The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered ANNOTATION
This groundbreaking volume features revelatory material--available primarily for the first time. These 50 documents cast a startling light on events in Palestine at the dawn of Christianity, alluding not only to doctrines we now recognize as Christian, but also to the precursors of Islam and Jewish Kabbalism. Photos.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Placed in caves almost 2000 years ago and not discovered until 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide a unique insight into Jewish and Christian origins. They have held a fascination over academics, religious leaders, and the lay public alike for the last forty-five years. From 1952, when a team of scholars was appointed and Cave 4 at Qumran was discovered - from which the materials in this book are drawn - they have been under the control of an elite and secretive clique. However, in the autumn of 1991, this monopoly was effectively broken when the Huntington Library in California announced it would allow public access to its collection of Dead Sea Scrolls photographs. This was soon followed by the publication of a Facsimile Edition by the Biblical Archaeology Society in Washington D.C. Robert Eisenman was integrally involved in both events, and with Michael Wise had been working behind the scenes on the unpublished photographs for some time. Their discovery of a tiny Scroll fragment of six lines referring to the execution of or by a Messianic Leader plunged them into a long-running debate. Scholars previously controlling access to the Scrolls had been publically contending that there was nothing interesting in the remaining unpublished Scrolls and nothing throwing further light on Christianity's rise in Palestine. The conclusions of Professor Eisenman and Professor Wise gainsay and challenge these views. The present work is the result. For the first time the public will be able to see the most interesting and exciting texts from the unpublished corpus and judge for itself. Providing precise English translations and complete transcriptions into modern Hebrew characters, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered makes generally available in a clear and accessible style fifty of the best texts. Accompanied by incisive and readable commentaries aimed at both lay person and scholar alike, these texts provide exciting and ground-breaking insights into Messianism, an alternative p
SYNOPSIS
Placed in caves almost 2,000 years ago & not discovered until 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have enthralled academics, religious leaders, & laypeople alike for decades. Wrested from the control of an elite clique in 1991, the scrolls are now available to the general public. In this groundbreaking book the authors present precise English translations of 50 key documents withheld for over 35 years. Here is nothing less than the literature of the Messianic Movement in Palestine, complete with an alternative presentation of the flood story, ecstatic visions, prophecies, mysteries, divinations, & much more.
Providing a unique insight into Jewish and Christian origins, the translations are accompanied by incisive commentaries aimed at both scholars & general readers. B&W illus. 286pp.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The continuing interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls is due in part to the controversy surrounding their interpretation. Specifically, attention is focused upon the importance of previously unpublished texts in reconstructing the history of early Christianity. Some say there is little or nothing of interest in the remaining fragments; others insist that they are of monumental importance. By far the largest cache of these fragments is the one discovered in Qumran cave 4, from which authors Eisenman (Middle East religions, California State Univ.-Long Beach) and Wise (Near Eastern languages and civilization, Univ. of Chicago) have reconstructed 50 texts. For each text, they have provided a transcription into modern Hebrew characters, a translation, and commentary on the text's significance. Significantly, these documents indicate a close relationship between the Zealot Qumran community and the Jewish Christian community under the leadership of James, the brother of Jesus. While the authors must be given due credit for making more of the scroll material available, their conclusions are tentative. Recommended for seminary and academic religion collections.-- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.
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