Qumran Zadokites and their Allies (1 of 7): Analysis, History, and Teachings Relating to Yeshua as Melchizedek

With today's episode, we will learn about the well-known House of Tzadok (the "Zadokites") from Hebrew Scripture. We will look at four specific aspects of their collective life as they wrote about it in the Dead Sea Scrolls. We will learn that

•  The House of Tzadok was not associated with the so-called Community of the Essenes

•  The House of Tzadok took Hebrew scripture at its face value and believed themselves to be the Elect or Chosen of Yehovah to teach and to judge all the families of Israel 

• The House of Tzadok received divine revelation from the Angel of the Countenance ("Angel of the Face"); this is the One that Genesis 14:18 refers to as "Melchizedek"

• The House of Tzadok defined the lifeblood of their work within the context of priestly prophets and counterparts to the celestial works of Yehovah's angels in Heaven. 

This is Episode 136 and Part 23 in this series about the life teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua HaMashiach. Join us for all these details and more on this episode of Real Israel Talk Radio.

Transcript

A)     The Zadokites, or if you will, the Sons of the House of Tzadok, are NOT identical with a religious community known as the Essenes. According to Dead Sea Scrolls, Professor Rachel Elior of the John and Golda Cohen Department of Jewish Philosophy and Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University, a respected Israeli Professor who began her research and teaching career at Hebrew U in 1978 and whose specialty is in the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is NO conclusive scholarly evidence to assume this is the case. 

 In my speaking with Professor Elior, she made it clear that the term “Essene” in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek is NOT found, alluded to, nor even written down anywhere in any of the Scroll Discoveries in the Judean Desert. The only information we have concerning a religious community of the so-called Essenes is dated to the late first century, but nothing is written about them before the first century C.E. The earliest documentation that we have about the community of the Essenes comes from three late first-century sources: 

•  1.     First, the writings of Jewish historian Josephus.

• 2.     Second, Roman author and philosopher Gaius Plinius Secundus or Pliny the Elder. 

• 3.     Third, Greek Jewish philosopher Philo Judeaus of Alexandria, Egypt. 

 Until there is solid conclusive evidence as to their exact identity, it is my studied opinion that if the Jewish sources of Josephus or Philo had written about the community of the “Essenes” within the context of the historical Maccabees or the Hasmoneans, then there might be a convincing argument. But we know from these sources that they spoke of no such community linked to those historical events. Therefore, until such evidence is found, I think it is best that we steer clear from making wild assumptions that the House of Tzadok and their allies or supporters were one and the same with late first-century literary references to the community of the Essenes. 

B)     The Priests of the House of Tzadok are identified from their written works to have had a well-established teaching tradition that they considered themselves earthly counterparts to Heaven’s sacred world of angels. The House of Tzadok wrote that they were the Elect of Israel or Chosen of Israel who will stand at the End of Days” in the Messianic era. From available Qumran literature, the leadership of the House of Tzadok Community believed that they were chosen to officiate on behalf of the Angels of Heaven on Earth, and thus, they called themselves in Hebrew, the “Yachad” – initiating direct contact between Heaven and Earth. Another name used concurrently with the Yachad was the “Sons of Light.”

We know from Hebrew Scripture that there is a vast celestial world of angels created to do the Divine Will of Yehovah on Earth. One such reference from scripture is…

• Psalm 104:4. (He – Yehovah) makes His Angels “spirits,” His ministers a flame of fire.

The Priests of the House of Tzadok understood this paradigm, which overflows into a plentiful array of New Covenant references that speak about the works of the Angels of Heaven, such as: 

• Matthew 13:41. (At the End of Days) …The Son of Man will send out His Angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness.

There are also passages such as these:

• Luke 1:18-19. (Birth announcement of John, the Immerser) … “And Zacharias said to the Angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the Angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news."

• Hebrews 13:1-2. (An appeal that concerns the actions of the Angels on Earth) … Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so some have unwittingly shown hospitality to Angels.

C)     The Qumran House of Tzadok Priests and their allies and supporters took their orders from One very special messenger of Heaven referred to as the “Angel of the Countenance” or “Angel of the Face,” who also was spoken of in Hebrew as, “Sar HaPanim” – the Prince of the Face. This is pure Qumran terminology, so it is no surprise that Sha’ul or Paul wrote:

• Colossians 2:18-19. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in humility and worship (respect and reverence) of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head (the Angel of the Face or in Hebrew, “Sar HaPanim”) from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase from God (Elohim). 

