Associate Professor Laura Quick (University of Oxford) discusses ‘Bitenosh’s Orgasm, Galen’s Two Seeds, and Conception Theory in the Hebrew Bible’ in this Biblical Studies seminar at the University of Edinburgh on January 14, 2021.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority
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.
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
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
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
Mimetic and Literary Performance in Ancient Judaism – Hindy Najman, Oxford University
Mimetic and Scribal Performance in Ancient Judaism – Eibert Tigchelaar, KU Leuven
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority
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.
On the ABC website, Dr Sean Durbin discusses Christian Zionism, and his new book, Righteous Gentiles: Religion, Identity, and Myth in John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel (Brill, October 2018).
Sean Durbin with Andrew West,
“How the Christian Zionist movement influences world leaders,”
ABC, October 24, 2018
(14:34)
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
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”
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.
Professor David Jeffrey (Baylor University) discusses Rembrandt’s Bathsheba, in a lecture delivered at the Lanier Theological Library on October 7, 2017.
The tradition of biblical commentary in the West is venerable and rich. From the outset, theology was essentially commentary on the biblical text exclusively. What is less well recognized today is the extensive role both literary and visual artists played in shaping the way people understood and applied biblical texts. In this lecture, David Jeffrey looks at some of the ways both late medieval and Reformation commentary dealt with one of the most awkward passages in biblical history, the relationship between King David and Bathsheba. Because of David’s key role in the lineage and typology of the Messiah, the story in 2 Samuel 11 produced a range of fascinating responses from both verbal and visual commentators, but perhaps none more profound than that of Rembrandt in his 1654 Bathsheba.
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:
On December 9, 2004, Professor Louis Feldman (October 29, 1926 – March 25, 2017) lectured on the question, “Why were the Maccabees opposed to the Greek Religion and Culture?“(mp3; lecture beginning at 1:12).
The talk is made available by Yeshuva University’s YUTorah Online.
On January 17, 2017, Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou (University of Exeter) was interviewed by Dan Snow (BBC) on the History Hit podcast. The topic is “The Historical Reliability of the Bible“, and Professor Stavrakopoulou provides a summary of mainstream scholarship on the historicity of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament.
The interview is available in mp3 audio format (28:56).
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
The late African biblical scholar Dr. Peter Flint delivers a lecture introducing the Dead Sea Scrolls and their relevance for understanding the New Testament, on January 16, 2012 at El Shaddai Ministries, Tacoma, WA.
On February 23, 2016, the Trinity Western University (TWU) Dead Sea Scrolls Institute hosted a series of talks on the Dead Sea Scrolls, “Re-Imagining the Scriptural Past in the Dead Sea Scrolls”.
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide fresh perspective on both the words of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and ancient Jewish world of the New Testament. As the library of a specialized Jewish scribal community, they also reveal how ancient people and communities rendered their religious traditions relevant to their own culture. Many readers of the Bible today face this same task: scripture is at once ancient and sacred, yet its contemporary relevance is not always evident. Through presentations and discussions with four TWU alumni and authors of recently published books on the Dead Sea Scrolls, our evening will explore how the group that penned and preserved the scrolls navigated this dynamic in their own search for meaning. Join authors Dr. Andrew Perrin, Dr. Kipp Davis, Dr. Marvin Miller, Dr. Dongshin Chang, and Dr. Peter Flint as they detail how ancient writers encountered and innovated the biblical past by extending prophecy, claiming revelatory dreams, rethinking covenant theology, and crafting and circulating letters.
Dr. Peter Flint – The Dead Sea Scrolls: What Can They Teach Us?
Dr. Peter Flint (Canada Research Chair in Dead Sea Scrolls Studies at Trinity Western University) provides a fresh introduction to the Qumran texts and archaeology in light of his recently published book “The Dead Sea Scrolls” (Abingdon, 2013).
Dr. Andrew Perrin – History Revealed: The Eras of Empires in Daniel and Beyond
Dr. Andrew Perrin (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Trinity Western University) explores the rewriting of apocalyptic history in the book of Daniel and ancient Judaism in light of his recently published book “The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls” (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015).
Dr. Kipp Davis – Forging Reputations of National Icons: Chuck Norris and the Prophet Jeremiah
Dr. Kipp Davis (Scholar in Residence at Trinity Western University) details the cultural and literary development of famed figures today and in antiquity, with an eye to the prophet Jeremiah’s life beyond the Bible. A detailed treatment of the Jeremiah traditions in the Dead Sea Scrolls may be found in his recently published book “The Cave 4 Apocryphon of Jeremiah and the Qumran Jeremianic Traditions: Prophetic Persona and the Construction of Community Identity” (Brill, 2014).
Biblical Studies Online 