Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Between 1946 and 1956, a remarkable set of ancient scrolls was found buried in caves at Qumran, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank of Palestine. These scrolls proved to be the remains of the library of a Jewish community of the Second Temple Period, which most scholars identify with the sect of the Essenes. In addition to providing scholars access to the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, the scrolls included texts relating to the Essene community, including their apocalyptic beliefs as they anticipated the world’s end and their expectations of the Messiah. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will survey what the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about the Essenes, and consider their relationship with the followers of Jesus and John the Baptist.
Join the livestream to participate in the discussion and to ask questions to our lecturer during the Q&A.
Other topics covered in this lecture include: Qumran, the Essenes, John the Baptist, Messianism, Apocalypticism
Browse our catalogue of free lectures at www.centreplac...
Your generous support allows us to offer these lectures at no cost. Please consider a making donation (tax deductible in the US and Canada) at www.centreplac... ️

[@fastballflakes5385]

Another fantastic Hamercopia of Knowledge tonight. Thank you so much to John and Leandro for allowing us into this community every week. Excellent topic this evening.

[@RethinkRetro1]

hamercopia™

[@centre-place]

Thank you! 😁

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Every time.

[@dantebruno5474]

Why do u say "allow"....

[@davidfolts5893]

When it comes to deep dives into Biblical history, no one does it better than John Hammer.🎯🎯🎯

[@negringo4470]

Sounds like a porn movie

[@arthursmom]

Hard working and committed you are amazing.. I know you’ve heard this but can’t emphasize it enough

[@centre-place]

Thank you!

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

He is very good indeed. It might be worth adding that, generally speaking, Messianic Jewish Rabbis (Jews who believe the message of Jesus/Yeshua with non-Jewish believers most welcome to learn and worshio aling with them) tend to be very versed in biblical variations, with also a knowledge of Jewish Extras-biblical works (Talmud etc). SO there may be a chance you have a local source and person to discuss and ask about stuff with. My local Messianic group are called Beit Yeshua Messianic Fellowship, based in Edinburgh Scotland, a very Torah based, Jesus-centred group. Their Rabbi, Dr Max Debono-De-Laurentis is very approachable, if a little slow to reply at times due to a very busy routine. I think they have branches in other places though. With them it is like being in the prescence of the New Testament Paul

[@josepheridu3322]

Thank you for this interesting and deep lecture. I feel so fortunate to be alive in a modern time that we have access to these books that were almost lost to history, studying them from a modern perspective. I wonder how much more was lost.

[@johnerikstacy500]

I think it is interesting that the gospels mention both the sadducees and pharisees in the context of being outgroups whereas the essenes are not mentioned. To me this seems consistent with a view from the inside of a group. It would be taken for granted that "this is us" and we don't have to say "we essenes call the sadducees and pharisees hypocrites." There is also the question of what they actually would have called themselves if anything.

[@infinitesyncstudios4026]

The only problem with the theory of the early Christians being the Essenes is that the Gospels were written much later and the Essenes could have been non-existent by the time the Gospels were written. It’s possible that Jesus was an Essene, but I doubt the Gospels would have recorded it. The Essenes were hermetic and we do know that the early church was based in Jerusalem under the name “The Poor of Jerusalem.”

[@johnerikstacy500]

​​@@infinitesyncstudios4026 I agree, I don't think jesus was an essene, necessarily, but I think it is interesting that the essens are not among the groups that Jesus criticizes in the gospels. My guess is that jesus knew about them and it's likely that the authors of the gospels also did (since they are mentioned by Josephus and at least remembered by him past the likely time of gospel authorship).

