The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship: May 17-20, 2020

NYU has made available full recordings from the Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship: A Public Conference, which took place virtually on May 17-20, 2020.

 

DAY 1: Sunday, May 17

Plenary Session

Chair and Opening Remarks – Alex Jassen, New York University

Welcome- Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority & Joe Uziel, Curator and Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit

Contributions of the Israel Antiquities Authority to the Preservation and Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority

Where are We in the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

Canon and Authority

Chair: Eileen Schuller, McMaster University

Before the Canon – The Role of Extra-biblical Literature in Second Temple Judaism – Armin Lange, University of Vienna

Scribes as Authors in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Molly Zahn, University of Kansas

DAY 2: Monday, May 18

Archaeology, Realia and Science

Chair: Dennis Mizzi, University of Malta

New Archaeological Investigations of Qumran Cave 3Q – Marcello Fidanzio, Faculty of Theology, Lugano

Inkwells residues as a Pre-screening Tool for Characterizing DSS Ink – Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Israel Antiquities Authority

Trade and Manufacture at Qumran, with Special Attention to the Inscriptions – Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska

Mimetic Performance in Ancient Judaism

Chair:  Alison Schofield, University of Denver

Mimetic and Literary Performance in Ancient Judaism – Hindy Najman, Oxford University

Mimetic and Scribal Performance in Ancient Judaism – Eibert Tigchelaar, KU Leuven

Interpreting Dead Sea Scrolls Texts

Chair: Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

Jubilees and the Visions of Amram – James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame

Deciphering Fragments: Tefillin or an Amulet? – Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School

Reimagining Israel: The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism in the Hellenistic Period – Daniel Machiela, McMaster University

Digital Exploration of the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scripta Qumranica Electronica – Bronson Brown-deVost, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

DAY 3: Tuesday, May 19

Science, Technology and the Scrolls

Chair: Robert Cargill, University of Iowa

Researching the DSS with Imaging Technologies – Orit Rosengarten, Israel Antiquities Authority

Modern Forgeries: The Scientific Analysis of Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible Collection – Colette Loll, Art Fraud Insights, LLC

The Hands that Wrote the Bible. Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Identifying and Dating Manuscripts – Mladen Popović and Maruf Dhali, University of Groningen

Ideology and Theology

Chair: Erik Larson, Florida International University

Virtue Signaling in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham

Metaphysics of Financial Relations in Qumran Wisdom – Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University

Patterns of Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls – George Brooke, University of Manchester

Qumran and the Sect

Chair: Moshe Bernstein, Yeshiva University

Women in the Sectarian Texts from Qumran – Esther Chazon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Reconstructing the Life and Message of Jesus – Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University

Why NOT the Essenes: How to Talk about the Dead Sea Sectarians – Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland

The Sectarian Movement and Qumran – John Collins, Yale University

DAY 4: Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Hebrew Bible and it Interpretation

Chair: Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University

The Many Faces of the Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

“2300 Evenings and Mornings” (Dan 8:13-14) Recalculated according to the Damascus Document – Michael Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Perfect Marriage in the Genesis Apocryphon – Esther Eshel, Bar-Ilan University

Cave 11 and the Temple Scroll

Chair:  Joseph Angel, Yeshiva University

Treasures from a Small Box: Recently Discovered Fragments from Cave 11 – Oren Ableman, Israel Antiquities Authority

The Hydra-headed Mysteries of the Temple Scroll – Andrew D. Gross, Catholic University of America

The Utopian Temple Plan of the Temple Scroll – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

Law and Liturgy

Chair: Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University

What Was Given on Mt. Sinai? – Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University

The Early Study of Jewish Law in the Damascus Document – Alex Jassen, New York University

Close of Conference and Thanks

Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Close of Conference

Free Online Conference: The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship

The Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University (NYU) is hosting a free, four-day online conference, “The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship”, May 17-20, 2020.

Register for each day of the conference here.

DAY 1: Sunday, May 17 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR DAY 1

1:00-2:30 PM EDT: Plenary Session

Chair and Opening Remarks – Alex Jassen, New York University

Welcome– Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority &
Joe Uziel, Curator and Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit

Contributions of the Israel Antiquities Authority to the Preservation and Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority

Where are We in the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

2:30-3:00 PM EDT: Break

3:30-5:00 PM EDT: Canon and Authority

Before the Canon – The Role of Extra-biblical Literature in Second Temple Judaism – Armin Lange, University of Vienna

The Canon and the Canonical Process: The Evidence of the Scrolls – Eugene Ulrich, University of Notre Dame

Scribes as Authors in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Molly Zahn, University of Kansas

 

DAY 2: Monday, May 18 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR DAY 2

9:00-11:00 AM EDT: Archaeology, Realia and Science

New Archaeological Investigations of Qumran Cave 3Q – Marcello Fidanzio, Faculty of Theology, Lugano

Inkwells residues as a Pre-screening Tool for Characterizing DSS Ink – Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Israel Antiquities Authority

Essenes at Masada – Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina

Trade and Manufacture at Qumran, with Special Attention to the Inscriptions – Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska

