Beyond the Essene Hypothesis

by Boccaccini, Gabriele

• ISBN13: 9780802843609
• ISBN10: 0802843603
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-02-01
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

Respected scholar Gabriele Boccaccini here offers readers a new and challenging view of the ideology of the Qumran sect, the community closely related with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Boccaccini moves beyond the Essene hypothesis and posits a unique relationship between what he terms "Enochic Judaism" and the group traditionally known as the Essenes. Building his case on what the ancient records tell us about the Essenes and on a systematic analysis of the documents found at Qumran, Boccaccini argues that the literature betrays the core of an ancient and distinct variety of Second Temple Judaism. Tracing the development of this tradition, Boccaccini shows that the Essene community at Qumran was really the offspring of the Enochic party, which in turn contributed to the birth of parties led by John the Baptist and Jesus. Convincingly argued, this work will surely spark fresh debate in the discussion on the Qumran community and their famous writings.

Author Biography

Gabriele Boccaccini teaches in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan

Table of Contents

Preface	x	(7)
Abbreviations and Sigla	xvii
1. Introduction: Beyond the Essene Hypothesis	1	(18)
The Calm after the Storm	1	(7)
Historiographical Analysis and Systemic Analysis	8	(3)
Moving Forward: From the Essene Hypothesis to the Enochic/Essene Hypothesis	11	(8)
PART I HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS	19	(32)
2. The Essenes in Ancient Historiography	21	(30)
First-Century Jewish and Non-Jewish Sources	21	(1)
Location, Extent, and Antiquity of the Essenes	22	(9)
Communal Ownership	31	(7)
Marriage and Celibacy	38	(8)
Summary: The Palestinian Communities and the Community of the Dead Sea	46	(5)
PART II SYSTEMIC ANALYSIS	51	(112)
3. The Prehistory of the Sect	53	(28)
The "Qumran Library"	53	(6)
The Sectarian Texts of the Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls	59	(9)
Pre-Maccabean Texts in the Qumran Library: Enochic and Zadokite Documents	68	(13)
4. The Formative Age	81	(38)
Daniel and the Book of Dream Visions	81	(5)
The Book of Jubilees	86	(12)
The Temple Scroll (11QT)	98	(6)
The Proto-Epistle of Enoch, Including the Apocalypse of Weeks	104	(9)
The Halakhic Letter (4QMMT)	113	(6)
5. The Schism between Qumran and Enochic Judaism	119	(44)
The Damascus Document (CD)	119	(10)
Missing Texts (I): Sectarian Censorship	129	(2)
Enochic Documents Unknown at Qumran; or, Enoch vs. Qumran	131	(19)
Sectarian Documents in Context; or, Qumran vs. Enoch	150	(6)
Missing Texts (II): Sectarian Documents outside Qumran	156	(4)
Summary: A Bifurcation in the Chain of Enochic Documents	160	(3)
PART III COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS	163	(34)
6. Conclusion: The Enochic/Essene Hypothesis	165	(32)
Enochic Judaism and Essene Judaism	165	(1)
Common Roots: Both Moses and Enoch	166	(4)
Common Ideology: Rejection of Individual Predestination	170	(8)
Common Sociology: Diverse People, Yet Not Set Apart	178	(7)
A Composite Picture of the Enochic/Essene Movement	185	(6)
Summary: The Enochic/Essene Hypothesis and Its Implications	191	(6)
Bibliography: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism	197	(22)
From Late Judaism to Middle Judaisms	197	(2)
General Introductions to the History and Religion of Second Temple Judaism	199	(5)
Studies on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha	204	(4)
Studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls	208	(11)
Indexes	219
Main Subjects	219	(4)
Ancient Sources	223	(3)
Modern Interpreters	226