Qumran a Nowy Testament. Rzut okiem na historię badań w latach 1948-2015

Abstract

This is a summary presentation of studies on the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. The following periods were distinguished: (1) pre-Qumran, (2) years of excitement and fascination with the newly discovered scrolls (1948-1952), (3) the search for parallels (1953-1977), (4) the third battle of the scrolls and temporary abandonment of the field of research (1978-1990), (5) liberation of scrolls and prompt extension of research (1991-2000), (6) new directions of research and new scholarly tools (2000-2015). The results of the work of Polish biblical scholars are signaled briefly in the description of each period. At least a few publications are worth mentioning: Rev. Prof. Eugeniusz Dąbrowski’s synthesis on the subject (1960), Archbishop Henryk Muszyński’s monograph on thémelios (Fundament, Bild und Metapher in den Handschriften aus Qumran, Rome 1975), and Rev. Prof. Lech R. Stachowiak’s scattered studies on the ethics of St. Paul in the light of the Qumran texts. The matter of the scrolls and the New Testament was also discussed in numerous papers delivered at the International Qumran Colloquia in Mogilany and Cracow (1987-1996), at a colloquium in Lublin (The Catholic University, 2007) and at the sole special conference on Qumran and the New Testament organized at The Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński University in Warsaw (2005). The article ends with general remarks on the Qumran documents as an irreplaceable corpus of texts from the time of Jesus’ nativity. They make it possible to reconstruct the Halakhah, calendar, feasts, and customs of contemporary Judaean society. They acquaint us with the Jewish apocalypse, wisdom, eschatology, and messianic ideas, revealing their views on the afterlife, angels and demons. On the basis of results obtained so far, we can speak about (as Jörg Frey does) “the fundamental Jewishness” of the New Testament texts.