Of Scribes And Scrolls

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls altered our understanding of the development of the biblical text, the history and literature of Second Temple Judaism, and the thought of the early Christian community. Questions continue to surround the relationship between the caves in which the scrolls were found and the nearby settlement at Khirbet Qumran. In Scribes and Scrolls at Qumran, Sidnie White Crawford combines the conclusions of the first generation of scrolls scholars that have withstood the test of time, new insights that have emerged since the complete publication of the scrolls corpus, and the much more complete archaeological picture that we now have of Khirbet Qumran. She creates a new synthesis of text and archaeology that yields a convincing history of and purpose for the Qumran settlement and its associated caves.

The essays in this highly readable volume are dedicated to John Strugnell, the eminent theologian. Contents: New Qumran Readings for Genesis One, by James R. Davila; Early Emendations of the Scribes: The Tiqqun Sopherim in Zechariah 2:12, by Russell Fuller; Recensional Differences between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint of Proverbs, by Emanual Tov; Observations on "Wisdom Narratives" in Early Biblical Literature, by Lawrence M. Wills; The Beth Essentiae and the Permissive Meaning of the Hiphil (Aphel), by J.H. Charlesworth; The Meaning of "the End" in the Book of Daniel, by John J. Collins; Jason's Gymnasion, by Robert Doran; Some Observations on Blessings of God in Texts from Qumran, by Eileen Schuller; 4Q185 and Jewish Wisdom Literature, by Thomas H. Tobin, S.J.; Two Notes on the Aramaic Levi Document, by Jonas C. Greenfield and Michael E. Stone; Daniel and the Historical Jesus, by Adela Yarbro Collins; Curse and Competition in the Ancient Circus, b G. Gager; The Original Language of the Acts of Thomas, by Harold W. Attridge; Two Enochic Manuscripts: Unstudied Evidence for Egyptian Christianity, by George W.E. Nickelsburg; Julian's Attempt to Rebuild the Temple: An Inventory of Ancient and Medieval Sources, by David Levenson. Co-published with the College Theology Society.

For many years it has been recognized that the key to explaining the production of the Bible lies in understanding the profession, the practice and the mentality of scribes in the ancient Near East, classical Greece and the Greco-Roman world. In many ways, however, the production of the Jewish literary canon, while reflecting wider practice, constitutes an exception because of its religious function as the written "word of God", leading in turn to the veneration of scrolls as sacred and even cultic objects in themselves. "Writing the Bible" brings together the wide-ranging study of all major aspects of ancient writing and writers. The essays cover the dissemination of texts, book and canon formation, and the social and political effects of writing and of textual knowledge. Central issues discussed include the status of the scribe, the nature of 'authorship', the relationship between copying and redacting, and the relative status of oral and written knowledge. The writers examined include Ilimilku of Ugarit, the scribes of ancient Greece, Ben Sira, Galen, Origen and the author of Pseudo-Clement.

This handbook describes the scribal features of the Dead Sea Scrolls written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. The findings have major implications for the study of the scrolls and the understanding of their relationship to scribal traditions in Israel and elsewhere.

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement series, 291

This book originates from a series of conferences held by the Nordic Qumran Network, established 2003. The volume includes some of the best contributions presented at the four symposia held in Helsinki 2003, Oslo 2004, Jerusalem 2005, and Copenhagen 2006.

Scribes and Their Remains begins with an introductory essay by Stanley Porter which addresses the principal theme of the book: the text as artifact. The rest of the volume is then split into two major sections. In the first, five studies appear on the theme of 'Scribes, Letters, and Literacy.' In the first of these Craig A. Evans offers a lengthy piece that argues that the archaeological, artifactual, and historical evidence suggests that New Testament autographs and first copies may well have remained in circulation for one century or more, having the effect of stabilizing the text. Other pieces in the section address literacy, orality and paleography of early Christian papyri. In the second section there are five pieces on 'Writing, Reading, and Abbreviating Christian Scripture.' These range across numerous topics, including an examination of the stauros (cross) as a nomen sacrum.