Revealing insights on the religious views of the Dead Sea Scrolls.The Dead Sea Scrolls have profoundly changed the way we think about the Bible. But what is the religion found in the Scrolls the
Revealing insights on the religious views of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls have profoundly changed the way we think about the Bible. But what is the religion found in the Scrolls themselves? This book provides a much-needed assessment of several major aspects of the religion of the Dead Sea Scrolls in light of recent publications. Eight leading experts explore the concept of divinity in the Scrolls, the Scrolls' relation to important halakic issues, the question of Hellenistic influence in the Scrolls, and the apocalypticism and messianism specific to the Scrolls.
Contributors:" John J. Collins
Craig A. Evans
Hannah K. Harrington
Martin Hengel
Robert A. Kugler
Timothy H. Lim
Eileen Schuller
James C. VanderKam"
The Jerusalem Post
"Will be of interest to those who follow the scholarly and theological controversies surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls."
Theology
"The most important early synthesis of the theology of the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls was by Helmer Ringgren, whose book The Faith of Qumran: Theology of the Dead Sea Scrolls first appeared in English in 1963. . . A new era of scrolls scholarship is now under way and Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls, deliberately written in dialogue with Ringgren's work, represents an important first step in the reconsideration of the religious and theological significance of the scrolls. . . There is a large amount of suggestive material in these essays for all those who are concerned with Palestinian Judaism in the late second temple period or the background of the New Testament."
The Expository Times
"This collection of essays is not an exhaustive treatment of religion at Qumran. Nonetheless, in those areas covered, it provides an informative and up-to-date survey. The collection is particularly valuable in integrating insights from the more recently published texts into an overall understanding of the religious ideology that formed the basis of life for the Dead Sea Community."
Currents in Theology & Mission
"Pastors will find this an illuminative volume which will perhaps make them pay attention to aspects of Jesus' teaching that they might otherwise overlook. . . A very good collection."
Eugene Ulrich
— University of Notre Dame
"This is a rich collection of essays on the religion embedded in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Authored by a group of first-rate scholars, it is a welcome and much-needed update on Ringgren's Faith of Qumran, incorporating, as it does, the wealth of newly published texts."
George J. Brooke
— University of Manchester
"An important milestone in Dead Sea Scrolls studies. Here we have the first serious attempt, since the general release of all the unpublished fragments in 1991, to consider in a comprehensive way the various religious perspectives to be found in the whole body of evidence or exemplary parts of it. Though there is much more yet to be said on the topics raised here, and indeed on others not included, in many ways these essays will set the agenda for future discussion."
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