What do you think?
Rate this book
The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: The History of Judaism, the Background of Christianity, the Lost Library of Qumran
Dead Sea Scrolls expert Lawrence H. Schiffman shifts attention away from the sensationalism surrounding who has control of the scrolls by focusing on how these texts shed light on the history of Judaism and early Christianity.
529 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1994
11 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 23, 2018
Schiffman is a giant among Dead Sea Scroll scholars. I am thankful for his insights, particularly how the scrolls indicate that the authors still held Jerusalem in a place of honor even if they were choosing to sit out the first century Temple leadership.
May 2, 2016
While almost certainly the fault of the marketing arm of the publisher rather than of the author, it is a bit disappointing that the dust jacket promises a Forward by Chaim Potok (in brighter lettering than the author’s name) that turns out to be a mere one and a quarter pages, and merely baldly restates the thesis of the book that the Dead Sea Scrolls were not the library of a community foreshadowing Christianity, but the library of a community firmly within the Jewish tradition.
To get to the substance of the book itself, there is some disappointment there, also. It appears to be a very good draft of a not-quite-edited book. There are often shifts between the documents found at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls) and those found elsewhere at other times. Although the documents are named when being discussed, the general reader is often left to ponder the sources, the origins, and the relative dates of the documents.
At the beginning, there are several tables that illustrate in detail points that could have been made in summary. For example, there is a table setting forth the age of various Dead Sea Scrolls as calibrated by Carbon-14 dating. The table even includes the number of samples of particular scrolls tested, although the meaning of those numbers is not apparent to a non-expert reader, and not explained by the author—yet there is an entire column of data. (p. 32). On the next page is a graphic showing that the Carbon-14 dating of the scrolls was not that far off from the dating performed by paleographic scholars or explicit dates set forth in the scroll itself. Whether the table distorts the statistics would not be apparent to any non-expert, so the point would just have been better made by authorial assertion. On the very next page is a pie chart illustrating the percentage distribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls among Biblical materials, sectarian material peculiar to the Qumran community, non-sectarian material, and unidentified material. Why the percentages are important is not disclosed. Moreover, it is not even clear whether the percentages refer to the number of separate documents or to the bulk of the documents—in other words, do the percentages refer to the number of separate works or to the number (and size) of pages? A table that would be helpful is a list of every book discussed, where it was found, the language in which it was written, and the approximate date of its composition. For example, in Chapter 19 the author discusses “The Assumption of Moses” in a single brief paragraph. This text is not mentioned anywhere else in the entire book. A non-specialist is in the dark as to what this esoteric text may be, or any other information that would shed light on its significance. Indeed, the author adds to the puzzle when he states that the text is “written in either Hebrew or Aramaic.” Can it be that the author does not know in which language it is written? Is there more than one text of it, written in different languages? We do not know. The author tells us, unhelpfully, that the text was written “most probably around the turn of the era.” (p. 321). Which era?
The want of an editor’s pen is noted in unnecessary repetitions. On pages 276 the Qumran community’s limits of travel on the Sabbath are set forth: “..on the Sabbath one was permitted to walk only one thousand cubits (about 1,500 feet or 450 meters) beyond the city limits." But the second text notes an exception: in order to pasture an animal, one could go another thousand cubits…” A few pages later (pages 282-83), the same information is given: “The sect had two Sabbath limits: One permitted a person to walk only one thousand cubits beyond the city; if one were pasturing an animal, one could go an additional thousand.”
Similarly, one is frustrated when the author quotes a passage that is unambiguous in its meaning, and then unnecessarily paraphrases the passage:
To get to the substance of the book itself, there is some disappointment there, also. It appears to be a very good draft of a not-quite-edited book. There are often shifts between the documents found at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls) and those found elsewhere at other times. Although the documents are named when being discussed, the general reader is often left to ponder the sources, the origins, and the relative dates of the documents.
