Showing papers on "Dead Sea Scrolls published in 2006"

Satan: A Biography

Abstract: List of illustrations List of abbreviations Introduction Part I. Hebrew Backgrounds: 1. The Old Testament 2. Apocryphal works and the Dead Sea Scrolls Part II. The New Testament: Satan Comes Into His Own: 3. St Paul, the first Christian writer 4. The four Gospels 5. Later Epistles 6. The apocalypse of John the Divine 7. Putting the New Testament together: a composite portrait of Satan in canonical order Part III. Satan and Adam: 8. Satan's original sin: felling Adam Part IV. The Rise of the Fallen Lucifer: 9. Lucifer and the new biography of Satan 10. Satan and the human race 11. Theorizing Satan 12. Satan in literature and art Part V. Satan in the Modern World: 13. Temptation and possession 14. Doubts and affirmations Summary and conclusion Index of passages General index.

The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran: A History of Interpretation

Abstract: The observation of the Jubilee Year 2000 by many Christian groups worldwide generated renewed interest in the theological, historical, and socio-economic aspects of the biblical jubilee. This book begins with an analysis of the historical origins of the jubilee institution in ancient Israel, and then traces the reinterpretation of the jubilee and the text of Leviticus 25 through the Old Testament, the Second Temple literature, and the Qumran documents. It demonstrates that, with the passage of time, the socio-economic implementation of the jubilee is increasingly de-emphasized in favor of an eschatological interpretation, in which the jubilee itself functions as a type of the final age, and cycles of jubilee years are employed to calculate when this age will arrive.

Discerning Wisdom: The Sapiential Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Abstract: Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, "Ben Sira" was the only Hebrew wisdom text from the late Second Temple period. The Qumran scrolls provide an abundance of previously unknown Hebrew sapiential material. "Discerning Wisdom" provides a systematic overview of all the Qumran texts that are commonly identified as wisdom compositions. This literature raises issues such as the incorporation of apocalypticism and Torah piety into the sapiential tradition. The Dead Sea Scrolls offer crucial evidence for understanding the wisdom of the late Second Temple period and the reception of traditional wisdom in Early Judaism.

Washing in Water: Trajectories of Ritual Bathing in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature

Abstract: Although most scholars recognize that Christian baptism is related to Jewish ritual bathing, many assume that Christians transformed and rejected Jewish bathing practices. To correct this overly simplistic view, Lawrence mines archaeological and textual materials to outline a larger context for Jewish and Christian bathing. Using archaeological data from Jerusalem, Judea, Qumran, and the Galilee, as well as his own close reading of the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other Second Temple literature, Lawrence identifies a spectrum of functions ritual, metaphorical, or initiatory that bathing served during the Second Temple period. He thus offers a new approach to the study of ritual bathing and suggests that, despite the polemics of later Christian and Jewish texts, the earliest Christians drew on a tradition shared with the Qumran community and other Jewish groups, in which each group chose its own emphases for ritual bathing. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature.

Purity and the Dead Sea Scrolls—Current Issues:

Abstract: The subject of purity in early Judaism has fascinated modern scholars and proved to be a particularly fruitful vein of study in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The recovery, transcription and publication of numerous fragments of texts over the last two decades have changed the portrait of the Scrolls and the communities behind them from what was previously envisaged. To the original characterization of the sectarian Scrolls as the work of pious monks awaiting the eschaton, we can now detect a strong emphasis on Jewish law throughout these texts. Matters of purity and cult form the majority of these laws.

The Ladder of Jacob: Ancient Interpretations of the Biblical Story of Jacob and His Children

Abstract: Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi Chapter One: Jacob and the Bible's Ancient Interpreters 1 Chapter Two: The Ladder of Jacob 9 Chapter Three: The Rape of Dinah, and Simeon and Levi's Revenge 36 Chapter Four: Reuben's Sin with Bilhah 81 Chapter Five: How Levi Came to Be a Priest 115 Chapter Six: Judah and the Trial of Tamar 169 Chapter Seven: A Prayer about Jacob and Israel from the Dead Sea Scrolls 186 Notes 223 Subject Index 263 Hebrew Bible Index 271 Index of Motifs Studied 276

The Recent Debate on Late Biblical Hebrew: Solid Data, Experts' Opinions, and Inconclusive Arguments

Abstract: It is widely recognized that the sixth century B.C.E. marks a significant turning point in the history of Biblical Hebrew. The books written after this point reveal new linguistic features whose appearance reflects far-reaching modifications in the structure of the language. These neologisms , attested in grammar, lexicon, and syntax, are entirely lacking in Standard Biblical Hebrew, but are common in Post-Biblical Hebrew sources (Dead Sea Scrolls, Ben-Sira, Rabbinic Literature) and in the Aramaic dialects of the post-exilic period (Imperial Aramaic, Nabatean, etc.). Consequently, the dominant view prevailing among biblical philologists and Hebrew linguists specializing in the history of Biblical Hebrew is to classify them as post-classical features. In recent years, however, a dissenting thesis against this diachronic research has been voiced, minimizing—if not denying altogether—the existence of a chronological factor in the history of Biblical Hebrew. This paper seeks to examine the validity of the said non-diachronic approach.

