The Dead Sea Scrolls

388 Pages·2013·3.38 MB·English

by  Peter W. Flint

ORE BIBLICAL STUDIES
THE
DEAD SEA
SCROLLS
General Editors
Core Biblical Studies
Louis Stulman, Old Testament
Warren Carter, New Testament
ORE BIBLICAL STUDIES
THE
DEAD SEA
SCROLLS
PETER W. FLINT
To the two youngest people in my life
Jakob Flint Dennis and Olivia Flint
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
Copyright © 2013 by Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests
for permission should be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 801,
201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801 or [email protected].
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, Division
of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. Also from the Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the
Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the
Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press. Also from the New English Translation, NET Bible®
copyright ©1996–2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. All rights reserved.
Quotations of many Dead Sea Scrolls are from The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation, Revised Edition,
by Michael O. Wise, Martin G. Abegg Jr., and Edward M. Cook. Copyright © 1996, 2005, by Michael O.
Wise, Martin G. Abegg Jr., and Edward M. Cook. Used by permission of the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
ISBN 978-0-6874-9449-1
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Contents
Abbreviations, Definitions, and Key Words
Ancient Groups and Figures
Introduction: The Greatest Find of Our Times
1. The Discovery of the Scrolls in the Judean Desert
1. The First Cave at Qumran and Its Seven Scrolls
2. The Other Ten Qumran Caves and Their Scrolls
3. Dead Sea Scrolls from Other Sites in the Judean Desert
4. The Quest for Further Caves and Scrolls
2. Archaeology of the Qumran Site: The Caves, Buildings, and Cemeteries
1. Archaeology and the Qumran Caves
2. Archaeology of the Qumran Buildings
3. The Qumran Cemeteries
3. Dating the Scrolls Found at Qumran
1. Dating the Scrolls and the Qumran Site by Archaeology
2. Internal Datings in the Scrolls
3. Dating Dead Sea Scrolls Using Paleography
4. Radiocarbon Methods of Dating
4. The Bible Before the Scrolls
1. The Masoretic Text
2. The Samaritan Pentateuch
3. The Septuagint or Greek Bible
4. Other Versions (Translations) of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
5. The Biblical Scrolls
1. The Pentateuch (or Torah)
2. The Historical Books
3. The Poetical Books
4. The Prophets
6. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Biblical Text
1. Observations on the Biblical Scrolls
2. The Scrolls and the Text of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
7. The Scrolls, the Apocrypha, and the Pseudepigrapha
1. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
2. Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in the Dead Sea Scrolls
8. The Shape and Contents of the Scriptures Used at Qumran
1. Hebrew Bible or Old Testament?
2. Ancient Evidence Outside the Scrolls Found at Qumran
3. Evidence from the Scrolls Found at Qumran
9. The Nonbiblical Scrolls
1. Rules
2. Legal Texts
3. Commentaries on Authoritative Texts
4. Poetic Texts, Calendars, Prayers, and Liturgies
5. Wisdom (Sapiential) Texts
6. Eschatological Texts
7. The Copper Scroll, Other Documentary Texts, and Nonsectarian Texts
10. The Movement Associated with Qumran: Not Pharisees or Sadducees, but
Essenes
1. Were the Scrolls Found at Qumran Associated with the Pharisees?
2. Were the Scrolls Found at Qumran Associated with the Sadducees?
3. The Scrolls Found Near Qumran Were Associated with a Group of
Essenes
4. Concluding Statement on the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes
5. History of the Essene Movement
11. Religious Thought and Practice Reflected in the Qumran Scrolls
1. Concept of God
2. Predeterminism (or Fate), the Two Ways, and the Supernatural Origins of
Evil
3. One Overall Principle (Law)
4. Interpretation of Scripture
5. Experiencing God and the Divine
6. The End of Days and the Messiahs
12. The New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls
1. The Scrolls and Early Christian Writings: New Testament Writings at
Qumran?
2. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Gospels and the Scrolls)
3. The Scrolls and the Early Church: Acts, Paul, and the Other Letters
4. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Revelation
Bibliography
Editions, English Translations, and Computer Software
Books and Articles Mentioned in this Volume
Index of Modern Authors
Comment on the Website and Online Material
Online Supplement
www.abingdonacademic.com/dsscrolls
In Depth and Further Study:
Detailed Outline of Contents