The Dead Sea scrolls : a biography / John J. Collins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Collins, John J. (John Joseph), 1946-

Series:

Lives of Great Religious Books

Lives of great religious books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dead Sea scrolls.

Religion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 pages)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Since they were first discovered in the caves at Qumran in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have aroused more fascination--and more controversy--than perhaps any other archaeological find. They appear to have been hidden in the Judean desert by the Essenes, a Jewish sect that existed around the time of Jesus, and they continue to inspire veneration and conspiracy theories to this day. John Collins tells the story of the bitter conflicts that have swirled around the scrolls since their startling discovery, and sheds light on their true significance for Jewish and Christian history. Collins vividly recounts how a Bedouin shepherd went searching for a lost goat and found the scrolls instead. He offers insight into debates over whether the Essenes were an authentic Jewish sect and explains why such questions are critical to our understanding of ancient Judaism and to Jewish identity. Collins explores whether the scrolls were indeed the property of an isolated, quasi-monastic community living at Qumran, or whether they more broadly reflect the Judaism of their time. And he unravels the impassioned disputes surrounding the scrolls and Christianity. Do they anticipate the early church? Do they undermine the credibility of the Christian faith? Collins also looks at attempts to "reclaim" the scrolls for Judaism after the full corpus became available in the 1990's, and at how the decades-long delay in publishing the scrolls gave rise to sensational claims and conspiracy theories.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. The Discovery of the Scrolls

Chapter 2. The Essenes

Chapter 3. The Site of Qumran

Chapter 4. The Scrolls and Christianity

Chapter 5. The Scrolls and Judaism

Chapter 6. The Scrolls and the Bible

Chapter 7. The Battle for the Scrolls

Appendix. Personalities in the Discovery and Subsequent Controversies

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Indexes

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781782685623

1782685626

9781283683531

1283683539

9781400844609

1400844606

OCLC:

814705849