Judaism of the Second Temple Period, volume 1: Qumran and Apocalypticism.

• Author: Rietz, Henry W. Morisada
• Position: Book review

Judaism of the Second Temple Period, volume 1: Qumran and Apocalypticism. By DAVID FLUSSER. Translated by Azzan Yadin. Grand Rapids. Michigan: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS COMPANY, 2007. Pp. xiii + 356. $36.

This is the first of two volumes that bring together and translate into English posthumously David Flusser's published Hebrew articles. Serge Ruzer in consultation with Flusser himself collected the articles and published them as Yahadut Bayit Sheni: Qumran ve Apocalyptica (2002). Azzan Yadin provides a very readable English translation and David Bivin provides the Foreword.

With this translation, a mine of Flusser's scholarship has been opened up to English readers. There are certainly gems to be found throughout this collection, although some still need to be cut and polished. Flusser rightly argues that the Qumran Community should not be studied in isolation, but within the larger context of Second Temple Judaism from which both Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity emerge. Flusser's expert ability to bring into conversation a wide range of primary sources--from the biblical, classical, rabbinic, liturgical, and Christian traditions--always with depth, discussing text-critical and traditional differences--confirms that the mine is rich, but at times difficult to navigate. In the following review, I try to present a map to this mine, by summarizing the key topics and points of the articles which are not always evident from their titles.

Unfortunately, this volume lacks bibliographical information for the original publication of the articles, potentially misleading the novice reader and frustrating the specialist. The articles seem to be arranged topically, rather than follow a chronological order, further complicating a reader's attempt to situate them. Flusser in his introduction acknowledges the choice "not to needlessly update" the articles. Providing the original publication date would have enabled the reader to properly situate the various articles in the history of the various discoveries and scholarship. Rather than merely "dating" the articles--as if those over fifty years old might be of less value--this information would help the reader more fully appreciate Flusser's insights within the state of scholarship at particular times. Therefore, in listing the contents of the volume, I have included whenever possible the original date of publication.

Throughout the course of these articles, Flusser staunchly defends the identification of the...