were preserved as independent works in a variety of languages (the Book of Jubilees, for example, survived in Ge’ez [classical Ethiopic] and Fourth Ezra in Latin).

These apocryphal and pseudoepigraphical books were cherished by the members of the Judean Desert sect. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of them had been known only in translation (such as the book of Tobit and the Testament of Levi), while others were altogether unknown. Among these are rewritten versions of biblical works (such as the Genesis Apocryphon), prayers, wisdom literature, and so forth. In some cases, several manuscripts of the same work were discovered, indicating that the sectarians valued these compositions highly and even considered a few of them (such as the First Book of Enoch) as full-fledged “Holy Scriptures.”

The books of the Hebrew Bible, except for Nehemiah and Esther that were discovered at Qumran.


“Being versed from their early years in holy”
(Josephus, Jewish War II, viii, 12).

All the books of the Hebrew Bible, except for Nehemiah and Esther, were discovered at Qumran. In some cases, several copies of the same book were found, while in others, only one copy came to light. Sometimes the text is almost identical to the Masoretic text, which received its final form about one thousand years later in medieval codices; and sometimes it resembles other versions of the Bible (such as the Samaritan Pentateuch or the Greek translation known as the Septuagint). Scrolls bearing the Septuagint Greek translation (Exodus, Leviticus) and an Aramaic translation (Leviticus, Job) have survived as well.

The most outstanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls is undoubtedly the Isaiah Scroll (Manuscript A) – the only biblical scroll from Qumran that has been preserved in it entirety (it is 734 cm long). This scroll is also one of the oldest to have come down to us; scholars estimate that it was written around 100 BCE. In addition, among the scrolls are some twenty additional copies of Isaiah, as well as six pesharim (sectarian exegetical works) based on the book; Isaiah is also frequently quoted in other scrolls. The prominence of this particular book is consistent with the Community’s messianic beliefs, since Isaiah (Judean Kingdom, 8th century BCE) is known for his prophecies concerning the End of Days.

The sectarians’ scribal and literary activities, the study of the Scriptures, biblical exegesis, community scribes and the “scriptorium”.


“On the west side of the Dead Sea, but out of range of the noxious exhalations of the coast, is the solitary tribe of the Essenes”
(Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis V, 73).

The sectarians’ attached supreme importance to the study of the Scriptures, to biblical exegesis, to the interpretation of the law (halakha), and to prayer, and their laws enjoined them to ensure that shifts of Community members be engaged in study around the clock.

The sectarians’ scribal and literary activities apparently took place in several rooms in the eastern building at Khirbet Qumran, mainly in the “scriptorium” on the upper floor. Most of the scrolls were written on parchment, with a small number on papyrus. The scribes used styluses made from sharpened reed or metal, which were dipped into black ink – a mixture of soot, gum, oil, and water. Inscribed bits of leather and pottery shards found at the site attest to the fact that they practiced before beginning the actual copying work.
Most of the Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls found at Qumran were written in “Jewish” or square script, common during the Second Temple period. A few scrolls, however, were written in ancient Hebrew script, a very small number in Greek, and fewer still in a kind of secret writing used for texts dealing with mysteries that the sectarians wished to conceal. Scholars believe that some of the scrolls were written by the community scribes, but others were written outside of Qumran.

The Great Isaiah Scroll is the only biblical book discovered in its entirety: its 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the book.


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The Isaiah Scroll (Manuscript A) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. In subsequent years, approximately 800 manuscripts were found in this region, of which some 200 are biblical. Our scroll, the second largest to have come to light (734 mm), is the best preserved of all the biblical manuscripts. It is also the only biblical book discovered in its entirety: its 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the book.
This scroll is one of the oldest manuscripts discovered in Qumran. It dates from about 100 BCE and is thus 1,000 years older than the oldest Hebrew biblical manuscript known prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Unlike most of the biblical scrolls, this scroll is characterized by its popular plene spelling, which sheds light on Hebrew pronunciation in Second Temple times.
Modern scholarship considers the Book of Isaiah to be a compilation of several compositions: First Isaiah (chaps. 1 - 39); Second Isaiah (chaps. 40 - 55); and Third Isaiah (chaps. 56 - 66). By the time our Isaiah Scroll was copied around 100 BCE, the book was already regarded as a single composition.