Shared Tradition: Points of Contact Between S and D

This chapter draws up a profile of points of contact between S and D. Key areas that establish a close relationship between both documents (sometimes in conjunction with other texts such as 4Q265 [Miscellaneous Rules]) are the penal codes, the gatherings of ten, admission into the community by means of an oath, Maskil headings, the self-designation ‘(the) people of perfect holiness’, a shared liturgical frame (cf. the covenant renewal in 1QS 1:16-3:12 // 4QS and the reference to an expulsion ritual in 4Q266 [4QDa] 11 // 4Q270 [4QDe] 7). In evaluating this list of correspondences the relationship between S and D appears to be based on two types of contact: the use of similar sources – as is probable in the case of the prescriptions on the quorum of ten and some of the penal code traditions – alongside points of contact at a late stage in the growth of both compositions. Examples of the latter kind are the people of perfect holiness in CD 20 and 1QS 8-9 as well as the liturgical framework. In both cases Cave 4 manuscripts of S attest a situation before this particular connection was established. Thus, the passage referring to the people of perfect holiness in 1QS 8:20 is not included (as opposed to not preserved) in 4Q259 (4QSe) and the covenant ceremony of 1QS 1:16-3:12 is not attested in 4Q258 (4QSd). The evidence of 4QS lends support to considering the liturgical framework and the self-designation people of perfect holiness to a late stage in the growth of S. This chapter ends by arguing that the intricate relationship between different Rule texts mirrors the kinds of processes scholars have identified in rewritten scripture texts.