The Scrolls from the Dead Sea by Edmund Wilson

The Scrolls from the Dead Sea Reviews

• 
  Joe Krakovsky

  THE SCROLLS FROM THE DEAD SEA gives an account of the discovery of ancient texts in caves by the Dead Sea by a Bedouin boy called Muhammed the Wolf in 1947. The story is fascinating in not only what those interested had to go through to buy them from the Arabs, but also trying to conduct their own searches in a war zone. Bear in mind that the author was writing in 1955, so when he states that the work of translating the scrolls might take 50 years to accomplish he really didn't know what information would be forthcoming. They were amazed to find that the entire book of Isaiah from the Bible was there.
  
  To give you an idea of what they had to go through to read some of these scrolls I am quoting from the book.
  
  "The fragments selected for study are set out on long tables in a large white-walled room. They are mostly of leather but a few are papyrus. In color, they range from the darkest brown to an almost paper-like paleness, so that they give the impression of autumn leaves that have lain in the forest all winter. The ones that are being studied have been flattened under plates of glass; but before they can be smoothed out, they have to be rendered less brittle by being put into a "humidifier," a bell-glass containing moist sponges. When they are taken out of this, they are cleaned with a camel's hair brush, dipped in alcohol or castor-oil. Sometimes the ink comes off along with the marly clay of the caves. Sometimes they flake at the touch of the brush and have to be backed with tape. Sometimes they have turned quite black, in which case they are photographed with infrared rays and examined through a magnifying glass. The first problem is to bring together - through a study of the various hands of the scribes and substances on which they have written - the pieces that belong together. The scholars work on this in a small inner room, equipped with concordances, dictionaries and all the relevant texts. The concordance may place a fragment as coming from a Biblical book or a known non-canonical work, and others will be found to fit it."
  
  And I might add that there were tens of thousands of fragments found, some the size of the palm of your hand and some with a single letter on them.
  
  It seems that some universities were paying, in 1955, hundreds of thousands of dollars for ancient manuscripts, yet once the contents were published they lost some of their value. And once they were published professors would argue over whose interpretation was correct.
  
  Although this was interesting I am only giving it 3 stars as it seems too much like work to read unless you are a serious student of such material.
• 
  Steve

  Sort of an odd duck, since I normally think of Wilson ("Bunny") as a literary guy rather than someone following archaelogy in the Holy Land. But he does a good job here, and it's never dry (which was my chief concern). My edition is an expansion of the original(which in only about 130 pages or so). The first part is the best, with Wilson reporting on the discovery of the scrolls, while at the same time weaving in little reminders that things are, well, tense in the Middle East (what a surprise). All of the first part reads more like a "book," with events following a certain arc. Wilson's great when it comes to bringing some of the scholars and clergy men to life, but where he really surprises you is in his discussions on various biblical texts, their differences, and their dating. Topping all of this is his discussion of the Essenes -- and Jesus. Nothing sensational, but fascinating, and always honest. I'm sure the scholarship has moved far beyond Wilson's reporting, but what works here is a great writer working a great story. The second part is more of the same, but it comes across in a more fragmentary way, in short chapters that lack the same momentum of the first part. It almost reads like a large Appendix, but an interesing one.
• 
  Ray LaManna

  A rather good history of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the problems which followed this discovery. Some of his reporting was difficult to follow...but overall a good account.
• 
  Erik Graff

  This is an overview of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 and of the debates about them and what they represent until the end of the sixties. Wilson is an excellent writer, did his homework, but is no expert in this field. Instead, what one gets is an educated layperson's appropriation of the subject, an appropriation which, while not out of the ballpark, is highly controversial and contested.
• 
  Persephone Abbott

