Revelation and Perspicacity in Qumran Hermeneutics?

At Qumran the interpretation of sacred scripture defined reality, space, time, and God. Past attempts to comprehend this hermeneutic were marred by the following false assumptions: the biblical text was fixed and thus alterations to a “received” text were judged to be emendations, the canon was well-defined or closed, and prophecy had ceased. This lecture will illustrate the problems with such misleading presuppositions. Qumran hermeneutic begins with the choice of text, the lemmata is perceived to be what the prophet should have written, and with the insight that only in the Yachad is it possible to comprehend the meaning of Torah. The hermeneutical key is provided by 1QpHab 7 which clearly states that God allowed only the Righteous Teacher to know all the mysteries of the words of the prophets, and also implies that Habakkuk, and other prophets, were ignorant of all these secrets. Eschatological and revealed knowledge place Qumran within a unique cultural context. The hermeneutic is from within the Yachad, and it assumes the fulfillment of prophecy and faithfulness of the creating Creator.