The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls : their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity

Format:

Book

Title:

The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls : their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity

Author:

VanderKam, James C.

ISBN:

9780060684648

9780060684655

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

xii, 467 pages : illustrations, charts ; 24 cm

Contents:

Discoveries, dating, archeology, and new methods -- The Dead Sea Scrolls and Scripture -- The nonbiblical scrolls and their message -- The scrolls and the New Testament -- Controversies about the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Summary:

Drawing together all the evidence, this timely book explores: The discovery and dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls; their relationship to the Hebrew Bible, Apocrypha, and New Testament; their messianic and apocalyptic messages; the identity, nature, and theology of the Qumran community; the nonbiblical scrolls; and controversies surrounding the scrolls. This comprehensive, guide provides an introduction to all aspects of the scrolls, including their teachings, the community that created them, the world of Judaism, the origins of Christianity, and our understanding of Jesus and the New Testament. Features photos of the original texts, the sites, and the scholars who deciphered them, and includes illustrative passages from the scrolls.

Title Subject:

Dead Sea scrolls.

Bible. Old Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Dead Sea scrolls -- Relation to the New Testament.

Bible. Old Testament

Dead Sea scrolls

Subject(s):

Qumran community.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Added Author:

Flint, Peter W.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	296.155 VANDERKAM	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	296.155 VanderKam 2002	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in caves near the Dead Sea fifteen miles east of Jerusalem from 1947 to 1956, include the oldest existing biblical manuscripts and the remarkable texts of the purist Jewish community at Qumran. The discovery of the scrolls has added dramatically to our understanding of the varieties of Judaism at the time of Jesus and the rise of Christianity, but has also prompted heated debate about the nature of these religions. As the monumental task of transcribing and translating the Dead Sea Scrolls is finally completed, people around the world are taking stock of the significance of these ancient documents. In this book, two of the world's leading experts on the scrolls reveal the complete and fascinating story in all its detail: the amazing discovery, the intense controversies, and the significant revelations.

Drawing together all the evidence, this timely book explores:

The discovery and dating of the scrolls Their relationship to the Hebrew Bible, Apocrypha, and New Testament Their messianic and apocalyptic messages The identity, nature, and theology of the Qumran community The nonbiblical scrolls Controversies surrounding the scrolls

This comprehensive, up-to-date guide is the definitive introduction to all aspects of the scrolls, including their teachings, the community that created them, the world of Judaism, the origins of Christianity, our understanding of Jesus and the New Testament. Featuring photos of the original texts, the sites, and the scholars who deciphered them, and including illustrative passages from the scrolls, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls presents the most complete and accurate scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls available today.

Author Notes

James Vanderkam is John A. O'Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This sweeping and up-to-the-minute introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls includes many recent developments in Scrolls research, bringing readers current information on new DNA dating techniques, discoveries in linguistics, and archaeological findings. VanderKam (The Dead Sea Scrolls Today) and Flint (The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible) are clearly experts in their field, familiar with all the major (and minor) issues at stake. At times, they become submerged in questions that only other specialists will care about, or render unnecessarily detailed information on particular points (for example, providing a paragraph on each of the major photographers who have worked with the Scrolls, or debating the intricacies of Paleo-Hebrew). Despite these forays into arcana, the authors usually manage to keep their prose free of scholarly jargon. Moreover, the accessible design is first-rate, with helpful sidebars and information boxes to aid the reader. VanderKam and Flint pay special attention to the Scrolls' relationship with biblical and apocryphal literature, offering nuanced discussions of the formation of the biblical canon and the development of various lines of scribal transmission. One section deals with the non-biblical Scrolls and attempts to reveal more about the Qumran community, with VanderKam and Flint coming down heavily in favor of Essene authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Overall, this is a superb introduction to all of the major points, though novice readers may wish to skim the more concentrated academic debates. (Dec.) Forecast: This well-illustrated guide can serve as either a textbook for classroom use or an introduction for general readers, and as such will find a core audience of Scrolls enthusiasts. A foreword by Emanuel Tov, the Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project, should help sales in the academic community. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

