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of which would be appropriate for the Jewish sect of the Zealots but not the Essenes. In addition, Golb posited that the scrolls were not written by any Essene scribes but constituted a collection from libraries in Jerusalem secreted in caves throughout eastern Palestine by Jews fleeing the Roman armies during the First Revolt of 70 CE. Of the theory that the scrolls represented only an Essene library, Golb says, "The necessary implication of the Qumran-Essene theory was that while several hundred works of the four-thousand-strong Essene movement had escaped destruction, virtually no shred of manuscript stemming from the first-century A.D. population of Judaea as a whole-numbering at least two million individuals at the beginning of the First Revolt-had been spared."8 The Dead Sea collection is in fact eclectic, representing more than one sect or priesthood, competitors, in actuality.

Although the scrolls are thus not connected to "the" Essenes as such, they represent "intertestamental literature" and are extremely important in the quest for the origins of Christianity. Indeed, the absence of any early Christian writings or references to Jesus and his movement in this eclectic collection, some of which was no doubt from Jerusalem, serves as testimony that Christianity did not in fact yet exist when the scrolls were deposited, up to 40 and possibly more years after the purported death of Jesus. As Dr. Alan Snow states, "Some modern Biblical scholars and archaeologists believe that these scrolls could have been hidden in the caves as late as the Jewish revolt of 132-135 A.D."9

As to the contents of the scrolls, not only is no variant of the term "Essene" found in them, but they actually contain nonEssenic and anti-Essenic ideas, as well as Hellenizing elements that could have been produced only by Hellenized "Jews," i.e., Israelites both "zealous for the law" but also interpreting the law to allow "foreign" influence, in this case Greek. The fervent tone and warrior-stance of some of the scrolls also belie any Essene origin and further indicate an attribution to the Zealots, who were, per Josephus, the "fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, [of whom] Judas the Galilean was the author," the term Galilean itself being used to denote a Zealot. The association with the Zealots is also confirmed by the presence of the scroll "Song for the Holocaust of the Sabbath" at both the caves near Qumran and the Zealot fortress of Masada. As Snow also says, "The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls were Zealots and believed in the God-ordained destiny of the people of Israel."'()

The Zealots

From their contents, it is thus evident that a number of the more important original scrolls were written and deposited by "Zealots for the Law." As such, the authors were reflecting their history as representatives of the zealousness that emanated from their deity himself, who was not only a jealous but also a zealous god. In fact, although they are perceived as a separate sect, the "Zealots" constituted anyone who was, like their god, "zealous for the law," such as the various prophets, patriarchs, kings and assorted other heroes. Such zealousness did not end with the Old Testament, however, as "the" Zealots were overtly acknowledged in the New Testament, with the disciple "Simon the Canaanite" also being called the "Zealot," and with the fiery gospel Judas, who resembles the zealous Judas mentioned by Josephus. As noted, however, Judas was the name of the ancestral savior-god of Judah, as well as of a number of Judaic kings and their sacrificial proxies, many of whom could be termed "Zealots." In any case, as is clear from his fanatical behavior and megalomania, Jesus himself can be categorized as a Zealot and in fact was called "Jesus the Galilean" (Mt. 26:69). As Waite says:

Not only was Jesus surrounded by Zealots, but he was himself a Zealot. It was in execution of a Jewish law, called "the law of the Zealots," that, with a whip made of small cords, he scourged the money-changers and drove them from the temple. I 1

Peter was also called a Galilean,