Re: orion 1QM i,1; The 'armies (?) of the Kitti'im of Assur'

[RGmyrken@aol.com]

Dr. Vandenberg,

    I agree that "that any Roman art of war could have been adopted by Jewish
military after the first contact first seems to be logical."  Yet another
method by which Roman military science could have become known to the Jews is
by way of a Roman Tactica or military manual, which were common throughout the
Mediterranean.  I will again refer you to my article on "The War Scroll and
Roman Weaponry Reconsidered" in DSD, which is indispensible this discussion.
It does indeed show that 1QM reflects the pre-Marius maniple tactics of the
second century rather than the cohort tactics of the first century BCE.  There
is absolutely no need to invoke Parthian military practices, and as for armor
on horses, this was also a feature in the Roman legions of the republican era.
    As for the list of enemies in 1QM 1.1-3 and related issues, I would refer
you to my more recent article "Historical Allusions in the War Scroll," DSD
5.2 (1998) 172-214, in which I argue that Judas Maccabaeus encountered this
exact same list of enemies, in the same order, in 164/163 BCE; and that other
historical material in 1QM 1-2 also point to a composition in 163.  

    Russell Gmirkin

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