How was discipline practiced by the first-century Jewish communities?
Both the rabbinic tradition, which may represent 1st-century Pharisaic practice, and the Qumran community, generally associated with the Essenes, practiced discipline. Essenes: “Offenders [in the Qumran community] were subject to immediate public reproof which was to be administered not harshly but ‘with truth and humbleness and affection’. The procedure for reproof required witnesses, the number of which varied according to the offense and could be cumulative. If reproof was ineffective or the offense serious, a range of penalties was possible, from short-term reduction in food allowance and exclusion from ritual meals, to permanent expulsion from the community. It is not clear precisely who had jurisdiction in disciplinary matters. Some texts speak of the whole community making decisions, but other texts imply a more centralized authority (a group of leaders or a single figure)…” [DPL] Pharisees: “[Synagogues served as] community centers, where discipline would be inflicted on an err
