tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7273902.post3225104057190353252..comments2023-04-15T04:29:07.749-07:00Comments on The Wittenberg Door: Theology and life: Norman Golb's 'Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls': an Amazon reviewJim Huffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16666507238123326223noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7273902.post-15561204522852525002009-01-28T00:03:00.000-08:002009-01-28T00:03:00.000-08:00Here as elsewhere, Stephen Goranson takes a dogmat...Here as elsewhere, Stephen Goranson takes a dogmatic approach, repeating old arguments and refusing to engage with the research findings of major archaeologists like the Donceels, Hirschfeld, Magen, Peleg, and Bar-Nathan, all of whom support Golb's view. <BR/><BR/>Stephen has, unfortunately, used the resources of the Duke University library (where he holds a position in "stacks maintenance") to post many offensive remarks about Golb and his "sockpuppets" over the past ten years. In doing so, Stephen has consistently misrepresented the facts. Here, for example, he says that Ada Yardeni has shown that many scrolls were penned by one "Qumran scribe." To be sure, Yardeni has shown that a set of fragments were copied by one scribe, but she has not shown that the scribe in question lived at Qumran. In fact, she has shown that a fragment found at Masada -- where Jews are known to have fled from Jerusalem -- was copied by the same scribe.<BR/><BR/>For more on Golb's views, and on his criticism of recent museum exhibits, see<BR/><BR/>http://www.bibbiablog.com/2009/01/27/who-wrote-the-dead-sea-scrolls-norman-golbs-point-of-view/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7273902.post-85833441933933501302008-11-07T04:26:00.000-08:002008-11-07T04:26:00.000-08:00Mr. Huffman, Mr. Golb has not presented the facts ...Mr. Huffman, Mr. Golb has not presented the facts about Qumran texts and archaeology and the history of scholarship accurately. He is not the first, nor the second, to be critical of finding an Essene identity. The texts are not a crosssection; for example, 1 Maccabees and mention of Hanukkah are absent; present are sectarian texts . His proposal, by the way, that if the caves had been discovered in a different order, the Essene identity might not have arisen, is the sort of hypothetical than cannot be falsified. For more evidence of Qumran-Essene association see "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene" at http://www.duke.edu/~goranson<BR/>PS. many online comments supporting Golb are from a sockpuppet using many false names to pretend that many share his view.<BR/>Stephen GoransonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7273902.post-32245810156912239732008-11-05T04:18:00.000-08:002008-11-05T04:18:00.000-08:00Mr. Goranson, thanks for your comment. The proble...Mr. Goranson, thanks for your comment. <BR/><BR/>The problem is that if we begin with a certain theory about an issue and seek to make discoveries match that theory, we're doing history backwards. This, I would suggest, lies at the heart of Golb's discussion about the narrative behind theories of the scroll origins.Jim Huffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16666507238123326223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7273902.post-32620708782828957792008-11-05T02:44:00.000-08:002008-11-05T02:44:00.000-08:00Actually, Norman Golb presents no direct evidence ...Actually, Norman Golb presents no direct evidence that the Qumran scrolls all came from Jerusalem at one time, past the Roman army. Qumran is where Pliny said Essenes lived, on the "north-west shore" of the Dead Sea, to use the words of C.D. Ginsberg in 1862. The scrolls include Essene teachings (e.g., on predestination) and practice (e.g., initiation and giving all property to the community [the archaeology is communal]). Ada Yardeni showed that many scrolls, including sectarian ones, from several caves were penned by one Qumran scribe. More inkwells were found at Qumran than at any other 2nd temple period Jewish site. Even the Hebrew origin of the name Essene is in the scrolls, as a self-designation. For more evidence of Qumran-Essene association see<BR/>http://www.duke.edu/~goransonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com