The Dead Sea Scrolls can be classified into three categories according to the three general ways they are important to understanding Judaism at the time of Jesus. These are by far the oldest copies of biblical books. In many ways they match the later copies and confirm that scribes did a very good job of copying the texts without modification. In many, sometimes subtle ways, these most ancient copies differ and better reflect the originals.
The second category consists of books that were left out of the Bible for one reason or another, but were very popular among Jews at the time of Christianity. If you ever felt like there is a big jump between the Old and New Testaments, some of these books fill in the gap and complete the transition. These books were treated the same as books that later became part of the Bible, indicating that the very concept of a canon, or a set Bible with certain books included and all other books excluded, developed later.
The third category consists of books that were written by and for this particular sect within Judaism. These books tell us about a minority at the time, not the mainstream Jewish beliefs. However, this minority is remarkably similar to another Jewish sect from that time that went on to become Christianity. There probably was no direct connection between this sect and Jesus himself, but some say John the Baptist (remembered by Christians as a forerunner of Jesus) would have encountered this sect, or that the message of Jesus particularly flourished in this sect. At the very least they are comparable phenomena.
3.6.1. Attitudes toward property
The Essenes, Qumran Sect, and Jesus movement all had an ideal of communal property . This ideal may not have been fully practiced by all. This may sound like communism, but there is a big difference between voluntary membership in an organization and government control of the means of production. For the Jewish sects, communal equality seems to have been motivated by charity, contempt for wealth, and rejection of earthly concerns.
3.6.1.1. The Essenes according to Josephus
Josephus goes on to describe the rule of hospitality that traveling members are welcome by other communities of the sect wherever they go. Hence, they have no need to carry anything with them (or pay baggage fees).
3.6.1.2. The Community Rule of the Qumran Sect (Yahad)
The Qumran Sect had a long procedure for initiating new members. After one year the initiate would hand over his property, but it would be kept separate in case things didn’t work out. After the second year the property was permanently mixed together.
3.6.1.3. The Jesus Movement
The Jesus Movement held a similar ideal, but it was not difficult to join, and membership was not limited to those Jewish by birth. In a society with great disparity of wealth, for every one rich person you can convince to live simply you can provide economic security to ten desperately poor. This appeal is believed to have contributed to the spread of the Movement.
3.6.2. Attitudes toward social power
We have already seen the critique of the abuse of power in the Roman Empire. Several Jewish sects rejected all forms of social inequality, even in their own ranks. Certain roles were associated with leadership and responsibility, but these leaders were not to be marked by special privilege, wealth, or status.
The Essenes and the Qumran sect rejected slavery. On this point the early followers of Jesus were not quite so progressive. Paul encouraged a Christian refugee slave to return to his master and obediently serve him. The Didache (early Christian instruction book) encouraged Christian slave owners to treat their slaves well, if they are Christian. The tolerance of slavery may have been driven by the expectation that the current world order was PA installment loans going to end soon anyway, or desire not to annoy the Roman authorities more than they were already. It can at least be said that Paul articulated a principle of equality of all followers of Jesus.
