ABSTRACT
One of the recurring features of the “end of days” is the expectation of a final war between Israel and the Gentiles or between the Sons of light and the Sons of Darkness. Even this summary statement, however, alerts us to one of the problems presented by the conception of the eschatological war: the antithesis of Israel and the Gentiles is not identical with that of the Sons of light and the Sons of Darkness. The conflict between Israel and the Gentiles was traditional. We may refer to it as a nationalistic conception, insofar as the opposition is defined in national and ethnic terms. The Dead Sea sect, however, had an ambiguous relationship with national, ethnic, Israel. It was patently not co-terminous with the Jewish people, and so could claim at most to be a remnant of Israel, or an elect group within Israel. Yet the sectarians also thought of themselves as the true Israel, and hoped that the distinction would disappear in the end of days. The “Sons of Darkness,” also, were not simply the Gentiles but evil-doers, and from the perspective of the sect many ethnic Israelites fell into this category. Consequently, the texts vacillate between the traditional distinction between Israel and the Gentiles and attempts to define the opposition in nonnationalistic terms.