Resurrection: The Origin and Future of a Biblical Doctrine

Abstract: Series Description List of Abbreviations Chapter 1:Where Does the Concept of Resurrection Appear and How Do We Know That? James H. Charlesworth Chapter 2: Resurrection of the Dead: Exploring Our Earliest Evidence Today C.D. Elledge Chapter 3: Love Is Stronger than Death: Intimations of Life Beyond the Grave James L. Crenshaw Chapter 4: The Resurrection Passages of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: Hope for Israel in Early Judaism and Christianity C.D. Elledge Chapter 5: The Meaning of Christ's Resurrection in Paul Hendrikus Boers Chapter 6: Resurrection: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament James H. Charlesworth Chapter 7: A Theology of Resurrection: Its Meaning for Us, Jesus, and God W. Waite Willis, Jr. Conclusion James H. Charlesworth Selected Bibliography Index of Ancient Writings Index of Authors and Subjects.

Angels and demons in the Book of Jubilees and contemporary apocalypses

Abstract: Todd Hanneken (see profile) 2006 Ancient Jew Review, Biblical Studies Jewish apocalyptic literature, Dead Sea scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, Angels, Genre Article Book of Jubilees http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6RJ48T6Z The apocalypse literary genre creates a reader expectation of the apocalyptic worldview. The Book of Jubilees uses the apocalypse genre to express a worldview that diverges significantly from the cluster of views typically conveyed by the apocalypse genre. This paper focuses on one aspect of the genre and the worldview. The Book of Jubilees uses features of the apocalypse genre on the spatial axis, including the origins and function of angels and demons, but departs from the apocalyptic worldview by denying their significance for Israel. Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees and Contemporary Apocalypses Author(s): Date: Group(s): Subject(s):

What Becomes of the Angels' "Wives"? A Text-Critical Study of 1 Enoch 19:2

Abstract: (ProQuest Information and Learning: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) It has long been noted that the Enochic corpus preserves a distinctive story concerning the origin of evil, an account that is known only partially from Genesis 6.1 Enochic works tell the story of angels who forsake their heavenly dwelling in order to mate with women. The union of angels and mortals results in bloodthirsty giants who scar the earth and abuse its inhabitants. The angels, or watchers as they are called, also contribute to humanity's decline by introducing all sorts of forbidden arts. Although these angels come to be imprisoned at the ends of the earth, their spirits continue to wreak havoc by inciting humans to commit idolatry (see 1 En. 19:1). Yet what of the women who associated with the watchers? As if an afterthought, I En. 19:2 briefly recounts the fate of these women as well. According to the Greek manuscript tradition, the wives of the angels who transgressed are to become sirens, mythological creatures often associated with seduction. The Ethiopie manuscripts preserve another reading, however: the wives of the angels are to become peaceful. Which of the readings that concern the women is preferable? A related matter is that since the Aramaic is no longer extant for 1 En. 19:2, one must also consider what the text in its language of composition featured in place of the Greek and Ge'ez variants. The task is a worthy one. We have the opportunity to take up a provocative textcritical issue, one that has not been addressed at length by contemporary exegetes, by examining the interpretative possibilities for the Greek and Ge'ez manuscript readings and their fit within the narrative. In this context we also explore a third possibility for the text of 1 En. 19:2, an Aramaic reading prior to both the Greek and Ge'ez that is now lost to us. Further, the study also calls attention to the depiction of female characters in the narrative, an aspect of the work that in turn might provide further information about the role of women or the status of women in the community that preserved such literature. It is of interest that the wives' outcome has been curiously ignored in second Temple and late antique works that do offer colorful expansions of Enochic texts and traditions, many of which concern the fate of the fallen watchers. What becomes of the watchers' wives, and how does the matter affect our reading of the narrative and the view of women in this Enochic booklet? Discussion of these text-critical matters merits a review of the book's history. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars know that the work we refer to as the Book of the Watchers was originally produced in Aramaic.2 Indeed, based on the number of copies of this text and others from the Enochic corpus, the literature attributed to or associated with Enoch was apparently quite popular at Qumran.3 Although the Aramaic text is extant for much of the Book of the Watchers, nothing from 1 Enoch 19 has been recovered from Qumran.4 I Enoch 19 was preserved, however, in Greek in a codex found in the grave of a Coptic monk; we refer to this manuscript tradition, from the fourth or fifth century, as Panopolitanus, after the codex's provenance in Egypt.5 The consensus view is that the Greek of 1 Enoch is a translation of an Aramaic copy.6 The Book of the Watchers and the whole of the corpus commonly referred to as 1 Enoch are also preserved in Ge'Cz. There are, in fact, several manuscript traditions in Ethiopie, primarily related to one of two families.7 Though there has been some robust discussion as to whether the Ethiopie translators had access to Enochic literature in Aramaic, it is widely acknowledged that a Greek copy was the primary textual basis for the Geez.8 Since the Aramaic for 1 En. 19:2 is not extant, I necessarily rely on Panopolitanus and various Ethiopie manuscript traditions. Inasmuch as the Greek version of the Book of the Watchers offers the earliest, most complete text, one might be inclined to prefer its readings. …

