Jim Davila, hoje professor na Universidade St. Andrews, na Escócia, era ainda estudante em Harvard, na década de 80, quando trabalhou com John Strugnell na reconstituição e tradução dos Manuscritos do Mar Morto.
Em seu biblioblog PaleoJudaica, Jim Davila comenta o necrológio publicado por The Boston Globe e lembra a importância de John Strugnell no trabalho com os Manuscritos do Mar Morto:
Actually, many of his friends and students, myself included, signed a statement in his defense which was published in Biblical Archaeology Review in 1991. John suffered from a bipolar mood disorder and alcoholism. And the fact is that people in the throes of a manic episode say things that they don’t mean and would not say when in their right mind. He was still to some degree in this state in 1994, when he tried, with limited success, to nuance his views in a BAR interview with Hershel Shanks. John’s problems were a part of his life, but they should be put in the context of other parts that are much more important, and indeed his acccomplishments in spite of these problems are remarkable. He made a huge contribution to the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls in terms of his own work, his administrative work, and supervising the research of his students. Those who knew him well will remember him for his vast erudition and his steadfast support of his students [sublinhado meu]. The Boston Globe piece does try to be fair, but they could have tried harder.
Estão lembrados do documentário que mencionei aqui? Pois é. Nele, John Strugnell diz que sua garantia eram seus estudantes. Fala algo mais ou menos assim [estou citando de cor]: Se eu morrer amanhã, há dez, vinte estudantes, que eu treinei, que continuarão meu trabalho. Isto é que é importante.
Quer dizer: ele sempre trabalhava, ao que tudo indica, consciente de sua doença, sabedor de sua finitude e, ao mesmo tempo, da enorme tarefa que havia para ser feita no estudo dos Manuscritos, tarefa que iria muito além de sua vida.
