Editing Dead Sea Scrolls (section)

==Origin==
There has been much debate about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The dominant theory remains that the scrolls were produced by the Essenes, a sect of Jews living at nearby Qumran, but this theory has come to be challenged by several modern scholars.<ref>{{Cite thesis|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7727/|title=The Qumran paradigm: A critical evaluation of some foundational hypotheses in the construction of the 'Qumran Sect.|last=De-Looijer|first=G. A. M.|publisher=PhD Thesis, Durham University|year=2013|pages=1–13|type=Doctoral|access-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728001717/http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7727/|archive-date=28 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Qumran–Essene theory===
{{Main|Qumran-Essene hypothesis}}

The view among scholars, almost universally held until the 1990s, is the "Qumran–Essene" hypothesis originally posited by Roland Guérin de Vaux<ref>de Vaux, Roland, ''Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls'' (Schweich Lectures of the British Academy, 1959). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973.</ref> and Józef Tadeusz Milik,<ref>Milik, Józef Tadeusz, ''Ten Years of Discovery in the Wilderness of Judea'', London: SCM, 1959. {{ISBN?}}</ref> though independently both [[Eliezer Sukenik]] and Butrus Sowmy of [[Monastery of Saint Mark|St Mark's Monastery]] connected scrolls with the Essenes well before any excavations at Qumran.<ref>For Sowmy, see: Trever, John C., ''The Untold Story of Qumran'', (Westwood: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1965), p. 25. {{ISBN?}}</ref> The Qumran–Essene theory holds that the scrolls were written by the Essenes or by another Jewish sectarian group residing at Khirbet Qumran. They composed the scrolls and ultimately hid them in the nearby caves during the [[First Jewish–Roman War|Jewish Revolt]] sometime between 66 and 68&nbsp;CE. The site of Qumran was destroyed and the scrolls never recovered. Arguments supporting this theory include:
* There are striking similarities between the description of an initiation ceremony of new members in the Community Rule and descriptions of the Essene initiation ceremony mentioned in the works of Flavius [[Josephus]], a Jewish-Roman historian of the Second Temple period.
* Josephus mentioned the Essenes as sharing property among the members of the community, as does the Community Rule.
* During the excavation of Khirbet Qumran, two inkwells and plastered elements thought to be tables were found, offering evidence that some form of writing was done there. More inkwells were discovered nearby. De Vaux called this area the "[[scriptorium]]" based upon this discovery.
* Several Jewish [[Mikvah|ritual baths]] (Hebrew: {{Langx|he|מקוה|translit=miqvah|label=none}}) were discovered at Qumran, offering evidence of an observant [[Jew]]ish presence at the site.
* [[Pliny the Elder]] (a geographer writing after the fall of [[Jerusalem]] in 70&nbsp;CE) described a group of Essenes living in a desert community on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea near the ruined town of '[[Ein Gedi]].

===Qumran–Sectarian theory===
Qumran–Sectarian theories are variations on the Qumran–Essene theory. The main point of departure from the Qumran–Essene theory is hesitation to link the Dead Sea Scrolls specifically with the Essenes. Most proponents of the Qumran–Sectarian theory posit a group of Jews living in or near Qumran were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls but do not necessarily conclude that the sectarians were Essenes.

A specific variation on the Qumran–Sectarian theory emerged in the 1990s that has gained much recent popularity is the work of [[Lawrence Schiffman|Lawrence H. Schiffman]], who proposes that the community was led by a group of [[Sons of Zadok|Zadokite]] priests ([[Sadducees]]).<ref>Schiffman, Lawrence H., ''Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: their True Meaning for Judaism and Christianity'', Anchor Bible Reference Library (Doubleday) 1995.</ref> The most important document in support of this view is the "Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah" ([[4QMMT]]), which cites purity laws (such as the transfer of impurities) identical to those attributed in rabbinic writings to the Sadducees. 4QMMT also reproduces a festival calendar that follows Sadducee principles for the dating of certain festival days.

===Christian origin theory===
Spanish [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[José O'Callaghan Martínez]] argued in the 1960s that one fragment (7Q5) preserves a portion of text from the [[New Testament]] [[Gospel of Mark]] 6:52–53.<ref>O'Callaghan–Martínez, Josep, ''Cartas Cristianas Griegas del Siglo V'', Barcelona: E. Balmes, 1963.{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2024}}</ref> This theory was scrutinized in the year 2000 by [[Palaeography|paleographic]] analysis of the particular fragment. However, this faced some contention, and O'Callaghan's theory remains an area of great dispute. Later analyses in 2004 and 2018 lent credence to O'Callaghan's original assertion.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

[[Robert Eisenman]] has advanced the theory that some scrolls describe the [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] community. Eisenman also argues that the careers of [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]] and [[Paul the Apostle]] correspond to events recorded in some of these documents.<ref>Eisenman, Robert H. James, ''the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls''. 1st American ed. New York: Viking, 1997. {{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2024}}</ref>

===Jerusalem origin theory===
Some scholars have argued that the scrolls were the product of Jews living in Jerusalem who hid the scrolls in the caves near Qumran while fleeing from the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] during the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of Jerusalem]] in 70&nbsp;CE.<ref>Chernoivanenko, Vitaly. "[http://history.ukma.edu.ua/docs/faculty/chernoivanenko/publications/chernoivanenko_jerusalem-theoryen.pdf The Jerusalem Theory of the Dead Sea Scrolls Authorship: Origins, Evolution, and Discussions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317215902/http://history.ukma.edu.ua/docs/faculty/chernoivanenko/publications/chernoivanenko_jerusalem-theoryen.pdf |date=17 March 2016 }}," in ''Ukrainian Orientalistics: Special Issue on Jewish Studies'', Кyiv: NaUKMA Omeljan Pritsak Center for Oriental Studies, 2011: 9–29.</ref> Karl Heinrich Rengstorf first proposed in the 1960s that the Dead Sea Scrolls originated at the library of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.<ref>Rengstorf, Karl Heinrich. ''Hirbet Qumran und die Bibliothek vom Toten Meer''. Translated by J.R. Wilkie. Stuttgart: [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], 1960.{{page?|date=September 2024}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Later, [[Norman Golb]] suggested that the scrolls were the product of multiple libraries in Jerusalem and not necessarily the Jerusalem Temple library.<ref>Golb, Norman, "On the Jerusalem Origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls", University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 5 June 2009.</ref><ref>Golb, Norman, ''Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Search for the Secret of Qumran'', New York: Scribner, 1995.{{ISBN?}} {{page needed|date=September 2022}}</ref> Proponents of the Jerusalem origin theory point to the diversity of thought and handwriting among the scrolls as evidence against a Qumran origin of the scrolls. Several archaeologists have also accepted an origin of the scrolls other than Qumran, including [[Yizhar Hirschfeld]]<ref>Hirschfeld, Yizhar, ''Qumran in Context: Reassessing the Archaeological Evidence'', Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004. {{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=September 2022}}</ref> and more recently Yizhak Magen and Yuval Peleg,<ref>{{cite web |first1=Magen |last1=Yizhak |first2=Yuval |last2=Peleg |title=The Qumran Excavations 1993–2004: Preliminary Report'', JSP 6 |publisher=Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority |year=2007 |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/images/shop/jsp/JSP6_Qumran_color.pdf |access-date=7 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128071000/http://www.antiquities.org.il/images/shop/jsp/JSP6_Qumran_color.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> who all understand the remains of Qumran to be those of a [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] fort that was reused during later periods.