From 4QMMT to Resurrection. Mélanges qumraniens en hommage à Émile Puech

Abstract: This volume consists of nineteen essays, written by internationally renowned scholars such as George Brooke, John Collins, Heinz-Josef Fabry, Andre Lemaire, Julio Trebolle, Emanuel Tov, James VanderKam and others, presented to Emile Puech, palaeographer and Dead Sea Scrolls specialist, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. All contributions deal with aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including fundamental essays on 4QMMT by Steudel, Kratz and Berthelot, and two papers on resurrection and afterlife. Other essays are concerned with textual criticism and the Hebrew Bible, the Astronomical Enoch, the Admonitions of Qahat, 4QInstruction, and Isaac in the Scrolls. This volume will be indispensable for scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and of interest for scholars of Bible and Second Temple Judaism.

Opening the Sealed Book: Interpretations of the Book of Isaiah in Late Antiquity

Abstract: Of all the texts in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, perhaps no book has a more colorful history of interpretation than Isaiah. A comprehensive history of this interpretation between the prophet Malachi and the first days of Christianity, Joseph Blenkinsopp's "Opening the Sealed Book" traces three different prophetic traditions in Isaiah - the "man of God," the critic of social structures, and the apocalyptic seer. Blenkinsopp explores the place of Isaiah in Jewish sectarianism, at Qumran, and among early Christians, touching on a number of its themes, including exile, "the remnant of Israel," martyrdom, and "the servant of the Lord." Encompassing several disciplines - hermeneutics, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple studies, Christian origins - "Opening the Sealed Book" will appeal to Jewish and Christian scholars as well as readers fascinated by the intricate and influential prophetic visions of Isaiah.

Physiognomic Knowledge in Qumran and Babylonia: Form, Interdisciplinarity, and Secrecy

Abstract: This article is limited to a comparison of some aspects of two texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q186 and 4Q561) with some features of the Babylonian physiognomic tradition. The primary goal is not to establish a generic relationship of dependence, such as has been done, for example, for the DSS calendar texts or the Astronomical Book of 1 Enoch. A comparative approach helps to appreciate certain features of the Qumran texts better, but due to constraints of space, must here be limited to the Babylonian texts. I discuss three issues: (1) the form and structure of the texts, (2) the combination of and relationship between physiognomics and astrology, and (3) the status of physiognomic learning and inverted and mixed writing.

Pre-Maccabean Literature from the Qumran Library and the Hebrew Bible

Abstract: In 11 caves in the vicinity of Khirbet Qumran, a treasure of ancient Jewish literature was found. The Qumran library provides new insights into the religion and culture of Ancient Judaism. The Dead Sea Scrolls in general and the Qumran manuscripts in particular are among the most important collections of ancient manuscripts ever found. With regard to its significance for the understanding of the Hebrew Bible, the Qumran library has mostly been analyzed in three respects: 1) The text critical analysis of the biblical manuscripts from Qumran provide new insights into the textual history of biblical books.' 2) The exegetical and paratextual literature (otherwise called parabiblical literature) from the Qumran library documents the interpretative history of biblical books in Hellenistic times.2 3) The Hebrew and Aramaic of the

The Qumran Cemetery: 150 Years of Research

Abstract: Any satisfactory interpretation of the site of Khirbet Qumran must take into account the large cemetery just east of it. Indeed, just by virtue of the physical proximity of the ruins and the cemetery, as by their lay-outs which are mutually adapted one to the other, the relationship between the two demands an explanation.' But an accurate assessment of the whole can only be attained when each part has first been properly understood. While for many years, scholars were dependent solely upon Father Roland de Vaux's excavations from the forties and fifties, in recent years there have been several new excavations, in the site itself as well as in the cemetery, which can now be used to complement our knowledge about Khirbet Qumran. And most recently, new anthropological studies on de Vaux' excavations have just been published.2 The present paper will focus on the cemetery, first by summarizing the results of all the work conducted in the cemetery, including that of the past five years, and second by offering some tentative conclusions as to the nature of the burials within it.

Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Armenian studies : collected papers

Abstract: These volumes comprise a collection of papers by Michael E. Stone, written over a period of 35 years. Stone is a leading scholar in two different fields of research, the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period including the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Armenian Studies. So this collection includes essays relating to the origins and nature of the Apocryphal literature and its relationship with the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as more specific studies devoted to themes that have interested Stone throughout his career, including Messianism, 4 Ezra, Adam and Eve, and Aramaic Levi Document. His Armenian interests have embraced the Armenian Biblical text, Armenian pilgrimage to and presence in the Holy Land and Armenian paleography and epigraphy. Papers included in the volumes, some of which were originally published in obscure venues, touch on all these themes. A number of previously unpublished papers are included.

Rabbinic perspectives : rabbinic literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls : proceedings of the eighth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, 7-9 January, 2003

Abstract: The studies in this volume examine the intersection of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" with early rabbinic literature. This is a particularly rich area for comparative study, which has not heretofore received sufficient scholarly attention. While some of the contributions in this volume focus on specific comparative case studies, others address far-reaching issues of historical and comparative methodology. Particular attention is paid to questions of the nature of sectarian and rabbinic law, and how each may elucidate the other. These studies model the directions that need to be pursued in future scholarship on the lines of continuity and discontinuity that connect and differentiate these two literary corpora and their respective religious cultures and social structures.

The Dead Sea scrolls electronic library

Abstract: This is a new and comprehensive electronic reference work on "The Dead Sea Scrolls". It is prepared by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. "The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS)" probably represent the most significant manuscript discovery in recent history. These ancient texts have revolutionized the field of biblical and Judaic studies, and they have become an indispensable source for scholars and students alike. Although most of the texts have been published in some form or other, scholars have now only begun to grasp the true meaning and relevance of the scrolls for our understanding of ancient Judaism, the transmission of the biblical texts, and the origins of Christianity. This third volume of the DSS CD-ROM gives a more complete coverage of all of the published DSS materials, including scrolls published in 2004 and 2005. Anyone using the CD-ROM will be able to access texts, images and reference materials quickly and efficiently. The combination of a powerful text search engine and sophisticated image-manipulating software will enable scholars and students unparalleled research possibilities. A major new feature is the addition of morphological analysis to all of the texts. This data gives glosses and part of speech analysis for each word in the database. The database is powered by version 7 of WordCruncher[registered]. This version is fully Unicode compatible, meaning that you can cut and paste from the database into Microsoft Word etc. The software makes full accommodation of the features of the Hebrew language, by allowing users to search for Hebrew words according to their root forms. The database has an improved image set. Many images have been replaced with higher resolution copies, additional images have been included, and each fragment or scroll image is individually labelled.

Out of the Cave: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Dead Sea Scrolls Research

Abstract: More than 50 years ago the discovery of scrolls in eleven caves beside the Dead Sea ignited the imagination of the world - and launched a vast academic field. Expectations abounded that the scrolls would reveal actual contemporaneous accounts of the birth of Christianity, perhaps even of the life of Jesus. The research that followed - its inner logic, and what its impassioned and often highly controversial theories reveal about the framing of facts and the interpreting of texts - is what interests philosopher Edna Ullmann-Margalit in this thoroughly absorbing book. Since the inception of Dead Sea Scrolls research, a central theory has emerged. Known as the Qumran-Essene Hypothesis, it asserts that the scrolls belonged to the Essenes, a sect whose centre was at the nearby site of Qumran. In "Out of the Cave", Ullmann-Margalit focuses on this theory and the vicissitudes of its career. Looking at the Essene connection, the archaeology of Qumran, and the sectarian nature of the scrolls community, she explores the different arenas, and ways, in which contesting theories of the scrolls do battle. In this context, she finds fascinating examples of issues that exercise philosophers of science as well as the general public - issues that only amplify the already intrinsic interest of the Dead Sea scrolls.

