The Exegetical Texts

Overview

Jonathan G. Campbell provides an introduction to eight sectarian manuscripts from among the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls that can loosely be called the “Exegetical Texts.” He examines their contents, background, genre, and significance and he provides a history of the relevant research.

The Exegetical Texts constitute a particularly diverse strand of sectarian compositions among the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls. For this reason, the eight documents are treated in turn in more or less equal measure, with two introductory chapters to set the scene and a conclusion drawing the discussion to a close. Each chapter can be read either alone in its own right or together with the others to gain a broader picture. In order to encourage the reader to encounter the relevant Qumran documents firsthand extensive listings of editions in Hebrew and English are provided.