11:00-11:30 AM EDT: BREAK

11:30 AM-12:30 PM EDT: Mimetic Performance in Ancient Judaism

Mimetic and Literary Performance in Ancient Judaism – Hindy Najman, Oxford University

Mimetic and Scribal Performance in Ancient Judaism – Eibert Tigchelaar, KU Leuven

12:30-1:00 PM EDT: BREAK

1:00-3:00 PM EDT: Interpreting Dead Sea Scrolls Texts

Jubilees and the Visions of Amram – James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame

Deciphering Fragments: Tefillin or an Amulet? – Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School

Reimagining Israel: The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism in the Hellenistic Period – Daniel Machiela, McMaster University

Digital Exploration of the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scripta Qumranica Electronica – Bronson Brown-deVost, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

 

DAY 3: Tuesday, May 19 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR DAY 3

9:00-10:30 AM EDT: Science, Technology and the Scrolls

Researching the DSS with Imaging Technologies – Orit Rosengarten, Israel Antiquities Authority

Modern Forgeries: The Scientific Analysis of Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible Collection – Colette Loll, Art Fraud Insights, LLC

The Hands that Wrote the Bible. Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Identifying and Dating Manuscripts – Mladen Popović and Maruf Dhali, University of Groningen

10:30-11:00AM EDT: BREAK

11:00 AM-12:30 PM EDT: Ideology and Theology

Virtue Signaling in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham

Metaphysics of Financial Relations in Qumran Wisdom – Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University

Patterns of Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls – George Brooke, University of Manchester

12:30-1:00 PM EDT: BREAK

1:00-3:00 PM EDT: Qumran and the Sect

Women in the Sectarian Texts from Qumran – Esther Chazon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Reconstructing the Life and Message of Jesus – Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University

Why NOT the Essenes: How to Talk about the Dead Sea Sectarians – Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland

The Sectarian Movement and Qumran – John Collins, Yale University

 

DAY 4: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR DAY 4

9:00-11:00 AM EDT: Hebrew Bible and it Interpretation

The Many Faces of the Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Reworked Pentateuch and Genesis Apocryphon: Close or Distant Relatives? – Moshe Bernstein, Yeshiva University

“2300 Evenings and Mornings” (Dan 8:13-14) Recalculated according to the Damascus Document – Michael Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Perfect Marriage in the Genesis Apocryphon – Esther Eshel, Bar-Ilan University

11:00-11:30 AM EDT: BREAK

11:30 AM-1:00 PM EDT: Cave 11 and the Temple Scroll

Treasures from a Small Box: Recently Discovered Fragments from Cave 11 – Oren Ableman, Israel Antiquities Authority

The Hydra-headed Mysteries of the Temple Scroll – Andrew D. Gross, Catholic University of America

The Utopian Temple Plan of the Temple Scroll – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

1:00-1:30 PM EDT: BREAK

1:30-3:00 PM EDT: Law and Liturgy

What Was Given on Mt. Sinai? – Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University

Law and Order in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Sarianna Metso, University of Toronto

The Early Study of Jewish Law in the Damascus Document – Alex Jassen, New York University

3:00-3:30 Close of Conference and Thanks

Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Elie Wiesel on Genesis and Job

On October 11, 2001, Elie Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was invited to present a guest lecture in Boston University’s Core Curriculum: The Ancient World (Humanities, Genesis to Plato) course (run by Professor James H. Johnson). Elie Wiesel’s lecture begins (at 14:30) with the stories in Genesis and proceeds to discuss the book of Job (33:10). The video culminates with a Q&A session (44:35).

Note that the sound quality of the video is below par.

Nyasha Junior on Representations of Biblical Hagar

On April 18, 2019, Dr Nyasha Junior presented “Black Like Me: Representations of Biblical Hagar” in the University of Iowa’s Spring 2019 Classics Colloquium series.

Her talk begins at 4:25.

 

#SheToo Podcast Series: Violence against women in the Bible

In the seven-part #SheToo Podcast Series, Rosie Dawson interviews biblical scholars Dr Helen Paynter, Dr Katie Edwards, Dr Mary Evans, Dr Johanna Stiebert, Dr Meredith Warren, and Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand about some of the biblical texts that portray violence against women.

 

 

1. Sexual Violence in the Bible – Dr Helen Paynter
2. Hagar (Genesis 16 and 21) – Dr Katie Edwards
3. Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11) – Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
4. The Levite’s Concubine (Judges 19) – Dr Mary Evans
5. The rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13) – Dr Johanna Stiebert
6. The punishment of Jezebel (Revelation 2.19-24) – Dr Meredith Warren
7. Preaching #SheToo – Dr Helen Paynter

 

 

70 Years of Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

On August 6, 2017, at the 17th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, the first plenary session celebrated “70 Years of Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls”. The four papers look at various ways in which the Dead Sea Scrolls enhance our knowledge of early Jewish literature.

