Violence, Power, and Society in the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Alex P. Jassen

Overview

Violence is one of the key themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It captured the imagination of the Sectarians who wrote these scrolls, and who saw themselves as victims of persecution. Their vision for the end of days included fantasies of revenge against their enemies. In this volume, Alex P. Jassen explores the intersection of violence and power in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the ancient sectarian movement which generated and preserved these texts. Bringing a multidisciplinary approach to this topic, he offers insights into the origins and function of violence for the people behind the Dead Sea Scrolls. He demonstrates how they positioned themselves in a world dominated by more powerful Jews and the overwhelming might of foreign empires. Jassen addresses the complex relationship between violence, power, and social groups by drawing on cross-cultural examples of sectarianism, millennial movements, and disempowered groups, with particular emphasis on New Religious movements such as the Branch Davidians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009609081
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/16/2025
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Alex P. Jassen is Ethel and Irvin Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He is the author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (2007), winner of the 2009 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (2014).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. From contextless accounts to holistic portraits of violence; 3. The beginnings of violent conflict; 4. Sectarian identity, intensified conflict, and the turn to violence; 5. Persecution, victimhood, and storytelling in sectarian portraits of present-time violence; 6. Reversal, reciprocity, and revenge in sectarian fantasies of eschatological violence; 7. Violent imaginaries and practical violence in the war scroll; 8. Conclusion; Bibliography.