The literary unity of 1QM and its three-stage war

This article provides an account of the war in 1QM that attempts to resolve supposed contradictions and interpretive difficulties, which have occasioned multiple redactional theories. The thesis is that the war includes three stages. Although a three-stage war has been suggested before, the present essay presents a different three-stage war that does more justice to the language of the war’s outline in 1QM, to the Old Testament passages used to present the various stages of the war, and to the competency of the author and possible redactor(s). This thesis does not rule out redactional activity, but suggests that the extant copy of 1QM presents a unified account of the war.