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Re: orion-list Sunday Times article on 'new scroll'

Avital wrote:
> On Sun, 7 Nov 1999, Dave Washburn wrote:
> > > I thought folks might be interested to see this article in the Sunday Times
> > > about the 'new scroll' (watch the wrap):
> > > 
> > > http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/99/11/07/stifgnmid01001.html?99
> > > 9
> > 
> > I see a lot of fantastic claims, nothing more.  A few questions I 
> > would like to ask:
> 
> I agree. I tend to distrust sources who speak only on condition of
> anonymity.

Yes.  Why insist on anonymity?  What danger is the person in?  In 
most cases that I've seen, its main purpose is to eliminate 
accountability.


> > 1. What exactly is a "mixed text"?
> 
> Probably a reference to the presence of Hebrew and Aramaic in the same
> text.

I thought of that after I hit the "send" button...

> > 2. Who is supposed to have carbon dated it and where is the data?
> 
> No idea. Greg, do you know?
> 
> > 3. Yeshua is Hebrew for Jesus - so what?  It says Yeshua ben 
> > Padiah.  Yeshua was a fairly common name, who the heck is 
> > Padiah supposed to be?
> 
> Yes, Yeshua was a common name. I presume that the reference is to names
> thought to refer to Jesus that were excised from the Talmud, such as
> Yeshua, son of Pandera. But the presence of the name "Yeshua ben Padiah" 
> doesn't mean that this text is about Jesus of Nazareth. I'd take that
> claim with a box of salt. 

Definitely.

> > 4. Even assuming the story of its discovery is true, why was this 
> > one scroll clear across the Dead Sea from the others?
> 
> Good question. Maybe because it's been quiet on the Scrolls front for a
> while and the newspapers need a good story? I don't understand why so much
> coverage is given to Stephen Pfann's evaluation. He's a good scholar (a
> bit stressed out right now because he's finishing his doctorate) but he's
> not the only Scrolls scholar in Jerusalem. This is the first I've read of
> Magen Broshi having something to say about the scroll's text.

I also found it interesting that the writers accept the Essene 
hypothesis so uncritically.  I wonder if they spent so much time on 
Stephen because he was actually willing to say something about it?

> > 5. Why doesn't somebody just publish this thing so the rest of us 
> > can evaluate it, instead of relying on all this sensationalistic 
> > innuendo?
> 
> Er, right-- and how long did it take to publish the other scrolls? <g>

I know that, of course ;-) but I thought perhaps we were past that 
stage.  Maybe we are, except for the scrolls that really sell 
newspapers???

Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
"But what about the muffler bearings?"
For private reply, e-mail to "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur@nyx.net>
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