DESCRIPTION
Both within and outside the field of Qumran scholarship, the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls is sometimes treated as a rather specialized closed shop. By encouraging interdisciplinary and self-consciously methodological discussions, this volume intends to open that shop and invite new conversations across lines of interest, discipline, and scholarly subfield.
Fifteen respected DSS scholars representing diverse perspectives offer here a window into the scholarly study of these ancient texts.
Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls introduces readers to a wide range of established and experimental treatments of the Scrolls, including paleography, archaeology, manuscript analysis, and a variety of literary, historical, and social scientific approaches. The authors provide not only an introduction to a given approach but also a more self-reflective assessment of the limits of their approaches and the potential pitfalls associated with them.
In place of a single authoritative strategy, here are a variety of strategies -- some overlapping and others standing alone -- all the products of a process that is unusually collaborative. Taken as a whole, they provide a vibrant intersectional picture of DSS studies on the cusp of its seventh decade.
CONTRIBUTORS:
- Martin G. Abegg Jr.
- James R. Davila
- Steve Delamarter
- Maxine L. Grossman
- Charlotte Hempel
- Jutta Jokiranta
- Jonathan Klawans
- Robert Kugler
- Hayim Lapin
- Jodi Magness
- Sarianna Metso
- Carol A. Newsom
- Eibert Tigchelaar
- Eugene Ulrich
- Bruce Zuckerman
REVIEWS
George J. Brooke
— University of Manchester
"Delightfully full of common sense. The essays are light on jargon but heavy on insight, showing readers how to refresh and rephrase their research questions within a wider interdisciplinary framework and encouraging multiple moves beyond the parameters of traditional higher criticism. The examples used from the Scrolls are judiciously chosen and cover almost every literary genre. Highly recommended for readers of the Scrolls of every generation!"
Eileen Schuller
— McMaster University
"With the completion of the publication of the full corpus of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there have been numerous calls in recent years to move forward by drawing upon a wider range of methods and theories than traditionally employed. This volume takes up that challenge. Each of the fifteen essays not only outlines the strengths and weaknesses of one approach or perspective but also applies it concretely to a specific text or problem in Scrolls research. . . These essays will be appreciated for their creativity, interdisciplinary richness, and fresh articulation of old questions."
Emanuel Tov
— Hebrew University, Jerusalem
"This remarkable book introduces a wide spectrum of approaches to the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The very definition of these approaches together with the updated analyses make this book an absolute must for scholars and students alike."
Loren T. Stuckenbruck
— Princeton Theological Seminary
"Among the many collections of essays that have been published on the Dead Sea Scrolls in recent years, this book stands out. . . Several years from now we shall be able to recognize how much this book charted the course of study to come."
Moshe J. Bernstein
— Yeshiva University
"This rich collection of essays succeeds in its deceptively difficult task of addressing multiple audiences — from beginners in Dead Sea Scrolls study to advanced scholars in the field. . . Offers readers an unusual opportunity to taste from the full range of flavors that Qumran scholarship offers."
Journal of Ancient Judaism
"In the last decades, the corpus of the Dead Sea Scrolls has become indispensable for the study of the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple, and rabbinic Judaism. This volume makes the methodology associated with this key textual collection easily accessible to both specialist and a broader scholarly public alike."