THE
TEMPLE SCROLL

On a number of occasions we have reported on the progress of the publication of the Temple Scroll, the last known scroll from the caves at Qumran at the Dead Sea (Bible and Spade, Spring 1972, pp. 49-50; Autumn 1973, pp. 120-121; Spring 1977, pp. 49-55, 60–61; Winter 1978, p. 4; Summer-Autumn 1979, pp. 107-108). A Hebrew edition of the publication of this very important scroll is now available, and an English edition is in preparation.

As with many of the great archaeological discoveries in the Middle East, the story of the acquisition of the Temple Scroll by Israeli scholar Yigael Yadin is filled with intrigue and suspense. The story was told by Abraham Rabinovich in our Summer-Autumn 1979 issue, pages 107–108.

Many Bible scholars believe that the temple described by Ezekiel in chapters 40–48 will someday be built on the site of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. The Temple Scroll is therefore of great interest to Christians and Jews alike because it too gives instructions for the construction of a temple in Jerusalem.

For years the Scroll, wrapped in layers of paper, towel, and cellophane, was hidden in a shoebox beneath the floor of an antiquities shop in Bethlehem. The outer layers and ends were

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destroyed by the dampness, but otherwise the contents of the Scroll are surprisingly well preserved. It is made of 19 leather sheets 10 inches high and about 18 inches wide. These sheets were sewed together to form a scroll approximately 28 feet long, the longest of the Dead Sea scrolls. There are 67 columns of text, with most columns having 22 lines. A study of the handwriting indicates that columns 1–5 were written by one scribe and columns 6–67 by another. Yadin believes that the entire Scroll was originally written by a single scribe, but that the first six columns became damaged and had to be rewritten by another scribe. The style and language of the Scroll indicates that it was written sometime between 150 and 100 B.C.

The most striking feature of the Scroll is that it is written as if God Himself were speaking. Even when passages from the Old Testament attributed to Moses are quoted, they are changed to the first person so that they become pronouncements of God rather than of Moses. There is no doubt that the Qumran sectarians regarded the entire Scroll as the revealed word of God.

The Scroll is divided into two major parts: columns 1–50 deal with the Temple itself, while columns 51–67 are associated laws that are peculiar and central to the sect. Each of the two sections

The initial unrolling of the Temple Scroll.

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has a clear organizing principle. In columns 1–50, the description begins with the Temple building and moves outward, pausing at key installations to cite related laws. In columns 51–67, the scriptural text of Deuteronomy 12–26 is followed, although not necessarily in sequence or in entirety, but rather by relevant subject matter.

The Introduction and the Temple Building

The Scroll begins with a discussion of the renewal of the Sinaitic

Schematic plan of the Inner Court and its installations: (1) Temple building, (2) Stoa for corralling sacrificial animals, (3) House of the Winding Staircase, (4) House of the Laver, (5) House of Vessels, (6) Sacrificial Altar, (7) House of Slaughter, (8) cooking installations, (9) Stoa surrounding the Inner Court, (10) tables and chairs for the priests, (11) Rooms for Stoves.

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Covenant in columns 1 and 2. This is followed by a list of the materials required for the Temple and its furniture. In columns 4–7, instructions are given for the construction of the Temple building and the Stoa west of the Temple. Columns 7–11 describe the interior cultic furniture: the Kapporet, cherubim, golden veil, table of presence-bread, pure frankincense, menorah, and curtain of the porch entrance. The requirement to offer sacrifices on Sabbaths and festivals is set forth in column 11.

Installations of the Inner Court

Column 12 begins a discussion of the installations of the inner court by describing the Sacrificial Altar made of stone. This provides the basis for discussing the various sacrifices to be made on the altar in columns 13–30. Seven cubits northwest of the Temple building is the House of the Winding Staircase, described in columns 30 and 31. The building is plated inside and out with gold. The stairway inside the house leads to an upper story which connects to the Temple attic. In columns 31–33 the House of the Laver southeast of the Temple building is taken up. It has three gates and gold-plated cubicles for depositing the priestly garments. A tunnel beneath the house leads to a drain where the waters are absorbed into the ground. These waters may not be touched because they are mixed with the blood of offerings.

Seven cubits east of the House of the Laver is the House of Vessels. This building was set aside for the storing of altar vessels. It has two gates and storage lockers for the vessels. In columns 34 and 35 the description of the House of Slaughter northeast of the Temple building is given, as well as the procedure for slaughtering the whole offering. It is an open building made up of a roof supported by 12 columns. The sacredness of the area immediately around the Temple building where the Altar, Laver, and Stoa are located is given in column 35. These areas are forbidden areas to non-priests and priests who are blemished, unpure, or not wearing priestly garments. The Stoa west of the Temple building for the corralling of sacrificial animals is described in column 35. Columns 36–38 give details on the layout and function of the walls and gates of the Inner Court.

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The Middle and Outer Courts

The Middle Court with its 12 gates named for the 12 tribes is discussed in columns 38–40. Admittance to the Middle Court is permitted only to males over 20 who have deposited a half-shekel in boxes attached to the outside of the wall surrounding the court. This court is off limits to women, children, and priests wearing their sacred garments.

The Outer Court, which also has 12 gates named after the 12 tribes, is described in columns 40–46. Along the walls of the Outer Court are three stories of stoa and chambers for the tribes, the

Schematic plan of the entire Temple complex showing the Middle and Outer Courts. The gates of the Middle Court and Outer Court (1–12), are named for the 12 tribes. (13) is a protective moat.

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priests, and the Levitic families. On the roof of the third story are columns for the construction of booths to be occupied by the elders, tribal chieftains, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds during the Festival of Booths. Column 46 describes various methods used to protect the Temple from pollution: spikes atop the walls and gates of the Outer Court to prevent impure birds from polluting the Temple, a platform with 12 stairs outside each gate of the Outer Court, and a moat 100 cubits wide around the outer wall to separate the Temple area from the city.

Columns 47–50 are taken up with various laws concerning the holiness of the Temple city and columns 51–67 are a compilation of biblical laws.

Relation of the Scroll Temple to Ezekiel’s Temple

There are a number of similarities, as well as a number of differences, between the Temple described in the Scroll and the Temple described in Ezekiel 40–48. As in Ezekiel 40–48, the emphasis in the Temple Scroll is on the courts, not the sanctuary, and the courts are square in both cases. Many technical terms are the same, indicating that the author of the Temple Scroll made use of Ezekiel’s account. On the other hand, Ezekiel proposes two courts, the Scroll three. Ezekiel’s blueprint makes the sacrificial altar the geometric center, but in the Scroll it is the Temple building. Also, the number and names of the gates differ as do the number, place and distribution of the chambers.

According to Yadin, the Scroll’s minimal dependency on Ezekiel indicates that the Dead Sea Scroll sect believed that the Scroll Temple was to be built by man in Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s Temple, however, was the Messianic Temple which God Himself would someday build.

(“The Temple Scroll” by Jacob Milgrom in the Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 41, No. 3 [September 1978], pp. 105-120; The Temple Scroll [Hebrew Edition], edited by Yigael Yadin, published by the Israel Exploration Society, the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University, and the Shrine of the Book, 1977.)

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