Scriptures and Sectarianism

Essays on the Dead Sea Scrolls

by John J. Collins

Book cover: Scriptures and Sectarianism

Extent: 343 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

Series volume number: 332

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(September 2014)

ISBN: 9783161532108

6.57 x 9.13 inches

Price: $187.00

In stock

The Dead Sea Scrolls include many texts that were produced by a sectarian movement (and also many that were not). The movement had its origin in disputes about the interpretation of the Scriptures, especially the Torah, not in disputes about the priesthood as had earlier been assumed. The definitive break with the rest of Judean society should be dated to the first century BCE rather than to the second. John J. Collins illustrates how the worldview of the sect involved a heightened sense of involvement in the heavenly, angelic world, and the hope for an afterlife in communion with the angels. The essays in this volume are divided into three main sections, dealing with Scripture and Interpretation, History and Sectarianism, and Sectarian Worldview. The opening essay provides an overview of what we have learned from the Scrolls, and the last essay discusses the relation of the Scrolls to early Christianity.


The Dead Sea Scrolls include many texts that were produced by a sectarian movement (and also many that were not). The movement had its origin in disputes about the interpretation of the Scriptures, especially the Torah, not in disputes about the priesthood as had earlier been assumed. The definitive break with the rest of Judean society should be dated to the first century BCE rather than to the second. John J. Collins illustrates how the worldview of the sect involved a heightened sense of involvement in the heavenly, angelic world, and the hope for an afterlife in communion with the angels. The essays in this volume are divided into three main sections, dealing with Scripture and Interpretation, History and Sectarianism, and Sectarian Worldview. The opening essay provides an overview of what we have learned from the Scrolls, and the last essay discusses the relation of the Scrolls to early Christianity.

  • By (author) John J Collins

"...This volume of important essays is a welcome contribution to the continued study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their relevance for New Testament studies." --Phillip J. Long, Reading Acts