Prayers that cite Scripture

Abstract: In the beginning, prayers were straightforward: people turned to God and asked for help. By the closing centuries of the biblical period, however, a change became observable. Prayers now began to include references to Scripture--allusions to biblical stories in which God had answered a prayer, or the evocation of specific biblical passages, or the recycling of biblical phrases in the creation of a new prayer. This process, the "Scripturalization of prayer," grew in intensity and refinement as Judaism moved from the biblical period to early post-biblical times. It is attested throughout the prayers found in the biblical apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and early piyyut, and it continued apace in the liturgical compositions of the Geonic period and still later times. This collection of essays seeks to chart the main lines of the Scripturalization of prayer over this entire period.

The nativity : history and legend

Abstract: In "The Nativity: History and Legend" Geza Vermes penetrates the deeper meanings of the New Testament story that evolved into the festival we call Christmas. The Nativity is at the very heart of the Christian tradition. But what truth lies behind the Christmas story as we know it? Where does history end and legend begin? Here Geza Vermes, the world's most respected Biblical historian, examines what really happened when, according to Church liturgy, Jesus was born on the 25 December. Taking us through the main events surrounding the Nativity: the prophetic star, the virgin and the holy spirit, the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, the miraculous birth in a stable, the arrival of the magi and the murderous decree of King Herod, Vermes puts the story in its real historical context. He sifts through all the evidence - examining the New Testament Infancy Gospels of Matthew and Luke as well as parallel Jewish documents and sources from classical literature and history - to separate morsels of fact from centuries of legendary accretions. "The greatest Jesus scholar of his generation". ("Sunday Telegraph"). Geza Vermes is director of the Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. His books, published by Penguin, include "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English", "The Story of the Scrolls" and "The Changing Faces of Jesus" as well as the 'Jesus' trilogy: "Nativity", "Passion" and "Resurrection".

"Happy the one who meditates on wisdom" (SIR. 14,20) : collected essays on the Book of Ben Sira

Abstract: The last four decades have seen a substantial progress in the study of the Book of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) on the literary, historical, theological, and sociological level The discovery of the Hebrew Ben Sira Scroll at Masada in 1964 and the find of Hebrew Ben Sira fragments among the Dead Sea Scrolls were crucial landmarks to encourage serious investigation into this deuterocanonical document Nowadays the Book of Ben Sira, which originates from the early second Century BCE, is recognized more and more as being an outstanding document of Jewish wisdom literature and an important link between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament Following a general introduction into the major topics of recent Ben Sira research, this volume offers a detailed study of several passages that are crucial to the book's history, its content and structure Important theological issues, such as 'canon and scripture', 'prophets and prophecy', 'theodicee', and 'God's mercy', are discussed as well This study concludes with some essays relating to the Hebrew text(s) of the Book of Ben Sira

Biblical interpretation in Judaism and Christianity

Abstract: I. Jewish Exegesis through the Generations 1. Francis Landy, The Temple in the Story of the Akedah (Genesis 22) 2. Ehud Ben Zvi, Revisiting "Boiling in Fire" (2 Chr 35:13) and Related Passover Questions Text: Exegetical Needs, Concerns and General Implications 3. Alan Cooper, On the Typology of Jewish Psalms Interpretation 4. Moshe Aberbach and Isaac Kalimi, Targumic and Midrashic Exegesis in Contradiction to the Peshat of Biblical Text 5. Rimmon Kasher, The Palestinian Targums to Genesis 4:8 - A New Approach to an Old Controversy 6. Rivka B. Kern Ulmer, Visions of Egypt in Midrash: 'Pharaoh's Birthday' and the 'Nile Festival' 7. Steven Fine, The United Colors of the Menorah: Some Byzantine and Medieval Perspectives on the Biblical Lampstand 8. Herbert W. Basser, Kabbalistic Teaching in the Commentary of Job by Moses Nahmanides II. Jewish Exegesis and Christianity 9. Lawrence H. Schiffman, Biblical Exegesis in the Passion Narratives and the Dead Sea Scrolls 10. J. Harold Ellens, Exegesis of Second Temple Texts in a Fourth Gospel Son of Man Logion. 11. John T. Townsend, Christianity in Rabbinic Literature III. Jewish Bible Translation and Exegesis, and Modern Biblical Study 12. Frederick E. Greenspahn, Why Jews Translate the Bible? 13. Alan Levenson, The Rise of Modern Jewish Bible Studies: Preliminary Reflections 14. Tirzah Meacham, Review of Isaac Kalimi, Early Jewish Exegesis and Theological Controversy 15. Isaac Kalimi, Jewish Theological and Exegetical Approaches to the Hebrew Bible: A Response to T. Meacham.