Challenges to conventional opinions on Qumran and Enoch issues / by Paul Heger.

• Superior document: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah, v. 100
• Author: Heger, Paul, 1924-
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah ; v. 100.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (429 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Some literary expressions in the Dead Sea Scrolls led scholars to allege that their authors professed a dualistic and deterministic worldview of Zoroastrian origin and that the omission of Moses and Sinai from the Enoch writings evinces that a segment in Jewish society marginalized the Torah, adopting Enoch’s prophecies as its ethical guideline. This study challenges these allegations as utterly conflicting with essential biblical doctrines and the unequivocal beliefs and expectations of Qumran’s Torah-centered society, arguing that scholars’ allegations are erroneously based on interpreting ancient texts with a modern mindset and influenced by the interpreter’s personal cultural background. The study interprets the relevant texts in a manner compatible with the presumed doctrines of ancient Jewish authors and readers.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Rabbinic and Qumran Interpretation Systems -- 3.The Attribution ofModern Concepts to Authors and Readers of Ancient Texts -- 4. Enoch: Complementary or Alternative toMosaic Torah? -- 5. Jubilees and theMosaic Torah -- 6. Another Look at Dualism in QumranWritings -- 7. Against aTheory of Dual Determinism in 1QS and 1QHa -- 8. Epilogue -- Bibliography -- Index of Citations -- Index of Subjects.