The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Seventh Edition (Penguin Classics) Paperback – Illustrated, June 26, 2012

A1

Working perfectly

This is an absolute must have for everyone’s library. These were once included in your Bible until RCC had them removed. It vitally important to have access to this information in these last days.

I'm surprised with how this helps me with my historical and biblical studies

I'm taking an upper level history course on Dead Sea Scrolls, and this is one of my two texts for the class. I'm very impressed with the accuracy of translation and the writing competency of the author. It is clearly written and documents all of the non-Biblical writings found in the Dead Sea sea scrolls.When I first got the book, I was disappointed that the books of the Bible and Torah had been omitted from the work, but I soon learned in class that these were readily available in (drumroll, please) the Bible and the Torah. The significance of the scrolls is that they confirm the accuracy of the already-known but younger copies of these much-read and loved works. Although the scrolls are over a thousand years older than any of the previously known extant writings, they are almost identical to the newer copies!The scrolls included in this book are peshars, midrashes and targums (commentaries on Biblical books such as Nahum and Habakkuk); a Community Rule for the sect which apparently lived at Qumran, a settlement near the caves where the scrolls were found; eschatological writings regarding the end of times (such as the War Scroll); and directives to the Leader of the sect which presided over the congregation. Very, very interesting window on sectarian life.The only complaint I have--and it's probably one born of ignorance--is that it is somewhat difficult to find specific documents by using the indices at the end of the book. I'm never sure I've completed a reading assignment because of the cluttered way that the manuscripts are referenced. But when I consider how many thousands of fragments were organized and of how many copies of the same text were found in 11 different caves, it's no wonder the index is so complex. Some people use this book to study only ONE of the copies of a document. So all of the works must be referenced and cross-referenced in the index--not just the best preserved of the bunch.Likewise, in reading the translations of the manuscripts, the brackets and parentheses, used in the middle of words and sentences to distinguish between texts from different caves, are rather distracting because they aren't utilized in the manner that I'm accustomed to in reading and writing. It takes a little getting used to. But it is a very effective means for the writer to pull together a fragment of a document from one cave to fill in missing text from another copy of the same document found in another cave.I don't know if any of that even makes sense. This is a book which really needs a companion text, such as James VanderKam's The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Unless you already know the history of the sect and how the scrolls were discovered, the manuscripts alone are fairly meaningless to the modern reader.It was a daunting task, assembling the fragments of the scrolls and cataloging all of the documents found in those caves. To organize all of that information into one cohesive anthology and then translate it from Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek into English and other languages is nothing short of heroic. Vermes is a brilliant man indeed.

The Dead Sea Scrolls? What can I say about them?In many parts, they are the words of YHWH as expressed by man. In many parts they are the Torah. So as a believer of God, I must reserve a certain awe, a certain respect. In the words of the translator of the Dead Sea Scrolls. An unbeliever will not understand this nor will they appreciate these scrolls.O my God, hast sealed them all and there is none to open (them) … Does one measure by the hollow of a human hand the waters of the great (ocean)? Are [the heavens estimated by the span (of fingers)? In one third (of a measure)] can any contain the dust of the earth, and weigh the mountains in a balance, or the hills in scal[es]? Man did not make these. How can he measure the spirit of [God]? (Fragment 30 of the 511th scroll of the 4th Cave 4Q511 Fr 30)What we have are the religious library of the Essene Jews occupying a religious or scholarly city of Qumran. These works were hidden in at least 11 caves in the vicinity of Qumran. So there are original copies of the Bible as known by the Jews in all of the three centuries before Christ, commentaries, peshers (interpretations there of,) and apochrophial works. These have been translated from Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek into English. Ostensibly, they were hidden to avoid there destruction by the Kittims: the Romans. There is a close relationship of Qumran to the Zealots of Masada.This is not easy reading, no more easier than the Bible today. Much of the works are fragmentary as the scrolls have deteriorated with age and subsequent treatments. And yet the devotions of the Jews at the time of Christ has become vivid. But, if you are interested in what Jewry was like during the times of Jesus (Jesus was a Jew,) then there is no better place to study than these scrolls!What you should gain arethe importance of the Covenants!the importance of the distinction between clean and uncleanthe importance and rituals of sacrificethe order and rankings of the populace with respect to the religionthe interpretations of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible)the respect for the prophetsMuch of this, perhaps by the translations, is still hidden even from a scholarly reader. But one has a new perspective of the times of Christ from these scrolls.

It includes a few texts not in Wise, Abegg and Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls (1Q19; 4Q481a) . But some are not in either volume. These include 4Q474; 4Q123; 4Q523; 4Q551; 4Q433; 4Q440; 4Q347; 4Q341; 4Q366; and 4Q368. This book is very worthwhile for for its alternate translation and introductory texts. It is small but the print is readable. I would prefer Wise, Abegg and Cook however to this book although I will use both and they are both very affordable.

Writing is to small for my old eyes