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4Q266

Damascus Document

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Fragment 11

1 over the many, and he shall accept his judgment willingly, as he said by the hand of 2 Moses about the person who sins in error, that they shall bring 3 his sin offering and his guilt offering. And about Israel it is written, “I will go 4 to the ends of the heavens, and I will not smell the scent of your pleasing offerings.” And in another place 5 it is written, “to return to God with weeping and with fasting.” And in a place it is written, “Tear your heart and not your garments.”⁠ And everyone who rejects these judgments, 6 which are according to all the statutes found in the Torah of Moses, shall not be counted 7 among all the sons of his truth, for his soul has loathed the disciplines of righteousness. As a rebel, from before 8 the many he shall be sent away. And the priest appointed over the many shall speak about him, and he shall speak up 9 and say, “Blessed are you; you are everything, and in your hands is everything, and you make everything, you who established 10 peoples by their families and tongues by their nations, and you led them astray in a waste with 11 no way. But you chose our fathers, and to their seed you gave your true statutes 12 and your holy judgments, which a person shall do and live. And you set boundaries 13 for us, and those who cross them you have cursed. And we are the people you redeemed and the flock of your pasture. 14 You have cursed those who cross them, but we have upheld them.” And the one sent away shall go out. And the man 15 who eats of his property, or who seeks his peace, the one sent away, or who shares with him, 16 his case shall be written down by the overseer with a stylus, and his judgment is complete. And all 17 [who dwell in] the camps shall assemble in the third month and curse the one who turns to the right 18 [or to the left from the] Torah. And this is the exact account of the judgments that they shall do in the whole age of 19 [the visitation, by which they shall be] visited [in all] the ages of wrath and their journeys, for everyone 20 [who dwells in their camps and everyone who dwells in their cities. Behold, it is all according to the] last [study of] the Torah 21 […]

Texts in conversation

Compare Joel 2:13 and 4Q266 11 5

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts

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Summary

In Joel, God calls the people to return with fasting and weeping and to tear their hearts, not their garments. 4Q266, a Dead Sea Scrolls copy of the Damascus Document, quotes both commands as scripture in its rule for disciplining a member who sins.

Passages

Joel 2:13

Hebrew Bible
12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart—with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love—often relenting from calamitous punishment. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake—a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joel

4Q266 11 5

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Damascus Document
3 his sin offering and his guilt offering. And about Israel it is written, “I will go 4 to the ends of the heavens, and I will not smell the scent of your pleasing offerings.” And in another place 5 it is written, “to return to God with weeping and with fasting.” And in a place it is written, “Tear your heart and not your garments.” And everyone who rejects these judgments, 6 which are according to all the statutes found in the Torah of Moses, shall not be counted 7 among all the sons of his truth, for his soul has loathed the disciplines of righteousness. As a rebel, from before 8 the many he shall be sent away. And the priest appointed over the many shall speak about him, and he shall speak up
100–80 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q266

References

“... A fine example in the scrolls from Qumran is to be found in 4QDa (4Q266) 11, 3–5. After a section dealing with how an individual is to be disciplined, the author continues with reference to Israel in a series of three quotations, each formally introduced by ‘it is written’ (ktwb): And concerning Israel it is written, I will get me to the ends of heaven and will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And elsewhere it is written, To return to God with weeping and fasting. And in ⟨another⟩ place it is written, Rend your hearts, not your garments. The first quotation is a combination of the hope of Deuteronomy 30.4 (‘Even if you are expelled to the ends of heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you’) and the threat of Leviticus 26.31 (‘If you disobey me . . . I will lay waste your cities, will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours’). The second and third are citations of parts of Joel 2.12 and 13. Although a catchword link between the two principal quotations is not clear, the combination of the two texts may depend upon the notion of what God does for those who return to him, a feature of the wider contexts of the passages cited (Deut. 30.2 and Joel 2.13). ...”
George J. Brooke, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 66–67.

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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Joel 2:13 and 4Q266 11 5

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