The Community Hymns Classification: A Proposal for Further Differentiation

The hodayot scroll from Cave 1 is often cited as one of the classic examples of sectarian literature found at Qumran, yet this conceptualization ignores the great variety of language and style found throughout these compositions. Perhaps a refined understanding of the different literary types within the hodayot scroll can help lead scholars to a better understanding of the relationship between it and other writings from Qumran. This paper proposes that the specific group of hodayot known as the Community Hymns may be further differentiated into two types: those that show strong alignment with the yaḥad and those that do not show strong alignment.