'Halakhah at Qumran?' The Use of the Root הלך in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Lack of research on Qumran legislation had been a feature of the first forty years of Qumran study. Yet, while the fact that this avenue of Qumran studies is now being pursued is highly commendable, we question the appropriateness of referring to this legislation as “Halakhah.” This study presents the varied sectarian usages of the Ö הלך with a view to ascertaining the validity of the use of the term “Halakhah” when discussing Qumran legislation. We conclude that there is no direct evidence that the sect either used or deliberately avoided this term in sectarian compositions.