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Teaching and Learning Guide for: Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls

T & T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls

To understand the historical context of an ancient manuscript, scholars rely on the prior knowledge of writer and date of that document. In this paper, we study the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient manuscripts with immense historical, religious, and linguistic significance, which was discovered in the mid-20th century near the Dead Sea. Most of the manuscripts of this collection have become digitally available only recently and techniques from the pattern recognition field can be applied to revise existing hypotheses on the writers and dates of these scrolls. This paper presents our ongoing work which aims to introduce digital palaeography to the field and generate fresh empirical data by means of pattern recognition and artificial intelligence. Challenges in analyzing the Dead Sea Scrolls are highlighted by a pilot experiment identifying the writers using several dedicated features. Finally, we discuss whether to use specifically-designed shape features for writer identification or to use the Deep Learning methods on a relatively limited ancient manuscript collection which is degraded over the course of time and is not labeled, as in the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Copper Scroll (3Q15) is certainly the most remarkable manuscript of the whole collection known to us under the name “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Its unique support and its language, place it in a unique position among the collection of manuscripts from the Dead Sea. Greek loanwords are nothing unusual in the Hebrew and Aramaic literature of the time, and they represent a constant feature in later Rabbinic literature. In the Qumran collection of manuscripts, however, the Copper Scroll is the only place in which they appear. There can be no doubt that both the author and the engraver of the Copper Scroll were somehow familiar with the Greek language, a fact made evident by the presence of groups of Greek letters at the end of certain entries in the first columns of the Scroll. This chapter considers the possible presence of Greek loanwords in the Copper Scroll . Keywords: Copper Scroll (3Q15); Dead Sea Scrolls; Greek language; Greek loanwords; Qumran collection; Rabbinic literature

Queerly Sectarian:Jewish Difference, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Marital Disciplines Maxine Grossman (bio) In her essay, "Queer and Now," Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick explores the potential for queer theory to identify and deconstruct uninterrogated categories of cultural power. Modern heterosexuality, she explains, gains social authority in large measure from its apparent naturalness.1 "If we are receptive to Foucault's understanding of modern sexuality as the most intensive site of the demand for, and detection or discursive production of, the Truth of individual identity," she writes: … it seems as though this silent, normative, uninterrogated "regular" heterosexuality may not function as a sexuality at all. Think of how a culturally central concept like public/private is organized so as to preserve for heterosexuality the unproblematicalness, the apparent naturalness, of its discretionary choice between display and concealment. …2 The category of heterosexuality, from this perspective, so defines the norm that it eclipses the constructions and power dynamics that underpin it, while ensuring its own status as "natural" and "unproblematic." Uninterrogated categories have discursive power within academic disciplines as much as they do in larger social contexts. Scholarly treatments of the Dead Sea Scrolls—a collection of Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period—provide evidence for such layerings of academic assumption. Attitudes toward marriage and sexuality in the scrolls appear to fall "between" Judaism and Christianity (the former often understood as sex-positive and the latter as a site for ascetic or sex-negative attitudes), in ways that have led scholars to understand the scrolls as evidence for a sectarian Judaism, at most a marginal cul-de-sac in the narrative of Jewish history. Queer treatments of these categories, however, provide an opportunity to read the scrolls back into the narrative of Jewish history while calling into question the binary foundations that underpin certain aspects of that narrative. This essay begins with a brief introduction to the scrolls and an interrogation of the term "sectarian" as used in reference to them. Tensions around "normative" and sectarian Judaism will then be explored, particularly in light [End Page 87] of treatments of marriage and sexuality within the rule texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In lieu of a framework that distinguishes between (Jewish) marriage and (Christian) celibacy, this treatment will highlight the complexity of attitudes toward sexuality in the Judaism of the Second Temple period. A queer approach to these social norms, in turn, will provide for a reconsideration of the larger cultural framings of religion, sect, and Jewishness in scholarly discourse around the scrolls and their contributions to Jewish history. The Dead Sea Scrolls: Some Opening Observations The term "Dead Sea Scrolls" refers to the more than 900 manuscripts, many highly fragmentary, that were discovered in the mid-twentieth century in eleven caves in the Judean Desert, not far from the northern tip of the Dead Sea.3 The caves are all within walking distance of the ancient ruin of Khirbet Qumran, which many scholars understand as a habitation site, and from which arises the designation "Qumran Scrolls." The scrolls and the site of Qumran both date from the first centuries BCE and CE, and the scrolls themselves reflect an interesting range of Second Temple period Jewish literature, including close to three dozen manuscripts of the book of Deuteronomy, roughly twenty each of Genesis and Isaiah, and more than a dozen each of Exodus, Leviticus, and the books of Enoch and Jubilees (which are elsewhere preserved among the Pseudepigrapha but are not included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible). In all, the scrolls include some 200 copies of biblical manuscripts, reflecting an uneven representation of all the books of the modern Jewish Bible, with the notable exception of the Book of Esther.4 Another large proportion of manuscripts reflects previously unknown texts that expand on biblical themes, including dozens of legal texts (especially the Temple Scroll); narratives and so-called Testaments of biblical figures (the Genesis Apocryphon, the Testament of Kohath); hymns; and prayers. Calendars, horoscopes, and cryptic texts are also found among the scrolls. The texts are almost exclusively written in Hebrew and Aramaic (with a small number in Greek), and they are diverse but not comprehensive in their representation of...

