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1 And those who entered the ark “went two by two into the ark.” And about the prince it is written, 2 “He shall not multiply wives for himself.” But David had not read the sealed book of the Torah that 3 was in the ark, for it had not been opened in Israel since the day of the death of Eleazar 4 and Joshua and the elders, because they served the Ashtoreth. And it was hidden 5 and not revealed until Zadok arose. And the deeds of David were lifted up, except for the blood of Uriah, 6 and God left them to him. And they also defile the sanctuary, in that they do not 7 separate according to the Torah, and they lie with a woman who sees the blood of her discharge. And they take,⁠ 8 each one, the daughter of his brother and the daughter of his sister. But Moses said, “To 9 your mother’s sister you shall not draw near; she is your mother’s kin.” The rule about forbidden unions is written for males, 10 and women are like them. So if a brother’s daughter uncovers the nakedness of the brother of 11 her father, she is kin. And they also defiled their holy spirit, and with a tongue of 12 blasphemies they opened their mouth against the statutes of the covenant of God, saying, “They are not sure.” And an abomination 13 they speak against them. All of them are kindlers of fire and lighters of brands; webs of 14 a spider are their webs, and eggs of vipers are their eggs. Whoever comes near them 15 will not be held innocent; the more he does so, the guiltier he is, unless he was forced. For from of old 16 God visited their works, and his anger burned against their deeds, for it is not a people of understanding. 17 They are a nation lacking counsel, because there is no understanding in them. For in ancient times there arose⁠ 18 Moses and Aaron by the hand of the Prince of Lights, and Belial raised up Jannes and 19 his brother in his cunning, when Israel was saved the first time. 20 And in the age of the devastation of the land there arose those who moved the boundary, and they led Israel astray. 21 And the land became desolate, for they spoke rebellion against the commandments of God given by the hand of Moses, and also

Texts in conversation

Compare CD 5:7 and Yevamot 62b

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Rabbinic

Summary

The Damascus Document forbids men to marry the daughter of a brother or sister, reasoning that commandments written for men also apply to women. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Yevamot allows a man to marry his sister's daughter.

Passages

CD 5:7

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Damascus Document

6 and God left them to him. And they also defile the sanctuary, in that they do not 7 separate according to the Torah, and they lie with a woman who sees the blood of her discharge. And they take, 8 each one, the daughter of his brother and the daughter of his sister. But Moses said, “To 9 your mother’s sister you shall not draw near; she is your mother’s kin.” The rule about forbidden unions is written for males, 10 and women are like them. So if a brother’s daughter uncovers the nakedness of the brother of 11 her father, she is kin. And they also defiled their holy spirit, and with a tongue of

100–80 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in CD

Yevamot 62b

Rabbinic · Babylonian Talmud

§ The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as he loves himself, and who honors her more than himself, and who instructs his sons and daughters in an upright path, and who marries them off near the time when they reach maturity, about him the verse states: And you shall know that your tent is in peace. As a result of his actions, there will be peace in his home, as it will be devoid of quarrel and sin. One who loves his neighbors, and who draws his relatives close, and who marries the daughter of his sister, a woman he knows and is fond of as a family relative and not only as a wife,

450–550 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Yevamot

References

“... At Qumran, the practice of uncles marrying nieces is understood to be implicitly condemned by Leviticus 18:13, even though the biblical text does not explicitly state this. Unlike other examples so far, we have a citation formula (“Moses said . . . ”) followed by a verbatim quote of the law in question. And also, for once, we have an explicit methodology. This takes the form of reasoning by analogy. The Qumran author here recognizes gender equality [...] Why does the Damascus Document go out of its way to provide us with such an explicit citation and interpretation? Bernstein notes that explicit textual support is often used in respect of laws that are the subject of dispute between the Qumran community and its opponents. In other words, the more contentious the issue, the more important it is to show that God is on your side. Flavius Josephus tells us that there were a number of uncle-niece marriages during this period (e.g., Jewish Antiquities 12:186–189), particularly in the royal court (e.g., Jewish Antiquities 17:19). There are good reasons for thinking that uncle-niece marriages reflect Second Temple practice, especially among the Pharisees. Permission for uncle-niece marriages is also found in rabbinic texts (Tractate Yevamot 62b–63a). Some scholars go so far as to say that the incest laws are one of the few examples where we see “direct criticism of the halakhic practices of the Pharisees.” Adopting a simple sense reading merely highlights the folly of the opposition. ...”

Jonathan Burnside, God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 401.

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

Column 5

CD18 chapters

Compare CD 5:7 and Yevamot 62b

Summary

Passages

CD 5:7

Yevamot 62b

References

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