BOEKBESPREKINGS / BOOK REVIEWS

Flusser, D 2007 - Judaism of the second temple period (Vol 1: Qumran and Apocalypticism)

Publisher: Eerdmans. Hardcover, 370 pages. Price: $36.00

Reviewer: Dr M Cromhout (Johannesburg)

This first volume of two is a collection of 22 articles originally published in Hebrew, and now translated into English and made available to a wider readership by Azzan Yadin. David Flusser, who passed away in 2000, is recognized as a leading Jewish scholar of the New Testament and Early Christianity, but as the sub-title indicates, this volume focuses on some of his work on Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (which Flusser openly identifies with the Essenes), a work that already commenced when the DSS were discovered. The articles in this collection range from those which have a broad appeal, to those catering for inter-textual specialists and the true DSS connoisseur. A notable strength is Flusser's ability to recognize inter-textual allusions or connections across the spectrum of "Jewish" literature of this period, however subtle they may be. This includes connections between the DSS and later liturgical forms of Jewish worship, with the Tanak, Josephus, the Apocrypha, as well as traditions and attitudes evident in Jesus, early Christianity and of course, the New Testament. For any specialist in the DSS, this book is a welcome addition filled to the brim with opportunities for learning and insightful scholarship.