Did Qumran Expect Two Messiahs?

Abstract

"It has long been held that the Qumran community expected not one but two Messiahs. This assumption has often been accompanied by the act of translating the Hebrew term māšîahi in Qumran literature as "Messiah" (with or without the capital "m") rather than as "anointed." The Qumran texts themselves do not necessarily support this viewpoint. A careful examination of the most important literature reveals that the multiple messiahship of Qumran is a creation of modern scholars, not a fact required by the texts themselves"