Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dead Sea Scrolls - Where to Start, December 7, 2002
This review is from: The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls (The Complete Series) (Hardcover)
Where does one start the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? One would do well to start with copies of the texts. The biblical texts may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible_ translated by Martin Abegg et al. The non-biblical texts which includes the sectarian texts, may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls_ translated by Michael Wise et al. (Incidentally there are no unpublished texts of any significance. These two volumes cover the field.) Then one needs a book which explains where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found such as Jodi Magness' _The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scolls_. But as the starting point one needs _The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls_. Philip Davies, George Brooke, and Phillip Callaway have written a "complete" introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first section of the book discusses the discovery of the scrolls, their editing, and their publication. The second section discusses the history of the time of the scrolls, including the sects of that time. Perhaps the third section should have been divided into two. The third section begins with chapters on how to make a scroll, script styles, Carbon-14 dating of the scrolls, and how to reconstruct a scroll from fragments. (If one has never read of the techniques for scroll reconstruction, this chapter is a must.) Next comes the bulk of the book. The most significant scrolls from each cave are discussed. Cave 1 had a number of the sectarian scrolls. Cave 4 had the largest number of scrolls. The scrolls from Caves 5 to 10 receive only two pages of attention despite the sensationalism surrounding the Greek scrolls found in Cave 7 (and see also page 190). The fourth section of the book discusses the settlement of Qumran. (One should be sure to refer to Magness' _Archaeology_.) The fifth section discusses the meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I will leave these for the consideration of the reader. Included in _Complete World_ are a list of the contents of Discoveries in the Judean Desert, a chart of paleographic Hebrew, a list of the scrolls by cave, etc. _Complete World_ is a feast of reading with the scrumptious photographs of a coffee table book. This book deserves more than a five star rating.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dead Sea Scrolls in context, September 29, 2005
This review is from: The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls (The Complete Series) (Hardcover)
Like most Thames & Hudson productions, this book is a very beautiful text. Printed in vibrant, full-colour process, every page has graphics, pictures, colours, maps, or some other piece of visual interest. When dealing with a subject like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the material for visual presentation is grand, as are the settings in which many of the scrolls have been found.
After a brief introduction and chronology, the book is divided into five primary sections. The first section explores the early discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the famous Damascus document, a 'Dead Sea Scroll' actually not from the Dead Sea area - 50 years prior to the 1947/48 discoveries, Solomon Schechter of Cambridge University discovered manuscripts in a Cairo genizah, and after the discovery of the DSS, the particular 'Damascus document' was recognised as being related to the DSS texts. This section also looks at the editorial process and the personalities first involved in reconstruction and editing of the texts. This involves the many controversies (such as the charges of cover-ups of damaging material, intentional delays, and simply old fashioned academic rivalries) as well as controversial personalities (Allegro, for example, wrote extensively apart from his DSS assignments calling into question the origins of Christianity).
The second section looks at the world of the DSS. This sets the historical context of Judea/Palestine in the centuries before and during Roman domination and occupation. From the Babylonian exile to the revolts against Rome and the formation of Rabbinic Judaism, the culture of the communities is important for understanding the context in which the biblical and extra-biblical texts of the DSS were written.
The longest section of the book is the third section, looking specifically at the scrolls themselves. The authors take a cave-by-cave approach, showing the discoveries of each cave from Cave 1 to Cave 4 in great detail (these were the earliest and largest discoveries), Cave 5 to 10 as a set piece, and Cave 11 which includes the famous Temple Scroll and an important Psalm Scroll. One of the issues the authors highlight is the difficulty in using the term 'biblical' with regard to the scrolls - the canon of the Bible was not set until well after the scroll writing/copying period, and despite the fact that every book of the Hebrew Bible is represented among the scrolls save Esther, 'it seems that other texts were regarded as having equal status.' Some appear in the official Apocrypha of Christian Bibles, and others were unknown until the discovery of the scrolls.
The fourth section looks specifically at the ruins at Qumran, the archaeological digs and discoveries as well as the competing interpretations placed on the ruins and artifacts. Qumran has been envisioned as a monastery, a military outpost, a Herodian villa, and a proto-city. Whether or not the scrolls have any real connection to Qumran is also a debated topic, although most scholars currently think there is a connection.
The final section looks at the meaning of the scrolls as a set piece. What are the implications for Judaism? What does the scroll material reveal about early Christianity? 'The Dead Sea Scrolls have revolutionised our perception of Early Judaism,' the authors write. They are a unique witness to their time, offering contemporary, first-hand evidence of the sectarian issues of the day. With regard to early Christianity, the scrolls predate the origins of the early Christian writings, but they were by most accounts still being written, and then hidden, during the time of the Apostles. Scholars continue to speculate about the Essene connections with John the Baptist and Jesus (although the New Testament never mentions this sect, and yet does mention Pharisees and Sadduccees). There are important parallels, but neither the early Christian movement nor the Dead Sea Scroll community were unique in their messianic expectation.
This is a book about the scrolls. It discusses the context, the framework, the history and the discovery in good form. It is a good introductory text to what the scrolls are, and includes brief synopses of the contents of the scrolls. This is not a collection of the scrolls with translations; while it has pictures from all of the sets of scrolls, it is not a comprehensive compendium of photographic plates of all of the scrolls and scroll fragments. There are other (much more expensive) collections with these. This is a good book for use with study groups, classes, and for the general reader who wants an overview of the scrolls, their history, their basic contents, and the surrounding issues and controversies. The text was well written by Philip Davies, George Brooke, and Phillip Callaway, noted scholars in the field .
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, bountiful, but fragmented & a little unfocused, December 23, 2003
This review is from: The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls (The Complete Series) (Hardcover)
First of all, let me state that this is a great book, beautifully illustrated, and chock-full of information about the Qumran scrolls. The problem, for me, is that it seems a little unfocused. As if someone said "Let's put together a book that is beautifully illustrated, with a lot of information about the Dead Sea Scrolls," but neglected to choose a theme, a direction, a message, a specific point of view. The text lacks the continuity of thought that an introductory treatise should exhibit. It bounces around between introductory information, and technical information of interest to the scholar. The photos of the scrolls are exquisite, and the photos of the Qumran area are informative. Modern, researched illustrations clarify the contemporary world of the Qumran scrolls. But then, several medieval altarpiece-type paintings are thrown in, poorly researched by today's standards, and leaving one wondering why they're there. The 'information-box' format is used throughout, and I always find these a little distracting. If you're following the main text, you can skip the info-boxes, and try to remember which ones you missed, so that you can go back and catch them later. Or you can interrupt your reading to check the box out, and then try to remember where you left off. Furthermore, in an effort to be scholarly, some of the excitement that the scrolls should generate gets lost. And the print is tiny, and runs way over into the 'gutter,' making it uncomfortable and awkward to read. Perhaps my bias stems from the fact that I am primarily interested in the scrolls from a Biblical persepective, and the bulk of the book is focused on analysis and speculation surrounding the non-biblical scrolls, which is as interesting as any sectarian church history, but not on a par with the history of the Bible's text. Overall, an informative book well worth having, but not one that leaves you feeling fulfilled in your quest for an understanding of the importance and history of the scrolls.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