From Sha’ul’s perspective, exactly who was this One, Heaven’s “Angel of the Face”? I think it was none other than the One who is written about in…

• Genesis 14:18-20. Then Melchizedek – King of Shalem, brought out bread and wine since he is the Cohen to El Elyon. And he (Avram) blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram to El Elyon, possessor of Heaven and Earth; and blessed be El Elyon, who has handed over your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

This One appears on Earth as the Angel of Yehovah or Sar HaPanim, mentioned by the writer of the New Covenant Book of Hebrews…

• Hebrews 6:19-20. He who enters behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, Yeshua, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

• Hebrews 7:1-3. (“The King of Righteousness” was and is the Ruling King of the House of Tzadok, established from On High in a city called Shalem of Heaven), who was without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of El and remains a Cohen forever.

This Melchizedek – King of Tzadok – came down out of Heaven’s Shalem and appeared to Avram as a Priest and King of what would later come to be the family line of Levi; that is, the physical family of Levitical Priests manifest on earth. This, of course, gives us a good look into the Levitical King who was called – Melchizedek, the King or Ruling Head of the House of Tzadok, giving us pause to think about why the prophet Isaiah wrote in…

• Isaiah 55:1. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

• Isaiah 55:8-11. “…that He may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth. He shall not return to Me void, but He shall accomplish what I please, and He shall prosper in the matter for which I sent Him.

So, it appears to be that this is what was understood concerning Yeshua where it is written in the New Covenant: 

• John 1:14-18. And The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Unique One of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. Yochanan (the Zadokite Priest and son of the Zadokites Zechariah and Elisheba in Luke 1:5) bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness, we have all received, and grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses, Grace, and Truth came through Yeshua HaMashiach. No one has seen Elohim at any time. Unique Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

The Qumran community of the House of Tzadok understood the Messianic prophecy of the Coming King of Shalem – Melchizedek – the True “Teacher of Righteousness” and celestial Head and Ruler over Earth’s House of Tzadok extensively written about in the Qumran literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This would certainly explain why Yeshua was quoted as saying: 

• Matthew 23:8-10. But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on Earth your Father; for One is your Father, He who is in Heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, HaMashiach. 

Yeshua came in the Name of Earth’s Sons of Tzadok and functioned as the Son of Heaven’s Tzadok – Melchizedek, who was and forever remains over the celestial and terrestrial priesthood order of the Zadokites, who were called “The Chosen” or “the Elect":

• Luke 23:34-35. Then Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Messiah – the Elect of Elohim.

The Rabbinic/Talmudic system of theology in Yeshua’s day did not adopt and use this lingo in speaking of themselves. They just did not speak this way. But it was a known language adopted by and belonging to the Qumran Sons of the House of Tzadok. And Sha’ul, or Paul, was a known Zadokite Associate and supporter of the House of Tzadok from his ancestry in the House of Benjamin. So, he wrote saying:

• Ephesians 1:3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of Our Master Yeshua HaMashiach, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Messiah, just as He chose us (“Elected Us”) in Him from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as Sons in Yeshua HaMashiach, towards Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…

This appears to be precisely what was meant as Moses wrote it down in the Torah of…

• Exodus 19:5-6. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and safeguard My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation (meaning a people belonging to the Heavenly House of Tzadok in and through Melchizedek, the Celestial Ruling King over the Physical House of Tzadok). These are the words which you shall speak to the Sons of Israel.”

All this was unmistakably adopted and used in the semantics of so much of the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls literature of the House of Tzadok. By order of divine authority, the Sons of the House of Tzadok faithfully served Yehovah under the spiritual Kingship of this One Melchizedek of Heaven and Earth. Again, it was he – Melchizedek – who stood at the Head of Heaven’s priestly authority from His divine station as Sar HaPanim (The Prince of the Countenance or Face). He then conveyed His divine authority downline to the third of the six sons of Leah and Jacob, the one named Levi (“Levi” means Attached or Joined “to Yehovah”). He stands as the very foundation of the Israelites serving the body of Israel. 

 
D)  For the House of Tzadok, the priests defined their work as encompassing words of prophecy under an authority granted from Heaven at a time when true prophecy was considered finished.

