Priesthood, Cult, and Temple in the Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran
PRIESTHOOD, CULT, AND TEMPLE IN THE ARAMAIC SCROLLS PRIESTHOOD, CULT, AND TEMPLE IN THE ARAMAIC SCROLLS FROM QUMRAN By ROBERT E. JONES III, B.A., M.Div. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © Copyright by Robert E. Jones III, June 2020 McMaster University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2020) Hamilton, Ontario (Religious Studies) TITLE: Priesthood, Cult, and Temple in the Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran AUTHOR: Robert E. Jones III, B.A. (Eastern University), M.Div. (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Daniel A. Machiela NUMBER OF PAGES: xiv + 321 ii ABSTRACT My dissertation analyzes the passages related to the priesthood, cult, and temple in the Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran. The Aramaic Scrolls comprise roughly 15% of the manuscripts found in the Qumran caves, and testify to the presence of a flourishing Jewish Aramaic literary tradition dating to the early Hellenistic period (ca. late fourth to early second century BCE). Scholarship since the mid-2000s has increasingly understood these writings as a corpus of related literature on both literary and socio-historical grounds, and has emphasized their shared features, genres, and theological outlook. Roughly half of the Aramaic Scrolls display a strong interest in Israel’s priestly institutions: the priesthood, cult, and temple. That many of these compositions display such an interest has not gone unnoticed. To date, however, few scholars have analyzed the priestly passages in any given composition in light of the broader corpus, and no scholars have undertaken a comprehensive treatment of the priestly passages in the Aramaic Scrolls.
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