The Dead Sea Scrolls -- A Short History [Paperback]

Weston W. Fields (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2006

Who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls? When and where were they discovered? How were they saved? Who has them now? Will more be discovered? Have all the scrolls been published? Are some still hidden away? Were there conspiracies to suppress some scrolls? How do the scrolls affect Christianity and Judaism? How similar are the biblical scrolls to our Bible today? These and other questions are answered in The Dead Sea Scrolls, A Short History, which offers information from exclusive interviews and unpublished archives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I read with much pleasure your little book, (small in pages and great in content!). You managed to explain these difficult subjects with great clarity and the illustrations are delightful. --Prof. Colette Sirat, Centre National de la reserche scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche de d'Histoire des Textes, Section Hebraique (in Paris)

I am very pleased with it. The date line is a major addition to our knowledge of scroll history. It is beautifully illustrated (including a lost picture of me). And the discussions of the scrolls importance and significance are deftly done. --Frank Moore Cross

What a treasure!  One of its special features is the selection of historic photos, many of which I had not seen before. --Dr. Wesley H. Brown

About the Author

Weston W. Fields, Ph.D., has been Executive Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation in Jerusalem since 1991. He taught at Grace College and Theological Seminary for ten years and at the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now Jerusalem University College) for seven years. For the past fifteen years he has worked closely with the editors of the official publication of the scrolls. Since 1999 he has traveled extensively in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States in order to interview everyone from the first generation of scrolls scholars then alive, including those who discovered scrolls in the 1950s, or were the first to reconstruct them. As a result of these personal meetings he has amassed a large and diverse collection of personal letters, papers, and archives related to the first scrolls scholars, especially the famous Qumran Cave 4 Team.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Brill; 1st edition (November 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004157603
• ISBN-13: 978-9004157606
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,571,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good brief intro, January 20, 2007

By 

Stephen Goranson (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dead Sea Scrolls -- A Short History (Paperback)

Here's a good book for newcomers to the subject. Its chief shortcoming for others is that it's too short. That is justified, in part, by the fact that his long, two-volume documentary history is on the way, drawing on interviews with many of those involved with the scrolls as well as archival records. In the meantime, this brief intro is in some particulars, such as who had which Cave One scrolls when, more detailed than some other recountings of the discoveries. The glossy pages include some good photos. After the discoveries story, Fields surveys the texts and their significance, mostly in clear, straightforward prose. One can quibble here and there. He underestimates the legitimate frustration of second temple period historians before the scrolls all became available; before then, some editors would respond to inquiries and some would not. Who were the two Hebrew U. librarians (p. 19) who failed to recognize the antiquity and importance of the scrolls? Do we know there were 9th and 10th century discoveries in the area (p. 35, perhaps alluding to Timotheus and al-Qirqisani, mentioned in the Timeline on page 108) or possibly two writers aware of the same set of uncoverings? Page 90: "...we know nothing precisely of the original leader of the Dead Sea Sect." To be brief, that's false. He was Judah the Essene. (For evidence, see "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene," available online.) The scrolls are ineluctably--dispite efforts (not by Fields) to deny--associated with the Essenes. Of course, not all the scrolls were composed by Essenes, but several certainly were. Some even include the Hebrew origin of "Essenes," where they call themselves 'osey hatorah, the true observers of torah--a claim plainly disputed by members of other streams of Judaism, and, likely, by Paul. Though there is no evidence of Christianity at Qumran, the book may well underestimate the influence of Essene teaching and practice on some varieties of early Christianity. "Yahad" is probably better translated as "community" than "group." Typos: pesherim (p.83) should read pesharim; Fitzmeyer (p. 128), Fitzmyer. The back cover blurb (perhaps not written by Fields) includes slightly misleading questions: "...Who has them [scrolls] now? Are some hidden away? Were there conspiracies to suppress some scrolls?..." I'm not suggesting any scrolls were suppressed, but that controversy is not addressed at any length. Similarly, the scroll fragments now in private hands are dealt with only slightly. But the main thing I have to say is: please hurry up and give us the Long History.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Summary Available, April 12, 2009

By 

William Varner "dribex" (Newhall, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dead Sea Scrolls -- A Short History (Paperback)

I have read many books about the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls swirl with controversies and can be the stuff of conspiracy and sensationalism in the wrong hands. This little volume is probably the best summary of the scrolls' contents and also achieves the best balance in handling the many questions surrounding their interpretation. Critics should not berate this volume for its brevity. It achieves what it sets out to do - provide a short history of the scrolls discovery, translation and interpretation. Those critics should await Fields' 2 volume magnum opus in the near future. Frankly, I appreciate having someone so informed on the subject to provide a guide through what can be a minefield of varying opinions. Through interviews with the principals and from being allowed access to the files of those who have departed, Fields re-constructs the shadowy early history of the scrolls. He doesn't seem to question the accidental discovery of the original scrolls although many of us think that the "innocent" Bedouin goatherds were actually exploring the caves illegally and later invented the romantic story of the stone tossed into what became Cave One. We are indebted to Fields for the detailed chronology he has laid out - both in the narrative and later in a timeline in an appendix - of what happened and when in the aftermath of the discovery. For this contribution alone, the book is well worth the price. If you want a balanced description and interpretation of the scrolls, this is the book to get. It is helpful not only for beginners but for scholars who will find some fresh insight from Fields' thorough research. We look forward to his two volume history, if this is any indication of what it will be like.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dead Sea Scrolls, May 30, 2011

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BooBoo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Dead Sea Scrolls -- A Short History (Paperback)

The Dead Sea Scrolls -- A Short History is gave me a clear, succinct introduction and explanation of the greatest historical discovery of the 20th century. Terrific.