Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed

[strollingbones]

Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.



Elior, who teaches Jewish mysticism at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, claims that the Essenes were a fabrication by the 1st century A.D. Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus and that his faulty reporting was passed on as fact throughout the centuries. As Elior explains, the Essenes make no mention of themselves in the 900 scrolls found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947 in the caves of Qumran, near the Dead Sea. "Sixty years of research have been wasted trying to find the Essenes in the scrolls," Elior tells TIME. "But they didn't exist. This is legend on a legend."

full article: Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed - TIME

 

[waltky]

Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) has launched an updated version of its digital library of the Dead Sea scrolls...

Dead Sea scrolls revived on Web
Thu, Feb 06, 2014 - HISTORY PLUS TECHNOLOGY: A Web site includes 10,000 new images created using technology created for NASA, more translations and a faster search engine

In an extraordinary marriage between high-tech wizardry and ancient history, the Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) has launched an updated version of its digital library of the Dead Sea scrolls, showcasing thousands of high-quality photographs of one of the world’s most spectacular archeological finds. The expanded online resource, which is accessible from personal computers and mobile phones, presents hundreds of scroll fragments imaged with a camera that was developed specifically for this purpose.

Only five expert curators worldwide are authorized to physically handle the scrolls. Among the scrolls is an early copy of the book of Deuteronomy, which includes the 10 Commandments. The first of the scrolls were discovered in a remote cave at Qumran in the West Bank close to the Dead Sea in 1947.

SHRINE OF THE BOOK

Housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in a dedicated facility called the Shrine of the Book, the scrolls include part of the first chapter of the book of Genesis, dated to the first century BC, which describes the creation of the world; a number of copies of Psalms scrolls; tiny texts from the second temple period; letters and documents hidden by those fleeing Roman forces during the Bar Kochba revolt; and hundreds more ancient texts that shed light on biblical studies, the history of Judaism and the origins of Christianity.

The upgraded Web site includes 10,000 new multispectral images, extra manuscript descriptions, content translated into Russian and German in addition to the current languages, a faster search engine, and easy access from the site to the Facebook page and to Twitter and more, the IAA said. “The novelty is the quality of the pictures through a system that was created especially for the scrolls,” said Pnina Shor, curator and head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the IAA.

‘LIVING SITE’

“These are the best possible images of thousands of fragments. They are exactly like the originals. The technology was invented for NASA. It is a living site and a uniquely comprehensive one for documents this old,” Shor said.
By the early 1960s Bedouin treasure hunters and archeologists had found the remains of hundreds of manuscripts made up of thousands of fragments in the Judean desert along the western shore of the Dead Sea. These fragile pieces of parchment and papyrus were preserved for two millennia by the hot, dry climate and the darkness of the caves.

The texts are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Nabataean. The manuscripts have been dated to various periods between 408 BC and 318 AD. “The scrolls provide an unprecedented picture of the diverse religious beliefs of ancient Judaism, and of daily life during the turbulent Second Temple period when Jesus lived and preached, on biblical studies, the history of Judaism and the origins of Christianity,” the Web site says.

Dead Sea scrolls revived on Web - Taipei Times

 

[Politico]

The scholar is an idiot. Of course they existed. Someone wrote them.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

The scholar is an idiot. Of course they existed. Someone wrote them.

That's not what she was claiming. Just that the Essenes didn't exist, or at least not to the extent frequently believed. Of course someone wrote them, but maybe not this group called Essenes.

Interesting notion. But her source if validity is the Scrolls themselves saying "...[People] should read them for themselves, the proof is in there." Maybe, but no dicument or collection of documents can prove itself. The book "Dianetics" doesn't prove Scientology in other words. Nor does the DSS prove the Essenes did or didn't exist. To prove something you need outside corroberation, preferably from unbiased sources. As in how Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Romans all agree Yeshua existed. They just differ on the details. But relying solely on the Bible or Christianity wouldn't prove anything. But when 4 groups who tend to not play well with each other agree on something, it's much more reliable.

 

[Vox]

Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.



Elior, who teaches Jewish mysticism at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, claims that the Essenes were a fabrication by the 1st century A.D. Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus and that his faulty reporting was passed on as fact throughout the centuries. As Elior explains, the Essenes make no mention of themselves in the 900 scrolls found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947 in the caves of Qumran, near the Dead Sea. "Sixty years of research have been wasted trying to find the Essenes in the scrolls," Elior tells TIME. "But they didn't exist. This is legend on a legend."

full article: Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed - TIME

Interesting. Flavius was a really busy writer then

The question is - if that was him who wrote hte Dead Sea Scrolls - why did he do it?

 

[Avatar4321]

The scholar is an idiot. Of course they existed. Someone wrote them.

I dont think the scholar is arguing that the scrolls dont exist, nor that someone wrote them. I think they are arguing that they cannot be attributed to the Essenes.

 

[Indeependent]

And so?......

