The Scepter and the Star (Anchor Bible Reference)

The first and only book to explore the concept of  the Messiah in light of the radical new evidence  just discovered in the recently released Dead Sea  Scrolls. Recent figures in the news, such as the  self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh of the Branch  Davidians, and the prophetic Orthodox Rabbi  Menachem Schneerson, are confounding reminders of the  forceful vitality of messianism in the modern world.  They are also sobering indicators that  contemporary society needs to take seriously and understand  the messianic mind set. In The Scepter  And The Star, biblical scholar John J.  Collins unearths the seeds of messianic thought in  the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other ancient  literature.Many of Collins's conclusions hinge on  his recent discovery of profoundly important  material in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1991, nearly fifty  years after they were originally folind, the  entire collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls was finally  released to the public. Collins was one of the  first scholars to examine the scrolls and realized  that they contained enormously significant messianic  texts. The Scepter And The Star  Will be the first scholarly work to explore fully  the impact this new evidence has on our  understanding of Jewish apocalypticism and messianism. In  addition, Collins examines the crucial links and  similarities between Jewish and Christian models of  the messiah. How did Jewish communities, living in  the turbulent century before the birth of Christ,  envision the end of time? Did Jewish messianic  figures influence the development of the Christian  Messiah? Here, in careful detail and cogerit,  accessible analysis, Collins explains the birth of  messianic thought and its repercussions for Jews and  Christians alike in ancient--as well as  modern-times.

John J. Collins is Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Chicago Divinity School.