Sectarianism in Qumran : : A Cross-Cultural Perspective / / Eyal Regev.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• VerfasserIn: Regev, Eyal,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2012]; ©2007
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Religion and Society , 45
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (438 p.)

Sectarianism in Qumran: A Cross-Cultural Perspective explores the sectarian characteristics of the system of beliefs and laws of the two major Qumran sects of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the yahad and the Damascus Covenant, using theories of sectarianism and related topics in sociology, anthropology and the study of religion. It discusses Qumranic moral and purity boundaries, cultic rituals, wealth, gender, atonement, revelation mysticism, structure and organization and compares them with those of seven sects of the same (introversionist) type: the early Anabaptists, Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish, Puritans, Quakers and Shakers. The sociological and historical relationship between the Qumran sects and the related movements of 1 Enoch, Jubilees and the Essenes are analyzed in detail, in order to understand the socio-religious background of sectarianism in Qumran and its subsequent variations. Throughout the chapters, differences between the yahad, the Damascus Covenant and the Essenes are observed in relation to social boundaries, social structure, gender relations, revelation and inclination towards mysticism. Points of resemblance and difference are traced between the Qumran sects and the early-modern Christian ones, and several different patterns of sectarian ideology and behaviour are noticed among all these sects.

Table of Contents

i-vi -- Preface -- Table of Contents -- Introduction: From Scrolls to Sects -- Part I Sectarian Ideologies in Qumran -- Chapter 1. Sectarian Ideologies and Social Theory: From Separation to Revelation -- Chapter 2. Abominated Temple and Moral Community: Purity, Morality and Sectarian Boundaries -- Chapter 3. Dynamic Holiness and Pre-Sectarianism in the Temple Scroll and MMT -- Chapter 4. Structure, Organization, and the Relationship between the yahad and the Damascus Covenant -- Part II. Related Movements: 1 Enoch, Jubilees and the Essenes -- Chapter 5. 1 Enoch and the Origins of Sectarian Tension -- Chapter 6. Jubilees’ Reform Movement -- Chapter 7. The Essenes: An Outgrowth of the Qumran Movement? -- Part III. A Comparative Study of Sectarianism: The Qumran Sects and the Anabaptists, Mennonites, Hutterites, Amish, Puritans, Quakers and Shakers -- Chapter 8. Comparing Sectarian Rituals and Organizational Patterns -- Chapter 9. Gender and Sectarianism: Between Celibacy and Intimacy -- Chapter 10. Eliminating the Power of Wealth -- Chapter 11. Mysticism and the Holy Spirit -- Conclusions -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Index