Q: Dead Sea Scrolls – Professor Lawrence Schiffman – Intro

A:

• Graduate and Doctoral studies at Brandeis

• Course in Dead Sea Scrolls with Nahum Sarna

• Focus on Dead Sea and Jewish Law

• Dead Sea academics grows

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls – When & How Were They Discovered?

A: 

• Story of Bedouin boys 1947 & the goat

• Started in 1890's Cairo Genizah

• Solomon Schechter finds Zadokite Fragment

• Not sure how this fragment got to Cairo

• Bedouins were actually searching for antiquities

Q: What is Solomon Schechter’s Zadokite Fragment?

A:

• Solomon Schechter discovers scrolls in Cairo Genizah 1890's

• Identified Zadokite Fragment as Samaritan group

• Many theories such as Essene Hypothesis

• Even theory Cairo group was Karaites

• Louis Ginzberg connects sect to Second Temple times

• Authors: Unknown Jewish Sect

Q: Jewish  Sects – Who Were They?

A:

• Josephus identifies three sects

• Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes

• Essenes lived in Ein Geidi area

• Some believe massive number of sects existed

• Josephus seems to give us general picture

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls:  What are the Groups of Writings?

A:

• There are 3 main groups of writings

• One third: all of Tanach, excluding Book of Esther

• Another one third: apocryphal writings

• Last one third: Qumran sect’s own writings

Q: Dead Sea Sect – Practices and Beliefs:

A:

• Probably numbered several hundreds

• Many shared practices with traditional Judaism

• However, belief in pre-destination

• Also very apocryphal, messianic

• Torah interpretation similar to Sadducees

Q: Dead Sea Sect – Were They Essenes?

A:

• Group located in Ein Gedi

• There are similarities as per Philo, Josephus

• But we do not even know what Essenes means

• Also similarities to traditional Judaism

• Essenes could be a wide term

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls - What are the Apocryphal Writings?

A:

• Numerous Jewish  Books read at time of 2nd Temple

• Writings found at Qumran and Masada

• Includes 12 Books

• Ben Sira, Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon

• Rabbis opposed reading these writings

• Part of Latin Bible

Q: What Tefilin – Phylacteries – Were Found in Qumran?

A:

• 22 Sets of Tefilin were found

• Small size 3/8 inch as they were worn all day

• Like today: Hand 1 compartment, Head 4 compartments

• Some have additional content than today’s

• Some include 10 Commandments

• Rashi / Rabbenu Tam order – not conclusive

Q: Judaism: Pre 70ce versus Post?

A:

• Temple life was centralized

• Significance of sacrifice

• Post destruction – rise of synagogues

• Emphasis on Torah study

• Should not overdo the extent  of break

• Total break was proposed by early Christians

• Such a theory had an anti-Semitic bent

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls – Jewish or Christian?

A:

• Initial studies focused on the “strange” sect

• Theory that sect members were Essenes

• And Essenes were forerunners of early Christians

• This model is erroneous

• And scrolls actually teach us about Judaism

• 2nd Temple: variety of groups with common tradition

• Complex model

Q:  Dead Sea Scrolls – Christian Reaction?

A:

• Complex model received well

• Essenes theory held until early 1970s

• Yigal Yadin & Temple Scroll changes view

• Full corpus of scrolls revealed

• Devorah Dimant categorizes into the 3 groups

• Biblical, Apocryphal, Sectarian

• Balanced view now accepted

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls & Tradition?

A:

• Scrolls confirm early dates of traditional texts

• Mishna confirmed as post Second Temple

• Laws that predate destruction of Temple

• Second Temple period, one of many debates

• Normative Judaism emerges from those debates

Q: Dead Sea Scrolls – Future?

A:

• Started as a mystery

• Now all scrolls have been published

• Hundreds of scholarly works

• Use of science & technology

• On-line availability of all texts

• Scientific studies of ink composition

• DNA of scroll fragments

• Advanced editing tools

• But still within core group of scholars