The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered: The First Complete Translation and Interpretation of 50 Key Documents Withheld for Over 35 Years - Hardcover

Eisenman, Robert H. And Michael Wise

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156619623X ISBN 13: 9781566196239

Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994

Synopsis

Placed in caves almost 2000 years ago and not discovered until 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide a unique insight into Jewish and Christian origins. They have held a fascination over academics, religious leaders, and the lay public alike for the last forty-five years. From 1952, when a team of scholars was appointed and Cave 4 at Qumran was discovered - from which the materials in this book are drawn - they have been under the control of an elite and secretive clique. However, in the autumn of 1991, this monopoly was effectively broken when the Huntington Library in California announced it would allow public access to its collection of Dead Sea Scrolls photographs. This was soon followed by the publication of a Facsimile Edition by the Biblical Archaeology Society in Washington D.C. Robert Eisenman was integrally involved in both events, and with Michael Wise had been working behind the scenes on the unpublished photographs for some time. Their discovery of a tiny Scroll fragment of six lines referring to the execution of or by a Messianic Leader plunged them into a long-running debate. Scholars previously controlling access to the Scrolls had been publically contending that there was nothing interesting in the remaining unpublished Scrolls and nothing throwing further light on Christianity's rise in Palestine. The conclusions of Professor Eisenman and Professor Wise gainsay and challenge these views. The present work is the result. For the first time the public will be able to see the most interesting and exciting texts from the unpublished corpus and judge for itself. Providing precise English translations and complete transcriptions into modern Hebrew characters, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered makes generally available in a clear and accessible style fifty of the best texts. Accompanied by incisive and readable commentaries aimed at both lay person and scholar alike, these texts provide exciting and ground-breaking insights into Messianism, an alternative p

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Hebrew

From Library Journal

The continuing interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls is due in part to the controversy surrounding their interpretation. Specifically, attention is focused upon the importance of previously unpublished texts in reconstructing the history of early Christianity. Some say there is little or nothing of interest in the remaining fragments; others insist that they are of monumental importance. By far the largest cache of these fragments is the one discovered in Qumran cave 4, from which authors Eisenman (Middle East religions, California State Univ.-Long Beach) and Wise (Near Eastern languages and civilization, Univ. of Chicago) have reconstructed 50 texts. For each text, they have provided a transcription into modern Hebrew characters, a translation, and commentary on the text's significance. Significantly, these documents indicate a close relationship between the Zealot Qumran community and the Jewish Christian community under the leadership of James, the brother of Jesus. While the authors must be given due credit for making more of the scroll material available, their conclusions are tentative. Recommended for seminary and academic religion collections.
- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 156619623X
• ISBN 13: 9781566196239
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 286