IMPURITY AND SIN IN 4QD, 1QS, AND 4Q512

Abstract

Rabbinic tradition... tended by and large to treat ritual as a morally neutral phenomenon.... In this respect the penitential tone of the Qumran blessings after any kind of immersion seems to reflect another facet of the specifically sectarian view on uncleanliness. For if impurity is inherent in all transgressors of divine law (IQS V 4), might one not suppose conversely that all who are impure are in need of atonement for their trespasses? The dividing line between uncleanliness and sin at Qumran is thus not sharply drawn....'