At the beginning, there are several tables that illustrate in detail points that could have been made in summary. For example, there is a table setting forth the age of various Dead Sea Scrolls as calibrated by Carbon-14 dating. The table even includes the number of samples of particular scrolls tested, although the meaning of those numbers is not apparent to a non-expert reader, and not explained by the author—yet there is an entire column of data. (p. 32). On the next page is a graphic showing that the Carbon-14 dating of the scrolls was not that far off from the dating performed by paleographic scholars or explicit dates set forth in the scroll itself. Whether the table distorts the statistics would not be apparent to any non-expert, so the point would just have been better made by authorial assertion. On the very next page is a pie chart illustrating the percentage distribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls among Biblical materials, sectarian material peculiar to the Qumran community, non-sectarian material, and unidentified material. Why the percentages are important is not disclosed. Moreover, it is not even clear whether the percentages refer to the number of separate documents or to the bulk of the documents—in other words, do the percentages refer to the number of separate works or to the number (and size) of pages? A table that would be helpful is a list of every book discussed, where it was found, the language in which it was written, and the approximate date of its composition. For example, in Chapter 19 the author discusses “The Assumption of Moses” in a single brief paragraph. This text is not mentioned anywhere else in the entire book. A non-specialist is in the dark as to what this esoteric text may be, or any other information that would shed light on its significance. Indeed, the author adds to the puzzle when he states that the text is “written in either Hebrew or Aramaic.” Can it be that the author does not know in which language it is written? Is there more than one text of it, written in different languages? We do not know. The author tells us, unhelpfully, that the text was written “most probably around the turn of the era.” (p. 321). Which era?
The want of an editor’s pen is noted in unnecessary repetitions. On pages 276 the Qumran community’s limits of travel on the Sabbath are set forth: “..on the Sabbath one was permitted to walk only one thousand cubits (about 1,500 feet or 450 meters) beyond the city limits." But the second text notes an exception: in order to pasture an animal, one could go another thousand cubits…” A few pages later (pages 282-83), the same information is given: “The sect had two Sabbath limits: One permitted a person to walk only one thousand cubits beyond the city; if one were pasturing an animal, one could go an additional thousand.”
Similarly, one is frustrated when the author quotes a passage that is unambiguous in its meaning, and then unnecessarily paraphrases the passage:
"He (the king) shall choose for himself from them (those he has mustered) one thousand from each tribe to be with him, twelve thousand warriors, who will not leave him alone, lest he be captured by the nations. And all those selected whom he shall choose shall be trustworthy men, who fear God, who spurn unjust gain, and mighty men of war. They shall be with him always, day and night, so that they will guard him from any sinful thing, and from a foreign nation, lest he be captured by them." (TEMPLE SCROLL 57:5-11)
The king is also required to select twelve thousand men, one thousand from each tribe, to serve as a palace guard. They must never leave him, lest he be captured by foreign enemies. The members of the guard are to be honest, God-fearing men, of the highest military prowess.
Pp. 269-70. Another example:“For Jerusalem is the camp of holiness, and it is the place which He (God) chose from all the tribes of Israel, for Jerusalem is the chief of the camps of Israel. (HALAKHIC LETTER B58-62)"
Only Jerusalem has this exalted status since God chose it. Furthermore, for legal purposes the city is the equivalent of the wilderness camp.
P. 389.
For all of the author’s insistence on the complexity of the Jewish world with the many sects and communities during the time of the Qumran community, he dismisses the century after that with the simplistic notion that the rise of Christianity caused a Jewish consensus by the year 132 C.E. He concludes that the Jews unified against the Christians as a competing group for the “mantle of the true Israel.” P. 404. This is despite the fact that many early Christians continued to worship in Synagogues for a couple of centuries. See, e.g., When Christians Were Jews, by Wayne Daniel Berard. Why the splintered groups would coalesce in the face of the common enemy of Christianity when they did not unite against the much more powerful Romans is not addressed.
Overall, reading the book is like hearing one conclusory position in a scholarly debate, without hearing the responses from the other scholars, or without having the specialized knowledge required to determine whose opinion would be more plausible. Even so, I learned a lot about the different Jewish doctrines of the first centuries B.C.E. and C.E., as well as about the archeological remains at Qumran.
April 9, 2018
Very thorough and informative analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
December 7, 2020
Excellent book reviewing the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Jewish perspective.
Read
December 11, 2023A lot of words to say a little, they were a sectarian sect that hoped for a messiah but missed the real one.