• Babylonian Talmud Yoma 9b. Rabbi Abba (“Rav” – a leading halachic authority of the 3rd-century CE. said): …After the last prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi died, the Divine Spirit of prophetic revelation departed from the Jewish people, and they were still utilizing a “bat kol,” which they heard as an echo of prophecy.

The “bat kol” is a Talmudic term meaning “daughter of a voice” and tries to describe a form of communication between God and man after the completion of the true prophetic era. The idea of the “bat kol” suggests the sense of a lesser voice, distinguishing it from a voice that descends directly from Heaven (which could refer to traditional prophecy). The Talmudists likened the “bat kol” to the voice of an echo that emerges from within another voice. So, we learn from the Mishnah in Judaism’s second century that receiving divine revelation from the Holy Spirit and angelic dictation was not tolerated: 

• Mishnah Chagigah 2:1. Anyone who reflects upon what is above the firmament and what is below the earth, what was before creation, and what will be after the end of the world. And anyone who has no concern for the honor of his Maker, who enquires into and deals with matters not permitted to him, deserves to have never come to the world. 

This demonstrates to me that the words and prophecies of Yeshua and his followers were not accepted, though they were among the supporters and allies of the House of Tzadok as it appears so from … 

•  2 Peter 1:19-21. And so, we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, moved by the Holy Spirit.

This one hallmark sign of the Community of the House of Tzadok was that of divine revelation under the influence of the Holy Spirit, which included angelic dictation. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the House of Tzadok priesthood were said to be the prophetic “knowers” of Yehovah’s hidden things, referred to in Hebrew as protectors of the “razim” – the mysteries. They understood their calling from …

• Malachi 2:7. For the lips of a priest (exclusively through the hereditary order of Melchizedek and the House of Tzadok) should safeguard knowledge and should seek the Law (the Torah) from his mouth, for he is the Angel of Yehovah Tzva’ot.

For the House of Tzadok, Scripture was NOT a closed canon because divine revelation was considered ongoing and prophetic in their day. I think this is what Yeshua was driving at when he said:

• Matthew 23:29-34. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the Monuments of Tzadok, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets’ (that is, the House of Tzadok Prophets in the years of the Hasmoneans). Therefore (says Yeshua), you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets (the House of Tzadok). Fill up, then, the measure of your father’s guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: of them, you will kill and crucify, and of them, you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city…

In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the priests, teachers, and scribes of the House of Tzadok Community were keepers of a divine and holy tradition of special revelation, and their judgments were ordained and not derived by exposition or exegesis of a text as it was known among the Sadducees, the Pharisees and their scribes who did NOT permit the knowledge of Heaven to be disclosed through any other authority other than their authority. This is what I think was behind the question that was posed to Yeshua, who comes across as the incarnate Melchizedek (see Hebrews 6:20) – the Ruling King of Tzadok and The Angel of the Face: 

• Matthew 21:23. Now, when He came into the Temple, the Chief Priests and the Elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

Among Yeshua’s further responses, he was quoted:

• Matthew 23:13.   But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you neither go in nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

In contrast with the House of Tzadok, who said that Scripture was NOT a closed canon because divine revelation was considered ongoing and prophetic, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Scribes believed the opposite, that the canonized texts of Hebrew Scripture were a firmly closed body of literature to which nothing could be added or removed through any prophetic form of divine revelation. And so, judged them saying…

• Matthew 23:35-36. “…that on you may come all the blood of Tzadok shed on the land, from the blood of the Tzadok Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah (toward a blessing) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar (likely, Zechariah of the House of Tzadok and Father of John the Baptist). Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

• Matt 23:38-39. See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yehovah!’ ”

All this is the backdrop for our understanding of the Qumran House of Tzadok:

• The House of Tzadok was not associated with the so-called Community of the Essenes.

•  The House of Tzadok took Hebrew scripture at face value and believed themselves to be the Elect, or chosen, of Yehovah to teach and to judge all the families of Israel. 

• The House of Tzadok received divine revelation from the Angel of the Countenance ("Angel of the Face"); this is the One that Genesis 14:10 refers to as "Melchizedek."

• The House of Tzadok defined the lifeblood of their work within the context of priestly prophets and counterparts to the celestial works of Yehovah's angels in Heaven. 

TO BE CONTINUED...