The Dead Sea scrolls comprise roughly 825-870 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea).

Since the discovery in the middle of the last century of almost 900 scrolls in various states of completeness, mostly written on parchment, extensive excavations of the settlement have been undertaken. Jewish ritual baths and cemeteries have been found, a large cistern, a large dining or assembly room, an alleged scriptorium, and a guard tower.

The scrolls were found in a series of caves just to the west of the settlement. Some of the caves seem to have been permanent libraries with built in shelves. The texts found in them represent the beliefs and practices of different Jewish religious orientations. A number of them appear to have been selected for the library there, when Qumran is thought to have become the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A letter found in the 1990s expresses the reasons for creating a community, some of which mirror Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. But most of the scrolls seem to have been dumped in the caves only during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, at a time when Jericho and Jerusalem were facing the sack, or had already been sacked, but Qumran was still standing and secretly accessible from Jerusalem via the Kidron Valley.

Sectarian settlement and the Qumran-Essene Theory

Critiquing the Qumran-Essene Hypothesis

In their book Archaeology of the Hidden Qumran, The New Paradigm (Helsinki, 2002) Minna Lonnqvist and Kenneth Lonnqvist brought a modern approach to the Qumran studies based on contextual archaeology with its spatial studies and interpretation of symbolic language of the archaeological data, arguing that the Dead Sea Scrolls had been driven out from their archaeological context by the text scholars who had only focused their studies on the scrolls. Ever since the publication of the book contextualism has been part of the Qumran studies. The Lonnqvists, who had carried out a survey in situ at Qumran, studied unpublished archaeological finds and read scrolls, argued that the scrolls and the settlement are associated to an Essene-type of group which, however, finds the closest parallels in the contemporary Jewish Therapeutic group known to have lived in Egypt.

David A. Fiensy, cites A. Dupont-Somer, N. Avigad and E. L. Sukenik, F. M. Cross, D. Flusser, H. Stegemann, G. Vermes, J. Fitzmeyer, J.C VaderKam, Erdmans, F. G. Martinez, J. H. Charlesworth, and C. M. Murphy for the view that the Qumran sectarians were Essenes, on the other hand, Norman Golb for "the view that the scrolls represent Judaism in general and not a sect", and Schiffman for the view that the scrolls were written by Sadducees.

De Vaux’s hypothesis went virtually unchallenged for decades until archaeologists and other scholars began to question de Vaux’s conclusions and reinterpret the archaeological remains. Those who challenged de Vaux’s findings took issue with the practice of using the Dead Sea Scrolls to interpret the archaeological remains at Qumran. They argued that these remains should be interpreted independently, without any influence from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Various reinterpretations have led to various conclusions about the site. These include:

The team of Robert Donceel and Pauline Donceel-Voute focused their research on the wealth of small finds from Qumran, including, but not limited to, glassware, metal wares, and coins. Contrary to the belief that the inhabitants of the site were poor monastics (see Monasticism), Donceel and Donceel-Voute suggested that the residents were actually wealthy traders, with connections to the upper class and wealthy in nearby Jerusalem. They ultimately suggested that Qumran was a villa rustica, or wealthy manor house, that may have been a winter or year-round second home to some wealthy family from Jerusalem.

