The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity

Front Cover
A&C Black, Jul 10, 2005 - Religion - 480 pages
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 aded 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. 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.
 

Contents

The Hebrew BibleOld Testament Before the Scrolls
87
The Biblical Scrolls and the Text of the Hebrew BibleOld Testament
103
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Canon of the Hebrew Bible
154
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in the Dead Sea Scrolls
182
A Survey of the Nonbiblical Scrolls
209
Identifying the Group Associated with Qumran
239
The Theology or Belief System of the Qumran Group
255
The Qumran Group Within Early Judaism
275
Were New Testament Scrolls Found at Qumran?
311
The Gospels and Qumran
321
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Revelation
362
PART FIVE
379
Index of Passages in the Biblical Scrolls from the Judean Desert
407
III
424
Translations and Editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls
434
INDEX
457

Biblical Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls
293

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About the author (2005)

Peter Flint is Co-Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University, British Columbia. James VanderKam is John A. O'Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures, Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.

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