The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

PREFACE
THE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON SECOND TEMPLE
JUDAISM AND “CHRISTIAN ORIGINS”
The Dead Sea Scrolls (or Qumran Scrolls) comprise about eight hundred
documents. These scrolls are actual leather or papyrus manuscripts that
Jews held and read over two thousand years ago. All the Qumran Scrolls
were hidden before 68 C.E., and they were discovered between the winter
of 1947 (Cave 1) and February 1956 (Cave 11), in eleven caves on the
northwestern shores of the Dead Sea.
Conceivably, some of the leather scrolls containing portions of the
Hebrew Scriptures may have been read liturgically in the Jerusalem
Temple. Many of the Qumran Scrolls were certainly the focus of intense
study when the Temple was the center of Jewish worship and sacrifice
(note the edges of the rolled Isaiah Scroll with stains left by hands of those
who held and read aloud from it). Sometimes when I hold a Dead Sea
Scroll—or a fragment of one that is all but lost—I pause and try to imagine
the Jew who held it before me. What was his life like about two thousand
years ago? What were his fears? What were his dreams? Were they
so different from my own?
In these three volumes, you will hear from Jews, Roman Catholics,
and Protestants. All are eminent scholars and teach in many of the elite
universities in the world. From their own independent research, these
luminaries in various ways attempt to share with you why they have
become convinced that the Dead Sea Scrolls are essential for understanding
Second Temple Judaism (i.e., the distinct forms of Judaism we
find in Hillel and Jesus) and the emergence of a sect of Jews who would
later be labeled “Christians.”
This multivolume work entitled The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls contains
the revised lectures presented at Princeton Theological Seminary.
These volumes reflect the high level of discoveries and new perceptions
that have emerged after fifty years of research focused on the Dead Sea
Scrolls. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are by the contributors,
leading experts in editing and translating the Dead Sea Scrolls.
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