Serek ha-Yaḥad (1QS) in Dialogue with Mimetic Theory: Scapegoat Mechanisms Unveiled

Full title
Serek ha-Yaḥad (1QS) in Dialogue with Mimetic Theory: Scapegoat Mechanisms Unveiled
Updated By
Research notes

RAC/not checked/24/12/2023

Reference type
Author(s)
Skarström Hinojosa, Kamilla
Year
2024
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah
Issue / Series Volume
146
Abbreviated Series Name
STDJ
Publisher
Brill
Place of Publication
Leiden
Work type
Label
25/12/2023
Abstract

What holds a society together, what makes it dissolve, and how is a society in crisis restored? These are the questions explored in this study, which brings the Serek ha-Yahad (IQS) into dialogue with mimetic theory. It thus aims to shed light on the forms of life and thought in the yahad, as well as on their underlying reason and purpose.
|From the analysis emerges an image of a community that not only has a strong awareness of the mechanisms of violence, but also of its cure. Its hierarchical organization and strict regulations are motivated by a perceived dissolution of contemporary society. By subordinating personal desire to community discipline and by establishing a system of differentiation, the yahad seeks to provide a model of how a society ought to be functioning.