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orion-list 63 BCE deposit date theory
The post by Ian Hutchesson of c. Jan 9, 1997 arguing for
a 63 BCE deposit date for all of the Qumran texts is available
at Ian's Dead Sea Scrolls website. It is:
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/5210/dss.htm
A number of topical essays of Ian are listed on Scrolls topics;
simply select "an essay proposing an early date for the
deposition of the scrolls".
I think it was Russ Gmirkin (frequent continuing contributor on
Orion) who brought out that if Qumran is part of the network of
Hasmonean building enterprises on the Dead Sea as currently
held by many drawing from earlier analysis of Avigad, that
Qumran, even though not named, would be within the range of
military fortresses handed over to the "Sadducees" in the era
of Alexandra Salome according to Josephus. Aristobulus II
then presumably inherited control of these sites, and this would
put Qumran in the control of Aristobulus II at the time the known
dateable internal references in the texts stop cold. Ian argued
that the texts went into the caves as an operation of
Aristobulus II or Sadducees allied with Aristobulus, at the
time of the invasion of Pompey.
The question is interesting and radiocarbon has the potential
means of falsifying the proposal. (I see no other means of
getting a potential falsification.) That is why this question is
heuristically useful. If radiocarbon data (which is at present
ambiguous) in the future shows _agreement_ with the 63 BCE
theory, that is not proof as such for the 63 BCE theory, since
radiocarbon alone is too imprecise to prove any specific year
deposit
date. But radiocarbon is capable of falsifying some theories, if
they are unambiguously in disagreement with the data. A good
question and testable--this is what makes science interesting!
If questions are asked that are perceived as too difficult, beyond
ability ever to answer, we lose interest. If questions are asked
that
are too easy, we also lose interest. It is those questions that are
in-between--the tough, interesting questions that are within
the range of ability and means of possibly answering--that is
what is exciting!
Greg Doudna
U. of Copenhagen
For private reply, e-mail to Greg Doudna <gd@teol.ku.dk>
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