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Re: Copper Scroll (was Re: orion-list Essenes, Zias article, etc.

On 12/11/99, Russell Gmirkin wrote:

<< Subj:     Re: Copper Scroll (was Re: orion-list Essenes, Zias article, etc.
 
 ...However, all  sides in the current discussion of the Copper Scroll on 
this list, like most secondary literature, have assumed that the list of 
treasures dates to around 
 the time of the Jewish Revolt....  
     In reading the Copper Scroll I am struck by the complete absence of any 
 Herodian Era placenames.  Instead, we see sites prominent in the Hasmonean 
 Era such as the district of Kohalith where Jannaeus conquered sixty 
villages, 
 the fortress Dok (Dagon near Jericho), and the "domicile of the queen" 
 (probably the palace of Queen Salome in the vicinity of Jericho).   
 Significantly, all the locations mentioned in the Copper Scroll fall neatly 
 within the boundaries of Judea during the time of Alexander Jannaeus and 
 shortly thereafter.  To my mind this suggests a hiding of treasures in the 
 wake of the exile from Jerusalem of the (arguably Sadducean) allies of 
 Jannaeus during the time of Salome and Hyrkanus.  
     We also have reference to a "garden of Zadok" near Jerusalem, suggesting 
 a special reverence of Zadok by the group responsible for hiding the Copper 
 Scroll treasures.   May this not also point to the Sadducees?
     These clues indicate a date of c. 76 BCE rather than c. 68-70 CE and (to 
 my mind) suggest the hiders were allied with Jannaeus (Alexander) and the 
 Sadducees rather than with the Essenes.  The Hymn to King Jonathan points in 
 the same direction, as well as the archaeology of the Qumran site (as 
pointed 
 out by Doudna).   
     Certainly there is still much to be learned from the Copper Scroll. >> 

While no Herodian Era placenames (Masada, Caesarea, etc.) are mentioned in 
the Copper Scroll, references to the Portico or Stoa (Column XI, Line 2) and 
the Colonnades (Column XI, Line 8) may refer to Herod's reconstruction of the 
Temple.  Neither of these translations is universally accepted, however.

If there is thought to be any correlation between the hoarding described in 
the Copper Scroll and recovered coin hoards from Israel in general, the First 
Revolt is still the most likely.  There are a number of shekel hoards 
associated with the First Revolt, but none from c. 76 B.C.E. and relatively 
few from the Second Revolt.  An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards, 1973, lists 
the following hoards for Hellenistic Phoenicia - Palestine for this period:  
El-Jib (Gibeon), Judaea, c. 75 B.C.E., 23 copper coins; Golan 
(Gaulanitis/Trachonitis), c. 100-75 B.C.E., 40 copper coins; Samaria-Sebaste, 
Samaria, after 74 B.C.E., 22 copper coins, 1 shekel of Tyre.  A large hoard 
of shekels (200+) was recovered at Jericho, but the latest coin was dated 
103/2 B.C.E.  I haven't checked for hoards published after 1973, but would be 
surprised if they change this picture very much.

Robert D. Leonard Jr.
Winnetka, IL
For private reply, e-mail to RLWinnetka@aol.com
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