Even when a division draws heavily upon the facts of Scripture, as does Mishnah's division of Damages, the framers and organi resort to Scripture's theory of what is to be done with those facts. The scriptural data, while essential, simply are incidental to the formation and theory of the Mishnaic system. In no way do the theories of substance or organization of scriptural law-codes impress the framers of Mishnah, who choose their own outline to make their own points. What is further to be seen is that, when we compare the systemic constructions of another Israelite group of approximately the same time and the same place, in this instance, the Essene community represented by the so-called Damascus Covenant, which provides considerable information on the political structures envisaged in its community, we gain a measure of insight.