Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why?

Schiffman’s lecture was the first in a series of lectures open to the general public and was, therefore, broad in scope and content. He discussed the history of the Judean desert discoveries, the caves and the site (library and communal quarters), the life style of the community and the question of the group’s identity. The slides were most helpful in illustrating these issues.Schiffman nuanced the question of ’Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?’ by reminding the audience that only about one third of the scrolls were actually authored by this sect while the rest (biblical and apocryphal works) were brought to Qumran by the sect but actually composed by different authors in different periods. New insights as well as salient points on the identity of the sect are summarized below. (A full Hebrew text of the lecture will be published first on the Orion web site and later in a Hebrew book of studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls.)Regarding the archaeological excavations and their recent interpretations, Schiffman dispelled the fortress theory while admitting that the earliest main area may have been standing when the sect arrived (and perhaps was originally a villa). The question of a scriptorium or benched room remains open. Schiffman reiterated the figure of 400 people living on the site (based on the size of the assembly hall and number of dishes in the pantry). The ritual baths indicate the sect observed purity laws. Schiffman argued that the skeletons of women and children in the excavated graves as well as the halachic (legal) material argue against celibacy (and Essene identity unless there were different kinds of Essenes as Josephus suggested). The two types of tefillin suggest members came from more than one stream of Judaism.Schiffman emphasized again the Sadducean basis of the halachic system reflected in the scrolls (especially the halachic letter MMT). Any serious proposal for the identity of the sect must take account of this Sadducean halacha as well as the similarity between the communal life of the Qumran sect and that of the Essenes. Schiffman refined the issue further by asking: How similar is this sect to the Essenes, on the one hand, and to what extent was there Sadducean influence, on the other hand? He suggested two plausible theories of origin and identity - a Sadducean splinter group, or perhaps an Essene group with Sadducean roots. Schiffman ruled out Christian origin but rather argued that the scrolls further illuminate the Jewish roots of Christianity.