The Temple Scroll (11Q20)

The Temple Scroll, the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, contains an exposition of religious law as interpreted by its author, who apparently belonged to a dissident priestly circle. In the scroll the Lord speaks in the first person singular-as in the Torah-and the style attempts to emulate the language of the biblical book of Deuteronomy. However, numerous slips betray the late origin of the first copy of this text, probably the second century BCE. Five major subjects are dealt with in this scroll: the Temple, royal statutes, the feasts and their sacrifices, the Temple City, and laws of purity. More than half the scroll is devoted to the Temple and the Temple City; hence the name given to it by its first editor, the archaeologist Yigael Yadin. It is clear that the author of the scroll considered the existing Temple (the Second Temple was standing in Jerusalem at the time he wrote) a defilement of God's intention, an aberration that would be rectified at the end of days when a sufficiently pure edifice was erected. Presenting his vision as divine instruction, he described this ideal building - a structure of enormous size - its sacred surrondings, and its cult in great detail.