Historiographical Elements in the Qumran Writings: A Synopsis of the Textual Evidence

The historiographical elements discussed in this study concern: I. the use of the term Kittim in the War Scroll, the Book of War and the various biblical commentaries; and II. the use of Kittim in ancient Jewish literature outside Qumran. This is followed in III. by an analysis of Yavan in the Dead Sea Scrolls; and in IV. by an analysis of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin historical names and the surviving names of members of the Qumran Community. The identified personalities belong to the second and first centuries BCE, and the focal point of the historical perspective is the Roman invasion of Judaea in 63 BCE.