In Jesus's Footsteps 
跟随基督的脚步

Qumran

库姆兰

库姆兰（希伯来语：קומראן‎ ）是位于西岸由以色列昆兰国家公园所辖的考古遗址。

库姆兰坐落在离死海西北岸约一公里处的一个干燥高原之上，靠近以色列的定居点和基布兹卡利亚。

希腊化时期的定居点是在公元前134-104年或稍晚即约翰·许尔堪时期修建而成的（译注：时值哈斯摩王朝），直到其在公元68年前后被罗马军队所毁，这个位置大多数时候都处于被占领的状态。

库姆兰最为有名的就是此处是离死海古卷隐藏的库姆兰洞穴最近的定居点，隐藏古卷的洞穴就在在泥灰岩台下方、沙漠之上的悬崖峭壁中。

尽管后来仍有好几次现场挖掘，但是在库姆兰的主要发掘工作是由罗兰德福在20世纪50年代进行的。

自从1947-1956年间死海古卷被发现后，广泛的挖掘工作在库姆兰持续进行。

有将近900卷书卷被发现，其中大部分都是写在羊皮纸上，只有一些是写在在纸莎草纸上。

随着一些人声称的上层餐室、会议间及一些所谓的写字间、陶窑和塔室的残骸被发掘，蓄水池、犹太教宗教仪式所用的公共浴室和墓地也陆续被发掘出来。

这些卷轴在定居点周围的十一个洞穴中依次被发现，其中有些洞穴只能通过定居点才能进入。

一些学者声称，这些洞穴是某个教派的永久性图书馆，因为其中仍有一个搁架系统存在。

其他学者则认为，一些洞穴仍在为那些居住在该地区的流浪人士作为收容所使用。

在洞穴中发现的许多文本似乎是被广泛接受的犹太信仰和习俗，不过同时也有其他不同的、独特的或小受众的解释及习俗相关的文本存在。

一些学者认为，其中一些文本描述了库姆兰居民的信仰，他们很有可能是爱色尼派信徒，或是那些为庇护传统祭司家族扎多克特家族抵抗哈斯摩王朝的祭师或国王的支持者。

发表于上世纪90年代的文学书信表述他们创建一个社区的可能原因类似于犹太法典《塔木德》中撒督该加派之间的争议。

大多数的卷轴似乎在第一次犹太起义的混乱中被藏在洞穴里，不过其中有一些可能在更早的时候就被保存在洞穴内了。

Qumran (Hebrew: קומראן‎) is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli

settlement and kibbutz of Kalya. The Hellenistic period settlement was constructed during the reign of John Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE or somewhat later, and was occupied most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE or shortly after. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden), caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace.

The principal excavations at Qumran were conducted by Roland de Vaux in the 1950s, though several later campaigns at the site have been carried out.

Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1956, extensive excavations have taken place in Qumran. Nearly 900 scrolls were discovered. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus. Cisterns, Jewish ritual baths, and cemeteries have been found, along with a dining or assembly room and debris from an upper story alleged by some to have been a scriptorium as well as pottery kilns and a tower.

Many scholars believe the location was home to a Jewish sect, probably the Essenes. But, according to Lawrence Schiffman, the rules of the community, its heavy stress on priesthood and the Zadokite legacy, and other details indicate a Sadducean-oriented sect either distinct from or one of the various Essene groupings. 

Others propose non-sectarian interpretations, some of these starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort that was later transformed into a villa for a wealthy family, or a production center, perhaps a pottery factory or something similar.

The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves around the settlement, some accessible only through the settlement.

Some scholars have claimed that the caves were the permanent libraries of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of a shelving system.

Other scholars believe that some caves also served as domestic shelters for those living in the area. Many of the texts found in the caves appear to represent widely accepted Jewish beliefs and practices, while other texts appear to speak of divergent, unique, or minority interpretations and practices.

Some scholars believe that some of these texts describe the beliefs of the inhabitants of Qumran, which, may have been the Essenes, or the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A literary epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons for creating a community, some of which resemble Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. 

Most of the scrolls seem to have been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, though some of them may have been deposited earlier.