Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story

by Kenneth Hanson

For two thousand years, the Dead Sea Scrolls lay hidden deep in the caves of the Judean desert, unread, untouched, and forgotten. That is, until the 1940s when by sheer happenstance a Bedouin shepherd stumbled into the first of the caves and found himself faced with the jars containing these ancient Jewish texts. The rediscovery of the scrolls sent shockwaves through several religious communities, and for half a century, historians and academics poured over the mysterious texts. Dead Sea The Untold Story captures the excitement of this period, explaining what we have learned from these treasured works, and the truth about the ancient Hebrew sect that wrote, preserved, and died defending them.

Genres: Religion, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

Kenneth Hanson is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program. He earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991. His many scholarly articles focus on the Second Jewish Commonwealth, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the historical Jesus, and Jewish Christianity. He has also published several books of popular scholarship, including: Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story; Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition; and Secrets from the Lost Bible. He has been interviewed multiple times on nationally syndicated radio, and his research was featured on the History Channel documentary, Banned from the Bible. He teaches a wide range of Judaic Studies courses, including the Hebrew language, the Hebrew Bible, Jewish history and culture, and the history of the Holocaust. He recently produced and narrated an award-winning documentary entitled The Druze: An Ethnic Minority in the Holy Land.

Reviews

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author gives a great history of the Essenes, who are considered to be the authors of the scrolls, as well as their discovery in modern times and their subsequent fate.

The author also discusses the content of the scrolls, which has numerous prophetic passages that arguably point towards Jesus. Additionally, the author points to several instances in New Testament cannon where the author believes Jesus and John the Baptist are referencing Essene tradition and theology.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave a lot of background in what was going on in the middle east when the scrolls were made and all of the stops on the way to discovery. A nice easy read and very interesting.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big biblical reader but found this book to be very easy to read and very fascinating in it's comparison of these ancient texts and the New Testement. I highly recommend it.

[Jane Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to get “into” this book. Well written and an interesting subject. BUT.

[Toni Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn about the biblical tribes and how they lived and survived! Very interesting and educational.