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

They seem to have seen themselves as ''soms of light'', so within the community, this is perhaps what they called themselves (In Aramaic of course) I doubt Jesus would have had more than an acquaintance with some of the community members. But With all that stuff going on between factions, many individuals and groups outwith 'essenic' culture would have viewed the major Jerusalem groups in a similar light. It, to me, seems MORE likely John (Yochanan Ben Zacharia) The Baptist MAY have spent time among them with his ''living in the wilderness''. MAYBE. Jesus seems to have spent more time amongst the towns, villages and Jerusalem teaching in the local congregations, teaching as a house guest, and in the Temple at Jerusalem where it was common for teachers like Him to teach and talk there in the courtyard to all Jews who would listen and take part, and we can deduce some of these listeners were from all factions, including those with Saducee or Pharisee connections. Jesus did not always critisize the pharisees. for he also said of them in a backhanded compliment ''For unless your righteousness surpsses that of the Pharisees, you shall not see the kingdom'', so he seems not to have been as seperatist as qumran/Essenes were. He knew many of them kept tightly to the commands in Torah (Mosaic Law.. or The Law.) And later we read Psul telling us that, as non-Jews we do need to in time come under Mosaic Law. But we get Grace to do so as we are ready since we never grew up within Judaism. And he also warned the jewish member to go easy and not exasperate the new non-Jewish in-comers. Again, stuff which Qumran likely would NEVER have done, being VERY VERY STRICTLY Jewish. More so than strict Hassidic Jews of our times. (He never really preached to non-Jews since He was called to shepherd the lost sheep of Israel It wasn't till Peter and Paul's missions when we see non-Jews entering their fellowships. This was a decade or two after the crucifixion. I think, generally essenic members stayed away from there (Jerusalem) Whereas Jesus was entierely comfortabke there in His Father's House, despite whoever thought they were running the show.. Certainly He seems to have a degree of agreement with Qumran/essenic views with respect to the sutuation in Jerusalem. But most people would be aware of these matters, not just qumran. Much of the populace of Samaria may have felt similarly since they were looked down upon by the Judeans who generally followed the high and mighty Pharisees and Saducees. The Samarians being seen as ''those sort of people'' doing ''that sort of thing''. Lowly.

[@dorotakorsak3107]

Thank you so much for next awesome lecture! I can never watch it in real time as it's late night in my country but I always wait for the new lecture.

[@denaisaacthiswasgreat.thum7598]

John. You are the Best. You answer so many questions and yet you bring up so many more. It is the best educational journey I've been in some time. Thank you so much

[@nopenope1834]

From Australia, I love your lectures.

[@dynomiteslim4590]

Very grateful to have access to John's wonderful lectures. Thank you.

[@pebystroll]

Fantastic as always, I hope to visit your church in Canada some day, greetings from Ireland

[@METVWETV]

Hes a Mormon. Are you?

[@lesliesewell9573]

Thank you so much for the videos! I've watched so many of them and looking forward to mamy more!

[@paperback10]

Yay. It's "Hamertime" !

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

_Stop!_

[@bothewolf3466]

my new job means I can only live watch 1 hour. Oh well! Great stuff even if I miss some live.

[@centre-place]

It's good to at least spend 1 hour with you in the live chat!

[@daveg5420]

Book of Esther fragments were found among the Dead Sea scrolls in 2021. This is breaking news so many sources on the Dead Sea scrolls don’t include it. But there are reputable sources that can be Googled. Keep up the good work!

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Okay. This is one of those moments I really hate the historical community's twisted sense of humor. Sometime in 2018 an article was published claiming that Esther was found in a collection of Dead Sea Scrolls. The problem is that this article was a piece of satire someone wrote to prove that a particular journal's peer review process was broken. This article starts by saying that a previously unreadable scroll had been rendered legible by two technological breakthroughs, then went on to describe those breakthroughs: "Two such technological breakthroughs, serendipitously discovered just moments apart, have finally made reading this ancient, wine-soaked parchment possible. A team of archaeologists and chemists at the Technion in Haifa discovered that the wine could be extracted from the parchment using a highly delicate process known as “a little bit of seltzer.” At the same time, researchers in the University of Bar Kamtza’s Center for Torah uMDMA[2] Studies looked at recent scientific studies of the ability of psychedelics to enhance vision, and realized that they could be applied to the study of the scrolls.[3] They found that microdoses of certain types of psychedelic mushrooms allowed the researchers to read and interpret otherwise unreadable ancient texts." This article's TITLE has been reposted many times by people not critical enough to read the contents of the article, thereby proving the writers right many times over. So, no. Nobody has found Megillat Esther in the DSS.

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

@ approx 18:00 ''no leap days or months''. They did have a two day Sabbath once a year (considered and counted as one Sabbath), which may have been their way to try to redress things? I really like the way you have tied togther the chronology of the contesting factions, and how they all fitted in to the background of why the qumram community existed, and too, of what the state of the state was in Jesus time. REALLY tight work.

[@charlesc6011]

Thanks

[@centre-place]

We appreciate this donation. We will use it to produce more content like this!

[@davioustube]

Thanks!

[@centre-place]

We appreciate this donation that helps the channel continue to produce content!

[@adamchapman6530]

Thanks, John! There was a question on the connection between the dead sea scrolls and hekhalot literature. There's a professor at the Hebrew university, Rachel Elior, who claims there is. She wrote a nice book about it, but it's in Hebrew. I'm not sure there's an English translation available.

[@VSP4591]

Mulțumim!

[@tyr4489]

please please please upload these talks as podcasts!

[@centre-place]

What platform would you recommend?

