With reference to 1Qhab and other texts, how did those at Qumran interpret the scriptures?
             With this essay I am going to deal mainly with the Habbakuk commentary, which is also known as the Habbakuk 'Pesher' or 1Qhab. This well preserved and detailed exposition of the first two chapters of the book of Habbakuk comes from Cave 1 and was published in 1950. The Habbakuk commentary is one of the main sources for the study of Qumran origins, as well as Essene Bible exegesis and the sect's theology regarding prophecy. Habbakuk was a Hebrew prophet of the 7th Century c.e. whose prophecies are found in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The so-called 'Pesher' is a commentary on Habbakuk's work. It is an extremely detailed, line-by-line examination and translation of the scroll and is a part of the scroll itself. The scroll is damaged and some pieces are missing entirely, so that the Pesher is of necessity incomplete.
             The Qumran community completed many other Biblical commentaries, indeed, there are five different types of Biblical commentary that can be found amongst the Qumran literature. The first and least developed form of exegesis is contained in the so-called 'Re-worked Pentateuch' texts, containing quasi traditional Bible texts occasionally rearranged and added to. In this category are 4Q158, 4Q364-7, etc. The Temple Scroll can also be placed in this category.
             The second type is represented by the Genesis Apocryphon, and sets out to make the text more accessible to the community by giving it more substance, by reconciling conflicting statements and by reinterpreting 'in the light of contemporary standards and beliefs any passages which might seem to give offence' . This is exemplified in a commentary on Genesis (4Q252) which attempts to adjust the chronology of the flood to the specific calendar of the Qumran community.
             The third type of commentary reworks Biblical passages in...