March 10, 2014
When I was in my early teens my father saw to it that I attended a BYU education week in Silver Spring MD where I heard some lectures by the now legendary Hugh Nibley. I mostly had but little idea of what he was talking about but I do remember his frequent use of the term "eschatology" and his excitement about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some fifty years later much more has been learned about these extraordinary documents which date mostly from the final two centuries B.C.E. Lawrence H. Schiffman published this excellent survey in 1994 acknowleging throughout that there is yet much debate about the particular significances and interpretations of these scrolls. Early on he remarks about the tendencies towards "confessionalism" among some of the Christian scholars who, due to circumstances, were the first to have access to this library which in many instances has literally turned biblical studies upside down. Professor Nibley was nothing if not a "confessionalist". He made no secret of nor apology for his acceptance of the prophetic claims of Joseph Smith and his successors as presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the very name of which of course conveys a distinctly eschatological message). Coincidentally to reading this I began another review of The Doctrine and Covenants and was struck with some of the similarities in purpose and content between these revelations recorded by Joseph Smith in the very early 1830's and some of the Scrolls (particularly the Rule of the Community). Obviously the great difference is that the eschatological beliefs cherished by the unfortunate Qumran sectarians were brutally shown to be mistaken by Roman arms whereas the more flexible eschatologies of Mormonism have yet to see such disproof and indeed often seem to have been only confirmed by events since the antebellum days of Brother Joseph.
March 14, 2023
Schiffman tackles a broad, complex, and controversial topic with ease and clear expertise. If someone was only ever going to read one book about the Dead Sea Scrolls, I think this should be it. After reading it, I feel much more grounded in my understanding of the Qumran sect and the Dead Sea Scrolls and much more comfortable sorting fact from fiction when it comes to the all-too-often exaggerated claims made about the Scrolls by trigger-happy scholars and other less scrupulous authors.
He covers a lot of ground in the book and it's a heavy read, but by no means out of reach for the layman like myself. Anyone with an interest in Second Temple Judaism (which should include all Christians in my opinion) should consider this book, especially if you have heard claims about the Dead Sea Scrolls that gave you pause.
The Scrolls are some incredible pieces of literature and have value for all Christians, not just scholars, in understanding the background of our faith. This book provides the context needed to get more out of the Scrolls, whether when reading them ourselves or seeing them referenced by other authors.
He covers a lot of ground in the book and it's a heavy read, but by no means out of reach for the layman like myself. Anyone with an interest in Second Temple Judaism (which should include all Christians in my opinion) should consider this book, especially if you have heard claims about the Dead Sea Scrolls that gave you pause.
The Scrolls are some incredible pieces of literature and have value for all Christians, not just scholars, in understanding the background of our faith. This book provides the context needed to get more out of the Scrolls, whether when reading them ourselves or seeing them referenced by other authors.
October 14, 2016
An excellent, easy to read book on the history of the scrolls.
This large book offers readers an excellent and well-versed glimpse into the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From their discovery to modern implications and theological importance, each chapter offers insight in a clear and concise way. The paperback is voluminous but light and easy to carry.
Information as to what is written in the scrolls offers a unique glimpse into the early history of Christianity and Judaism. Some chapters delve into issues such as women in the scrolls, and historical significances of things, people, and events that are mentioned within them.
Though written over a decade ago, this edition is a good choice for those new to the history of the scrolls, and offers plenty of origin and background history surrounding their discovery and writing.
Highly recommended for seasoned enthusiasts and those new to the scrolls.
This large book offers readers an excellent and well-versed glimpse into the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From their discovery to modern implications and theological importance, each chapter offers insight in a clear and concise way. The paperback is voluminous but light and easy to carry.
Information as to what is written in the scrolls offers a unique glimpse into the early history of Christianity and Judaism. Some chapters delve into issues such as women in the scrolls, and historical significances of things, people, and events that are mentioned within them.
Though written over a decade ago, this edition is a good choice for those new to the history of the scrolls, and offers plenty of origin and background history surrounding their discovery and writing.
Highly recommended for seasoned enthusiasts and those new to the scrolls.
December 30, 2014
These are excellent courses! This one is great and a very thorough. I like the professor although I wish he didn't feel the need to spend so much time telling me how the texts aren't christian texts, just once was enough! I think anyone with a cursory knowledge of the texts will understand this, but as the professor says, the texts are important for Christians because of what they can tell us about the period of late Judaism in which they are written and that possible impact on the early Church.
June 6, 2012
Penemuan tulisan atau manuskrip lama turut ditemui di Qumran 13km dari Laut Mati bersebelahan Palestine. Penemuan ini dikenali dengan nama The Dead Sea Scroll. Ia mengandungi tulisan pengikut Nabi Zulkifli as, Nabi Daud as dan Nabi Musa as. Kita umat Islam mengenalinya sebagai mashaf.
Read
September 23, 2010Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls (Anchor Bible Reference Library) by Lawrence H. Schiffman (1995)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews