Edited by Lawrence H. Schiffman
When Bedouin shepherds discovered the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947,
one of the most fascinating mysteries of ancient history was exposed. Embedded in the
850 manuscripts eventually uncovered were questions about everything from the Qumran
community that produced the scrolls to their impact on our understanding of biblical
studies. Why were the scrolls preserved in caves? What do they reveal about such
contemporary events as the life and death of Jesus, the rise of Talmudic Judaism, and
the flourishing of the Essenes, Pharisees, and other Second Temple groups?
These
questions are identified and explored in Lawrence Schiffman and James VanderKam’s
groundbreaking
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Featuring 450 articles by an
international community of 100 distinguished scholars, the Encyclopedia is the
definitive account of what we know about the scrolls—their history, relevance, meaning,
and the controversies that surround them. The works are viewed in historical,
linguistic, and religious contexts, with archaeological evidence providing a clear basis
for dating and preservation of the manuscripts.
Lawrence H. Schiffman is the
Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman Professor in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York
University. He is the author of
From Text to Tradition: A History of Judaism in
Second Temple and Rabbinic Times and
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: The History of
Judaism, the Background of Christianity, the Lost Library of Qumran. James
VanderKam is the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of
Notre Dame and author of
An Introduction to Early Judaism and
The Dead Sea
Scrolls Today.
e-reference edition ISBN: 9780195386455
Print edition ISBN: 9780195084504
Print edition publication date:
2000
Publishing history: First published 2000
Copyright: © Oxford University Press 2000, 2008
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