I visited the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in San Diego this weekend with a group from church. It was very well done and they displayed a dozen or so scrolls and fragments. The Psalm scroll was great showing the paleo-Hebrew name of YHWH standing out from the rest of the text. It's amazing how well preserved and legible the writing is. I also picked up a book translating the non-scripture scrolls (contained commentaries and other writings). I wanted to get a flavor of the fabric of life in Israel at this time of 200 B.C.E- 100 C.E.

The writers' contention is that the evidence is pointing towards the discovered scrolls not being limited to the scribes of the Qumran sect, but containing scrolls from other groups, like the Sadducees and possibly zealots and sacarii.

So far, my take away is that there was a heavy dose of legalistic practices that was going on at the time which was deemed necessary to prevent contamination from worldly Jews and pagan gentiles. But then there was also a strong Messianic wave at the same time, even promoting the concept of a New Covenant. Based on some of the commentaries and the use of a 4 dot(....) placeholder to replace YHWH in one of the scrolls we saw, the practice at this time was not to utter the name, Yahweh. Speaking the name was punishable by a life long banishment from the Qumran sect, or the Yahad, which I believe means unity.

What seems evident is a much more diverse society and cross-current of beliefs than I had pictured, but also provides a great backdrop when reading New Covenant scriptures and seeing the tension going on between the followers of John the Baptist, and Yahshua, as well as the early converts who came from the legalistic sects.