The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus »

Hartmut Stegemann is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Göttingen and Director of the Institute for Ancient Judaism, where he is chairman of Qumran studies.

Northwest of the Dead Sea, twelve kilometers to the south of Jericho and thirty-two kilometers north of the En-gedi Oasis, lie the ruins of a community long known to the Bedouins as 'Khirbet Qumran'. The nearly 900 original manuscript fragments found in caves near the site between 1947 and 1956 have fundamentally altered our view of ancient Judaism.
The incredible discoveries at Qumran are unveiled in this compelling volume by one of the world's foremost experts on biblical archaeology and the ancient Qumran community. Drawing on the best of current research and a thorough knowledge of all the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hartmut Stegemann deciphers the meaning of the historical facts regarding the Qumran community and answers in an understandable and exciting way many of the questions that have provoked sensational speculation in the press since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Stegemann analyzes the purpose of the Qumran settlement itself and paints a picture of how daily life was carried on there. He probes similarities and differences between Essene baptism, commemorative meals, and eschatology and their early Christian counterparts. He also explores the relation of the Qumran community to John the Baptist, to Jesus, and to early Christianity, and uncovers the true nature of the Qumran writings, which continue to have a profound impact on biblical studies today.

Westminster Theological Journal

"Occasionally a book is published that dominates the course of scholarship for some time. Witness, for example, the effect that E. P. Saunders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism has had on discussions about Judaism as well as Pauline studies. Whether Stegemann's book will do the same with regard to Qumran studies no one can say, of course, but it certainly has the potential. Some of his positions may turn out to be dead-ends, but others may well be the beginning of major new avenues in Qumran scholarship.... Qumran scholars have more than enough here to keep the debate lively and the research ongoing."