Prior to 1947, when a Bedouin shepherd accidentally discovered the first Dead Sea scrolls, primary sources describing events of Judaea in the first century CE were limited to a small group of texts including the New Testament, Josephus, and some writings of uncertain date and parentage. These documents, especially the New Testament books, had been copied and revised, edited and recopied by subsequent generations. Dead Sea scrolls, original sources two millennia old, directly address a pivotal time in Western civilization's history for which we have few documents free from the intervening influences of copyists and editors.' As such, they constitute a form of wild magic, free of editorial activities that altered other texts describing this era, since they may say things contradicting our previously available sources. Dead Sea scrolls should have been artifacts of interest to historians. Much of what they say sounds arcane and confused to modem readers, but they weren't written as expositions of religious beliefs for outsiders; they were internal documents meant to confirm true believers' faith. scrolls' real significance is in their portrayal of their original readers as an historical group, how they saw themselves and the world around them .2 However, this historical importance has been undermined because the scrolls' content is religious and may be related to the birth of two major Western religions, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. It is therefore no surprise that control, processing, and study of the Dead Sea scrolls has for decades remained firmly in the hands of theologians, and from the day of their discovery the scrolls have been jealously guarded-some would say held prisoner-by religious scholars.3 Most theologians are strongly motivated to defend their theological positions from detractors and opponents (real or imagined). There are thus few groups of scholars on the whole less qualified to objectively study the scrolls' historical significance, or to approach the scrolls from an unbiased point of view, than the very theologians who have dominated their study over the past five decades. So when Norman Golb in American Scholar suggests an alternate view for the scrolls' origins, the scholar responding in a later issue gives the game away by complaining that Golb is a fly in the ointment of biblical scholarship, as if the discovery of ancient documents from two-millennia past has more to do with theological consequences than with the accurate study of history. Golb points this out in his rejoinder. To read Trever's reaction to Golb's article is to peak inside the real issue upon which controversies over the scrolls have always rested: it is not a matter of historical accuracy, or archaeological integrity, or literary critique, or textual interpretation; it is rather a matter of authority, and more specifically, religious authority.4 This dichotomy between the scrolls' historical significance and theologians' self-protective stance concerning them has not been lost on the public. popular press periodically examines the progress of scrolls scholarship---or the lack of it-with headlines like The Dead Sea scrolls-what do they really say? implying that they say much more than theologians are willing to admit. These occasional reviews in magazines like Time and Newsweek never stray too far from the fold of orthodoxy, appealing as they do to the broadest spectrum of readership. This is not the case, however, for popular fiction, where novelists have found in the scrolls a releasing and freeing mechanism that will let them challenge the bounds of religious orthodoxy and authority. Such novels are rarely destined to make the bestseller lists, but are usually written in popular forms such as mystery or suspense, and their plots appeal to popular tastes. Dead Sea scrolls were the playground of controversy from the day they emerged from caves. …

Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation is a landmark work that brings to life long-inaccessible ancient scrolls of Qumran. Three distinguished translators at forefront of modern scrolls scholarship reveal rich tapestry of writings known as Dead Sea Scrolls. This is the most comprehensive translation compiled for general reader in any language. Translated into modern-day English by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr. and Edward Cook, this book contains virtually every legible portion of fragmented scrolls, including revelatory information on early Christianity and its roots far deeper than previously realized in ancient Judaism. Included as well are scroll fragments that promise to alter dramatically our view of biblical history, including never-before released texts and newly discovered writings by and about key biblical prophets and ancestors. The translators provide illuminating commentary throughout that place scrolls in their true historical context. They also present a compelling, insightful introduction that gives reader an overview of often surprising contents of scrolls and discusses what are perhaps greatest mysteries of scrolls -- who authored them and why. From a new generation of Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, here is a fresh look at scrolls, including most recently released texts. Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr. and Edward Cook unlock secrets and rich mysteries of Dead Sea Scrolls in most comprehensive translation ever published for general reader in any language. Their brilliant scholarship and illuminating commentary add dramatic new knowledge to our understanding of scrolls. Thishistoric translation includes: Intriguing revelations about biblical history and roots of Christianity. Never-before-seen stories about biblical figures Abraham, Jacob and Enoch -- including a text explaining why God demanded sacrifice of Isaac. Twelve texts not included in Bible that claim Moses as their author. New psalms attributed to King David and to Joshua. Texts illuminating ancient doctrines about angels and writings claiming to be revelations of angels themselves including Archangel Michael. Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation will set standard for scrolls scholarship for years to come. This is an important, rigorously researched work that renders scrolls vibrant and accessible. In their great variety and stunning richness, Dead Sea Scrolls as captured in this groundbreaking translation offer modern readers an unprecedented glimpse of complex roots of modern Christianity. Its dozens of never-before-published texts encompass poetry and prose, teaching parables and magical tales, astrology, apocalyptic visions, lists of buried treasure, stories of messiahs and antichrists, demons and angels and together comprise a new classic of religious history. Long withheld from public view, ancient scrolls found in caves of Qumran near Dead Sea are revered by many but known in full by very few. Now three translators at forefront of modern scrolls scholarship have revealed entire rich complex of writings, stories, poems and texts known as Dead Sea Scrolls.

Reviewed by: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrollsby Jodi Magness Dennis Mizzi jodi magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls( 2nded.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021). Pp. xiii + 326. Paper $29.99. This is a second edition of one of the most influential books in the field of Qumran studies. First published in 2002, Jodi Magness's The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrollsbecame an instant landmark work on the subject (see the review by James R. Davila in CBQ66 [2004] 293–95). It not only made this celebrated, and often controversial(!), [End Page 340]site accessible to a general readership, but also became a must-read for academics seeking an introduction to Qumran. To this day, it remains a standard work and is widely cited by scholars across different fields. Nonetheless, scholarship on Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls has developed tremendously in the past two decades. In the intervening years, many new books and countless articles dealing with the archaeology of Qumran and the Scrolls have been published, and three final reports—one on Roland de Vaux's 1951–1956 excavations at Qumran (Jean-Baptiste Humbert, Alain Chambon, and Jolanta Młynarczyk, Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha, Vol. 3a: L'archéologie de Qumrân: Reconsidération de l'interprétation; Les installations périphériques de Khirbet Qumrân; Qumran Terracotta Oil Lamps[NTOA Series archaeologica 5a; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016]), another on Cave 11Q (Jean-Baptiste Humbert and Marcello Fidanzio, eds., Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha, Vol. 4a: Qumrân Cave 11Q: Archaeology and New Scroll Fragments[NTOA Series archaeologica 8a; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019]), and the other on Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg's 1994–2004 investigations of the site (Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg, Back to Qumran: Final Report (1993–2004)[JavaServer Pages 18; Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority; Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, 2018])—have also appeared in print. M. herself has since updated or revised some of her previous conclusions. A second edition of this most important work, therefore, was not only inevitable but highly anticipated. The book's format and structure follow the template of the original. It has the same number of chapters (ten), all of which retain the same title, and bibliographic notes are appended at the end of each one. This keeps the text clean but requires additional work from readers, who have to hunt down certain bibliographic items. The chapters are organized thematically, starting with an introduction on archaeology as a field of study (chap. 1); a summary of early explorations of Qumran, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the early history of research (chap. 2); and an overview of the Scrolls, the sectarian communities they depict, and their relation to Qumran (chap. 3). These are followed by chapters on the site's building(s) and occupation phases (chap. 4); the pottery and architecture (chap. 5); the remains of communal meals, a toilet, and notions of sacred space at Qumran (chap. 6); miqwāʾôt(Jewish ritual baths) (chap. 7); the cemetery and the question of women at the site (chap. 8); and the inhabitants' clothing, their views on the temple tax, and their anti-Hellenizing attitudes (chap. 9). The final chapter goes beyond the site to explore the nearby settlements of ʿEin Feshkha and ʿEin el-Ghuweir and their possible connection to Qumran (chap. 10). Revisions and updates are scattered throughout the book and integrated into the individual chapters. The basic thesis of the first edition remains unchanged. M. mounts a strong and convincing case in favor of seeing Qumran as a sectarian/Essene settlement related to the large collection of scrolls found in the surrounding caves. The corollary is that Qumran presents us with a unique opportunity to bring texts and archaeology into conversation, allowing us to illumine the daily life of the Qumran sectarians in a holistic manner and gain insights that would not otherwise be possible. This is exactly what M. does, and the result is a vivid account of the site's history and its inhabitants' practices, beliefs, and worldview. Apart from updating the...

