In 1947 the first of the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries was made near the site of Qumran, at the northern end of the Dead Sea. Despite the much publicized delays in the publication and editing of the Scrolls, practically all of them had been made public by the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the first discovery. That occasion was marked by a spate of major publications that attempted to sum up the state of scholarship at the end of the twentieth century, including The Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (OUP 2000).
These publications produced an authoritative synthesis to which the majority of scholars in the field subscribed, granted disagreements in detail.
A decade or so later, The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls has a different objective and character. It seeks to probe the main disputed issues in the study of the Scrolls. Lively debate continues over the archaeology and history of the site, the nature and identity of the sect, and its relation to the broader world of Second Temple Judaism and to later Jewish and Christian tradition. It is the Handbook's intention here to reflect on diverse opinions and viewpoints, highlight the points of disagreement, and point to promising directions for future research.
Preface Introduction: Current Issues in Dead Sea Scrolls Research I: Archaeology of Khirbet Qumran and the Judaean Wilderness 1: Eric Meyers: Khirbet Qumran and its Environs 2: Rachel Hachlili: The Qumran Cemetery Reassessed II: The Scrolls and Jewish History 3: Martin D. Goodman: Constructing Ancient Judaism from the Scrolls 4: Michael O. Wise: The Origins and History of the Teacher's Movement 5: Tal Ilan: Women in Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls III: The Scrolls and Sectarianism 6: John J. Collins: Sectarian Communities in the Dead Sea Scrolls 7: Joan E. Taylor: The Classical Sources on the Essenes and the Scrolls Communities 8: Jutta Jokiranta: Sociological Approaches to Qumran Sectarianism 9: Sacha Stern: Qumran Calendars and Sectarianism 10: James C. VanderKam: The Book of Enoch and the Qumran Scrolls IV: The Biblical Texts, Interpretation and Languages of the 11: Ronald S. Hendel: Assessing the Text-Critical theories of the Hebrew Bible after Qumran 12: Timothy H. Lim: Authoritative Scriptures and the Dead Sea Scrolls 13: Molly Zahn: The Rewritten Scriptures 14: Bilha Nitzan: The Continuity of Biblical Interpretation in the Qumran Scrolls and Rabbinic Literature 15: Jan Joosten: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek in the Qumran Scrolls Religious Themes in the Scrolls 16: Jonathan Klawans: Purity in the Dead Sea Scrolls 17: Michael Knibb: Apocalypticism and Messianism 18: James R. Davila: Exploring the Mystical Background fo the Dead Sea Scrolls 19: Armin Lange: Wisdom Literature and Thought in the Dead Sea Scrolls 20: Albert de Jong: Iranian Connections in the Dead Sea Scrolls 21: David Lambert: Was the Dead Sea Sect a Pentitential Movement? VI: The Scrolls and Early Christianity 22: Jörg Frey: Critical Issues in the Investigation of the Scrolls and the New Testament 23: Larry Hurtado: Monotheism, Principal Angels, and the Background of Christology 24: George J. Brooke: Shared Exegetical Traditions between the Scrolls and the New Testament The Scrolls and Later Judaism 25: Aharon Shemesh: Halakha between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Literature 26: Daniel Falk: The Contribution of the Qumran Scrolls to the STudy of ANcient Jewish Liturgy 27: Stefan Reif: Reviewing the Links between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Cairo Genizah VIII: New Approaches to the Scrolls 28: Carol Newsom: Rhetorical Criticism and the Reading of the Qumran Scrolls 29: Maxine Grossman: Roland Barthes and the Teacher of Righteousness 30: Hector L. MacQueen: The Scrolls and the Legal Definition of Authorship
Reviews for The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The importance of this work ... lies not merely in this wealth of expertise but rather in its unique objective. ... the decision of Collins and Lim to highlight contested questionsin diverse areas of Scrolls' scholarship give this particular volume a refreshing and welcome overarching unity. It will be consulted and appreciated by any scholar whose work engages the field of Second Temple Judaism. * Shane Berg, Scottish Journal of Theology * In addition to pointing readers to what we know about the scrolls. the Handbook very successfully gets across the crucial message that some of the most groundbreaking achievements in current scroll scholarship have to do with challenging what we thought we knew. * Charlotte Hempel, Bibilical Archaeology Review * This volume brings together leading researchers to provide an up-to-date review of the major issues in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. ... This is a rich feast. ... It will nourish students for years to come and serve as an excellent means of taking stock of current research. * William Loader, Expository Times *
