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Steven D. Fraade, The Damascus Document (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021).

Abstract

"The Damascus Document is an ancient Hebrew text that is one of the longest, oldest, & most important of the ancient scrolls usually referred to collectively as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Its oldest parts originate in the mid- to late 2nd century BCE. While the earliest discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls occurred in 1947, the Qumran Damascus Document fragments were discovered in 1952 (but not published in full until 1996), mainly in what is designated as Qumran Cave Four. However, it is unique in that two manuscripts (MS A & MS B) containing parts & variations of the same text were discovered much earlier, in 1896, among the discarded texts of the Cairo Geniza, the latter being written in the 10th-11th centuries CE. Together, the manuscripts of the Damascus Document, both ancient & medieval, are an invaluable source for understanding many aspects of ancient Jewish (& before that Israelite) history, theology, and much more."--Publisher description.

"Steve D. Fraade offers a new translation, with notes, and detailed commentary to the Dead Sea Scroll most commonly called the Damascus Document, based on both ancient manuscripts from caves along the western shore of the Dead Sea, and medieval manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza. The text is one of the longest and most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Its importance derives from several aspects of its contents: its extensive collections of laws, both for the sectarian community that authored it and for the rest of Israel; some of the oldest examples of scriptural interpretation, both legal and narrative, both implicit and explicit, with important implications for our understanding of the evolving status of the Hebrew canon; some of the clearest expressions, often in hortatory form, of the community's self-understanding as an elect remnant of Israel that understands itself in dualistic opposition to the rest of Israel, its practices, and its leaders; important expressions of the community's self-understanding as a priestly alternative to the sacrificial worship in the Jerusalem Temple; expressions of an apocalyptic, eschatological understanding of living as the true Israel in the "end of days;" important expressions of attitudes toward woman, sexual activity, and marriage; importance for our understanding of ancient modes of teaching and of ritual practice; importance for the study of the history of the Hebrew language and its scribal practices. The volume contains a substantial introduction, dealing with these aspects of the Damascus Document and locating its place within the Dead Sea Scrolls more broadly as well as the historical context of ancient Judaism that gave rise to this text."--Publisher description.

Contents

External links

• [ Google Books]