Norman Golb weighed into the debate with his book, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?. The first chapter of the book develops the theory that the Qumran settlement was not established as a sectarian residence, but was actually a Hasmonean fortress. In addition, his work with the Dead Sea Scrolls led him to conclude that there were no sectarians at the site at all, and that the Scrolls had been produced, at least for the most part, in Jerusalem, and that this diverse library was hidden in the caves by Jews fleeing the Romans during a political uprising. Golb continues to be a leading critic of what he believes is the failure by adherents of the traditional Qumran-Essene hypothesis to adequately defend their position in the light of new theories. According to an article published in the Chicago Jewish News, Golb has been a controversial figure in the world of Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship since 1995, when this book was published, as his theory that the scrolls originate from Jerusalem, goes against the scholarly consensus that the scrolls were written by the Essenes. A New York Times article describes a "tide of revisionist thinking" on whether or not the scrolls were written by Essenes. Other scholars, such as Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg, directors of the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeological team specialized on Khirbet Qumran, reject the Essene theory and endorse the Jerusalem theory. An article by Golb, published in the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute website argues that the archaeology of Khirbet Qumran and the site's connection with the Dead Sea Scrolls as presented in the script Ancient Qumran: A Virtual Reality Tour film, contradicts current research, and calls the exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum "a blatantly misleading" presentation. Other sources describe Golb's theories as going against scholarly consensus, as being the subject of a "lively debate" in Qumran studies," or as giving rise to a "tide of revisionist thinking."

Golb, Hirschfeld, Magen and Peleg have all concluded that Qumran was never inhabited by any sect and that the Dead Sea Scrolls have no organic connection with the site, but were brought down to the region from the Jerusalem area for hiding during the First Revolt.

Lena Cansdale, along with Alan Crown, argued that the settlement was a fortified road station and a port town on the shores of the Dead Sea, meaning that the site was actually a prominent commercial site on a major north-south trade route.

Jodi Magness defends the traditional Qumran-Essene hypothesis in her book, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Eerdmans, 2002). While proposing some modification to de Vaux’s dating of the various periods of the site, Magness rejects the idea that the site was originally a fortress that was subsequently reoccupied, stating, “Could Qumran originally have been an agricultural settlement (or a fortress or other kind of nonsectarian settlement) that was later occupied by sectarians? I do not believe that the archaeological evidence supports such a possibility. This is because the presence of miqva’ot (ritual baths), the pantry containing more than 1000 dishes (L86), and possible evidence for animal bone deposits, outside the buildings in pre-31 B.C.E. contexts, indicate that the settlement was sectarian from the beginning”.

Israeli archaeologist and pottery specialist Rachel Bar-Nathan, in her article "Qumran and the Hasmonaean and Herodian Winter Palaces of Jericho," in The Site of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Archaeological Interpretations and Debates (ed. Galor et al., Brill 2006), rejects Magness' claim that dishware found at Qumran shows any sectarian characteristic, explaining that such pottery has also been found in varying quantities at Masada, Jericho and other sites in the region. She states that

"the material culture of Qumran cannot be considered a criterion for social or sectarian isolation. There is a striking similarity, in all aspects, between the pottery of Hasmonaean Jericho and of Qumran.. probably due to the increased economic interests of the Hasmonaeans in this region." (277).

"the dining room at Qumran probably served the laborers and slaves who lived and worked at the site. The food could have been carried from the kitchen in the main building. Similar halls have been uncovered at several late Hellenistic and early Roman sites in Judaea, including, among others, Beth Zur, Khirbet el-Muraq, Horvat Salit, Kalandiya, and Mount Gerizim.." (p. 104).

Jean-Baptiste Humbert published de Vaux's field notes. Humbert proposed a hybrid solution to the debate surrounding Qumran. Humbert accepted that the site might have been originally established as a villa rustica, but that the site was abandoned, and was reoccupied by Essenes in the late first century BC. Humbert argues that the site may have also been used a place where pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem may have stopped to prepare. Humbert’s theory argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls should be considered as a product of the Qumran community, while acknowledging that the Essenes did not build the site.

However many scholars continue to believe that a group of primarily disenfranchised priests described in a small portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls could have been Essenes and that they could have established a sectarian community at Qumran. That is the essence of the Qumran-Essene Theory. According to a small number of texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls that describe this group, its members studied scripture and other sacred texts, as well as meticulously followed Jewish law. The Teacher of Righteousness was identified in these texts as the person who led the community.

