dancing with tears in our eyes/the naked ride home



There
is no question
that "The Two Ways"
exhibits literary ties to the theological tractate in 1QS,
as a comparative analysis readity reveals. Here we find that
translating the Greek of Didache 3.7-8 yields a statement identical to that of 1QS 4.3:
'IT IS A SPIRIT OF MEEKNESS, OF PATIENCE, GENEROUS COMPASSION, ETERNAL GOODNESS!'
Not only is the terminology identical, they are listed in the same order. Thus
there is clear evidence for the literary dependence of "The Two Ways"
on the Manual of Discipline. How, then, can we explain this literary
dependence, on the one hand, &
the theological differences,
on the other?

The answer
to this question
appears to lie in the fact
that the author of "The Two Ways"
possessed an earlier version of the Manual of Discipline, in which
the doctrine of double predestination ~ so central to the worldview
of the Qumran Community ~ had not yet been inserted. According to
Flavius Josephus, the Essenes believed "that Fate is mistress of all things,
and that nothing befalls men unless it be
in accordance with
her decree".

Along the same lines
we find the statement in the Manual of Discipline:
'FROM THE G D OF KNOWLEDGE STEMS ALL THERE IS & ALL THERE SHALL BE.
BEFORE THEY EXISTED HE ESTABLISHED THEIR ENTIRE DESIGN. & WHEN THEY HAVE
COME INTO BEING, AT THEIR APPOINTED TIME, THEY WILL EXECUTE
ALL THEIR WORKS ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS DESIGN,
WITHOUT ALTERING ANYTHING!'

The starting point of our analysis
is the dictum of Rabbi Aqiva, cited before. According to his view,
already the first human was given the choice between two ways ~ a choice
subsequently given to each and every human being: the way of life
or the way of death. We may hypothesize that this was
the original version of the theological tractate
in the Manual of Discipline, before the Essene editor
reworked it to fit the doctrine
of predestination.

The original wording
no doubt stated that man
must decide whether to walk in the path of righteousness,
or in the path of wickedness. The image of two ways was not excised
from the Manual of Discipline altogether, but now the decision
which path to follow is no longer a matter of human choice,
but of divine predestination. The editor made a number
of textual changes, in order to promote his own position.
It is possible that the hypothetical original version included a statement
about the first human being presented with the choice between the two ways.
The matter becomes clearer if we compare the extant version with the hypothetical original:
'HE CREATED HUMANITY [ENOSH] TO RULE THE WORLD AND PLACED FOR HIM TWO SPIRITS
SO THAT HE WOULD WALK WITH THEM ... THEY ARE THE SPIRITS OF TRUTH AND OF DECEIT ...
IN THE HAND OF THE PRINCE OF LIGHTS IS DOMINION OVER ALL THE SONS OF JUSTICE;
THEY WALK ON PATHS OF LIGHT. AND IN THE HAND OF THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS
IS TOTAL DOMINION OVER THE SONS OF DECEIT; THEY WALK ON PATHS
OF DARKNESS!'
Reconstruction of the Earlier Version:
'HE CREATED MAN [ADAM] TO RULE THE WORLD AND PLACED FOR HIM TWO WAYS
SO THAT HE WOULD WALK WITH THEM ... THEY ARE THE WAYS OF TRUTH AND OF DECEIT ...
IN THE HAND OF THE PRINCE OF LIGHTS IS THE WAY OF JUSTICE;
THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT WALK ON PATHS OF LIGHT. AND IN THE HAND OF THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS
IS THE WAY OF DECEIT; THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT WALK ON PATHS
OF DARKNESS!'

There is also
a striking similarity between
"for G d has sorted them into equal parts ... since they cannot walk together"
in the Manual of Discipline & the opening of "The Two Ways" [cited above]. I have no doubt
that the earlier version of the theological tractate in the Manual of Discipline originally stated
that G d
"created man [and not just 'humanity'] to rule the world,
since that is the language used in
Genesis 1.26-28.

Thus we learn
~ and not only from Rabbi Aqiva's dictum ~
that G d placed two ways in which to walk before
"the first human". It is hard to say what the [whole] theological tractate looked like
before the Essene revison brought it in line with their doctrine of predestination.
Irrespective, we have shown before, that these four terms appear in the Manual of Discipline
appear in the same order in "The Two Ways". It stands to reason, then,
that the author of "The Two Ways" knew, at least, the earlier version of 1QS,
which includes the two opposing lists of the ways of light and the ways of the wicked.
These two lists served as paradigms
for the parallel lists.

If
you skip
the superstitional tendencies
& exaggerated [hypocritical?] overtures we
are left with more fact
than fiction: a quite
useful tool to
use for
living
...
blozen
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