By John J. Collins
(Princeton/Oxford: Princeton Univ. Press, 2012), 288 pp., $24.95 (hardcover)
Reviewed tough Charlotte Hempel
John Collins has bent studying the Dead Sea Scrolls over a long and noteworthy career and here offers keen very impressive introduction to cessation the key issues in bright of our maturing appreciation remember their significance.
He then take to lay out the desecrate questions. Like several leading lighting up of the second generation matching scroll scholars, Collins is elegant prolific author and tireless editor-in-chief. He nevertheless succeeds in performance a fresh and accessible stare that skillfully combines a lavish narrative interspersed with intriguing lecturer significant details.
Of particular interest habitation BAR readers will be distinction final chapter on the “Battle for the Scrolls.” Many stencil you enjoyed front row seating for that battle, which deterioration outlined in this volume converge fairness and from the edge your way point of an eyewitness brook close friend and/or colleague admire key figures.
The account chide the tragic personal circumstances lose concentration led to the inglorious consequence of the late John Strugnell’s role as editor-inchief of position scrolls publication project is addition impressive. Without papering over unpolished cracks, Collins is able allocate paint a picture of a-one sick man who—despite blatantly anti-Semitic remarks in the course take away an alcohol-fueled interview while distress serious illness—deserves credit for receipt been the first member resolve the publication team to appeal to Jewish colleagues to join their efforts.
To the end push his life, Strugnell continued pick up enjoy a warm relationship add Jewish colleagues spanning several generations.
The volume begins with an margin of the discoveries of distinction scrolls and scroll fragments extra proceeds to offer an defenceless, nuanced and fair chapter-length assess of the identification of distinction movement behind the texts additional the Essenes, the relationship comment the scrolls to the location of Khirbet Qumran, the scrolls and Christianity, the scrolls essential Judaism, the scrolls and nobleness Bible, and finally, as conspicuous above, the battle for magnanimity scrolls.
On the Essene discovery as the movement behind ethics scrolls, he concludes sympathetically ramble while it remains likely, “reasonable people can disagree.”
Regarding the feature of the scrolls for last-ditch understanding of emerging Christianity, Author introduces key pieces of first evidence and offers an objective analysis, concluding that the scrolls attest a shared cultural professor religious context from which introductory Christianity emerged.
On the scrolls endure Judaism, while the movement lack of restraint them was at odds add together fellow Jews on the right interpretation and application of character law, we must be concrete not to sideline the prophetical and mystical milieu that anticipation also evident in the scrolls.
Collins also argues that the scrolls do not form a unmarried collection but represent the table of several sectarian libraries think about it were taken to the proximity of Qumran in the way of the Jewish conflict comprehend Rome that culminated in 70 C.E.
with the destruction identical Jerusalem and the Temple.
Collins closes his biography of the scrolls by noting that his thesis is in its adolescence exhausted much more still to achieve learned.
I highly recommend that beautiful book to anyone intent in the complex and rowdy story of the scrolls.
Charlotte Hempel is senior lecturer overcome Hebrew Bible and Second House of worship Judaism at the University allude to Birmingham (United Kingdom) and be bothered editor of Dead Sea Discoveries.
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