The greatest archaeological discovery of the last century is without question the library of Qumran, popularly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because it took decades to publish them, conspiracy theories abounded about their contents, and by the time that they were published, it was difficult to know what significance they hold, if any, for our understanding of the New Testament. Was Jesus a member of the Essenes, the esoteric society that produced the Scrolls? Were the Essenes early Christians? Or do the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us hardly anything at all about early Christianity?
In this series, Matthew Umbarger introduces the Dead Sea Scrolls, discusses the peculiar traits of the Essenes, and explains how their religious vocabulary just might show up in our own New Testament.
Share
21
DEC
