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The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus
The incredible discoveries at Qumran are unveiled in this compelling volume by one of the world's foremost experts on biblical archaeology and the ancient Qumran community. Drawing on the best of current research and a thorough knowledge of all the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hartmut Stegemann analyzes the purpose of the Qumran settlement, paints a picture of how daily life was carried on there, explores the relation of the Qumran community to John the Baptist, to Jesus, and to early Christianity, and uncovers the true nature of the Qumran writings, which continue to have a profound impact on biblical studies today
- GenresBiblical Studies
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 14, 2012
I am not sure how valuable my assessment of the material will be in light of the fact that this is my first introduction to Qumran. I can say that as reader who has little to no background in this material I found it to be informative and engaging.
Dr. Stegemann gives a great introduction to the finds themselves and sets up the story for analysis. As a historian with a minor in anthropology I appreciate the way that he moves through the story with a very level-headed approach to the subject. He really lays out the nuts and bolts of the finds in a meticulous way. While it can be a little dry in parts he does keep short for the most part. There is a principle in archaeology called "Occam's razor" which means that the most obvious answer is likely the correct one. Stegemann employs this in dealing with some of the conspiracies that surround these finds and I found his arguments to be convincing.
He gives some great insights into how the community functioned as whole. He does not jump to conclusions about the involvement of the Essenes at Qumran but does not deny it either. The process that the Qumran community had for making scrolls is very interesting as well as the mode of living. He shows the importance of the community in the production of scrolls and much of what has been found indicates that we have faithful translations of the books of the Old Testament. For example: One of the caves in Qumran contained a complete scroll of the book of Isaiah that was 800 years older than anything we previously had. What we found was a book that was for the most part faithful to the one we have with some very small alterations which were insignificant.
His dealings with the history of the Essenes was very intriguing and he gave some background stories and postulates who the "Teacher of Righteousness" is. He shows the connection the Essenes had with Herod and with the other religious institutions. He claims that they were more or less most similar to the Saducees than the Pharisees, and he thinks that they may be the scribes that Jesus spoke about in the gospels. He does a good job showing that while there were similarities between the Essenes and in the way that John the Baptist or Jesus spoke, the distinctions are more vast than the likeness. Jesus' concept of the reign of God is so unique that it is not reflected in any of the thoughts found at Qumran.
I thought that the book gave me a solid introduction and I look forward to looking into the subject as I go. I have been studying the gospel of John and gathering ideas about the language found in this book. What I found here was helpful in giving me a portal into this period of history. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in studying the Life of Christ or are just interested in learning more about the dead sea scrolls.
Dr. Stegemann gives a great introduction to the finds themselves and sets up the story for analysis. As a historian with a minor in anthropology I appreciate the way that he moves through the story with a very level-headed approach to the subject. He really lays out the nuts and bolts of the finds in a meticulous way. While it can be a little dry in parts he does keep short for the most part. There is a principle in archaeology called "Occam's razor" which means that the most obvious answer is likely the correct one. Stegemann employs this in dealing with some of the conspiracies that surround these finds and I found his arguments to be convincing.
He gives some great insights into how the community functioned as whole. He does not jump to conclusions about the involvement of the Essenes at Qumran but does not deny it either. The process that the Qumran community had for making scrolls is very interesting as well as the mode of living. He shows the importance of the community in the production of scrolls and much of what has been found indicates that we have faithful translations of the books of the Old Testament. For example: One of the caves in Qumran contained a complete scroll of the book of Isaiah that was 800 years older than anything we previously had. What we found was a book that was for the most part faithful to the one we have with some very small alterations which were insignificant.
His dealings with the history of the Essenes was very intriguing and he gave some background stories and postulates who the "Teacher of Righteousness" is. He shows the connection the Essenes had with Herod and with the other religious institutions. He claims that they were more or less most similar to the Saducees than the Pharisees, and he thinks that they may be the scribes that Jesus spoke about in the gospels. He does a good job showing that while there were similarities between the Essenes and in the way that John the Baptist or Jesus spoke, the distinctions are more vast than the likeness. Jesus' concept of the reign of God is so unique that it is not reflected in any of the thoughts found at Qumran.
I thought that the book gave me a solid introduction and I look forward to looking into the subject as I go. I have been studying the gospel of John and gathering ideas about the language found in this book. What I found here was helpful in giving me a portal into this period of history. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in studying the Life of Christ or are just interested in learning more about the dead sea scrolls.
April 3, 2025
I used several chapters for a research project and they were fantastic. I look forward to returning to this book, and often. A great read, not just great information. I really enjoyed the author's prose style. It actually felt a bit like a page-turner in places, which is unusual in scholarly academic publishing. I will likely wind up buying a hard copy, rather than marking up the entire library book. I've already marked it up enough.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews