The ancient library of Qumran

by Frank Moore Cross

The discovery of manuscripts and papyri in the Judaean desert has not ceased. Nor have all of the texts which have come to light been published; however, the history of their discovery and much of their content and significance can be described. This is done in this book. In place of the many unbridled speculations that have been spread abroad in certain publications, this volume gives a sober and objective account by a scholar who has taken a leading part in the editing and evaluation of the Qumran texts. The form of the book is shaped by its origin in the Haskell Lectures. Each lecture, after the first chapter recounting the history of the finds, deals with a single, but major area of scroll research. Each records an attempt to achieve in a given area a synthesis, or at least a systematic interepretation of the facts now available. Old and new, published and unpublished data are drawn upon. The text of the lectures has been expanded by very extensive footnoting. The notes are written at two levels: most contain technical discussion, especially at points where unpublished material or unpublished views are alluded to in the text; at the same time a number of explanatory notes are directed to the reader with less background in the field.

Genres: Religion, Biblical Studies, History

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Frank Moore Cross Jr. (1921–2012) was the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus at Harvard University, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, his 1973 magnum opus Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, and his work in Northwest Semitic epigraphy. Many of his essays on the latter topic have since been collected in Leaves from an Epigrapher's Notebook.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This enlarged my fairly scant knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their authors, the apocalyptic Jewish Essene community at Qumran. I am ignorant of what, if any, scholarship has superceded Cross's on the texts. Cross (the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus at Harvard University, died in 2012) certainly seems to know what he's writing about. He is particular on the point that paleoarchaeologists and paleographologists know things about the texts that New Testament scholars who don't scrutinize the archaeology and the handwriting don't know. At the same time, he knows his theology. The 1958 book is a mix of analysis for the casual reader, and way-deep-in-the-weeds discussions of things like "proto-Masoretic" sources. Cross documents everything thoroughly, in case you want to check up on him; perhaps half the book is footnotes. The book (actually a series of lectures, the Haskell Lectures) ends with a rousing and beautifully written comparison of the scrolls with the New Testament gospels. (It was like a sermon from a great orator.) The Essene texts have much in common semantically and thematically with the Gospel of John, not so much with the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Yet the Gospel of John is a Christian document, and the Essene texts are apocalyptic Jewish documents. The fascinating differences and similarities between them provide clues to figuring out how Christianity branched off from its Judeo roots.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overall content. Almost as many footnotes (in minuscule size) as text.