Dualism in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Part 7): Dualism in the Damascus Document (CD)
posted by Krista | 4/3/2004 10:47:11 PM | Permalink | 
Stumble It!
Dualism in the Damascus Document
The Damascus Document (CD) lacks the deterministic language of the 1QS and seems to place greater emphasis on free will than the 1QS. CD appears to have both sapiential and apocalyptic influences. This can be seen in the reference to the 'guilty inclination' (CD 2:14) which is the cause of human error and is based on the theology of the y'ser. The passage also makes reference to the fall of the
Watchers in 1 Enoch and Jubilees but instead of attributing the origin of sin to the fallen angels, it claims that the
Watchers fell because of this inclination: 'for having walked in the stubbornness of their hearts the
Watchers of the heavens fell; on its account they were caught, for they did not follow the precepts of God' (CD 2:18). One view sees the work as an "inheritance from the apocalyptic tradition" whose basic structure was written before the Qumran community was established, though it was edited in the community, while another, in contrast, believes the work was written immediately after the Teacher of Righteousness' death around 100 BCE.
Damascus Document and 1QS
There seems to be literary parallels between CD and 1QS. CD 5:18-19 appears to equate
Belial with the 'angel of darkness' of the Instruction in opposition to the 'Prince of Lights', though some have argued that because of the mention of the Prince of Lights in only this passage, this verse is a secondary insertion.
Belial, on the other hand, plays a central part in CD. CD 4:13 states that there is a specific time when '
Belial will be sent against Israel,' which This may be equated with the 'period of wrath' of 1QS 1:6. There is mention of the 'three nets of
Belial' (CD 4:15) which account for the errors of Israel, and 'the spirit of
Belial dominates' (12:2) all sinners.
CD 2:1-13 shows the most resemblance to the Instruction, in which there are phrases that directly parallel phrases in the Instruction, but no mention of
Belial or the Angel of Darkness. There is some consent that because of the similarities, CD was influenced by the Instruction, with the dualism being primarily ethical but adopted into the cosmic framework and thus abandoning notions of psychological dualism.
Damascus Document as Origins for 1QS?
Also of concern, it has been pointed out that there is no mention of the spirits of light and darkness. This is seen not as a later development from 1QS, but as an earlier document that influenced 1QS because it is difficult to believe that the author of CD would simply omit the light/darkness terminology of the 1QS doctrine. Another study has even recently attempted to show the transformation from the CD doctrine to the 1QS doctrine.
Reference