The Dead Sea along with Jerusalem belongs to one of the most well-known spots visited by tourists in Israel. Because of many factors, such as the water level of the Dead Sea at a depth of 430 m b.s.l. (in 2015), average salinity of 26%, hot springs and many healing salts located there, it is a unique tourist attraction on a global level. Its attractiveness is heightened by its proximity to other sites of interest, such as the Jewish fortress at Masada, Jericho, Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, as well as Petra, Madaba and Al-Karak on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. High salinity and a microclimate create perfect conditions for the development of health resorts and medical tourism. Extracting healing salts from its waters for the needs of the chemical industry is important for both the economy and medical tourism. However, as a consequence of the agricultural and urban use of the waters of the River Jordan, which flows into the Dead Sea, a persistent decrease in the lake water level has been observed over the last century. This has created a number of economic and political issues. The problems which still have to be resolved are associated with the Red Sea-Dead Sea Conduit (Canal), the division of Jordan’s water resources, conservation of the unique reservoir of the Dead Sea and the threat of hindering the development of tourism within the region. The presentation of these issues is the main aim of this research paper. The study is based on the analysis of changes in tourism flows, results of research studies and the prognosis of changes in the water level of the Dead Sea. It presents an assessment of the effects of this phenomenon on the tourist economy. At the current level of tourism flows within the region, the tourist capacity of local beaches will be exceeded in areas where the most popular tourist resorts are located. Increased expenditure on development of tourism infrastructure in the coastal zone can also be observed. The predicted decreasing water level will result in further modifications and expansion of tourism infrastructure, decreased accessibility to the coastline for tourists, increased costs of visiting and may lead to an ecological disaster.

From the earliest examples of human-created images – such as depections of Bison and other animals that were painted from 14,000 to 40,000 years ago the walls of the Altimira cave in Cantabria, Spain – images and texts have been preserved as physical objects. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which are more than 2,000 years old and consist of carbon based ink inscribed on parchment, lay hidden in caves in the Qumran area near the Dead Sea in Israel until they were discovered in 1946. Preserved in earthen jars in the low-humidity desert environment, the Dead Sea Scrolls are important historical examples of records made with intrinsically long-lasting materials. In the digital age, for the first time in human history, most images and textual information are no longer being preserved as physical objects. Instead, digital images and other records are stored as coded electronic files using the ever-changing technology of hard drives, solid-state flash memory, and magnetic tape systems. Archivists refer to such records as "machine-readable records," which require very specific software and electronic hardware preserved with the digital records to enable future retrieval, viewing, and printing in the future. In contrast, photographic prints and photobooks are physical objects that require neither special hardware nor software to be viewed. Archivists call these "human-readable records." Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, images and texts made with inherently stable materials, can be preserved, accessed, and viewed for thousands of years into the future without any technological aids. This paper discusses the evolution of accelerated aging tests for traditional and digital photographic prints and photobook pages, beginning with the classic 1970 paper by Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West, "Preservation of Motion-Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value," published in the Journal of the SMPTE, which describes the application of predictive accelerated multi-temperature Arrhenius test to evaluate the dark storage permanence properties of color films stored at different temperatures, Utilizing data from accelerated aging tests, guidance is provided in the selection of the longest lasting materials to produce digital photographic prints and photobook pages. When carefully displayed and stored, these printed images and texts – like the Dead Sea Scrolls – can last far into the future.

