Dix ans de découvertes dans le Désert de Juda (Ten Years of Discoveries in the Wilderness of Judaea / 1957 Milik), book

Dix ans de découvertes dans le Désert de Juda (1957) is a book by Józef T. Milik.

Abstract

The title of Milik’s Ten Years of Discovery in the Judean Wilderness (1957) suggests that the book focuses only upon the discoveries, with all of the plot twists and intrigues that they entailed. Although Milik spends the first two chapters discussing the discoveries and the texts of the Qumran library, and a final chapter discussing the significance of the discoveries, the heart of the book is a history of the Essenes. Milik utilized the Qumran writings, classical authors, Josephus, and archaeological evidence to establish the parameters of Essenism. Milik was one of the early advocates of the Essene Hypothesis, identifying the Essenes with the inhabitants of Qumran. Milik suggests that the final phase of the Essene community had militant Zealot characteristics. Even though this text was written in the early phases of Qumran studies, it still contains valuable insight into the character and history of Essenism.

Editions and translations

Published in Paris [France]: Cerf, 1957. Translated into Italian (1957), English (1959), and Polish (1968).

• Dieci anni di scoperte nel deserto di Giuda (1957 Milik), book (Italian ed.)
• Ten Years of Discoveries in the Wilderness of Judaea (1959 Milik), book (English ed.)
• Dziesiec lat odkryc na pustyni judzkiej (1968 Milik), book (Polish ed.)

Table of contents

I. The Story of the Discoveries

II. The Qumran Library

III. History of the Essenes

IV. Essene Organization and Teachings

V. The Discoveries in the Judaean Wilderness and their Importance