4QMMT ( or
MMT), also known as the
Halakhic Letter, is one of the
Dead Sea ScrollsThe Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Qumran Wadi near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.The texts are of great...
that were discovered at
QumranQumran is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank, just next to the Israeli kibbutz of Kalia...
in the
West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the
purityPurity is the absence of impurity in a substance.Purity may also refer to:* in Buddhism, purity refers to a spiritual purity of character or essence.* Abstinence from vices and/or abundance of virtue....
of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the
PhariseesThe word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "set apart" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era...
and the
SadduceesThe Sadducees were a group of Jews opposed to the Pharisees , founded in the second century BC. They ceased to exist sometime after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD....
in later
rabbinicRabbinic may refer to:* Rabbinic literature, Rabbinic texts, writings, and works* Rabbinics or rabbinic traditions - see Oral Torah* Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinics , Rabbinic Jews, or Rabbinic beliefs...
texts.
Originally provisionally designated as 4QMishn (Mishnah), it was later renamed as 4QMMT (Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Torah or
Some Precepts of the Law) by
Elisha QimronDr Elisha Qimron is a leading academic in the study of ancient Hebrew, in which he took his PhD in 1976 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writing his dissertation on The Hebrew of the Scrolls. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Hebrew Language at Ben-Gurion University of the...
who, with
John StrugnellJohn Strugnell, was born in Barnet, North London, England. At 23 he was the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem...
, were the manuscript's editors.
4QMMT ( or
MMT), also known as the
Halakhic Letter, is one of the
Dead Sea ScrollsThe Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Qumran Wadi near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.The texts are of great...
that were discovered at
QumranQumran is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank, just next to the Israeli kibbutz of Kalia...
in the
West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the
purityPurity is the absence of impurity in a substance.Purity may also refer to:* in Buddhism, purity refers to a spiritual purity of character or essence.* Abstinence from vices and/or abundance of virtue....
of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the
PhariseesThe word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "set apart" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era...
and the
SadduceesThe Sadducees were a group of Jews opposed to the Pharisees , founded in the second century BC. They ceased to exist sometime after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD....
in later
rabbinicRabbinic may refer to:* Rabbinic literature, Rabbinic texts, writings, and works* Rabbinics or rabbinic traditions - see Oral Torah* Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinics , Rabbinic Jews, or Rabbinic beliefs...
texts.
Originally provisionally designated as 4QMishn (Mishnah), it was later renamed as 4QMMT (Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Torah or
Some Precepts of the Law) by
Elisha QimronDr Elisha Qimron is a leading academic in the study of ancient Hebrew, in which he took his PhD in 1976 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writing his dissertation on The Hebrew of the Scrolls. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Hebrew Language at Ben-Gurion University of the...
who, with
John StrugnellJohn Strugnell, was born in Barnet, North London, England. At 23 he was the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem...
, were the manuscript's editors. Strugnell and Qimron have dated the script (or writing) on the fragments as late
HasmoneanThe Hasmoneans were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel , an independent Jewish state. The Hasmonean dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt in 165 BC...
to Middle
HerodianHerod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, was a Roman client king of Israel. He is often confused...
, which places them between the early 1st century BCE and the early 1st century CE.The editors believe that at that time the fragments now comprising 4QMMT were copied from six individual manuscripts into one.
4QMMT was found in Cave 4 at Qumran on six fragmented manuscripts (4Q394, 4Q395, 4Q396, 4Q397, 4Q398, 4Q399). These manuscripts were found between the years 1953-1959 and today they are held at the
Rockefeller MuseumThe Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in Palestine beginning in the late 19th century...
in
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
. From 1959 4QMMT was worked on alone by
John StrugnellJohn Strugnell, was born in Barnet, North London, England. At 23 he was the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem...
. In 1979 he co-opted Hebrew scholar
Elisha QimronDr Elisha Qimron is a leading academic in the study of ancient Hebrew, in which he took his PhD in 1976 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writing his dissertation on The Hebrew of the Scrolls. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Hebrew Language at Ben-Gurion University of the...
on to the team to assist him in completing it.
Content
In 1984 at the
Biblical archaeologyFor the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
Conference in
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, Qimron stated that 4QMMT represented copies of a letter written by Qumran's '
Teacher of RighteousnessThe Teacher of Righteousness is a figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document . This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, probably Essenes, 390 years after the Babylonian exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way...
