Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Essene controversy at Qumran?

An apparent controversy has shaped up between academics involving the relationship of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Essenes.This controversy challenges the essence of Dead Sea Scrolls research for more than a half-century. From the very beginning, when Eleazar Sukenik bought the original scrolls, in 1947, a connection between the documents and the Essenes were suggested. However, Rachel Elior claims that the Essenes did not have a relationship to the scrolls. And, she notes, the scrolls do not portray the people described by the Roman historian Josephus.

1 comment:

  1. Academic arguments are interesting - academically speaking, of course.

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