[@RachelFournier-cl1cc]

@@centre-placeApple Podcasts

[@MrPatdeeee]

(Sorry for the VERY, VERY long "comment". But I believe it NEEDS to be espoused) Brethren...I'm 92 yrs old age. And I love Jesus with my Heart, my Soul and my Mind. And for THE 1st time; i'm not going to think about Him just now. But later of those "Scrolls". For, I'm going to ponder one word; in the entire Scrolls; and those that Teached it. And that word is: "1948" AD. And that year, is when the "Great British; helped a group of Jews GET; What they call "Our Homeland"! And it worked. Of course, the "Muslims' went crazy; that those Jews were going back; into "their" land! Now looks at this: Go back to 4,000 yrs ago; where God allowed the "Egyptians"; who enslaved ALL God's Israelite's for 430 yrs. Why? And, go fast forward, to 615 BC to 535 BC. Where God allowed the "King Nebuchadnezzar" enslave; those dwindled; only two Tribes left. And they were enslaved for 70 Yrs. Why? Then, go fast forward to the yr 70 AD. When Jesus allowed the "Roman Empires", destroy His Holy City; and His Holy Temple. And they also murdered one half Million Jews . So they fled to the "Caves and Hills"; around that City! Why? Then, they are scattered all over the World. And fast forward: to Adolph Hitler; when Jesus allowed him; to torture and murder; over 6.5 million jews. Why? Huh? Now, I said all the above; to say this...I believe that; "Yeshua/Jesus" (the name of God since 2024 yrs ago): let MOST those; be punished; because of THEIR committing of "Abominable Sins! Every since 4,000 yrs ago.Why? Now, I Could be Wrong? Absolutely YES! But ALL others Could be Wrong Too! So I now END me case... ...In any case kind Sir and Brethren, Please Pray OFTEN and Praise Jesus OFTEN; for He is the ONLY true "God Almighty"; there will ever have been. And may Jesus bless you and yours always. AMEN!

[@Writer538]

If you believe Jesus was or is God, you don't understand Judaism--Jesus' own religion!--at all.

[@daisyleigh777]

@@Writer538 If you believe Jesus had a "religion"; then you don't understand Him - or why He came - at all.

[@MrPatdeeee]

Thanks Daisy. because all wise Christians KNOWS there are NO "Religion" with Jesus! Praise His Holy Name. And an Amen, amen and Amen of what you said!; And may Jesus bless you and yours always!❤

[@daisyleigh777]

@@MrPatdeeee TY. And may Jesus bless you and yours, as well.

[@Rannsack]

I think it would be a mistake to assume Qumran are the "quintessential" Essenes just because we happened to find their library. Josephus says there are Essenes who lived in the cities and who married. So Qumran doesn't have to match *exactly* with the Jesus movement in order for that movement to have been straight-up Essenes. Josephus mentions there are 3 main Jewish schools of thought, Pharisee, Sadducees and Essenes. Sadducees and Pharisees are frequently criticized in the gospels. They are the enemies of Jesus. And yet the 3rd group of jews, Essenes are never mentioned. Either because 1) The Jesus movement did not consider them important enough to criticize, or 2) The Jesus movement had no disagreement with them. 3) The Jesus movement were largely Essenic themselves. (And 2 and 3 are almost the same thing for practical purposes). John is widely seen as being either an Essene or very near to the Essenic tradition. The followers of Jesus come directly from John. John even baptized (initiated) Jesus into John's religion. Any other person in history who was baptized by an Essene into the Essene religion, we would label them an Essene. After Johns death, his followers then started following Jesus. If Jesus was fundamentally different from the Essenes, none of that make sense. As you mention both movements were apocalyptic, communal, aesthetic, and highly critical of the pharisees and Sadducees. Not labeling the Jesus movement as highly Essenic, displays a bias in modern scholarship that should be corrected. Why are we so hesitant? Mandaeans claim they descend from Johns followers, but their symbol is a cross with a shroud on it (Drabsha). Why? There is no association between John and the cross (he was beheaded and his head put on a plate). I think it is more likely Mandaeans were originally Christian but came to distance themselves from Christian roots as a way of surviving Islamic persecution. And they have indeed been left alone while Christian group in Muslims countries have often not.

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

All fair and good. Much to think on there. However, Jesus was NOT anti-Pharisee. He critisized those He loved. And, at the end of the day, Pharisees, on the whole, tended towards obeying Mosaic Law. Even after Jesus, Paul back-handed coplimented the Pharisees by saying ''unless your righteousness (sticking to Mosaic Law, through Love of God) surpasses that of the Pharisees you shall not see/enter the Kingdom of God''. I don;t thinkm the Jesus movement was as seperatist as Essenic culture was. I think He more saw seperateness from religious/political hypocracy as simply Loving God, and Obeying Mosaic Law, even uf you were a Saducee or Pharisee. God's invitation was never elitist in the sense of only certain groups enter the Presence. ANYONE who Loves Him and Obeys enters, irrespective of creed. And I don;t think the Essenes, generally speaking would tolerate that approch.

