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orion Jack's "The [dss]... span 300 years"
Jack wrote:
>> >The [dss]... span 300 years through both the Hasmonean and Herodian
>> periods
>>
>> This is nowhere near definite. There is nothing in the texts
>> themselves to
>> suggest anything aftere the time of Aemilius Scaurus, ie 63 bce.
>> Archaeology is quite unhelpful in this.
> Do you find the radiocarbon dating of the Thanksgiving Hymns, 1QH,
>(calibrated range 21 BCE to 61 CE) unconvincing? see `Atiqot 20 (1991)
>27-32 Why?
Be a statistician for a while, Jack. C14 dating has a number of procedures
in each of which something could go wrong. The majority of C14 datings are
early, ie before 63 bce. A few are after that date. In fact two are after 68
ce. Do we use those two to scuttle what we know of the situation? Do we use
the few others that are post 63 bce, though atypical of the data in general,
to make conclusions that go against the rest of the datings? Stephen
Goranson has attempted to misuse the C14 data this way because he has some
axe to grind. Normally one starts with the data, not the theory.
>> >From what I KNOW of the Essenes from Josephus, Pliny and Philo...
>>
>> So you are convinced about them as infallible sources.
>
> No, only as the only sources for their own time.
>
>The C14 testing is, at least, scientific method, as is the
>palaeographic evidence albeit more interpretive.
C14 is no real help to you, Jack. Incidentally, it's a good rule of thumb to
trust the earlier dates rather than the later dates. It's a process that
works backwards towards the a limit which is the representative dating.
Talking of palaeography in this context can raise a laugh these days. The
dss criteria were worked out in 1961 and have been so perfect that the
system has not needed any changing since, as though it were heaven sent.
Trust the C14 once you know how it's done, forget the palaeography. I
remember back in the days when people thought that IQ tests measured
intelligence; now we know they measure how well people do IQ tests. What
does Qumran palaeography measure? Try Golb's "Who wrote the dss", Ch 9.
>The mutual confirmation by both methods is convincing.
Yeah, Jack, sure. Skyhooks.
Ian