NO QUMRAN ESSENES?

The standard Dead Sea Scrolls story holds that a strict sect of Jews called Essenes lived in a place called Qumran. The scrolls were their library, which they hid to protect them from marauding Romans. Some archaelogists now claim the accepted version is bunk:

Located on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, Qumran is famous throughout the world as the place where the Essenes, who have been widely described in studies, conferences and exhibitions as a type of Jewish "monk," are said to have lived and written the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, based on findings soon to be published, Israeli archaeologists now argue that Qumran "lacks any uniqueness."...

"It's impossible to say that the people who lived at Qumran were poor," said Peleg. "It is also impossible that de Vaux did not see the finds we saw. He simply ignored what didn't suit him."...

According to Hirschfeld, the finds at Qumran are "revolutionary and contradict everything we know about every aspect of the Essenes."

If the new theory is credible, it will be revolutionary. The Qumran Essene story has been taught in various classes by your humble servant.

Not everyone is biting, however:

But among the supporters of the traditional theory, there are those who remain unmoved. Dr. Magen Broshi, former chief curator of the Shrine of the Book and the one who coined the description of Qumran as "the oldest monastery in the Western world," said that he does not believe the reports of finds of jewelry and cosmetics vessels at Qumran. "If these items were found, they are not from the site itself, but rather belonged to the Roman garrison stationed there after its destruction," he said. According to Broshi, "even today, 98 or 99 percent of scholars still believe that Qumran was an Essene monastery."

Of course, it's easy to see how an establishment position would remain entrenched in the face of new evidence, especially in the world of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They're not exactly a bunch eager to embrace outsiders as evidenced by the decades long restriction of simple access to the scroll texts, access that was broken several years ago against the will of the Scroll establishment.

Some have even suggested that the Dead Sea Scrolls represent, at least in part, the library of the Jerusalem Temple itself. It's a story to watch.

[Link via Christianity Today.]