The Teacher of Righteousness - Onias III - The Math and Science. Dead Sea Scrolls: Essenes: Bible Calendars Dates.Onias III - Son and successor (198 B.C.) of Simon II, and grandson of Onias II. Josephus erroneously attributes to him the correspondence with Arius of Sparta (see above, ONIAS I). He is mentioned in II Mach., xv, 12, as a good and virtuous man, modest and gentle in his manner. During his pontificate Seleucus Philopator, King of Syria, sent his minister, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem with a view to obtain possession of the alleged treasures of the Temple (2 Maccabees 3). "No one has been able to find events that even remotely resemble those described in the Scroll around the year 207 BCE. (David Ramsay)" : "From the end of the Age of Wrath, (227 / 226 BCE) there is a Twenty year period of 'Groping' (to Line 409) to Artificial Year 31/10/209 to 2/10/208 after which time the 'Teacher of Righteousness' appears." (R.P. BenDedek)
No. 2 - Math and Science of 'The Secret of Qumran'
Table of Content:
This article is divided into two Parts:
Part A:
Introduction
Primary Text Reading & the Dead Sea Scrolls
Khirbit Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Reference Material)
Who was the Teacher of Righteousness? (Reference Material)
Part B.
The Math and Science in Choosing Onias III
How to Interpret the Damascus Document Chronology
390 years after the Exile
20 years of Groping
The Period of Ministry
The Coming of Judgment
The KingsCalendar Position
Article Summary
Part A.
Introduction.
(Website citations appearing in this article are random. No site in particular is recommended. No responsibility is taken for their content.)
The first task undertaken in this article is to provide internet excerpts that will provide some background information for students, on such matters as Qumran, The Dead Sea Sect, The Essenes, The Damascus Document, The Teacher of Righteousness and the Zadokite High Priest Onias III. The next step will be to discuss the math and science (not the archaeology) behind the King's Calendar choice of Onias III as the Teacher of Righteousness.
The King's Calendar computerized mathematical reconstruction of the Chronological History of the Divided Kingdom of Ancient Israel operates on the basis of Linear / lineal Causality, which, put simply, is that one cause has one effect. Change the cause, and the effect changes. The King's Calendar gives a set value to the word YEAR in the Bible. Commencing the calendar on a certain date, every calculation is directly related to the calculation before it.
Linear: of, relating to, resembling, or having a graph that is a line and especially a straight line : characterized by an emphasis on line : having or being a response or output that is directly proportional to the input : relating to, or based or depending on sequential development. (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/linear)
Archaeologists and historians arbitrarily alter data to suit their pet theories. This the kingscalendar cannot do. The King's Calendar reconstruction of Israelite chronological history applies a scientific methodology to a mathematical construct to determine the results, and then compares the findings with current historical perspectives, to determine the accuracy of the Mathematical predictions.
The Science of the theory can easily be verified or falsified by any person who takes the time to test it.
Primary Text Reading & the Dead Sea Scrolls.
There is great debate within the academic arena as to what Qumran was, and who lived there. My personal preference for reading material on Qumran would be:
Wise.M., Abegg.M., Cook.J.R., Cook.E. (1996) Dead Sea Scrolls: A comprehensive translation of the controversial ancient scrolls with material never published or translated before now, and including the most recently released texts. Hodder & Stoughton ?Aust
For more complex and controversial materials:
Shanks.H. (1992) Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York. Random House Talmon.S. (1989) The World of Qumran from Within. Jerusalem. Magnes Press Vanderkam.J.C. (1994) The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Michigan. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Wilson.E. ( 1978 ) Israel and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. Knibb.M.A. (1987) The Qumran community. Cambridge university Press. Golb.N. (1995) who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Search for the Secret of Qumran. New York Scribner. Schonfeld. H.J. (1984) the Essene Odyssey : The Mystery of the True Teacher and the Essene Impact on the Shaping of Human Destiny. U.K. Element Books Davies P.R. (1982) Qumran. Michigan. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing co. Eisenman. R.H., Wise.M. (1992) The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. Element Books. Vermes.G. (1987) The Dead Sea Scrolls 3rd Ed. London. Penguin Books
One of the basic rules of research is that one should first determine the Primary Text Meaning of a document. This means reading a text at face value; determining what the words actually say; then, if the meaning is unclear, to ask: 'What does this mean?'
The King's Calendar looks at what is actually written in the Biblical and Non Canonical material and accepts it at face value. The King's Calendar applies it's mathematical methodology to that data to determine what legitimate results, if any, appear. When it comes to determining the chronological placement of the Teacher of Righteousness, the King's Calendar methodology finds an historical match in Onias III.
When it comes to Primary Text Reading and the community at Qumran, there is one article in particular to which I would draw your attention. It is entitled: Identity and History of the Qumran People
More recently Professor Cross reemphasized the Qumran-Essene connection by reminding us that a scholar who would suggest any non-Essene identification for the Dead Sea Scroll community "places himself in an astonishing position." For, in essence, one must explain away the simplest and most logical interpretations of historical sources in favor of more complicated theories based on supposition and inference. Professor Cross states:
He [the scholar] must seriously suggest that two major parties formed communalistic religious communities in the same district of the Dead Sea and lived together in effect for two centuries, holding similar bizarre views, performing similar or rather identical lustrations, ritual meals, and ceremonies. He must suppose that one, carefully described by classical authors, disappeared without leaving building remains or even potsherds behind; the other, systematically ignored by the classical sources, left extensive ruins, and indeed a great library. I prefer to be reckless and flatly identify the men of Qumran with their perennial house guests, the Essenes.
The King's Calendar is a Mathematical Hypothesis adhering to principles of Scientific Methodology. Data is not forced to fit ideological suppositions.
The scrolls include manuals of discipline, hymnbooks, biblical commentaries, and apocalyptic writings; two of the oldest known copies of the Book of Isaiah, almost wholly intact; and fragments of every book in the Old Testament except that of Esther. Among the latter is a fanciful paraphrase of the Book of Genesis. Also found were texts, in the original languages, of several books of the APOCRYPHA and PSEUDEPIGRAPHA. These texts, none of which was included in the Hebrew canon of the Bible, are Tobit, Sirach, Jubilees, portions of Enoch, and the Testament of Levi, hitherto known only in early Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Ethiopic versions.
The manuscripts appear to have been part of the Jewish brotherhood's library in what is now Khirbet Qumran, near the place of their discovery. Paleographic evidence indicates that most of the documents were written at various dates between approximately 200 bc and ad 68. Archaeological evidence further supports the latter date, for excavations at the site establish that it was sacked in ad 68. An army under the command of the Roman general Vespasian may have plundered the community while en route to suppress a Jewish rebellion begun in ad 66. Presumably, the documents were hidden at some time between ad 66 and 68.
Publications worldwide reported the team's discovery of the skeleton, which may be the remains of the mysterious "Teacher of Righteousness," who was the leader of the Essenes sect that resided in Qumran in the first century.
Members of the Essenes sect are believed to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and modern scholars identify the Essenes' "Teacher of Righteousness" as, variously, Onias III, Onias IV, James the Just, John the Baptist and Menachem the Zealot.
One important reaction against the Hellenized temple cult was the rise of the Hasidim between 200 and 170 BCE. The Hasidim were a reform party who opposed the Hellenists. During the period of their growth, the Book of Jubilees was composed, and its outlook reflects the pro-Temple and anti-Hellenism views of the Hasidim. In 170 BCE, the Hasidic leader Onias III was assasinated. This began what the Hasidim referred to as the Wicked Era (or the Dominion of Belial).
Khirbit Qumran, the ruins of an community that lasted from about 200 BCE to about 135 CE, is located in the wilderness along the edge of the Dead Sea. It is from eleven caves, all within three miles of the Qumran ruins, that the now famous Dead Sea scrolls, including over 800 manuscripts and thousands of fragments, were taken. In popular culture, the people of the Qumran community are widely thought to have been Essenes, an escetic religious sect that wrote the Dead Sea scrolls from about 200 BCE until they hid them away in nearby caves to protect them from the advancing Roman army in 68 CE. This was the view originally proposed by Roland de Vaux, head of the team of scholars who translated the scrolls. Today, this view is no longer accepted by the scholarly community, and the exact nature of the Qumran community is strongly debated.
Who were the Teacher of Righteousness, the Liar, and the Wicked Priest? There is no conclusive identification of any of the three, although many see Jonathan, nonZadokite Hasmonean king who took the position of High Priest, as a likely candidate. If we take the dates given in the Damascus Document at face value, then the appearance of the Teacher of Righteousness in the community coincides very closely with the deposing of Onias III, the last of the purist High Priests to hold that office in Jerusalem.
The Teacher of Righteousness is a figure found in some of the Dead sea scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document (CD). This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, 390 years after the exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way "God... raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of His heart" (CD 1:9-11). The Teacher claimed to have the proper of understanding of the Torah, being the one through whom God would reveal to the community "the hidden things in which Israel had gone astray" (CD 3:12-15). He also claimed to be an inspired interpreter of the prophets, as the one "to whom God made known all the mysteries of the words of his servants the prophets" (1QpHab 7:5).
"Brownlee (130) asserts that the Teacher of Righteousness arose shortly after the Maccabaeans gained victory according to the following scenario: John Hyrcannus 135-105 BC turned from the devout hasidim (holy ones) to the Sadducees. When he was rebuked by the Teacher, he persecuted the Teacher and inveigled the Pharisees into supporting him. His son Alexander Jannaeus 103-76 BC persecuted the Teacher who fled to the region of Damascus
Who Was the Teacher of Righteousness in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Research by Kerry A. Shirts Paper presented at the Pacific Northwest Historical Conference April 1992 My Senior Thesis for my Bachelor's Degree in History from Idaho State University
Onias III was murdered 176 B.C.
Onias III was a Zadokite, a priest descended from Zadok, King David's high priest and originator of the high priests of the Jerusalem Temple. The intrigue was due to Jason (a Syrian symnpathizer) as he supplanted his pro-Egyptian brother Onias III as high priest by buying his office, which shocked the Hasidim. Menelaus, three years later, offered a higher bid and in turn was awarded the office.
Onias III is identified as the Teacher of Righteousness because, as is learned from II Maccabees, he was murdered at the instigation of Menelaus in the sacred grove of Daphne on the outskirts of Antioch.
Onias is also tied into the Qumran as the community leader in a rather interesting way. Moslem scholars were convinced that there was a pious community of saints living in caves in the region of Jericho.
Onias' tie in with the Seven Sleepers, also reminds us that they were to awake at the dawn of a new age of faith.
G.R. Driver notes .... Also, though Onias cannot historically, from the scrolls, anyway, be allowed the title of chief of the Hasidaean party, he can be acclaimed as the leader of the "Sons of Zadok" and Rightful Teacher, though "not a leader of a party with an admitted leader of a party. And Onias' murder was not on the day of Atonement as was the murder of the Teacher of Righteousness.
Son and successor (198 B. C.) of Simon II, and grandson of Onias II. Josephus erroneously attributes to him the correspondence with Arius of Sparta (see above, ONIAS I). He is mentioned in II Mach., xv, 12, as a good and virtuous man, modest and gentle in his manner. During his pontificate Seleucus Philopator, King of Syria, sent his minister, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem with a view to obtain possession of the alleged treasures of the Temple (2 Maccabees 3).
During the 40 year period after Onias' death, from the death of Aleimas, 159 BCE, to the election of Jonathon, 152 BCE, the position of High Priest remained vacant. There was 'no king, no prince, no judge, no man to rebuke with justice', for those seven years.
The writer is prophesying that by 131 BCE (171-40) there would be no more Sadducees left. I would believe the original Damascus document was written very soon after the election of Jonathon as High Priest (152 BCE), probably about 150 BCE.
Le Maître de justice, fondateur du parti des esséniens, n'a pu être qu'Onias III, le grand prêtre juif dépos?en 175, ?l'avènement d'Antiochus Epiphane, puis assassin?en 170.
