The Dead Sea Scrolls Today

Written by James C. VanderKam Reviewed By William W. Combs

James C. VanderKam is the John A. O’Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the international team responsible for editing and translating the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts. This book is the second edition to his original work of the same name published in 1994. Since then all of the Scrolls have been published, so it is now possible to gain a more complete perspective of the various issues and debates.

The second edition follows the same basic format as the original, and VanderKam is still writing for a more popular audience. The major changes in the new edition include updating all the material where necessary in light of post-1994 discoveries, including the bibliographies at the end of the chapters. These are well-selected and helpful resources for further investigation. There is additional information at several places, which can be been seen in the newer edition’s extra length (260 vs. 208 pages). While the older edition had a few photographs placed together in middle of the book, the new edition has many more photographs placed conveniently throughout the text.

Chapter 1 treats the discoveries of the Scrolls. For this new edition VanderKam had access to a pre-publication copy of Weston Fields’s two-volume history of the Scroll discoveries, which promises to be the definitive work on that subject. VanderKam carefully traces the discoveries from each of the eleven caves. Interestingly, we learn that the first mention of Qumran being a “monastic” community did not come from Father Rolland de Vaux, the first excavator of the site, but from scholars at the American Schools of Oriental Research, who also suggested an Essene connection in a 1948 press release. VanderKam carefully explains the ruins themselves, beginning with de Vaux’s excavations and theories. Other theories of the ruins are explored, but the author concludes that de Vaux was generally correct, though some of his conclusions should be modified in line with the Jodi Magness’s 2002 monograph, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Chapter 2 surveys the over 900 manuscripts that have been found in the eleven caves at Qumran, both biblical texts and others. The helpful charts (pp. 48–49) have been updated to reflect the newer and more accurate totals of manuscripts from the various caves and the number of copies of each book of the Bible that has been found. Beyond the biblical texts VanderKam discusses the apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts, the various commentaries on the biblical texts, and, of course, the sectarian documents such as the Rule of the Community.

Chapter 3 tackles the question of identifying the Qumran community. VanderKam first clearly explains the case for the Essene hypothesis, also noting its weaknesses. He then explores other theories such as that of Lawrence Schiffman, who argues the people of Qumran were Sadducees. Some, like Norman Golb, have maintained that the Qumran Scrolls were brought to the caves from libraries in Jerusalem and have no real connection to the community living there. Both of these views are effectively refuted, and the traditional Essene theory is strongly maintained. The Essenes who lived at Qumran were only a small part of a larger movement in Israel. Chapter 4 is a detailed discussion of their history, beliefs, and practices based on the contents of the Scrolls and the archaeology of the site.

Chapter 5 explores the relationship between the Scrolls and the text of the OT itself. Obviously, the Scrolls have had a huge impact on OT textual criticism. In the first edition the author explained how the Scrolls fit into the textual development of the OT using Frank Cross’s theory of local texts and Emanuel Tov’s view of textual plurality and variety. At that time the author seemed to favor Tov’s reconstruction. In the new edition a third view has been added: Eugene Ulrich’s idea of successive literary editions of individual books. Now VanderKam suggests that all these theories have strengths and does not tip his hand as to his preference.

Chapter 6 addresses the issue of the Scrolls and the NT. VanderKam lays out the similarities between the NT texts and the Scrolls in areas of language, characters, organizational practices, and eschatology. VanderKam takes a careful and conservative approach to any possible parallels between the two. He rightly refutes improbable suggestions that parts of the NT have been found at Qumran (e.g., José O’Callaghan).

The first edition was widely praised and rightly so. This new edition is the best general introduction to the Scrolls. It is extremely well written and highly recommended.


William W. Combs

Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary

Allen Park, Michigan, USA

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