The "Other" Bible from Qumran

Authors

Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2014

Document Type

Article

Citation

Sidnie White Crawford, "Other Bible from Qumran", n.p. (2014).

Comments

© Copyright 2018, Society of Biblical Literature

Abstract

Where did the Bible come from? The Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, did not exist in the canonical form we know prior to the early second century C.E. Before that, certain books had become authoritative in the Jewish community, but the status of other books, which eventually did become part of the Hebrew Bible, was questionable. All Jews everywhere, since at least the fourth century B.C.E., accepted the authority of the Torah of Moses, the first five books of the Bible (also called the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.