Qumran Yahad and Rabbinic Hăbûrâ : A Comparison Reconsidered

Since soon after the initial discoveries and publications of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have compared the Yahad of the scrolls with the H ăb ûrâ of early rabbinic literature and sought to establish a historical relationship and developmental progression between the two types of communal organization. The present article reviews select but representative examples from such scholarship, seeking to reveal their underlying presumptions and broader implications, while questioning whether the available evidence allows for the sorts of sociological comparisons and historical reconstructions that they adduce.