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  • From: Stephen Goranson <goranson AT duke.edu>
  • To: "b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] addendum and correction to "Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History" v.1, Weston Fields (2010)
  • Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:05:48 -0400

I'm reading the significant new contribution to learning, The Dead Sea
Scrolls: A Full History, vol, 1 1947-1960 (Brill, 2010) and find it
fascinating.I recommend it to all who are interested in Qumran history of
scholarship. When I'm finished I may review some of its more interesting
data.

For now, here's the document about which Weston Fields wrote (page 339):
"No written record of Albright's accusation seems to have survived, but
Harding mentions it in a letter to the BBC on 8 June 1956:...." (and cf. p.
552 n. 78 "...I have been unable to trace down what this statement of
Albright's might be.")
Albright later said the report--about the new Qumran Cave Eleven finds-- was
rather inaccurate, but Associated Press ran a story that appeared in several
papers. Here's the version from the Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 1956, page 1
col.2:
"Arab Stole Old Scrolls
Baltimore (AP)--
At least two newly discovered Dead sea scrolls have been stolen by Arabs and
are being held for ransom, a Johns Hopkins University professor said
Wednesday.
Dr. William F. Albright, professor of semitic languages, said in a lecture
that discovery of these scrolls had not been previously announced...."

So far I've found one significant error and various minor ones (e.g. p. 105
Dhormes for Dhorme; p. 103 the dates Strugnell taught at Duke [correct
elsewhere] etc.)
On page 175 it's reported that on 14 January 1953:
"He [Milik] also congratulated Brownlee on his identification of the
Righteous Teacher with Judas Maccabaeus, an identification that he accepted."
This should read "Judah the Essene." Apparently later Milik changed his mind.
But Field's book strengthens (in my view) reasons for considering Jannaeus
the "Wicked Priest," as many of the early scholars did.

Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson



  • [b-hebrew] addendum and correction to "Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History" v.1, Weston Fields (2010), Stephen Goranson, 04/22/2010

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