This is a second, revised edition of Wieder's now classic work first published in 1962 and long out of print. In addition to a facsimile reproduction of the first edition (xii+331 pp.), the new edition includes seven additional articles, six of which Wieder published in the 1950s, prior to the appearance of the first edition, and a bibliography on the topic prepared by Barry Dov Walfish.

Wieder's main thesis was that there were important parallels between the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Karaite literature (mainly of the 9th-11th centuries). These parallels manifested themselves in terminology, general concepts, and imagery. In his opinion, even if a direct historical link between both these sectarian-ideological movements was difficult to prove, it was possible that the Karaites borrowed from the Dead Sea literature during the early Middle Ages, when portions of the Qumran library came into their possession, such as the medieval copy of the Damascus Covenant found by Schechter in the Cairo Geniza.