  A journalistic report about the scrolls very close to their initial discovery by, Edmund Wilson's take, an unnamed Arab. This sums it up, pretty much, at the time. Muhammed Edh-Dhib was the Bedouin's name. In this book I read a great deal about ideas that I'd never ever given a thought to and I must admit it wasn't disheartening, but not riveting. Interesting enough, most of the scholarship surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls finally got going in the 1990's. But overall this book was able to clarify the political, religious, and social temperature at the moment of the discovery and the thorns in the baskets of potential scholarship.
• 
  Tom Schulte

  two thirds of the book passes before any verse-length quotation from the scrolls is made. this is the story of the discovery, dissemination, and production of the scrolls more so than any exegesis of their content. From Mohammed the Wolf tossing stones into caves to a Metropolitan of the Syrian Jacobite Church frustrated in trying to gain financially from them, we get the story of how they came out. The Essenes get their own chapter as Wilson does a good job in a short work to place these texts and their implications in the inter-testament period and helping complete the story of a subjugated Judea with Messianic visions.
• 
  Dionysi Krinas

  Fascinating summary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the subsequent debates and theological discussions that occurred after their discovery. The author also give you an understanding of Essene Order and the part they potentially played in the creation of the texts. The author provides a very good explanation of the impact the scrolls have had as a result of interpreting texts and comparing them to the texts we have today.
• 
  Anthony O’Brien

  Old, but good. Interesting history of the Qumrān Caves, the Essenes, and the implications of the Dead Sea Scrolls for our understanding of the origins of Christianity and the Bible. Obviously as it is now over 60 years old it has its limitations. But a great strength is the clarity it brings to our understanding of how sensational this discovery was in the 1950s. We also get the context of the origins of modern Israeli aggression in the ME, and their pitiless treatment of the Palestinians. What we should take from it is that despite our best efforts our understanding of history is very provisional. Only 126 pages - I understand it has since been revised and extended - it is well worth the time spent in reading.
• 
  Librita

  Un libro muy pro judío y con clara tendencia a demeritar al Cristianismo. En todo el libro no deje de pensar acerca de si el autor era de origen judío (practicante o no). Teniendo en cuenta la clara tendencia del autor anti cristiana y pro judaica, habrá que investigar si los hechos que él afirma en el libro son verdad, mentira o mentira/verdad a medias.
  
• 
  Talivan

  Libro bien documentado. Algunas cosas que salen de dogma cristiano. Pero en general es buen libro. Se aprende mucho sobre las bases religiosas. No sólo del cristianismo.
  Libro recomendado para aquellas personas que quiere profundizar en datos históricos y orígenes sobre pasajes de la biblia. Algunos textos que quedaron apócrifos en el concilio vaticano y mucha historia de medio oriente.
• 
  Michael Arnold

  Well, this was interesting. It was about the archaeological work around the Dead Sea scrolls during the Israeli war for independence. There were a number of really surreal moments describing press releases relating to the Scrolls taking place in buildings being fired at - with artillery fire pounding in the background. I don't know how dated the information is, there will have been more information found since the publication of this book without question, but it was still a fascinating and informative read. I understand from other reviews of this book that this account is somewhat controversial - I do not know how, though, so I would advise anyone to not take this at total face-value, but this is still very worth reading - I'll recommend it to anyone interested in bible scholarship.
  
  Not bad for a book I bought for 20p I suppose.
• 
  George Santínez

  Grandiosamente informativo en su primera mitad, sólo para desviarse en la segunda para hablar de los viajes que ha tenido el autor por medio oriente, sus opiniones sobre la fé (ajeno al tema de la obra) y concluye con una sección entera sobre un intrascendente debate por correo que tuvo con alguien por internet (que no aporta valor y sirven para vanagloria del autor, ante todos, sobre lo conocedor que es de los temas que toca).
  Tamben es evidente que el autor es periodista, y no escritor, por lo inmensos que son sus párrafos, sin saber separar ideas
  Sólo tiene valor la primera parte.
• 
  Brent

  Do not remember much about this one. I have an impression that it learned towards a sensationalist and conspiratorial narrative.
• 
  Rabinovich Ed

  Excelente trabajo periodistico acerca de un buen tema religioso.
• 
  Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio

  Call Number: 220.93 WIL
  
  Available.