Teacher of Righteousness
The Teacher of Righteousness (in
The Teacher is extolled as having proper understanding of the Torah, qualified in its accurate instruction,[3] and being the one through whom God would reveal to the community "the hidden things in which Israel had gone astray".[4]
Although the exact identity of the Teacher is unknown, based on the text of the
Identity
The "missing" High Priest of 159–152 BC
One theory initially advocated by
Critics of this theory accuse it of being too hypothetical[citation needed]: slotting the Teacher as High Priest into a convenient gap during which no other High Priest is recorded in the few sources available. Neither the Damascus Document, nor 1QS or 4QMMT suggest that the legitimacy of the High Priest was an issue for the split. In addition, the motivation behind the split of the sect from mainstream Judaism appears to have been of a religious rather than political nature.[citation needed]
A 1st-century BCE Messiah figure
A Sadducee priest
Other documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls portray the Teacher as involved in heavy conflict against a figure termed the "Wicked Priest", which has led to several proposals for their identity: A Sadducee (Zadokite) priest as the Teacher, possibly even the legitimate high priest, against a "wicked" Jonathan Apphus. "Zadok" in Hebrew (צדוק) translates as "righteous."
Hyrcanus II
Somewhat along these lines is the proposal that
Further, according to this hypothesis,
Hillel against Shammai
Rabbi Harvey Falk identifies
James is Jesus, Teacher of Righteousness
This theory is rejected by mainstream scholarship.Judah the Essene
Stephen Goranson suggests that Judah the Essene, mentioned by Josephus, is the Teacher.[15]
John the Baptist
Barbara Thiering questions the dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls and suggests that the Teacher of Righteousness preached coming fiery judgment, said "the axe is laid to the roots of the tree", called people "vipers", practiced baptism and lived in the wilderness of Judea. Due to these reasons, she believes there is a strong possibility that the Teacher of Righteousness was John the Baptist.[16]
More than one Teacher of Righteousness
Richard A. Freund writes "The difference of opinion over the positioning of the Teacher of Righteousness leads me to conclude that perhaps all of these researchers are correct. A Teacher of Righteousness did lead the group in the second century BCE when it was established. Another Teacher of Righteousness led the sect in the first century BCE and finally another Teacher emerged in the first century CE."[17]
See also
References
- ^ (CD)
- ^ (CD 1:9–11)
- ^ i.e. an inspired interpreter of the prophets, as the one "to whom God made known all the mysteries of the words of his servants the prophets" – 1QpHab 7:5)
- ^ (CD 3:12–15)
- ^ a b Serech HaYachad text – Sod H'Megilloth (B.T. Katz) p. 22
- ^ Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, Teacher of Righteousness, Anchor Bible Dictionary VI, p340f
- ^ H. Stegemann, The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Grand Rapids MI, 1998
- ISBN 0-87951-720-4
- ^ Michael O. Wise, The First Messiah: Investigating the Savior Before Christ, HarperCollins 1999
- ISBN 9781407311388
- ^ Gregory Doudna, A Narrative Argument that the Teacher of Righteousness was Hyrcanus II. Excerpted from pp. 95–107 of the book
- ^ Rabbi Harvey Falk, Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus, p53f
- ^ James the Brother of Jesus, Penguin, 1997–98, pp. 51–153 and 647–816.
- ^ "Robert Eisenman's The New Testament Code: The Cup of the Lord, the Damascus Covenant, and the Blood of Christ".
- ^ The significance of Sinai: traditions about Sinai and divine ed. George J. Brooke, Hindy Najman, Loren T. Stuckenbruck – 2008 p. 123 footnote: "Greek word 'Εσσενοι'", see Stephen Goranson, "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene" self-published on-line paper http://www.duke.edu/~goranson/jannaeus.pdf
- ^ "The Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls". YouTube - Discovery Channel documentary. 1990. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ISBN 978-0742546455p. 287