Between Qumran Sectarian and Qumran Nonsectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema

Full title
Between Qumran Sectarian and Qumran Nonsectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema
Research notes

Reader Checked|OA 08/06/2014

Reference type
Author(s)
Dimant, Devorah
Year
2014
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
History, Ideology and Bible Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Collected Studies
Issue / Series Volume
90
Series Title
Forschungen Zum Alten Testament
Abbreviated Series Name
FAT
Publisher
Mohr Siebeck
Place of Publication
Tübingen
Pages
135-151
Work type
Original Publication
Dimant, Devorah. “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema.” In The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture: Proceedings of the International Conference Held at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (July 6-8, 2008). Ed. by Roitman, Adolfo D., Schiffman, Lawrence H., Tzoref, Shani. Pages 235-256. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 93. Leiden: Brill, 2011.
Label
2014
Abstract

In this volume Devorah Dimant assembles twenty-seven thoroughly updated and partly rewritten articles discussing various aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls that she published over the past three decades. An introductory essay written especially for this volume surveys the present state of research on the Scrolls. Dealing with major themes developed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the author reflects the rapid expansion and change of perspective that has taken place in research on the collection in recent years following its full publication. Among the topics treated are the nature and contents of the Scrolls collection as a whole, the specific literature of the community that owned this collection, the Aramaic texts and the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic works found therein. Each of these chapters contains an inventory list of the texts under discussion. In the article on the entire Scrolls collection she provides an updated inventory and analysis of all the Dead Sea Scrolls. Besides these general surveys, the volume includes discussions of particular themes such as the history of the community related to the Scrolls, its self-image and particular interpretation of biblical prophecies, and its notion of time. In addition, various previously unknown apocryphal works found among the Scrolls are analyzed, such as Pseudo-Ezekiel (4Q385-4Q386,4Q388), Apocryphon of Jeremiah C (4Q385a-4Q390), Apocryphon of Joshua (4Q522), Pesher on the Periods (4Q180, with a fresh edition), and a new edition and interpretation of the Words of Benjamin (4Q548).