John M. Allegro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Marco Allegro
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John Allegro
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| Born | 17 February 1923 |
| Died | 17 February 1988 (aged 65) |
| Known for | The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Dead Sea Scrolls studies |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology |
John Marco Allegro (born February 17, 1923 – died February 17, 1988) was an English archaeologist. He was also a Dead Sea Scrolls expert. He helped many people learn about the Dead Sea Scrolls through his books and radio shows.
Allegro was one of the main editors of some famous and debated scrolls. These were called the pesharim. Later, some of his books, like The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, made him very well-known. They also caused a lot of discussion and affected his career.
Contents
Early Life and Studies
John Allegro was born in 1923. His parents were John and Mabel Allegro. He went to Wallington County Grammar School in 1939.
During World War Two, he served in the Royal Navy. After the war, he started training to become a Methodist minister. But he became more interested in ancient languages like Hebrew and Greek. So, he decided to study at the University of Manchester. The government paid for his studies because he had served in the military.
In 1951, Allegro earned his degree in Oriental Studies. In 1952, he earned a master's degree. In 1953, he was studying Hebrew in Oxford. At that time, he was asked to join a team of scholars. This team was working on the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. He spent a year there. In 1954, he became a teacher at Manchester University. He taught about different Semitic languages.
Working with the Copper Scroll
In 1955, Allegro suggested something important. He recommended that the Copper Scroll be sent to Manchester University. The government of Jordan agreed. The scroll was made of thin copper sheets. It needed to be cut into sections to be read.
Allegro was there in 1956 when the scroll was cut. He made the first copy of the text. Then he translated it. He sent his translations back to Jordan. Even though Allegro was the first to translate it, another scholar, J.T. Milik, was chosen to officially publish the text.
While in England, Allegro made radio shows for the BBC. He wanted to make the scrolls popular. In these shows, he said that a leader mentioned in the scrolls might have been crucified. He thought the Teacher of Righteousness was killed by Alexander Jannaeus. Allegro believed the followers thought this leader would return as the Messiah. This idea came from a scroll called the Nahum Commentary.
His colleagues in Jerusalem quickly disagreed. They wrote a letter to the Times newspaper in 1956. They said Allegro had either misread the texts or made guesses the texts did not support. Because of this, it seemed his job at Manchester might not be renewed. But after a few months, his job was renewed.
The Jordanian Director of Antiquities asked Allegro to publish the Copper Scroll. After waiting for Milik's official publication, Allegro decided to publish his own book. His book, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll, came out in 1960. The official publication came out two years later.
Many of Allegro's readings of the text are now accepted. But his book was criticized by other scholars. Allegro believed the treasure mentioned in the scroll was real. Most scholars now agree with this. He even led a trip to try and find the items. But he did not find anything.
During this time, Allegro also wrote two popular books. They were The Dead Sea Scrolls (1956) and The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1958). He took many photos of the Qumran site and the texts. These photos became a valuable record for the future.
Publishing the Pesharim Scrolls
Allegro was given the job of publishing a group of scroll fragments. These fragments were mainly a special kind of commentary on Bible books. They were called pesharim. He felt it was important to publish these works quickly. So, he published some early versions in academic journals in the late 1950s.
He told the chief editor that his part of the texts would be ready by 1960. But there were delays. His full book, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan V: 4Q158–4Q186, was published in 1968. He worked on his material again in 1966 with a colleague.
In his book, he said he only provided the main parts. These included photos, translations of parts not from the Bible, and a few notes. Another scholar, John Strugnell, wrote a very strong criticism of Allegro's book. Allegro's simple way of presenting the texts was often criticized. However, scholars could still study Allegro's texts for many years. They had to wait for other editors to publish their own parts.
A New Direction
As early as 1956, Allegro had different ideas about the scrolls. He wrote to the chief editor, saying that others could not imagine anything about Christianity without trying to push their own views. By 1960, most of his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls was done. He often disagreed with his scroll colleagues.
He had a disagreement with another scholar about his ideas on the scrolls. Because of this, Allegro moved to a different department at Manchester University. While there, he wrote a very controversial book. It was called The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. Its subtitle suggested that Christianity came from ancient fertility cults. Allegro seemed to know his book would cause a big stir. He resigned from his job at Manchester.
The Sacred Mushroom Book
Allegro's book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) suggested a very different idea. He argued that early Christian ideas were misunderstood. He thought that the people who wrote the Christian gospels did not fully understand the original ideas from the Essenes (a group linked to the scrolls). He suggested that the story of Jesus was based on the crucifixion of the Teacher of Righteousness from the scrolls. Some understood Allegro to suggest that a historical Jesus might not have existed.
The reaction to his book was very strong and negative. Fourteen British scholars, including his former teacher, spoke out against it. One scholar wrote that after this book, Allegro was no longer taken seriously as an academic.
Another historian called Allegro an unusual scholar. He said Allegro used texts that did not quite exist in the way he described them. This historian called The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross "possibly the single most ludicrous book on Jesus scholarship by a qualified academic." Because of the strong negative reactions, Allegro's publisher later apologized for printing the book. Allegro also had to leave his academic job.
In 2006, an article by Michael Hoffman suggested that Allegro's ideas should be looked at again. In 2009, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross was reprinted. It included new material from another scholar, Carl Ruck.
Personal Life and Death
John Allegro married Joan Lawrence in 1948. They had a son and a daughter. In 1982, he lived on the Isle of Man. Later, he moved back to England.
In 1988, he died of a heart attack at his home in Sandbach, Cheshire. It was his 65th birthday. A writer for the Daily Telegraph newspaper described him as "the Liberace of Biblical scholarship."
Works
Here are some of John Allegro's books:
- The Dead Sea Scrolls (1956)
- The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1958)
- The Treasure of the Copper Scroll (1960)
- The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970)
Images for kids
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John Allegro
See also
In Spanish: John Marco Allegro para niños
- Astrotheology