 

[CrusaderFrank]

"James Charlesworth, director of the Dead Sea Scrolls project at Princeton Theological Seminary and an expert on Josephus, says it is not unusual that the word Essenes does not appear in the scrolls. "It's a foreign label," he tells TIME. "When they refer to themselves, it's as 'men of holiness' or 'sons of light.' " Charlesworth contends that at least eight scholars in antiquity refer to the Essenes. One proof of Essene authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he says, is the large number of inkpots found by archaeologists at Qumran."

Read more: Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed - TIME Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed - TIME

 

[theword]

Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.



Elior, who teaches Jewish mysticism at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, claims that the Essenes were a fabrication by the 1st century A.D. Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus and that his faulty reporting was passed on as fact throughout the centuries. As Elior explains, the Essenes make no mention of themselves in the 900 scrolls found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947 in the caves of Qumran, near the Dead Sea. "Sixty years of research have been wasted trying to find the Essenes in the scrolls," Elior tells TIME. "But they didn't exist. This is legend on a legend."

full article: Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed - TIME

The original writings of the prophets and saints were copied and changed into many different languages and dialects within these languages by antichrists who had no idea who our Creator was.

These antichrists were used by God to deceive the rest of His people into believing that the written documents by His prophets and saints were the true Word of God.

The original untouched writings by the prophets and saints are only written testimonies by the true Word of God, which is our true created existence within the mind of our Creator. Our Creator takes the vocabulary words that the prophets and saints learned from childhood and according to His invisible knowledge that no man can see, He puts them into the mind of the prophets and saints for them to write down on paper or speak them to people who listen to them.

Anyone who listened to the saints speak to them and remain as friends are called believers. Anyone who rejected the spoken Word of God were called unbelievers.

The written documents that man discovers CANNOT be trusted as the original writings of the prophets and saints so these Dead Sea Scrolls are meaningless to God's last saint, the one who is writing this comment.

 

[DGS49]

So here we have someone who teaches "Jewish mysticism" (NOT archaeology), who makes an outrageous claim and gets a lot of notoriety for it.

Hmmm.

Publicity seeking academic twit?

 

[theword]

So here we have someone who teaches "Jewish mysticism" (NOT archaeology), who makes an outrageous claim and gets a lot of notoriety for it.

Hmmm.

Publicity seeking academic twit?

Most people believe the illusions of this world as being real instead of their true existence as spoken invisible vibrations that we know as energy today.

 

[Sunni Man]

Most people believe the illusions of this world as being real instead of their true existence as spoken invisible vibrations that we know as energy today.

Hey nitwit.....set back down.....reload your bong.....and take another hit. ..

 

[Delta4Embassy]

So here we have someone who teaches "Jewish mysticism" (NOT archaeology), who makes an outrageous claim and gets a lot of notoriety for it.

Hmmm.

Publicity seeking academic twit?

Jewish mysticism is also called kabbala. Book about it is the Zohar. But it's not like a modern book about crystal healing and other nonsense. It's simply expanding on the divine nature of G-d. Instead of saying simply inTOrah "G-d did this..." Zohar would explain how. Or at least attempt to.

Traditionally, Jews don't begin to study kabbala until age 40 and they have a correspondingly expert level of understanding about Judaism before delving into the mystical stuff. Your attempt to discredit a scholar into it knowing nothing about it is a good illustration of why we make Jews wait to study it.

 

[theword]

Most people believe the illusions of this world as being real instead of their true existence as spoken invisible vibrations that we know as energy today.

Hey nitwit.....set back down.....reload your bong.....and take another hit. ..

It's obvious you're not a saint with the knowledge of God to know the past, present and future. All the former saints knew we came from the invisible thoughts of our Creator. But they didn't have the computer technology today to help them understand what invisible vibrations were that we know as energy today.

So you're the nitwit that believes in illusions. I don't have to believe them as being real anymore.

 

[Vox]

So here we have someone who teaches "Jewish mysticism" (NOT archaeology), who makes an outrageous claim and gets a lot of notoriety for it.

Hmmm.

Publicity seeking academic twit?

Jewish mysticism is also called kabbala. Book about it is the Zohar. But it's not like a modern book about crystal healing and other nonsense. It's simply expanding on the divine nature of G-d. Instead of saying simply inTOrah "G-d did this..." Zohar would explain how. Or at least attempt to.

Traditionally, Jews don't begin to study kabbala until age 40 and they have a correspondingly expert level of understanding about Judaism before delving into the mystical stuff. Your attempt to discredit a scholar into it knowing nothing about it is a good illustration of why we make Jews wait to study it.

So whom does SHE consider to be the author of the Scrolls? It does not look like she thinks it is Essens but if the Scrolls are dated to 3th century BC then Josephus can not be the author of them.
She disputes the existence of Essens, which she might have some reasons to do, but it does not mean that the Scrolls were written by Flavius himself.