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The Dead Sea Scrolls Community Rule divides humanity into sons of light and sons of darkness, those faithful to the covenant and those who are not. In Luke, Jesus uses similar language when describing the sons of light in the parable of the steward.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1QS 1:9
Community Rule
Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts
7 doing all evil; and to bring all who volunteer to do the statutes of God 8 into the covenant of kindness, to be joined in the counsel of God and to walk perfectly before him in all 9 that has been revealed for their appointed times; and to love all the sons of light, each 10 according to his lot in the counsel of God, and to hate all the sons of darkness, each according to his guilt 11 in the vengeance of God. And all who volunteer for his truth shall bring all their knowledge and their strength
Date: 160–100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Luke 16:8
New Testament
3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. 4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘100 measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write 50.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘100 measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write 80.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon31, so that when it runs out, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes. 10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Date: 75–85 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In Luke 16:8-9 we met two technical terms: the mammon of unrighteousness and the sons of light. As we have already said the term 'sons of light' does not appear anywhere else in the synoptic gospels. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the second term, 'the wealth of unrighteousness' has a specific origin (compare 1QS) ..."
David Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1988), 152–159.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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