Sukenik and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Part III Qumran Genizah
Cairo Genizah Fragment
Continuing to see the cave as a genizah, he repented his view that the cave had been entered already in antiquity. In this way he explained some sherds that appeared to be dated later than the period of the scrolls.
Regarding this “genizah,” he had concluded that the scrolls had been placed there, as unfit books (ספרים פסולים), as in the case of the Cairo Genizah. He based his view on the terrible conditions of the Hodayot scroll, with its disconnected sheets. One scroll was only broken fragments and he assumed that this was the condition in which the scrolls were brought to the cave in antiquity.
He noted that other scholars disagreed with this conclusion, seeing the texts as hidden in a time of religious or political persecution. Kohle had suggested that these scrolls were put into genizah after the fixing of the biblical text, as they were no longer to be used.
But Sukenik stuck to his view of the “genizah,” because of the physical condition of the texts, especially the two Isaiah scrolls. But the proto-Masoretic Text nature of Isaiah B disproved for Sukenik the theory of Kohle. … Continue reading
Who Was a Jew?
A number of years ago, I gave a lecture in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the Chabad sponsored National Jewish Retreat. The lecture focused on the topic “Who Was a Jew?” and was based on my book of the same name. Who Was a Jew, published by Ktav, surveys the halakhic literature surrounding the question of Jewish self-identity in the Second Temple Period. It examines how the Jewish-Christian schism was a result of Gentiles being the majority of Christians, and Jewish Christians (born of Jewish mothers) becoming the minority.
Also in the video, find out why – despite the book’s popularity – I didn’t become rich.
Biblical Scholarship and Faith
J. Carl Laney has unearthed an old copy of Biblical Archaeology Review containing an interview I participated in on the the effect biblical scholarship has on faith. Laney, a professor at Western Seminary, uses the article as a springboard to discuss how biblical scholarship has affected his Christian faith. His blog post can be read at Transformed and the original article is available at the Biblical Archaeology Society website, for members only.
