The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Rating:
Summary: A tantalizing overview of a major religious mystery
Review: Here is an excellent overview of the history and mystery surrounding the scrolls. In a methodic and easy-to-comprehend manner, Hershel Shanks describes the evolution of scholarly conjecture on several of the individual scrolls and the Qumran community itself. I found the book absolutely tantalizing because of the many key questions about the scrolls that remain unanswered. The author also provided what I consider to be an incisive overview of the impact several of the scrolls have had on Judaism and Christianity during the last four decades. I highly recommend "The Mystery & Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls" to those seeking a broad, layman's understanding of this incredible archeological find, the peculiar trail of the scrolls since their discovery, and the often contradictory religious conclusions the scrolls have provoked.

Rating:
Summary: Lifting the veil on the mystery...
Review: Herschel Shanks and his publications, primarily Biblical Archaeology Review, are deserving of great credit in the effort to break the small, scholarly monopoly on access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. To this end, Shanks has collected in a few volumes key articles and essays on the Scrolls from leading interpreters (including occasionally one or more of the original enclave of scholars who fought so hard to maintain strict control on access to the majority of the scrolls).

Shanks was one of the first to dare to break the stranglehold by publishing previously unpublished scroll fragments; by pulling his finger out of the dike, others also began to publish and reconstruct texts, so that eventually there was no point to maintaining a rigid control on access, both for research and for publication.

This story is one of great interest of itself, and shortly I shall be reviewing books which talk in greater detail of the intrigue behind the Scrolls. The current volume under review, however, takes us in a different direction.

This volume, 'The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls', concentrates primarily on context (both religious and historical), meaning and implications of the Scrolls.

Among the Scrolls were biblical texts (some of which differ slightly, others radically from the biblical texts which have come down to us today), accounting scrolls, commentaries, calendars, and, perhaps the most mysterious and 'juicy', apocalyptic texts, with characters flamboyant even by current celebrity standards, the Teacher of Righteousness and the Wicked Priest.

The first few chapters do talk about the Scroll history, including some of the intrigues. However, the bulk of the book examines theories about the proto-Christian and Essene teachings found in the scrolls (and whether or not these labels are even appropriate to apply to the scrolls), illumination on Judaism, especially the complexity of Judaism to be found in the generation around the destruction of the Temple, and looks forward to future research and meaning from the scrolls.

'The scrolls emphasise a hitherto unappreciated variety in Judaism of the late Second Temple period, so much sa that scholars often speak not simply of Judaism, but of Judaisms.'

Among the various controversies surrounding the scrolls is the determination of the nature of the location where the scrolls were found. Scroll fans know that the first scrolls were found near Qumran, a desert and deserted building complex near the north shore of the Dead Sea. Was this place a villa, a religious outpost, a trading centre, an ancient travel-lodge, a scriptorium? The latter idea was popularised by Roland de Vaux, one of the original enclave of scholars, and an archaeologist who, being a Roman Catholic priest, was more inclined toward the medieval monastic model with which he was more familiar, than with other interpretations (which have been advanced by others, particularly see Norman Golb), but the popular conception and possibly the plurality if not majority of scholars continue to believe that the Essenes were the inhabitants of Qumran, and that the scrolls (or at least most of them) comprise part of their library. However, Shanks cautions against jumping to premature conclusions.

'We must be careful not to read into the ancient sources or the scrolls something that isn't there. For example, neither Josephus nor the scrolls say that Essenes lived in the wilderness. Though they separated themselves from other Jews, they did not necessarily leave Jerusalem or other towns where they lived.'

Coupled with the lack of self-identification in the scrolls, the original authorship of them remains in doubt.

This is a book accessible to even the most novice of persons interested in the scrolls, and yet provides new detail and insight that will please the veteran scroll follower.

Rating:
Summary: Very good overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls, w/ reservations
Review: I found this book very comprehensive and easy to read. Mr. Shanks, clearly an expert in the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls, takes the reader from the first finds in 1947, through the amazing stories of how the scrolls were obtained, mostly from the dealer, Kando, and significantly, perhaps, coinciding with the creation of the modern state of Israel and its initial struggles; continuing finds, where the bedouins usually triumphed over the archaeologists; the controversial delays in publishing translations by the Catholic-controlled translating team, and finally, what the scrolls (might) mean for Jews and Christians.

I enjoyed the chapters discussing whether Qumran was actually an Essene community, and whether the scrolls were really composed there. The chapter on the relevance of the scrolls to the Old Testament is one of the best in the book, and some consider it the most important aspect of the find. The conclusion that the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that the Greek Septuagint translation of the original Hebrew is closer than the current Hebrew version in certain passages of the Bible fascinated me, as a (former) linguist.

While Mr. Shanks pushed hard for completion of the translations for many years, here he doesn't want to rock the boat of anyone's belief systems and faith. I will admit that my criticisms may be irrelevant since my comments below may have nothing to do with what the author intended to accomplish, but I feel that it's at least as important to question belief systems rather than simply to detail and "validate" them.

In the chapter "Undermining Christian Faith - of a Certain Kind," he does indeed prove that the scrolls preface the concept of Jesus as a "son of God." In doing this he mentions the fact that in the 4 "chosen" gospels of the Christianity there is little similarity as to when Jesus actually became the "son of God." It would seem that a more important issue is why people base their faith on inconsistent material of so-called "messangers of the Lord." This is but one of a number of such examples in both official versions of Judaeo-Christian texts, and of course in this case many would rather feel that everyone is a "son (or daughter!) of God," and that no one person is the most "chosen" one.

Another statement in this chapter is that "Nothing mitigates against the 'uniqueness of Jesus'." Well, maybe not in the official texts, but there is plenty of evidence that many other religions had similiar "sons of God," born of a "virgin," who died on a cross, were resurrected, and were thus "Saviours."

This book is a fine overview of the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the bibliography provides many references for additional study. But I feel that a far deeper questioning of what people base their faiths on is the real requirement for our times, and neither this book nor apparently the scrolls themselves - if we reject Barbara Thiering's work and others who have disputed the official interpretations - are going to bring these questions to bare. I feel that we need a more universal Religion rather than the continuation of the status quo religions, which prepetuate the divisive, tribal nature of humanity.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introductory material
Review: This book is one stop shopping for an overview of the content within the scrolls as well as the politics and egos involved in getting the complete translations released with commentary. While it doesn't contain the greatest amount of direct translation, what book could? Thousands of scroll fragments sort of get in the way. This book is a GREAT place to start. The author presents an unbiased view that isn't slanted to Anti-Zionist, Anti-Christian, or even Anti-Liberal viewpoints. I enjoyed it very, very much. Hats off!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introductory material
Review: This book was well written and explained the real mystery and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The history of how they were found and the politics behind the release of information by the discoverers and the experts studying the scrolls themselves. It is sad to think that politics and ego seperated the lay person from the benefits of the Dead Sea Scrolls for so many years.

Rating:
Summary: Good book but left me wanting more.
Review: This book was well written and explained the real mystery and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The history of how they were found and the politics behind the release of information by the discoverers and the experts studying the scrolls themselves. It is sad to think that politics and ego seperated the lay person from the benefits of the Dead Sea Scrolls for so many years.