-- Le grand prêtre Onias III, dépos?en 175 avant notre ère, fut le dernier des prêtres sadocites légitimes (son frère Jason, pour Jésus, impos?par Antiochus, ne fut qu'un usurpateur). Or les esséniens se sont toujours réclamés de leur fidélit??Sadoq (grand prêtre de Salomon et donc premier grand prêtre, en date, du Temple) et ?leurs successeurs. Les Oniades, en effet, furent les derniers des sadocites connus. (L'hypothèse d'Emile Puech, et d'autres, que les Oniades eussent exerc?le souverain pontificat de 159 ?152, période pour laquelle le nom du grand prêtre reste inconnu, si même il y en eut un, est arbitraire. Au surplus, Jonathan qui les aurait évincés en 152 ne saurait être considér?comme un prêtre impie, même de la part des esséniens, qui furent plutôt favorables ?l'insurrection maccabéenne. D'ailleurs un éloge du roi Jonathan, trouv?parmi les manuscrits de Qoumrân [ 4Q448 ], ne va pas du tout dans le sens de cette thèse, si même il ne l'infirme pas complètement.)
If it is assumed the conquest took place about 597 BCE the date referred to could be either 207 BCE or 987 BCE. Despite 50 years of effort no one has been able to find events that even remotely resemble those described in the Scroll around the year 207 BCE. Some have tried to get around the problem by suggesting the 390 years "is only symbolic" and really means some other time span, but that solution I do not find satisfactory.
This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, 390 years after the exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way "God... raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness.."
The King's Calendar Perspective.
How to Interpret the Damascus Document Chronology.
We start with two assumptions.
a. That we are correct to assign 586 BCE as the date of the Exile.
b. That the chronology in the Damascus Document commences with the 586 BCE Babylonian Exile.
Note:
King's Calendar Line References can be verified in the Appendix 12 Calendar: Chapter Precis Page
390 years after the Exile.
From the Exile in 586 BCE (Line 'O') there are 390 years ascribed to the Age of Wrath.
This extends to and includes (Line 389) the Artificial year 15/5/227 to 17/4/226.
20 years of Groping.
From the end of the Age of Wrath, (227 / 226 BCE) there is a Twenty year period of 'Groping' (to Line 409)
This extends to and includes the Artificial Year 31/10/209 to 2/10/208 after which time the 'Teacher of Righteousness' appears.
Knibb. M.A. (1987) The Qumran Community. Cambridge University Press. p.20. believes this 390 years to have a spiritual not chronological application. He is obviously wrong.
This Mathematical projection, one of so many Biblical and Non Canonical projections made between 104 BCE and 1915 BCE, aligns with known historical possibilities and appears to refer to High Priest Onias III.
The Period of Ministry.
No time is quoted for the length of the ministry of Onias III.
He died or was murdered (whilst in exile subsequent to having been deposed and imprisoned) in 172/171 BCE.
That year is Line 449 in the King's Calendar, or the artificial year 2/10/172 to 4/9/171.
Interestingly enough, from Line 409 to Line 449 is 40 artificial years.
From these perspectives we see that there were:
390 artificial years from the 586 BCE Exile till the formation of the Community.
20 years of Groping in Darkness until the Teacher came
40 years of the Teacher's leadership.
A total of 450 years
The Coming of Judgment
The Damascus Document also records that from the Teachers Death until the Coming of Judgment (presumably the Messiah), there will extend a period of Forty (40) years.
Forty years from Onias' death, (Line 489), takes us to the artificial year extending from 4/7/135 to 7/8/134.
During that year John Hyrcanus assumed the roles of 'High Priest' and 'King'. (See: Vanderkam, 1994, p.105)
From the Destruction of the Temple until the Judgment, there elapse:
390 artificial years to the formation of the Community.
20 years of Groping in Darkness until the Teacher came
40 years of the Teacher's leadership.
40 years until Judgment
A total of 490 years.
[u]490 years is a figure that does not escape anyone's attention.
The KingsCalendar Position
As previously stated, the King's Calendar operates from a mathematical premise, on the basis of Lineal causality, following scientific methodology. One can question the basic mathematical premise of the King's Calendar, but one cannot dispute the results. The chronological assertions found in the Damascus Document of the Qumran Scrolls do make sense when used in a non conventional way.
