The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2nd ed.

by Jodi Magness

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2021

Overview

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title and winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society’s Publication Award for Best Popular Book on Archaeology

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. Deposited in caves surrounding Qumran by members of a Jewish sect who lived at the site in the first century BCE and first century CE, they provide invaluable information about Judaism in the last centuries BCE.

Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran site continues to be the object of intense scholarly debate. In a book meant to introduce general readers to this fascinating area of study, veteran archaeologist Jodi Magness provides an overview of the archaeology of Qumran that incorporates information from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary sources.

Magness identifies Qumran as a sectarian settlement, rejecting other interpretations including claims that Qumran was a villa rustica or manor house. By carefully analyzing the published information on Qumran, she refines the site’s chronology, reinterprets the purpose of some of its rooms, and reexamines archaeological evidence for the presence of women and children in the settlement. Numerous photos and diagrams give readers a firsthand look at the site.

Considered a standard text in the field for nearly two decades, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls is revised and updated throughout in its second edition in light of the publication of all the Dead Sea Scrolls and additional data from Roland de Vaux’s excavations, as well as Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg’s more recent excavations. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find here an overview of the Qumran site and the Dead Sea Scrolls that is both authoritative and accessible.

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Key Features

• Provides an overview of the Qumran site and the Dead Sea Scrolls that is both authoritative and accessible
• Incorporates information from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary sources
• Revised and updated throughout in light of recent excavations

Contents

• Introduction
• The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Exploration of Qumran
• The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Community at Qumran
• The Buildings and Occupation Phases of Qumran
• What Do Pottery and Architecture Tell Us about Qumran?
• Communal Meals, a Toilet, and Sacred Space at Qumran
• Miqva’ot at Qumran
• Women and the Cemetery at Qumran
• The Temple Tax, Clothing, and the Anti-Hellenizing Attitude of the Sectarians
• The Settlements at Ein Feshkha and Ein el-Ghuweir

Top Highlights

“In my opinion, the points of correspondence between the archaeological evidence and the information provided by the scrolls and our ancient sources indicate that the Qumran’s inhabitants should be identified as Essenes.” (Page 44)

“The large numbers of cylindrical and ovoid jars found in the caves around Qumran indicate that the caves were used for the storage of goods.” (Page 98)

“These comparisons with contemporary sites in Judea support the identification of Qumran as a sectarian settlement.” (Page 115)

“there is positive evidence that the Period I settlement was sectarian right from the start” (Page 105)

“In my opinion, therefore, the archaeological evidence is unequivocal. The animal bone deposits and other features of the archaeology of Qumran suggest that the sect fully embraced this concept, observing and enacting the laws and lifestyle of the wilderness camp with the tabernacle in its midst, including offering animal sacrifices as mandated by biblical law. It appears that the site of Qumran functioned—at least in part—as a sacred precinct in which animal sacrifices were offered.” (Pages 159–160)

Product Details

• Title: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Second Edition)
• Author: Jodi Magness
• Edition: Second Edition
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 326
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Qumran community; Excavations (Archaeology) › West Bank; Qumran site (West Bank); Dead Sea Scrolls
• ISBNs: 9780802879080, 9780802826879, 080287908X, 0802826873
• Resource ID: LLS:RCHLGYQMRND2NDD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-06-07T18:51:52Z

About Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness is Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, her research interests include ancient pottery, ancient synagogues, and the Roman army in the East, and she has published and lectured extensively on these subjects. She has participated in 20 different excavations in Israel and Greece, serving as codirector of the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Her works include the award-winning books The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine.

Sample Pages from The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2nd ed.