Teacher of Righteousness
The document contains prominent reference to a cryptic figure called the Teacher of Righteousness, whom some of the other Qumran scrolls treat as a figure from their past, and others treat as a figure in their present, and others still as a figure of the future. (Some of these other scrolls where he is mentioned are the Pesharim on Habakkuk Pesher (numerous times), Micah (once) and Psalms, as well as 4Q172.) The document introduces the group led by the Teacher as having arisen 390 years after the first fall of Jerusalem (circa 200 BCE): “And God observed their deeds, that they sought Him with a whole heart, and He raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of His heart.” On the basis of that reference, historians date the Teacher to circa 150 BCE. Scholars have also believed that he was a priest based on other variations in the text that are also thought to be him. These include: “the teacher”, “the unique teacher” and “the interpreter of the law.