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1QSa

Rule of the Congregation

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Column 2

1 and of fifties and of tens, and the Levites, each within the [division] of his service. These are 2 the men of renown, those summoned to the assembly, who are appointed to the council of the community in Israel 3 before the sons of Zadok, the priests. And any man afflicted with any one of all the impurities of 4 a human shall not enter the assembly of these. And any man afflicted with these, so as not 5 to hold a position in the midst of the congregation; and anyone afflicted in his flesh, crippled in feet or 6 hands, lame or blind or deaf or mute, or afflicted in his flesh with a blemish 7 visible to the eyes; or a stumbling old man who cannot hold himself up in the midst of the congregation: 8 these shall not enter to take their place in the midst of the congregation of the men of renown, for holy⁠ 9 angels are [in] their [congregation]. And if [one of] these has something to say to the holy council, 10 they shall inquire of him from his own mouth, but into the midst [of the congregation] the man shall [not] enter, for he is 11 afflicted. [This is the] sitting of the men of renown, [summoned] to the assembly for the council of the community, when [God] 12 fathers the Messiah with them. [The priest] shall enter at the head of all the congregation of Israel, and all 13 [the fathers of the sons of] Aaron, the priests, [summoned] to the assembly, the men of renown. And they shall sit 14 [before him, each] according to his honor. And afterward the Messiah of Israel [shall sit],⁠ and before him shall sit the heads of 15 [the thousands of Israel, each] according to his honor, according to [his position] in their camps and on their marches. And all 16 the heads of the [fathers of the] congregation, with the wise men [of the holy congregation], shall sit before them, each according to 17 his honor. And [if] they gather [at the] table of the community [or to drink the] new wine, and the table of the community is set⁠ 18 [and the] new wine [is mixed] for drinking, no one [shall stretch out] his hand to the first portion of 19 the bread and [the new wine] before the priest, for [he] blesses the first portion of the bread 20 and the new wine, [and stretches out] his hand to the bread first. And afterward the Messiah of Israel stretches out his hands 21 to the bread. [And afterward] all the congregation of the community [shall bless], each [according to] his honor. And by this statute they shall act 22 at every meal [when] at least ten men are gathered.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1QSa 2:17 and Mark 2:22

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · New Testament

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Summary

The Messianic Rule in the Dead Sea Scrolls describes a messianic banquet where bread and wine are blessed in specific order. In Mark, Jesus uses the image of new wine in old wineskins, which may echo this messianic banquet tradition.

Passages

1QSa 2:17

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Rule of the Congregation
16 the heads of the [fathers of the] congregation, with the wise men [of the holy congregation], shall sit before them, each according to 17 his honor. And [if] they gather [at the] table of the community [or to drink the] new wine, and the table of the community is set 18 [and the] new wine [is mixed] for drinking, no one [shall stretch out] his hand to the first portion of 19 the bread and [the new wine] before the priest, for [he] blesses the first portion of the bread 20 and the new wine, [and stretches out] his hand to the bread first. And afterward the Messiah of Israel stretches out his hands 21 to the bread. [And afterward] all the congregation of the community [shall bless], each [according to] his honor. And by this statute they shall act 22 at every meal [when] at least ten men are gathered.
160–100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1QSa

Mark 2:22

New Testament
17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. 20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and at that time they will fast. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

References

"... the image of new wine is suggested by the context of a feast at the beginning of a new age. When Hosea describes the restoration of the marriage of Israel, the wife is given vineyards (2:16-17) and the Lord will cause the earth to produce grain and תִּירוֹש, “new wine.” New wine is associated with the eschatological age in Joel 2:24 and is the wine served in the messianic banquet in 1QSa. The noun תִּירוֹש was used in 1QSa because this is the wine set aside for the priests in the first fruits offering (for the details, see Long, Jesus the Bridegroom, 160) ... in both metaphors everything is ruined, both the old and the new. It is not the case that new wine is somehow preserved when it bursts the old wineskin. It too spills all over the ground in this ruined! The clothing is ruined when it is inappropriately patched. If this is an allegorical description of the state of the church during Matthew’s day, then it is difficult to see how the new wine of the Christian church has destroyed the old Jewish wineskin yet somehow was preserved ..."
Phillip J. Long, What Did Jesus Mean by “Old and New Wineskins”? (Grace Christian University, 2020), 1–5.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1QSa 2:17 and Mark 2:22

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