The Organizational Pattern And The Penal Code Of The Qumran Sect: A Comparison With Guilds And Religious Associations Of The Hellenistic-roman Period (orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis)

This study tries to show that the organizational pattern of the Qumran sect as well as the penal code of this sect are congruent with those of the cultic associations of Ptolemaic Egypt and of other regions of the Hellenistic and Roman world. Matters of procedure such as: examination of the candidates for entry in the sect, approval of the candidate by votes of the assembly and the registration of a member are common both to the Qumran sect and the Hellenistic-Roman guilds and associations. A similar organizational pattern is to be discerned in the early Christian congregation as reflected in the New Testament and in the apostolic traditions of Hippolytus. Moshe Weinfeld. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 81-86.