The authors ease readers into the complicated story of the Dead Sea Scrolls, beginning with the murky history of the scrolls' discovery and how they were dated and authenticated. There is also information about the Qumran site, which is thought to be the source of origin of the scrolls, which were discovered in nearby caves. The text then becomes more scholarly but can still be easily read by a lay audience as it discusses the relationship of the scrolls to the Old and New Testaments. Since the Dead Sea Scrolls are now so much a part of public consciousness, a particularly welcome section discusses some of the popular books that have put their own, mostly inaccurate, spin on the topic. Perhaps most interesting for devotees of scrolls research, the book puts into context the relationship of early Christianity (and Jesus) to first-century Judaism. Although there are numerous books about the Dead Sea Scrolls, few are as comprehensive, well designed, and easy to read as this one. Add to all this the authority that VanderKam brings to the text (he has long been involved with scrolls research), and you have the one book you want on the topic, if you can only have one book. Ilene Cooper

Choice Review

Well-qualified scholars in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, VanderKam (Univ. of Notre Dame) and Flint (Trinity Western Univ., British Columbia) present, in this comprehensive and up-to-date book, one of the best discussions of the over 850 documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They cover controversial issues with an accurate description of the opinions of several authors and offer a reasoned conclusion. They describe the discovery of the scrolls, their identification, translation, interpretation, publication, and the debate and problems of the last 50 years. English translations of pertinent texts and numerous charts and photos are included. The authors fail to discuss the scrolls in conjunction with the Gospel of John, and their conclusion that the two Messiahs mentioned in the scrolls are a single Messiah is unconvincing. Two chapters lack a bibliography, and several lack listings of primary sources. There is no explanation of the meaning of abbreviations of works cited or of the citations used to identify the scrolls. Despite these shortcomings, this book will be an important addition to any collection on the Dead Sea Scrolls. It includes a general index, an index of biblical passages quoted or alluded to in the scrolls, and a bibliography of the translations of the scrolls. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, professionals, and informed laypersons. L. A. Sinclair emeritus, Carroll College (WI)

Library Journal Review

VanderKam (Univ. of Notre Dame; The Dead Sea Scrolls Today) and Flint (codirector, Dead Sea Scrolls Inst., Trinity Western Univ., B.C.) have produced a richly informative and insightful book. The content is not all that unusual among recent books on the Scrolls, but the sober, thorough, and balanced presentation sets it apart. The book begins with an examination of the discovery and dating of the Scrolls, which includes the results of new technology. The authors discuss the text and canon of the Hebrew Bible in addition to the Apocrypha and New Testament in relation to the Scrolls. This is followed by a review of the nonbiblical Scrolls and their message. They also evaluate some earlier books on the Scrolls that make outlandish, unfounded claims concerning what they purportedly reveal about Jesus and early Christianity, then present some well-documented ways the Scrolls do offer important background material for understanding Jesus' teachings. The final chapter closes with a review of the controversies surrounding the Scrolls. Each chapter contains helpful sidebars and ends with a useful "Select Bibliography" for further research. Highly recommended as a clear, scholarly, and balanced presentation that helps the reader grasp both the significance of the Scrolls and their value as background material for our understanding of the Bible.-David Bourquin, California State Univ., San Bernardino (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Emanuel Tov

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xii
Part 1 Discoveries, Dating, Archeology, and New Methods
1 The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 3
2 Dating the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 20
3 Archeology of the Qumran Site	p. 34
4 Technology and the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 55
Part 2 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Scripture
5 The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Before the Scrolls	p. 87
6 The Biblical Scrolls and the Text of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament	p. 103
7 The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Canon of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament	p. 154
8 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 182
Part 3 The Nonbiblical Scrolls and Their Message
9 A Survey of the Nonbiblical Scrolls	p. 209
10 Identifying the Group Associated with Qumran	p. 239
11 The Theology or Belief System of the Qumran Group	p. 255
12 The Qumran Group Within Early Judaism	p. 275
13 Biblical Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 293
Part 4 The Scrolls and the New Testament
14 Were New Testament Scrolls Found at Qumran?	p. 311
15 Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Gospels and Qumran	p. 321
16 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Other New Testament Books: Acts and the Letters	p. 346
17 The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Revelation	p. 362
Part 5 Controversies About the Dead Sea Scrolls
18 Scroll Wars	p. 381
Appendixes
I Index of Passages in the Biblical Scrolls from the Judean Desert	p. 407
II Index of Passages from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in the Scrolls	p. 424
III Quotations and Allusions in the Nonbiblical Scrolls	p. 427
IV Translations and Editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 434
Notes	p. 439
Index	p. 457

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Choice Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents