The Law of Reproof: A Qumranic Exemplar of Pre-Rabbinic Halakah

The halakic character of the Dead Sea Scrolls is particularly helpful when it comes to understanding the legal fabric of ancient Jewish society. The particular focus of this paper deals with what Qumranic halakah tells us about the religious and legal context of Jewish society as a whole in late antiquity. It will highlight specific parallels between a Qumranic ordinance and the legal material presented in early rabbinic literature and other ancient sources. It will be argued that such correlations reveal a society far more halakically rigorous than is commonly imagined. I suggest the existence of a "pre-rabbinic halakah" relating to jurisprudence—reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls but known well beyond the confines of the Qumran community—which required an offended person to "reprove" the offender in the presence of witnesses before being allowed to bring the matter to court. This extra step of "reproof" exemplifies an early, stringent layer of halakic ordinances which likely prevailed during the Second Jewish Commonwealth. Such a halakah would have governed personal relationships with regard to past actions, as a criterion for future legal remedy.