' and his colleagues to his rival, the '
Wicked PriestWicked Priest is a sobriquet used in the Dead Sea scrolls pesharim, four times in the Habakkuk Commentary and once in the Commentary on Psalm 37 , to refer to an opponent of the "Teacher of Righteousness." The phrase is generally regarded as a pun on "High Priest" and identified with a...
' and his supporters. The purpose of the letter was to spell out the differences between the two parties and to summon their opponents to an amendment of life.
4QMMT commences with a detailed, year-long calendar, a 364 day solar calendar. In the sequel the author presents twenty-two points of law on which the two groups differ. These points oppose
rabbinicRabbinic may refer to:* Rabbinic literature, Rabbinic texts, writings, and works* Rabbinics or rabbinic traditions - see Oral Torah* Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinics , Rabbinic Jews, or Rabbinic beliefs...
or
PharisaicThe word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "set apart" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era...
views and coincide with Essene, and in some cases, Sadducean positions. This led some scholars to the conclusion that the community at Qumran had withdrawn from Jerusalem in around 150 BC following major disagreements between themselves and the Jewish authorities concerning Biblical interpretation and religious practices.
Interpretation
While part of 4QMMT seems to be addressed to priests at the Temple in
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, the third section is addressed to a respected individual, whose honesty and integrity are acknowledged by the author, and who encourages him to study carefully 'the book of
MosesMoses was, according to biblical texts, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew Moses was, according to biblical texts, a...
and the books of the
ProphetsProphets may refer to:*Nevi'im, which is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh *Prophets of Islam - 124,000 in total, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad.*Prophet, an interpreter or spokesperson of a deity...
and
DavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Bible. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet .The biblical chronology sets his life c.1037–970 BCE, his reign over Judah c.1007–1000 BCE,...
.' He also refers to the blessings and curses on the
IsraeliteIn the Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. They were divided into twelve tribes, each descended from one of twelve sons or grandsons of Jacob....
kings and asks the recipient to remember their actions, giving the impression that the recipient may himself be a
JudaeanJudea or Judæa is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה,
Standard Yəhuda
Tiberian , "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; ) is the...
monarch. Almost certainly a
HasmoneanThe Hasmoneans were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel , an independent Jewish state. The Hasmonean dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt in 165 BC...
ruler is being addressed. There is no formal breach between the two, only disagreement, giving rise to the supposition that 4QMMT was written at a time of dispute between the Scrolls community and the Judaean political and religious establishment in
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, possibly concerning laws covering purity. Some scholars believe that this section is a letter from the
Teacher of RighteousnessThe Teacher of Righteousness is a figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document . This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, probably Essenes, 390 years after the Babylonian exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way...
to the
Wicked PriestWicked Priest is a sobriquet used in the Dead Sea scrolls pesharim, four times in the Habakkuk Commentary and once in the Commentary on Psalm 37 , to refer to an opponent of the "Teacher of Righteousness." The phrase is generally regarded as a pun on "High Priest" and identified with a...
, believed by many to be
Jonathan MaccabaeusJonathan Maccabaeus was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. He is called also Apphus = "the dissembler" or "the diplomat", in allusion to a trait prominent in him; 1 Maccabees ii. 5)....
or his brother
SimonSimon Maccabaeus was a son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family.He took part in the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire led by his brothers, Judas Maccabaeus and Jonathan Maccabaeus. He became the first prince of the Hebrew Hasmonean Dynasty...
.
Other scholars have seen in 4QMMT evidence of having been written solely by the Sadduccees, one of the major religious factions in
JudeaJudea or Judæa is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה,
Standard Yəhuda
Tiberian , "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; ) is the...
at that time.
Since its publication in 1994, there has been much debate as to whether 4QMMT really is a letter, and if so written by who to whom; whether it is actually a Sadducean manuscript, or even if the document has been properly reconstructed, a charge laid by Strugnell against Qimron.
The text was also at the centre of a legal dispute in the early 1990s when Qimron successfully sued
Hershel ShanksHershel Shanks is the founder of the Biblical Archaeology Society and the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review and has written and edited numerous works on Biblical archaeology including the Dead Sea Scrolls....
of the Biblical Archaeology Society and others for publishing his researches into 4QMMT without his permission.
External links