On the issue of non conventional ways, it is worth noting some aspects of the Qumran community and the Teacher of Righteousness. Answers.Com: Teacher of Righteousness
The Teacher of Righteousness ...claimed to be an inspired interpreter of the prophets, as the one "to whom God made known all the mysteries of the words of his servants the prophets" (1QpHab 7:5).
Schonfeld (1984 p44) in relation to 'ciphers' suggests that the Chasidim may have influenced the Biblical texts more than we might appreciate, and that the Qumran scribes were expert at playing didactic games with ciphers. If unto the Teacher of Righteousness 'G-d made known all the secrets of His servants the Prophets', such didactic and other ciphers might be implied. Refer also to Wise et.al. 1996 p 172 on the community's rewriting of scriptural portions - to p. 199 clarifying confusing chronology concerning Sinai and to pages 119 & 125 on the 'pesher' approach to biblical interpretations.'
It is evident from the King's Calendar research that the use of the artificial chronological construct started prior to the creation of the Septuagint and continued until at least 104 BCE. (The Septuagint mostly quotes the same artificial chronological data as the Masorete; and Josephus in Antiquities 13:11:1, quotes an artificial figure in relation to Aristobolus in 104 BCE No. 4 Math & Science). It seems logical to assume that reference by the Qumran community to the Teacher of Righteousness teaching them secrets and mysteries, included the secret chronology.
The secret knowledge he taught them is specifically nominated to be in relation to calendrical systems (Talmon 1989 p.166). If the secret knowledge was in fact the 'artificial calendar', by which their history might be truly put into perspective and by which some supernatural mathematical design might be made manifest, it might be assumed that as 'high priest' the 'Teacher' was privy to the 'secret', and that when he was usurped in his high priestly office, the new 'high priesthood' was left out of the loop, until eventually, knowledge of it was lost.
If indeed there descended from the 'Teacher's group, a variety of later sects, (See Wise Et Al 1996) it is apparent that not all sects were aware of the secret, elsewise it would not have remained secret. That it did continue to be used is evidenced by Josephus' reference to Aristobolus and the restoration of the Monarchy. This figure being correct within the artificial calendar, indicates post-104 BCE knowledge and use of it. No. 4 Math & ScienceJosephus and the Hyksos
For a more complete discussion on this topic, go to:
The King's Calendar makes no effort to interpret archaeological or historical data in order to make it fit a preferred chronology.
The King's Calendar is purely mathematical, accepting all data at face value (336 day years).
It collates synchronous chronological references, and applies that data using a scientific methodology to determine the result.
The result in this case, (based upon currently accepted history), demonstrates that the Qumran community's chronological references to the Teacher of Righteousness, are valid for Onias III.
Copyright 2013 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
The Download book does not contain a section on Seder Olam
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek also writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
He has been a Conversational English teacher in China since 2003 and as at 2013 is in SuZhou City Jiangsu Province.
Topic 13: Apportioning the 63 years left for Samuel & Saul
Topic 14: Seder Olam Rabbah : How many days in a Biblical year?
Topic 15: Chronologies of Samuel,Saul, David & Solomon
The Principle of Linear Causality
The King's Calendar is a very simple approach to Biblical Chronology. It substitutes a value of 336 days for every year listed in Scripture. As far as the Divided Kingdom is concerned, when you use this 336 day year value, the synchronisms actually work. To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5: Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE
Because it is a mathematical system, the King's Calendar must abide by certain mathematical rules, the most important of which, is that if you change any date for any day, month, or year every other day, month, or year is effected and must also change. It's like a 'domino effect'. Chronological references cannot be 'forced' to fit, and nor can they simply be ignored or 'compressed' as is the usual case with historians and archaeologists.
If any King's Calendar chronological determination disagrees with anything in the history books, it must argue the case as to why the history books are wrong, or why the evidence for an assertion is untrustworthy. If the King's Calendar successfully defends its' position, then the history books cannot be treated as definitive, and if the King's Calendar is 'proven' wrong, then every other chronological reference it provides is also wrong.
Because of this, the King's Calendar Chronological Reconstruction of Israel's history is unique, in that its' methodology can be scientifically (mathematically) tested and demonstrated to be either true or false. Its' chronological predictions are able to be 'proved' or 'disproved'.
