Militarization in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Katie Maguire, PhD (Department for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto)

War was an important theological preoccupation within the Dead Sea movement. The Dead Sea sectarians used martial language to describe the social organization of their communities, their worship practices, and their expectations for the eschatological future. The reception and interpretation of scriptural traditions about the wilderness period was central to the militarization of communities affiliated with the movement. This lecture examines how the military camp (מחנה) became a governing image of sectarian self-understanding and traces the ramifications of this identification for the sect’s liturgical life. 

Online with Zoom: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/81730003190