Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Gēr and Mutable Ethnicity
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-37817-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 126, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 544 g

Reihe: Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah

Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls examines the meaning of the term ger in the Dead Sea Scrolls. While often interpreted as a resident alien, this study of the term as it is employed within scriptural rewriting in the Dead Sea Scrolls concludes that the ger is a Gentile convert to Judaism. Contrasting the ger in the Dead Sea Scrolls against scriptural predecessors, Carmen Palmer finds that a conversion is possible by means of mutable ethnicity. Furthermore, mutable features of ethnicity in the sectarian movement affiliated with the Dead Sea Scrolls include shared kinship, connection to land, and common culture in the practice of circumcision. The sectarian movement is not as closed toward Gentiles as has been commonly considered.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Palmer, Carmen

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments Ix

List of AbbreviationsII

Key to Symbols

1 Introduction

1.1 Context 5

1.2 Problem and Significance

1.3 Response: Methodology

1.4 Chapter Outlines

2 Provenance and Dating of the Ger in the Dead Sea Scrolls

2.1 Overview of the Provenance of the Sectarian Movement and the Damascus and Serekh Traditions

2.2 Means of Establishing Provenance and Dating of the Texts

2.3 An Assessment of the Occasions Where the Term Ger Has Been Employed

2.4 Chapter Conclusions

3 A Textual Study of the Ger in the Dead Sea Scrolls

3.1 A Text That Influences Damascus (D) and Serekh (S) Traditions: 4Q423 Instructiong Frag. 5, 1–4

3.2 Texts Correlated with the Damascus (D) Tradition

3.3 Texts Correlated with the Serekh (S) Tradition

3.4 Texts Correlated with the Sectarian Movement: Alignment with Damascus (D) or Serekh (S) Tradition Indeterminate

3.5 Chapter Conclusions

4 Locating the Ger and Assessing Ethnic Identity in the Sectarian Movement

4.1 Shared Kinship as a Marker of Ethnic Identity in the Sectarian Movement: How Ger Represents Kin

4.2 Connection to Land as a Feature of Ethnic Identity: Ger’s Incorporation in the Promise of Land

4.3 Common Culture in the Covenantal Practice of Circumcision as a Feature of Ethnic Identity in the Sectarian Movement

4.4 Ethnic Identity in the Sectarian Movement Chapter Conclusions

5 Sociohistorical Comparison between the Sectarian Movement and Greco-Roman Associations

5.1 Greco-Roman Associations: An Introduction

5.2 Greco-Roman Noncosanguinal Brothers: Professional Associations

5.3 Greco-Roman Noncosanguinal Brothers: Cultic Associations

5.4 Shared Kinship and Mutable Ethnicity in the Brothers of Greco-Roman Associations: Conclusions

6 Conclusion

6.1 Summary of Findings
6.2 Further Implications for Scholarship

6.3 Proposals for Further Research

Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Carmen Palmer, Ph.D. (2016), University of St. Michael’s College, instructs Biblical Hebrew at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto. Her publications include an article on scriptural rewriting, and Foreigner and Gentile entries in the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception.