The Dead Sea Scrolls PART 5: The Way to the Damascus of Qumran

On this episode of Real Israel Talk Radio, Episode 101 and Part 5 of the Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, we’ll take a biblical journey from Moses and Mount Sinai to Paul and the Land of Damascus. We’ll follow 1,400 years of Jewish and Hebrew National history to learn the likely reasons why Jerusalem’s legitimate cohanim (priests) went out to find a new home on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea. They called themselves the “Sons of Light.” We call them the Qumran Community.

During the mid-to-late Second Temple Period B.C.E. (Before the Common Era), the Maccabees (the Hashmonaim) birthed a large contingency of ambitious non-Zadokite Priests, Prophets, and Judges. They seized control of the once-revered occupations of the Zadokites. This new Jerusalem ruling authority built up a new system of religion and worship. They included new laws and traditions. But there was a rebellion against their priestly leadership.

After the ministry of Yeshua, a sect called The Way grew exponentially, posing a significant threat to Jerusalem’s rulers. The danger was the House of Tzadok living on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea. One man sought to help the high priests of Jerusalem and crush this growing concern. He was Sha’ul, but he came to be known as Paul. With arrest warrants in hand, Paul took off for the Land of Damascus. The story’s conclusion is well known. What’s not widely known is why Qumran is called “Damascus.” It’s likely a contraction of two Hebrew words describing Isaiah 12:3.

Join me for this episode on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran. And be sure to follow in your Bible as we walk through 1,400 years of biblical history. We will learn who these people were and why they were there.