Chairperson: Esther Chazon

Devorah Dimant: The Dead sea Scrolls and the Jewish Apocryphal Literature

Emmanuel Tov: The Exegesis of the Bible Enriched by the Dead Sea Scrolls

Hindy Najman: Rethinking the Contours of the Biblical Corpus through the Lens of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Michael Segal: On Writing and Rewriting in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls

David M. Carr: Beyond Original Sin: Genesis on the Emergence of True Adulthood

On April 5, 2018, Professor David M. Carr (Union Theological Seminary) delivered the final lecture in the 2017-18 Killeen Chair of Theology and Philosophy lecture series, at St. Norbert College.

David M. Carr, Ph.D., professor of Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary, invites us to consider the transformative possibilities in the story of God’s creation of male and female humans in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2-3. Carr’s lecture will offer a new reading of Genesis 2-3 as a subtle account of what it means to be a fully adult human, neither all good nor all bad.

The lecture begins at 3:15.

Biblical Exegesis in Second Temple Literature (Bar Ilan)

Below are videos of the papers from the “Biblical Exegesis in Second Temple Literature” section of the conference “Biblical Exegesis through the Ages” at Bar-Ilan University on May 9, 2018.

דבורה דימנט (אוניברסיטת חיפה) ‘כתוב בספר’: ספרים ולוחות בספרות ארמית יהודית מימי הבית השני

Moshe J. Bernstein (Yeshiva University), “Reading the Genesis Apocryphon as Biblical Commentary”

 

Michael Segal (Hebrew University), “Early Biblical Exegesis in the Septuagint”

 

אסתי אשל (אוניברסיטת בר-אילן), “ושאלו להון ספרא וחכמתא וקושטא” :לימוד והעברת ידע במגילה החיצונית ובספרות קרובה

Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University), “Biblical Exegesis in the Temple Scroll”

James Kugel (Bar-Ilan University), “The Legendization of Midrash in Second Temple Time”

 

Sidnie White Crawford, “The History of Qumran and its Library: A New Synthesis”

Professor Sidnie White Crawford (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) summarises the latest scholarship on the Qumran library of 800-900 fragmentary manuscripts from the mid-third century BCE to the late first century CE, and the history of the sect responsible for the collection and its scribal/learned characteristics. Her public lecture was delivered on January 25, 2018, on the occasion of receiving a D.Theol honoris causa from the University of Uppsala.

Thomas L. Thompson – Memories of Esau

Professor emeritus Thomas L. Thompson (University of Copenhagen) delivered a lecture entitled “Memories of Esaü, Themes of Conflict and Reconciliation” at the École biblique et archéologique française on April 12, 2018.

Danna Nolan Fewell on the Destruction of Sodom and Bible-Thumping, Bible-Tweeting Culture

On April 3, 2017, Professor Dana Nolan Fewell (Drew University) delivered a lecture on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, and its reception in “Bible-Thumping, Bible-Tweeting Culture”. The lecture was held at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts.

 

Rewriting the Exodus: Susan Docherty’s Inaugural Professorial Lecture

On May 23, 2016, Professor Susan Docherty (Newman University, Birmingham) delivered her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, “Rewriting The Exodus”.

The biblical account of the Exodus has always been significant for Jews in constructing their history, identity and theology. The story of how God acted through Moses to free the Israelite slaves from their suffering in Egypt is, not surprisingly, retold in numerous Jewish writings throughout the centuries.

In Graeco-Roman times, the large number of Jews living outside of Palestine in cities and towns throughout the Empire particularly enjoyed celebrating Moses as a Hebrew hero who triumphed over hostile foreign powers. One of the most interesting of these retellings, known as the Exagoge, takes the form of a Greek Tragedy. I will discuss the interpretation given to the Exodus in this play, and how this compares to that found in other early Jewish sources and the New Testament.

This text raises questions which are still relevant today, including how far religion can be assimilated to different cultures, and how free theologians should feel to adapt authoritative sacred texts to respond to new circumstances.

The lecture is available for viewing on Panopto:

 

Christine Hayes: Moses at Sinai – God’s Partner or Adversary? (Shavuot 5776)

Professor Christine Hays (Yale University) delivered a lecture in the Shalom Hartman Institute 5776 Rabbinic Webinar Series on Shavuot and its commemoration of the giving of Torah. The lecture, “Moses at Sinai: God’s Partner or Adversary?” was given on the first day of Shavuot 5776 (June 1, 2016).

Sidnie White Crawford on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Composition of the Bible

Here is a collection of lectures given by Professor Sidnie White Crawford (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) on the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they tell us about the composition of the Bible.

 

“The Rewritten Bible at Qumran” (4Q Reworked Pentateuch)

“What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Teach Us About The Bible?”

“The Dead Seas Scrolls After 60 Years: What Have We Learned?”

“The Qumran Collection of Texts as a Scribal Collection”

Lawrence Schiffman – 2006 Stroum Lectures: The Religion of The Dead Sea Scrolls

Professor Lawrence Schiffman (University of Chicago) delivered the 1990 Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, “Creation, Revelation, and Redemption: The Religion of The Dead Sea Scrolls”.

Lecture 1: God, Humanity & The Universe in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Lecture 2: Scripture, Law & The Life of the Dead Sea Sect

Lecture 3: Apocalyptics, Messiahs, and the End of Days