Steve D. Fraade offers a new translation, with notes, and detailed commentary to the Dead Sea Scroll most commonly called the Damascus Document, based on both ancient manuscripts from caves along the western shore of the Dead Sea, and medieval manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza. The text is one of the longest and most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Its importance derives from several aspects of its contents: its extensive collections of laws, both for the sectarian community that authored it and for the rest of Israel; some of the oldest examples of scriptural interpretation, both legal and narrative, both implicit and explicit, with important implications for our understanding of the evolving status of the Hebrew canon; some of the clearest expressions, often in hortatory form, of the community's self-understanding as an elect remnant of Israel that understands itself in dualistic opposition to the rest of Israel, its practices, and its leaders; important expressions of the
community's self-understanding as a priestly alternative to the sacrificial worship in the Jerusalem Temple; expressions of an apocalyptic, eschatological understanding of living as the true Israel in the "end of days;" important expressions of attitudes toward woman, sexual activity, and marriage; importance for our understanding of ancient modes of teaching and of ritual practice; importance for the study of the history of the Hebrew language and its scribal practices. The volume contains a substantial introduction, dealing with these aspects of the Damascus Document and locating its place within the Dead Sea Scrolls more broadly as well as the historical context of ancient Judaism that gave rise to this text.
Industry Reviews
What sets this commentary apart is its philosophical sophistication, adopting a broadly Gadamerian approach to the question of what a "work" is. * Adam Booth, C.S.C., Stonehill College, North Easton, MA, Catholic Books Review *
Scholars in a variety of fields should salute the publication of Steven Fraade's new commentary on the Damascus Document. * Lawrence H. Schiffman, Judge Abraham Lieberman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University and Director of the Global Institute for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies. *
A most pleasing volume that demonstrates clarity, erudition and discernment throughout. * Siam Bhayro, Journal of Jewish Studies *
The Damascus Document, the second volume in the series, Oxford Commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls (OCDSS), is such a work that will be helpful to both new readers and experts...Fraade's balanced and succinct style of commentary is congruous with the mission of the Oxford Commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls series- "to provide scholarship of the highest level that is accessible to non-specialists." The commentary is a product of and testament to the author's meticulous use of the comparative method and will surely contribute to conversations between scholars of Scrolls and specialists in cognate fields. * Tianruo Jiang, The Articles *
