Bibliography
| Title: Josephus' description of the Essenes illustrated by the Dead Sea scrolls Secondary Title: Monograph series / Society for New Testament Studies 58 Pages: 200 Type: Book Year: 1988 Abstract: "Through meticulous examination and comparison of texts the author shows that there is little doubt that the Qumran writings stem from an Essene community, and that Josephus has given us a trustworthy account of one of the major Jewish sects at the time of Jesus".
"The revision of a doctoral dissertation directed by J. A. Fitzmyer and accepted by Catholic University of America, this volume provides fresh translations of Josephus' description of the Essenes with a commentary in which the relevant passages from the Dead Sea scrolls are brought to bear. After an eleven-page introduction, the book presents on facing pages the Greek texts and English translations of Josephus' three major Essene passages (Life 1:10-12; War 2:119-161; Ant. 18:11, 18-22) and his ten minor passages. Then ist offers an 89-page commentary on the three major passages, a summary of parallels and discrepancies between Josphus and Qumran, and a two-page appendix on other passages that mention the Essenes. Beall concludes that none of the apparent discrepancies puts into question the identification of the Qumran community with Josephus' Essenes".
"Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948, scholars studying the passages in Josephus' works which mention the pre-Christian Jewish sect of the Essenes attempted to explain various sections in Josephus primarily by comparing them with what other ancient writers, such as Philo and Hippolytus, had written concerning this group. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, and the subsequent identification of the Qumran community with the Essenes by the majority of scholars, a whole new treasure trove of possible first-hand information concerning the Essenes has been made available. The purpose of this study is to analyze Josephus' description of the Essenes in light of the new material from Qumran. A fresh translation of Josephus' Essene passages is provided, as well as a full commentary on the major passages in which he describes this group (Life 1.2 (SECTION)10-12; J.W. 2.8,1-3 (SECTION)119-61; and Ant. 18.1,2,5 (SECTION)11,18-22). All of the relevant published material from Qumran has been utilized in the commentary. This study has resulted in the following contributions: (1) a better understanding of Josephus' description of the Essenes, as relevant passages from Qumran shed light on various passages in Josephus; (2) a further confirmation of the validity of the identification of the Qumran community with the Essenes (since there are many parallels between the two sources, and only a handful of apparent discrepancies); (3) a delimitation of those areas where more work needs to be done in correlating the Qumran data with Josephus' description; and (4) a confirmation of the essential trustworthiness of Josephus as an historian."
"p. 46, on BJ 2.123, 137 and the wearing of white.
-- ritual purity was presumably the reason for this. Priests in HB wore white linen (Exod. 28:39-42).
-- at Qumran: 1QM 7.9-10 has seven Aaronide priests in garments of fine white linen (bgdy shsh lbn) -- an indication of Essene fondness for white garments". Keywords: Qumran |