According to the information given by Philo of Alexandria, the closest community comparable to the Essenes is the Jewish Therapeutae known to have lived in Graeco-Roman Egypt. Philo describes the customs of the Jewish Therapeutae of Egypt and the Essenes. He clearly describes the penetration of the Egyptian solar adoration and Pythagorean beliefs to the customs of the Jewish Therapeutae, while Josephus tells about the invocation of the sun by the Essenes and the rules not to defile the rays of the deity (visible rays that can only refer to the Sun) when one is doing the private deeds in wilderness. Common doctrines with solar aspirations between the Jewish Therapeutae of Egypt and the Essenes lead to the common roots with the Jews in exile in Egypt, exemplified in the influence of the Egyptian and Pythagorean calendars. It is also to be emphasized that the only comparable communal texts to the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Geniza of the Caraite synagogue in Cairo in Egypt, which also is another external link to indicate the connections to Egypt. The sun dial found in Qumran follows the skaphion type used by the Pythagorean Aristarchus of Samos in Alexandria. Interestingly Flavius Josephus characterises the Essenes as comparable to the Pythagoreans. One needs to bear in mind that, when the settlement of Qumran dating to the Graeco-Roman period was established, Alexandria was a major city with a number of Jewish residents, and Qumran area was under the rule of the Ptolemies and Seleucids before the Roman occupation.

Recent archaeological analysis

A survey and spatial studies carried out by Finnish and British archaeologists in the area of Qumran in the 1990s have brought into light new results which are supported by natural scientists. This theory based on a modern spatial study (see Lonnqvist and Lonnqvist 2002 and scientific peer-reviewed isprs organisation article 2004 on the website link below) of the orientations of the settlement and the graves, shows that both the settlement and the graves belonged to an intentional planning scheme. This intentional scheme, the writers claim, indicates that the settlement and its cemetery are connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes.

Pottery, glass and coins found at Qumran and along the shore are existing proof of flourishing trade connections in the area, and provide evidence that Qumran did not live in a vacuum in the Graeco-Roman period. Rachel Bar-Nathan (ed. Galor et al. 2006) has shown from similarities between pottery finds at Qumran and at the Herodian winter palaces of Jericho that Qumran should be seen as part of the Jordan valley context rather than as an isolated site. The famous cylindrical "scroll jars" from Qumran, once thought to be unique, she shows to have existed at Masada as well.

The several large stepped cisterns which are a feature of Qumran have over recent decades been considered to be ritual baths. This is certainly within keeping of the religious settlement model and several ritual baths have been found in Jerusalem. There are logistical problems in understanding all these cisterns as baths, however. Qumran's water arrived perhaps twice a year from run off of water brought down by rain. Water was one of Qumran's most valued commodities and water management is an integral part of the site, as seen with the numerous cisterns and channels. If the large cisterns were ritual baths the water would sit getting dirtier through ritual bathing throughout the year and was extremely infrequently replenished by the run off. The current state of analysis of the cisterns is still unresolved, but Katharina Galor (Humbert 2003 Scientific analyses) suggests a mixed usage of the stepped cisterns as both ritual baths and water storage. According to the Israeli archaeologists Magen and Peleg (ed. Galor et al. 2006), the clay found in the cisterns was used for pottery factory facilities. However, some natural scientists, such as an Israeli scholar C. Klein, have put forward evidence which suggests that Qumran has been under flooding which is responsible for aragonite crusting on the walls of the buildings as well as layers of clay accumulation in the structures.

Notes

1. Some Notes on the Archaeological Context of Qumran in the Light of Recent Publications
2. Fiensy, David A. Jesus the Galilean. Gorgias Press LLC, p.xi. ISBN 1-59333-313-7.
3. Chicago Jewish News - Jewish Chicago's Hometown Newspaper.
4. San Diego Union-Tribune.
5. The Qumran Excavations: 1993-2004.
6. N. Golb, The So-Called “Virtual Reality Tour” at the 2007 San Diego Scrolls Exhibit.
7. USA Today.

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