Qumran Essene Hypothesis

The New Testament book of James was written by the half brother of Jesus, James. It was written sometime before A.D. 62 and was either the first or second book written in the New Testament. James is a letter written to a group of people, therefore it is an Epistle. James was written in Jerusalem. This Epistle was written to the twelve tribes of Israel evidence of this is in James 1:1 which says, “To the twelve

In Chapter 2 of Encountering the New Testament the author talks about a few of the different practices that unified the Jews as well the different religious groups that had different beliefs. Judaism was unified in the beliefs that they had been chosen by God, they were waiting for the messiah to come, they respect the synagogues, they shared the same laws and traditions of elder. Although these beliefs were unifying there were seperate religious groups and leaders that held different beliefs. Probably the most well known group of religious leaders were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a small group of religious leaders that believed in God, and the coming messiah. Although many of the Pharisees did live good lives many of them were

The Sadducees were the wealthy members of Judea who welcomed the secular world into their heart and rejected any ideas that were not written down and resisted any form of change (Regev, 2006). Pharisees were the middle class members of Judean society that believed in good and evil and rejected those who did not meet their standards of behavior. The Zealots were the politically radical group that stood up to the Romans and attempted to overthrow the regime, but was not able to do so. Essenes rejected the views of all other groups and concentrated on living a spiritually purified life full of contemplation within a religious community.

The major groups of the religious Jewish authority that are present in The Shadow of the Galilean are the members of the Sadducidic and Pharisidic movements. The movement that best illustrates how Theissen illuminates the actions and sayings of Jesus are the Pharisees. Theissen helps show that the characterization of the Pharisees in the Gospels is shallow, and that they were not as condemnatory or unified as the Bible presents them.

They doubt though that the apostle Matthew wrote the book. Whoever the actual author was, he is identified as Jewish in origin, because his Gospel contains many references to Jewish Scripture, law, and ways of life. Although not clear, some authorities think it was Palestine, and others think is was another early Christian center, possibly the city of Antioch, where it was written.

Thousands of years ago, it was taught and learned that Moses was the sole author of the Torah, or the Pentateuch; this is known as the Mosaic Authorship. Although this view was proven to possess many flaws, it is still believed by some people today. It is now agreed by most that there cannot be one exclusive author to such an epic document. This is due to the fact that many studies have conducted in order to prove that there is indeed more than one author. It was decided are simply too many discrepancies when it comes to writing styles,

Although it is argued that rabbis began work on compiling the oral histories prior to the fall of the Second Temple, there was a definite resurgence in documentation of the important history and moral laws of Judaism after the fall. The most important of these written documents in the Jewish faith is the Hebrew Bible. This bible is comprised of the Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim, these three components combine to make up the Tanakh. The Torah is the core of the Hebrew Bible and contains the story of creation, as well as directions on daily conduct and religious rituals. The Nevi’im contains the stories of prophets. The prophets were people that spoke on behalf of God to the Jewish people. Lastly, the Ketuvim is comprised of mostly imaginative literature such as psalms, proverbs and poetry (Molloy, 294). Shifting the focus from priests and temple to a written work that is accessible to all regardless of location was the main adaptation of Judaism and certainly saved the faith. Although the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible is debatable, as some stories may have morphed from their origination to when they were assembled in writing, the bible still remains at the core of Judaism today.

The revelation of the Dead Sea confirmed that the Jewish and Christian researchers who for hundreds of years duplicated, transcribed and passed along the documents that we call the Bible did so devotedly with care and intention. It remains true that we almost definitely do not have any documents or fragments of a manuscript that is the original writing of the document in question. However, it is equally true that

For many, the Hebrew bible is read and accepted without question. It plays a significant role in the practice of many religions and yet not many dare to wonder who wrote such sacred writings that would still be read to this very day. For generations, it was almost unheard of to ask or even fathom the identity of the author. Richard Elliot Friedman, a biblical scholar and graduate from Harvard University, explores, studies, and analyzes the bible to discover who wrote it. Having earned a master degree in theology, B.A degree in Philosophy, and master degree in Hebrew literature, Friedman proves to be a knowledgeable expert in his field of studies. From the years of work he invested into, Friedman aims to provide convincing evidence that the book is written by four persons through historical, archaeological, logical proof.

It has been thought to believe the Quran is influenced by the Hebrew Bible. There are many similarities between the two scriptural texts whom Christian and Jewish readers would find the Quran corresponds with the Hebrew bible. Muslim followers of the Quran first started off by giving oral scriptures around the same time the Israelites were. There is a common conception the two crossed paths and Muslims followers were predisposed to the Israelites biblical scriptures. Although the research conducted by Waldman, Neuwirth, Wheeler, and Reeves give us undoubtedly a better understanding between the two. There still lacks further studies on this matter that would help answer open ended questions. Studies including the Jewish borrowings in the Quran text have brought up questions of Muhummad’s Jewish teachers. Islam is centered on Muslim thought, culture, devotion, and the tales of biblical prophets whom have continuously been reinterpreted for centuries. For many scholars the reinterpretations and oral scriptural stories given of the Quran does not set a solid foundation providing us a skeptical and confusing origin.

THE ESSENES The Essenes were a group of highly-evolved spiritual beings – to which Mary and Joseph and Jesus and their family and friends belonged - who were strict vegetarians, never drank any alcohol, engaged in daily prayers and ritual ablutions, foretold the future, and were extremely knowledgeable in the scriptures, and in charting the constellations and movement of the stars. The Essenes lived harmoniously in Judea with the two other major sects within Judaism of the day: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. However, the Essenes differed from the Pharisees and the Sadducees in many significant ways: (1) They were absolutely non-violent; (2) They were strict vegetarians, and they would never eat any

John H. Walton’s Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible is broken up into fourteen chapters. Those fourteen chapters are each part of one of five sections. This book also contains over twenty historical images. Before the introduction, the author gives readers a full appendix of all images used in this published work. The author then gives his acknowledgements followed by a list of abbreviations.

Documentary Hypothesis, or JEDP Theory, is the view held by various scholars that the five books of the Pentateuch were really written by four different authors, and not Moses. This theory claims that afterwards various editors (called Redactors) blended the five books together and edited them to make them flow easier. Documentary Hypothesis is one form of higher criticism theology and is closely associated with Germany.

Answer question 1 in Preston (2001, p. 39). Preston is a required reading. "Why should I be moral...Where do I think my own values come from?" The entry should be no more than 200 words. Do not delete this instruction.

The Sadducees, on the other hand, were a group of leaders, that have no collections of information in and