Damascus Document

The Damascus Document (CD) is one of the longest and most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls, presenting the views of a sect that left the land of Judah and emigrated to the " land of Damascus."|||Two manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza (Ms. A from the 10th c., Ms. B from the 11th–12th c.), discovered by Solomon Schechter in 1896. Fragments from Qumran Caves 4, 5, and 6.|||Oldest fragments from the 2nd century BCE. The Geniza manuscripts are medieval copies of an ancient text.|||Not canonical in any tradition.|||Presents the history and laws of a sect that saw itself as the true remnant of Israel. Describes the " Teacher of Righteousness" and the " Man of the Lie." Essential for understanding the Qumran community's origins.|||Fraade, S. D. The Damascus Document. Oxford University Press, 2021.|||Hempel, C. The Damascus Texts. Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.|||Schechter, S. Documents of Jewish Sectaries. Cambridge, 1910.|||Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library|https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/|View 4Q266–4Q268 fragments.;; Jewish Virtual Library — Damascus Document|https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/|Full translation of the Damascus Document.|||" And God remembered the covenant of the forefathers, and He raised up from Aaron men of understanding and from Israel men of wisdom." — CD 1:7