The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Joseph A. Fitzmyer SJ

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are texts not discovered in the Dead Sea itself, but in caves and holes along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1963, has had an enormous impact on human intellectual life, in particular the fields of biblical studies and archaeology. The Dead Sea Scrolls have influenced not only the study of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures, but also the history of Judaism in Judea, the study of the ancient languages of Aramaic and Hebrew, and the interpretation of many New Testament writings. Since 1957, Joseph Fitzmyer has done considerable study and research on the Dead Sea Scrolls along with having published extensively on this topic. The result is informative, interesting, and insightful reading that will appeal expecially to students of the Bible and those interested in ancient archaeology. • Succinct description of the Dead Sea Scrolls along with their significance and importance both for biblical studies and ancient archaeology. • Author’s expertise. He has done extensive research, study, and scholarly writing on the Dead Sea Scrolls since 1957. • Helpful reading resource for students of the Bible and those interested in history and ancient archaeology. • Accompanying photos and illustrations that complement the presentation. †

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it tends towards being dry reading from time to time. There are frequent references to specific scrolls, but fortunately it doesn't take long to become familiar with how to decipher which scrolls are being discussed. Fitzmeyer liberally sprinkles in Hebrew and Greek words and expects the reader to be able to understand them. This points to his audience as those who are already familiar with the languages as he makes little attempt to translate most of the words and phrases.

This book is for a much more scholarly audience than me. Still, I enjoyed reading it and did learn something from it. Beginning with chapter ten, the last chapters were the most enjoyable and meaningful to me.

I will most likely read this book again in the future, but probably not until I have taken a few courses in Biblical Hebrew to familiarize myself with the language.

[Christian Proano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good resource, at times a bit monotonous but for the most part very informative. It does a good job comparing the DSS writing with OT and NT while at the same time warning not to be too enthusiastic in assuming that coincidences of topics, words, concepts, etc means a direct influence into the NT writings.

The author however is good in demonstrating (or allows of the conclusion) that even if some texts of the DSS are not related to the NT whatsoever, the fact that there are similitude of themes, words, concepts, etc means that some portions of the NT that were considered to be "later additions" are indeed subjects of common understanding by 1st century AD.

The author also demonstrates that the DSS supports with a wide margin the LXX more than the MS text of the O.T., however is does not mean that the DSS' variants are never quotes from the MS text of the O.T.