Was There Universal Education of Girls and Boys in the Qumran Communities?

Abstract While several scholars have suggested that there was a universal education for boys and girls in the Qumran communities based on 1QSa 1:4–8, 4Q266 9 iii 6–9/ CD 13:17–20, and CD 15:5–15, there are a few necessary questions that must be asked before one can affirm such a reality. What is meant by “education” in these passages? We need to evaluate precisely what we mean by education in order to be clear what we mean by universal. Does universal education indicate simply oral recitation and memorization of the community laws, or does it mean an education that included reading and writing, or, perhaps, even training in the elite profession of a scribe? A comparison with data from other parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls ( DSS ), as well as a childist perspective on Jewish and Greco-Roman society regarding the formation of children, can help us clarify the questions, even if they cannot be answered definitively. A literate education, let alone a scribal education, was reserved for few people in antiquity. The majority of boys and girls received education in agriculture, trades, crafts, and in the domestic sphere. Moreover, girls rarely received formal education and often married at puberty. When we consider the possibility of universal education, though, we must consider the sectarian context of the DSS since the increased need for members of these communities to follow the laws of the community perfectly might have led to greater literacy and formal scribal training, perhaps even for girls.