The Dead Sea Scrolls John J. Collins (bio) No archaeological discovery of the 20th century has aroused more interest than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Between 1947 and 1956 fragments of some 900 manuscripts dating to the time around the turn of the era were found in caves near the Dead Sea. Most of these were in Hebrew, a significant minority in Aramaic, and a few in Greek. Prior to their discovery we had no Hebrew manuscripts from that period, so the Scrolls have been a bonanza for scholars. The interest they have aroused is due in large part to the fact that they came from the time of Jesus of Nazareth. They shed light on Judaism before the rabbis and the context in which Christianity was born. Discovered in Jordanian territory in the throes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, they have also raised issues about the ownership of ancient artifacts, and they would eventually give rise to controversy about the ethics of the publication of such materials. The manuscripts may be divided into three categories. First, there are books that we know as part of the Bible. One of the first manuscripts brought to light was a copy of the Book of Isaiah that was a full millennium older than the oldest previously known Hebrew copy. Eventually fragments of all books of the Hebrew Bible except Esther were found. On the one hand, the manuscripts show that the traditional text of the Hebrew Bible (known as the Masoretic text or MT) was indeed current before the turn of the era. But on the other hand, they show that this was not the only form of the text in circulation. Different forms of the biblical text have been preserved in the Samaritan Bible and in the Greek translation known as the Septuagint or LXX. The Scrolls show that these, too, were based on Hebrew texts, and in some cases their form of the text was older than that of the MT. Scribes continued to work on the text of the Bible, smoothing out contradictions and differences, right down to the turn of the era. A second category of manuscripts describes a sectarian movement within Judaism, presumably the people who placed the Scrolls in the caves. This was a voluntary association within Judaism, with its own rituals of admission and expulsion. The members accepted the same scriptures as other Jews (although they may have had others besides), but they were estranged from the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood. Almost as soon as the Scrolls were discovered, this movement was identified as that of the Essenes, who are known from ancient Greek and Latin accounts, but are not attested by that name in Hebrew or Aramaic sources. The Essenes were something of an oddity in ancient Judaism. At least some of them were celibate, and they had communal property. For this reason, scholars have linked them to Christian monasticism, a phenomenon that did not arise until several years later. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, there was a second order of the Essenes that married. The sect known from the Scrolls also had two forms. One rule book, known as “the Damascus Document” because it refers to a new covenant in the land of Damascus, speaks of people who “live in camps according the order of the land and marry and have children,” but another, known as “The Rule of the Community” (Serek ha-Yahad in Hebrew), does not mention women or children at all. There has always been some doubt about the Essene identification, because the Scrolls never demand celibacy as a requirement, but most scholars are satisfied that the Rule of the Community was actually written for a celibate community. Click for larger view View full resolution The ruins at Qumran. From the BBC documentary Traders of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1998). Most scholars also believe that a community of this sect lived at Qumran, a site with ancient ruins near the caves. (Some of the caves are literally a stone’s throw from the ruins). The Roman writer Pliny says that Essenes lived in this general area, to the west of the Dead Sea. The ruins were excavated by the...

The temple schematics in the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), that is, New Jerusalem and Temple Scroll, has often been comparatively examined with the sanctuary structures in the Hebrew Bible (HB) (Ezk 40–48 and Num 2). Typically, in scholarship, the irreconcilable differences between all accounts (regarding the size, shape, name-gate ordering, etc.) is underscored, thus rendering a literary conundrum. This article argues that New Jerusalem and Temple Scroll drew from both Ezekiel 40–48 and Numbers 2 in different ways, purporting the sect(s)’s theologies and ideologies which accords, further, with the life setting of the Qumran communities; the influence of Numbers in the DSS is underscored. These aspects include (1) the eastern orientation of sacred structures and the compound at Khirbet Qumran, (2) the precise locale of the communities at the Dead Sea vis-à-vis Ezekiel 47 and (3) the desert encampment configuration together with its militaristic overtones in Numbers, which corresponds to the DSS sect(s)’s apocalyptic expectations as indicated in the War Scroll. Consequently, the Qumran sect(s) truly saw itself as an alternative priesthood of the forthcoming restored temple of God, even as in the interim they functioned as an alternative sanctuary (4QFlor; 4QMMT; 1QS). The import of Numbers upon the DSS sect(s)’s temple ideologies and priestly theologies is, therefore, equivalent to that of Ezekiel.Contribution: This article traces theological themes of temple and priestly ideologies between and among the Qumran literature and Hebrew Scriptures; both the respective library or canon and methodological approach are core to the historical thought’s aim and scope of HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies.

Genesis Apocryphon and Related Documents

After a brief survey of the early history of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery from the perspective of the provenance of archaeological artifacts, this article offers a table of the so-called “E” series fragments from Qumran, that is to say those PAM photos containing only fragments coming from controlled excavations. What remains to be done is to identify each fragment of each text contained in the “E” series photographs.

Since the early 1990s the author has devoted much time and energy investigating all the Psalms scrolls from Qumran, with fullest documentation in the book The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls and the Book of Psalms (1997), in a long article in Vetus Testamentum (1998), and in the first volume of the Princeton Symposium on the Dead Sea Scrolls (2006). This research has yielded or recognized five notable features, or five surprises, surrounding the Psalms scrolls from Qumran, culminating with the publication of 11QPs b , 11QPs c , 11QPs d , and 11QPs e in DJD 23 in 1998. This chapter identifies another copy of the Psalter represented by the Great Psalms Scroll, which the author terms the 11QPsa-Psalter. The discussion brings some focus on a somewhat neglected manuscript, 11QPs b (11Q6), and its unique contribution towards research on the book of Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Keywords: Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls; Psalms scrolls; Qumran; Vetus Testamentum