Since their initial discovery more than sixty years ago, the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided a wealth of information to scholars from a variety of disciplines. With his latest book, Peter W. Flint synthesizes some of the most important knowledge about the scrolls for the amateur scholar.

Discovered in the Judean Wilderness in the mid-1940s, the Dead Sea scrolls consist of a little over one thousand different scrolls or fragments. They reflect the life and practice of a Jewish sect called the Essenes who lived at Qumran from about 250 BCE to 68 CE, when Roman soldiers sacked and occupied the site. The Dead Sea Scrolls also include writings from other wilderness locations, including the fortress of Masada.

The importance of the scrolls is difficult to overstate. Many of them give instructions for ordering community life, opening new windows into first century Judaism. Through the scrolls themselves and the archaeological excavations of the Qumran site, scholars have found many answers as to how this community lived, and along with them plenty of mysteries yet to be solved.

Of greatest interest to religious readers, however, are the scrolls from the modern Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). They represent the oldest copies of Scripture currently known, predating the Leningrad Codex and Aleppo Codex by a millennium or more. The scrolls represent all three biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and include textual variants such as the Samaritan Pentateuch.

The collected writings indicate to us what texts were considered most important for preservation by the Qumran community. Numerous copies of each of the books of the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Daniel, and several others were preserved, including thirty-nine copies each of Psalms and Deuteronomy at the Qumran site.

Flint also details various New Testament connections among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although none of the writings speak directly of Jesus of any other early Christian leaders, many of them contain allusions to concepts—such as the Holy Spirit and a messiah—that would be central to later Christian thought. These, according to Flint, show that these New Testament ideas were not fabricated by a later church, as some have asserted, but were already in play in First Century Palestine.

Given its academic focus, The Dead Sea Scrolls might best be considered a reference book for Bible study. The author’s prose is clear, but short on narrative to move his subject along. Still, Flint is able to convey a tremendous amount of information through several short, meticulously outlined sections and a plethora of summary tables.

Peter Flint’s expertise in Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship is clearly on display in this book, which should make a helpful addition to the library of any serious student of the Bible.

Reviewed by Eric Van Meter

 

The Dead Sea Scrolls

 

By Peter W. Flint

 

ISBN 9780687494491

 

                Since their initial discovery more than sixty years ago, the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided a wealth of information to scholars from a variety of disciplines. With his latest book, Peter W. Flint synthesizes some of the most important knowledge about the scrolls for the amateur scholar.

                Discovered in the Judean Wilderness in the mid-1940s, the Dead Sea scrolls consist of a little over one thousand different scrolls or fragments. They reflect the life and practice of a Jewish sect called the Essenes who lived at Qumran from about 250BCE to 68CE, when Roman soldiers sacked and occupied the site. The Dead Sea Scrolls also include writings from other wilderness locations, including the fortress of Masada.

                The importance of the scrolls is difficult to overstate. Many of them give instructions for ordering community life, opening new windows into first century Judaism. Through the scrolls themselves and the archaeological excavations of the Qumran site, scholars have found many answers as to how this community lived, and along with them plenty of mysteries yet to be solved.

                Of greatest interest to religious readers, however, are the scrolls from the modern Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). They represent the oldest copies of Scripture currently known, predating the Leningrad Codex and Aleppo Codex by a millennium or more. The scrolls represent all three biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and include textual variants such as the Samaritan Pentateuch.

                The collected writings indicate to us what texts were considered most important for preservation by the Qumran community. Numerous copies of each of the books of the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Daniel, and several others were preserved, including thirty-nine copies each of Psalms and Deuteronomy at the Qumran site.

                Flint also details various New Testament connections among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although none of the writings speak directly of Jesus of any other early Christian leaders, many of them contain allusions to concepts—such as the Holy Spirit and a messiah—that would be central to later Christian thought. These, according to Flint, show that these New Testament ideas were not fabricated by a later church, as some have asserted, but were already in play in First Century Palestine.

                Given its academic focus, The Dead Sea Scrolls might best be considered a reference book for bible study. The author’s prose is clear, but short on narrative to move his subject along. Still, Flint is able to convey a tremendous amount of information through several short, meticulously outlined sections and a plethora of summary tables.

                Peter Flint’s expertise in Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship is clearly on display in this book, which should make a helpful addition to the library of any serious student of the Bible.