Pages

Monday, September 24, 2018

Palmer, Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls

SO MANY NEW BOOKS FROM BRILL! HERE'S ANOTHER:
Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Gēr and Mutable Ethnicity


Series:
Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, Volume: 126

Author: Carmen Palmer

Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls examines the meaning of the term gēr in the Dead Sea Scrolls. While often interpreted as a resident alien, this study of the term as it is employed within scriptural rewriting in the Dead Sea Scrolls concludes that the gēr is a Gentile convert to Judaism. Contrasting the gēr in the Dead Sea Scrolls against scriptural predecessors, Carmen Palmer finds that a conversion is possible by means of mutable ethnicity. Furthermore, mutable features of ethnicity in the sectarian movement affiliated with the Dead Sea Scrolls include shared kinship, connection to land, and common culture in the practice of circumcision. The sectarian movement is not as closed toward Gentiles as has been commonly considered.

Publication Date: 11 September 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-37818-6
In its PhD dissertation form, this work was noted by AJR in 2016.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.