“God Raised Them Up a Teacher”
The Damascus Document describes the leadership of its sectarian community with a striking statement:
God “raised up for them a Teacher of Righteousness.”
Within the document, this Teacher serves as the authoritative interpreter of the Law and the one who understands the meaning of the prophetic writings.
Claims About Earlier Manuscript Traditions
In the nineteenth century, antiquities dealer Moses Wilhelm Shapira reported a Hebrew manuscript tradition—sometimes described as a Safed or Meghgheehlla scroll—said to contain a narrative about Jesus learning among Essenes and eventually becoming their teacher. A representative version of the passage is often cited in discussions of the claim.
Hebrew (representative form)
ויהי הנער ישו פיקח וחריף מאד
ויתחבר עם יהודה בן פלוני
וילמדו יחדיו ויגדלו יחד
ויהי כאשר גדלו הנערים ויחפצו להוסיף דעת וחכמה
ויבקשו מורים וחכמים בישראל
וילכו וילמדו בכת האיסיים
וילמדו חכמתם וסודותיהם
ויהי אחד מהם לראש
והאחר קינא בו ויבקש לגבר עליו
Translation
“And the youth Yeshu was clever and very sharp,
and he associated with Yehudah, son of a certain man.
They studied together and grew up together.
When the youths had grown and desired to increase in knowledge and wisdom,
they sought teachers and sages in Israel.
They went and studied among the sect of the Essenes
and learned their wisdom and their secrets.
One of them became their leader,
while the other envied him and sought to surpass him.”
Some writers also refer to a separate “Alexandrian Scroll” tradition—later discussed by authors such as Raymond W. Bernard—which claims that priests connected with the Temple of Onias in Egypt encountered Jesus during the Holy Family’s stay there and later helped raise him.
The Temple of Onias in Egypt
The existence of the Temple of Onias, founded by Onias IV, is historically attested. According to Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 13.62–68), Onias fled Judea after the displacement of the Zadokite priesthood and obtained permission from Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II to build a Jewish temple in Egypt. He justified the request using Isaiah’s prophecy about an altar in Egypt.
Josephus writes that the prophet Isaiah had foretold:
“that there should be an altar in Egypt to the Lord God.”
The relevant passages in Isaiah include:
- Isaiah 19:1 — “The LORD… shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence.”
- Isaiah 19:19 — “In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt.”
- Isaiah 19:20 — “He shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”
Talmudic References
Jewish sources also mention the temple:
Babylonian Talmud – Menachot 109b
“Onias the son of Simeon fled to Egypt and built there an altar and offered sacrifices to the name of Heaven.”
Babylonian Talmud – Avodah Zarah 52b
“When Onias came to Egypt, the idols fell upon their faces before him.”
Jerusalem Talmud – Yoma 6:3 (43c)
The text records Onias going to Egypt and building an altar where sacrifices were offered.
Historically, this sanctuary stood at Leontopolis in the Nile Delta, near Heliopolis, and functioned during the Second Temple period until it was closed by Roman authorities in the first century.
Traditions of the Holy Family in Egypt
The Gospel of Matthew records that Joseph took Mary and the child Jesus into Egypt to escape Herod:
“He took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt…
Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
— Matthew 2:14–15 (quoting Hosea 11:1)
Coptic and later Christian traditions developed detailed accounts of the Holy Family’s journey through Egypt, forming the pilgrimage route known as the “Walk of the Holy Family.”
Falling Idols Tradition
Several early Christian texts link Isaiah’s prophecy with the Holy Family’s arrival:
Arabic Infancy Gospel (ch. 10)
“When they entered Egypt, the idols of that land fell down and were broken.”
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (ch. 23)
“When the Lord Jesus entered Egypt, all the idols of Egypt fell to the ground.”
Egyptian tradition later connected this event with the region near Heliopolis, and scholars have noted that Leontopolis, the site of the Onias temple, lies along the natural route through the eastern Nile Delta toward Heliopolis.
The Forty-Year Statement in the Damascus Document
The Damascus Document also contains a chronological statement:
“From the day when the Teacher of Righteousness was taken away,
until the destruction of all the men of war who went with the Man of Lies,
there shall be about forty years.”
— Damascus Document (CD 20:13–15)
The passage describes a forty-year interval between the death of the Teacher and the destruction of his opponents.
New Testament Chronology
Many historians date:
- The crucifixion of Jesus: about 30 AD, near Passover
- The destruction of Jerusalem: 70 AD, during the Roman siege recorded by Flavius Josephus
The interval between these events is approximately forty years, a parallel noted by some interpreters when comparing the Damascus Document with first-century history.
Some readers suggest that:
- The Teacher of Righteousness could correspond to Jesus
- The Man of Lies might represent a betrayer figure
- The “men of war” might reflect militant factions active in Judea, such as the Sicarii, whom Josephus describes as extremists whose violence intensified internal conflict before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.
The Zadokite Priesthood
In the literature associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, the community frequently refers to its leaders as the “sons of Zadok.” The Oniad family itself belonged to this ancient priestly lineage.
Biblical prophecy in Ezekiel assigns a special role to the Zadokite priests in the future temple:
Ezekiel 44:15
“But the priests… the sons of Zadok… shall come near to me to minister unto me.”
Ezekiel 48:11
“It shall be for the priests… the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge.”
Ezekiel 43:19
“You shall give to the priests… of the seed of Zadok… a young bullock for a sin offering.”
According to Josephus (Antiquities 20.10.1), when the Hasmonean dynasty assumed the high priesthood, it was understood to be temporary “until a prophet should arise” or until the coming of the anointed one.
Summary
The Damascus Document describes a community led by a Teacher of Righteousness who interpreted Scripture for his followers. Later claims about lost manuscript traditions—reported by Moses Wilhelm Shapira and others—suggest narratives linking Jesus with Essene or Zadokite priests.
Ancient sources confirm the existence of the Temple of Onias in Egypt, built using Isaiah’s prophecy of an altar in Egypt. Christian and Coptic traditions about the Holy Family’s stay in Egypt later connected Isaiah’s prophecy with stories of idols falling at the presence of the child Jesus.
The Damascus Document’s reference to a forty-year period between the Teacher’s death and later destruction has also been compared with the roughly forty years between the crucifixion of Jesus (~30 AD) and the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD).
Some interpreters therefore view these texts and traditions as suggesting a possible historical connection between the Zadokite priestly line, Essene communities, and early narratives about Jesus
