Sectarian Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Courts, Testimony and the Penal Code

Abstract

This volume examines the sectarian legal system, specifically its courts, court pro­cedure, rules of testimony and the Penal Code. Schiffman argues that the legal system portrayed in the scrolls coheres organically with the community’s theological outlook and idealized vision of itself. His argument thus challenges attempts to see the scrolls as having been produced by multiple groups, randomly collected and preserved.