THE PREHISTORY OF THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY

1992 ◽  
pp. 116-125
Keyword(s):  
Qumran Community

John the Baptist in Memory, Judaism and Historical Materialism

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-73
Author(s):  
Robert J. Myles
Keyword(s):  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Qumran Community

Abstract Joel Marcus’s JBHT argues that John would have seen himself not as forerunner to Jesus but rather that he, and not Jesus, was the proclaimer and inaugurator of God’s apocalyptic kingdom. The historical Baptist, originally part of the Qumran community, broke away from this group due to his belief that he himself was the prophet Elijah and that his own ministry was central to God’s purposes. This article raises three methodological and historiographical questions concerning where Marcus might reconsider and/or expand the results of his study. First, can we really get at John’s self-understanding beyond the subjective memory impressions left in our extant sources? Second, does Marcus’s connection of John to the Qumran community rely on (mis)characterizations of the community as a marginal sect? Third, what social and economic forces prompted John’s ‘individual decision’ to relocate to the wilderness?

scholarly journals Exclusive language: The tool to empower and create identity

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ananda Geyser-Fouche
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Julia Kristeva ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Literary Theories ◽  
African Context ◽  
Qumran Community ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
The Way

This article used some postmodern literary theories of philosophers such as Jean-Fran�ois Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Julia Kristeva to scrutinise a selection of texts from the post-exilic period with regard to the exclusive language employed in these texts. Lyotard�s insights relate to and complement Foucault�s concept of �counter-memory�. Foucault also focuses on the network of discursive powers that operate behind texts and reproduce them, arguing that it is important to have a look from behind so as to see which voices were silenced by the specific powers behind texts. The author briefly looked at different post-exilic texts within identity-finding contexts, focusing especially on Chronicles and a few Qumran texts, to examine the way in which they used language to create identity and to empower the community in their different contexts. It is generally accepted that both the author(s) of 1 & 2 Chronicles and the Qumran community used texts selectively, with their own nuances, omissions and additions. This study scrutinised the way the author(s) of Chronicles and the Qumran community used documents selectively, focusing on the way in which they used exclusive language. It is clear that all communities used such language in certain circumstances to strengthen a certain group�s identity, to empower them and to legitimise this group�s conduct, behaviour and claims � and thereby exclude other groups.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Based on postmodern literary theories, this article compares the exclusive language used in Chronicles and in the texts of the Qumran community, pointing to the practice of creating identity and empowering through discourse. In conclusion, the article reflects on what is necessary in a South African context, post-1994, to be a truly democratic country.Keywords: Exclusive language; inclusive; Jean-Fran�ois Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu; Derrida; Qumran Chronicles

Response to the Respondents: Competition, Qumran and Supersessionism

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-133
Author(s):  
Joel Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
History Of ◽  
Qumran Community ◽  
The Way

Abstract The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion that early Christians competed with people who believed that John the Baptist was the principal figure in the history of salvation, its assertion that early in his career the Baptist was a member of the Qumran community, and the way in which the book situates the Baptist in relation to Second Temple Judaism in general. The article addresses these concerns, rebutting certain objections but acknowledging areas in which the book could have been more nuanced or further developed.

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