Quotes About Qumran

The Essenes of Qumran thought Melchizedek was an angel. The philosopher Philo believed he was the divine Logos. The Jewish historian Josephus said he was only a man, but so righteous that he was "by common consent . . . made a priest of God." David saw Melchizedek as a prototype of the promised Messiah who would establish a new order of king-priests (Psalm 110:1–4).

There is a Dead Sea Scroll called the Damascus Document. In this scroll, the Essenes of Qumran call the new covenant the Covenant of Damascus.

The Qumran texts are also of interest in reflecting a preference for the expressions "Holy Spirit" and "Spirit of Holiness

the quantity of references to the Spirit in the Qumran texts reflects an intense piety and likely the cultivation of religious experiences in which divine blessings of the last days were believed to be already bestowed (corporate worship being a prime setting for such experiences).