[@stutzbearcat5624]

Sounds like a band name.

[@oscarmudd6579]

The Children of Light didn't go into those caves to practice their calligraphy; they went there to get their story straight.

[@SynThenergy]

Please please what do the scroll colors mean?

[@TsholofelloTsholofello]

Can you talk about the teacher of righteousness vs Jesus

[@centre-place]

Good suggestion, thanks!

[@charlesiragui2473]

Western and Eastern Christmas is purely related to the Julian v Gregorian issue, not lunar questions, like Easter. Orthodox all agree that Christmas is December 25 but don't all agree when December 25 occurs. Easter is a more complex question of calculation. The Orthodox Pascha will always closely track with Jewish Passover, while the Catholic Easter does not. About 1 out of 4 years, Orthodox will celebrate Easter on the same day as the West. Curiously, the Gregorian calendar is not an obstacle to all Orthodox celebrating Pascha on the same evening.

[@Aye-Aye136]

I’m the number 300 ❤!

[@Rannsack]

How does a "monkish" tradition develop from a religion whose God says "Be fruitful and multiply"? (twice in Genesis, once in Leviticus and once in Jeremiah).

[@Writer538]

Didn't the monk tradition develop in Christianity, not Judaism? There's much in Christianity that is totally out of alignment with Jewish thinking.

[@Rannsack]

@@Writer538 Essenes at Qumran lived a monkish lifestyle.

[@thelemetric]

always a treat.

[@joshspenc3200]

Not light against darkness it's heart and love creating enough decency to overcome an unhealthy overblown ego the deceivers reign over the Innocent ones

[@robertruggiero9999]

At what point in time / history does the “before tyr common era” end and the “common era” begin ?

[@FireEverLiving]

Year 1 of the common era was during the reign of emperor Augustus; the specific year was identified in Roman records as "the year of the consulship of Gaius Caesar and Lucius Paullus".

[@johnwaterworth3423]

Why is some included and some not?

[@davidabulafia7145]

Lunar solar calendar is the Jewish calendar

[@timmansfield3935]

Simple just study Dr Barbara Thiering work and open your mind and look at the facts

[@AlbanaBrahimi-g1e]

Taylor Deborah Brown Scott Thompson Ruth

[@TheStarTrekApologist]

Long video just to say that Jesus is not mentioned in the scrolls

[@JoseGomez-n4k]

Thank you for saying deuterocanon instead of assuming the biased Protestant term ‘apocrypha’

[@PhillyHardy]

Let me guess, carbon dated? 😂😂😂

[@casualgamer3689]

You are sceptical about their age/autenticicy?

[@RodrigoOliveira-tb7zf]

"The dead sea scrolls are a proven forgery!" Proceeds to make a 2 hour video pretending not know

[@Writer538]

Your claim is a proven lie.

[@mendozabensouzan744]

Forgery of what?

[@GodsWorld189]

Let me understand this, you’re saying the word Jesus is in the dead see scroll, well 💭 there’s a reason why it’s called the Dead Sea scrolls.

[@TheStarTrekApologist]

Well the writers of the new testament claim Jesus repeated lines from the OT

[@Writer538]

No one is saying the name Jesus is in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But why shouldn't it. It was a common Jewish name.

[@Writer538]

@@TheStarTrekApologist Why wouldn't a Jew recite lines from the Jewish Scriptures??

[@GodsWorld189]

@@Writer538 Your path is not narrow, and you decide what is truth. GOD is testing all of us, and he pulled a fast one on us, it is here we become divided, only the grafted who follow his LAW, feast dates and appointed times and calendar will be honored. ‘’there is no such thing as (old law) it’s been fulfilled’’ Yahuah in Yahusha’s 🩸🙏 Shalom, GOD bless you

[@robv.3270]

I appreciate your work but BORING!!!

[@HearTruth]

I was just like you about the calendar and His name even 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲: 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 when moon shows first sliver of light Rosh Chodesh new month 1st of month. also .starts the Sabbath count note: Jn 11:9 ( 9/11 Day begins at Sun rise first sliver of sun rising is Am. ..and no wonder this confusion calendar 𝗗𝗮𝗻 𝟕:𝟐𝟓 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 to ...and His name even it is by design and Father He allowed it so no worries He know what He does and why, 𝗽𝘀 why haven''t even once had anything to say about my comments? this I wonder

[@mestermiska]

Thanks!

[@alanyoung6572]

Thanks!