Community as Temple: Revisiting Cultic Metaphors in Qumran and the New Testament

In this article, I will compare the different usages of symbolism for the community as temple in the Community Rule (1QS) and 4QFlorilegium to those in the NT—Paul’s Epistles, Ephesians, and 1 Peter. I will reassess the link that these expressions create between the cult/community and the Jerusalem Temple to determine whether the widespread assumption that the community truly replaced the temple is correct. The Community Rule’s metaphors are sophisticated, including not only temple terminology (although the temple itself is never explicitly mentioned) but also the priestly or sacrificial function of atonement. I propose taking “the Temple of Man” (miqdash adam) wherein the torah practices are offered up as similar to the cultic metaphor in the Community Rule. For Paul, such cultic metaphors are part of a wider system, which is secondary to his rhetorical and functional needs. There are clear differences between Paul’s identifying his community as the temple as compared to the Yahad’s, but there are also strong similarities between the Community Rule, Ephesians, and especially 1 Peter.