Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls

A systematic analysis of the Essene Sect that argues a surprising claim

With the full publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, fresh analysis of the evidence presented can be — and indeed, should be — made. Beyond the Qumran Community does just that, reaching a surprising conclusion: the sect described in the Dead Sea Scrolls developed later than has usually been supposed and was never confined to the site of Qumran.

John J. Collins here deconstructs "the Qumran community" and shows that the se...