Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 93 No. 2, 2023.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.93.2.4
King, Priests and War in The Temple Scroll from Qumran
Domagoj Runje
; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu, Split, Hrvatska
Abstract
In this article, the author examines the rules of warfare in the Statutes of the King, part of the Qumran document 11Q19, known as the Temple Scroll. The Statutes of the King enacts all the basic precepts on the establishment of the institution of the king in Israel, and most of these regulations address the king’s obligations in the military sphere. This article is articulated in five chapters of varying length, with an introduction and a conclusion. The organization of the army is outlined in the first part. It is composed of all military-capable men, among whom the king chooses men for his special personal guard. The rules of warfare are analysed in the second chapter. They mostly define how much of his army the king can take with him to a defensive or an offensive war. Subsequently, the rules for the distribution of spoils in case of victory, as well as the reasons and consequences of eventual war defeat are examined. The reasons and justifications of defensive and offensive warfare are discussed in the third chapter. It is apparent from the text that a defensive war is always justified, while an offensive war requires the divine approval. After presenting the rules of war in the Statutes of the King, chapter four of the article briefly describes the likely historical context of the composition of the Temple Scroll. In the last chapter the justification of a defensive and an offensive war in the TS is compared with the teachings of the Catholic Church as well as with the attitudes of the conflicting parties in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The comparison of the rules of war in the Temple Scroll with the current teaching of the Catholic Church on the issue of war shows a significant difference both in the case of a defensive and an offensive war. In the Temple Scroll, a defensive war is always justified and obligatory, while according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, strictly defined conditions are required for lawful defence of a military force. As for an offensive war, there is not a word about its justification in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, while in the TS it can be justified with God’s approval. Finally, the author notes that with respect to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the teaching of the Catholic Church is consistently expressed in the attitudes and reactions of Pope Francis and other Catholic pastors of the Church. On the other hand, in the context of Russian and Ukrainian ecclesiastical reality, a greater similarity is observed with the attitudes expressed in the Temple Scroll. Namely, the leaders of the offensive side, i.e., Russia, like the king in the Temple Scroll with the assistance of the High Priest, seek a justification for the war in metaphysical spheres, while the defensive Ukrainian side has no need to seek either human or divine justifications for the defence of the people and the country.
Keywords
Temple scroll; king; priests; war; Qumran; Church.
Hrčak ID:
308066
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2023.
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