RelSt 225 DSS Class Minutes #6
by Behir Sabban (with Michael Singer)

We discussed the difference between "history" and "filtered history" and
concluded that there really was no basic distinction.  All history is
filtered, we just have to try to figure out how much and by who.  We try
to look at the most reliable sources that are available. 

Regarding a note in a traditional liturgical handbook that the Sadducee
High Priests would die upon exit from the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur
(Day of Atonement) every year, because they had not conducted the ritual
correctly, it was suggested that critical judgment must always be
exercised in assessing historical claims. Some claims may look suspicious
at the outset -- they do not seem reasonable. If we search the available
early sources, such as Josephus, and cannot find such a story in his
writings, we would think the story regarding the Sadducees as doubtful
(especially in light of his priestly lineage). In this case, the Talmud
might not be as good a place to look since it generally takes a negative
stance to "Sadducees," and it was redacted at least four centuries after
the destruction of the second Temple.  Dr. Kraft says that in matters of
history, he does not like to shave with Occam's razor -- ie to embrace a
certain conclusion because it is the simplest alternative -- but should
be careful to recognize the complexities of any historical occurance. 

The number of the Pharisees in Palestine/Israel at the turn of the era
seems rather small, if Josephus is to be believed; he refers to 6000
Pharisees in a particular episode (Ant 17.41ff), while scholars estimate
the total population of the area as between 1/4 of a million to a million. 
Josephus may be referring to an "initiated" Pharisee leadership or to
local representatives in the episode in question, but in any event it
would seem to constitute a small percentage of the current population. 

The way the DSS and other ancient manuscripts were reproduced and
distributed most likely was like a "tree" diagram.  Someone wrote the
original text, then a couple of copies would be made and a number of
copies would be produced from those copies.  Therefore, we must be very
careful with interpreting what he have, because a point in the manuscript
may be a later addition.  For example, the declaration of Jesus as Messiah
by Josephus was probably a later addition by Christian copiest editors
(especially in light of its absence from the writings of Origen -- an
early Church father). 

There are lots of questions regarding the Damascus document (often called
the Zadokite fragments).  Does it intend to give us historical
information?  What does it mean by "Damascus"?  The document is a good
example of manuscript transmission problems.  It has not been found in
it's entirety in the DSS caves, although there are fragments. Indeed, it
was known from two copies found in the "Cairo Genizah" decades before the
DSS were discovered. The synagogue that housed the Genizah may once have
been a Christian church, as some reused copies of Origen's writings have
been found in the Genizah; the Jewish synagogue was functioning in the 9th
century and may have become Karaite at some point.  The Genizah contained
parts of two copies of the Damascus document. The larger one is from 10th
century while the smaller one is from the 12th. Though removed in time
from one another, the documents display many similarities but also some
differences. 

Dr. Kraft believes that the Karaite movement may have been founded on some 
ideas that were taken from DSS documents discovered in the late 8th 
century; there are many interesting similarities between early Karaite 
ideas and the DSS.   	 

/end/