על אופייה של מגילת תענית לאור חגי ספר היובלים ומגילת המקדש

Two holidays mentioned in Megillat Ta'anit fall precisely on the same dates as holidays of a biblical nature found in the Book of Jubilees and in the Temple Scroll, respectively. The first is a holiday celebrating a Hasmonean victory on the 15th and 16th of Sivan when "the men of Bethshean and of the Plain were exiled". This is the date of the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) according to Jubilees and the Qumran scrolls. The second is a holiday announced for the 22nd of Elul because "we returned to kill the apostates". According to the Temple Scroll, this is the date on which the Feast of the First Fruits of Oil should be celebrated. The fact that, for Megillat Ta'anit, these are half and not prominent holidays shows that its author followed a calendar different from that of Jubilees and the Temple Scroll. Evidently, the author of Megillat Ta'anit adhered to the lunar calendar and was most likely a Pharisee.