T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls

Description

The Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last century. They have great historical, religious, and linguistic significance, not least in relation to the transmission of many of the books which came to be included in the Hebrew Bible. This companion comprises over 70 articles, exploring the entire body of the key texts and documents labelled as Dead Sea Scrolls. Beginning with a section on the complex methods used in discovering, archiving and analysing the Scrolls, the focus moves to consideration of the Scrolls in their various contexts: political, religious, cultural, economic and historical. The genres ascribed to groups of texts within the Scrolls- including exegesis and interpretation, poetry and hymns, and liturgical texts - are then examined, with due attention given to both past and present scholarship. The main body of the Companion concludes with crucial issues and topics discussed by leading scholars. Complemented by extensive appendices and indexes, this Companion provides the ideal resource for those seriously engaging with the Dead Sea Scrolls.

George J. Brooke is Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, UK. Charlotte Hempel is a Reader in Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Remarkable for its breadth and substantial treatment of the history and current state of scholarship in Qumran studies ... An indispensable resource for library collections and any individual scholar whose work touches on the texts discovered in the Judean desert. * Journal of Jewish Studies * The Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls is innovative in its approach as it explores categories of information that have not been covered in the past, with regard to both individual compositions and new areas of research. The editors have succeeded in bringing together a young team of eminent expert scholars who present the state-of-the-art results of modern scholarship for the beginning student and experienced scholar alike. * Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel * 'This superb new volume on the Dead Sea Scrolls will be a vital resource for scholars in the field. In addition to containing the usual overview articles, the Companion contains short treatments of over thirty of the major texts. The authors, who include scholars from Britain and other European countries, Israel, and North America, are all experts in the field. The T&T Clark Companion is a "must-have" for any serious Dead Sea Scrolls scholar. * Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA *