The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Davies, Philip R.; Brooke, George J.; Callaway, Phillip R.

• ISBN13: 9780500051115
• ISBN10: 0500051119
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-06-17
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Summary

Ever since the first scrolls were found in the Judaean desert in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been the subject of passionate speculation and controversy. The possibility that they might challenge assumptions about ancient Judaism and the origins of Christianity, coupled with the extremely limited access imposed for many years, only fueled debate on their meanings. With all the scrolls now available in translation, conclusions can be drawn as to the authorship and origins, their implications for Christianity and Judaism, and their link with the ancient site of Qumran. This book, written by three noted scholars in the field, draws together all the evidence to present a fully illustrated survey of every major manuscript. With numerous factfiles, reconstructions, scroll photographs, and a wealth of other illustrations, it is the most comprehensive and accessible account available on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Table of Contents

Introduction	6	(4)
Chronologies and Map	10	(6)
I THE SCROLLS REVEALED
Early Dead Sea Discoveries	16	(2)
The Damascus Document	18	(4)
Editing the Scrolls: The First Fifty Years	22	(8)
The First Editors	30	(8)
II THE ANCIENT WORLD OF THE SCROLLS
The Historical Framework: From Babylon to Bar Kokhba	38	(8)
Jewish Religious Life	46	(8)
Jewish Parties and Sects	54	(12)
III INSIDE THE SCROLLS
Making a Scroll	66	(2)
Scripts and Writing Styles	68	(6)
Carbon-14 Dating	74	(2)
Reconstructing a Scroll	76	(6)
Cave 1	82	(24)
The Rules Scroll	82	(1)
The Community Rule	82	(7)
The Rule of the Congregation	89	(1)
The Rule of Blessings	90	(2)
The war Scroll	92	(2)
The Thanksgiving Hymns	94	(2)
The Biblical Commentaries	96	(4)
The Genesis Apocryphon	100	(2)
The Book of Jubilees	102	(4)
Cave 2	106	(2)
New Jerusalem	106	(2)
Cave 3	108	(6)
The Copper Scroll	108	(6)
Cave 4	114	(38)
The Commentaries on Genesis	116	(2)
Targums to Leviticus and Job	118	(2)
The `Reworked Pentateuch'	120	(2)
Apocryphon of Joshua	122	(2)
Tobit	124	(2)
The Books of Enoch	126	(2)
Other Ancient Works Preserved in Cave 4	128	(1)
The Florilegium	129	(1)
The Testimonia	130	(2)
Ordinances	132	(1)
The Calendar Texts	133	(3)
The Halakhic Letter	136	(4)
The Wisdom Texts	140	(4)
Poetry, Psalms and Prayers	144	(2)
The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice	146	(3)
Fragments of the Damascus Document	149	(2)
Documentary Texts	151	(1)
Caves 5 to 10	152	(2)
Cave 11	154	(52)
The Temple Scroll	156	(4)
The Psalms Scroll	160	(2)
Melchizedek	162	(2)
Biblical Manuscripts from the Qumran Caves	164	(4)
IV THE QUMRAN SETTLEMENT
The Qumran Settlement	168	(18)
Recently Discovered Ostraca from Qumran	186	(2)
Scrolls, Caves and Ruins: Are They Connected?	188	(6)
V THE MEANING OF THE SCROLLS
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism	194	(6)
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Christianity	200	(4)
Who Wrote the Scrolls?	204	(2)
Epilogue	206	(2)
Where to See the Scrolls	208	(1)
Further Reading	208	(2)
Illustration Credits	210	(1)
Index	211