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.
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The Most Accurate Edition
I love everything about this edition. There are other translations but they have inaccuracies in the translation. This one is the best in my opinion and for what it's worth its also the one that Dr. James Tabor uses. I also love the citations. Its perfect for reference and for further research. Well done! To anyone who is interested in early Jewish Christian History or Messianism this is an invaluable resource.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2023
I love everything about this edition. There are other translations but they have inaccuracies in the translation. This one is the best in my opinion and for what it's worth its also the one that Dr. James Tabor uses. I also love the citations. Its perfect for reference and for further research. Well done! To anyone who is interested in early Jewish Christian History or Messianism this is an invaluable resource.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2023
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The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls
Reviewed in Germany on December 22, 2021
