In this important collection of studies, copublished by Eerdmans and Brill, one of the world's foremost experts on the Dead Sea Scrolls outlines a comprehensive theory that reconstructs the complex development of the ancient texts that eventually came to form the Old Testament.

The Thanksgiving Hymns have been labeled the mystical gems among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some of them may have been composed by the genius who is known as “the Righteous Teacher” in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other psalms, hymns, or odes were composed by members of the Qumran Community. This volume includes all fragments and all portions of the manuscripts of this superb witness to the height of Jewish poetry and thought before 70 CE and the end of early Judaism. Preliminary work on the major manuscript was conducted by Professor Doron Mendels of Israel and Professor Hermann Lichtenberger of Germany. Professor Charlesworth of Princeton spent over fifty years studying the witnesses to The Thanksgiving Hymns and completed the work. The central focus of The Thanksgiving Hymns is thanksgiving and praise based on a living covenantal relationship with a Creator within a dualistic and apocalyptic worldview. This is an important reference book for specialists in biblical studies.

Magness (early Judaism, U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), who has extensive archaeological experience in the area, has written a popular account of the archaeology, meaning, and controversies surrounding the Dead Seas Scrolls and the archaeological site of Qumran where they were found. Without sacrificing content, Magness turns this story into a fascinating page-turner. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Dead Sea Scrolls are found in many varied publications -- often ordered only by publication date, rather than a more easily navigable system -- making specific texts difficult to find. Joseph Fitzmyer's guide offers a practical remedy to this dilemma. A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature starts by explaining the conventional system of abbreviations for the Scrolls. Then it helpfully lists specifically where readers can find each of the Scrolls and fragmentary texts from the eleven caves of Qumran and all the related sites, using the officially assigned numbers of the text. Fitzmyer supplies information on study tools helpful for scholars -- concordances, dictionaries, translations, outlines of longer texts, and more -- and briefly indicates electronic resources for the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls? When and where were they discovered? How were they saved? Who has them now? Will more be discovered? Have all the scrolls been published? Are some still hidden away? Were there conspiracies to suppress some scrolls? How do the scrolls affect Christianity and Judaism? How similar are the biblical scrolls to our Bible today? These and other questions are answered in The Dead Sea Scrolls, A Short History, which offers information from exclusive interviews and unpublished archives.

The eight essays in this book on the subjects of eschatology and messianism evidenced in the Dead Sea Scrolls were originally delivered at a conference for a lay audience, and are therefore accessible to the interested reading public.

This perennially bestselling book on the Dead Sea Scrolls by one of the fields most respected scholars has now been revised and updated to reflect scholarship and debates since the book was first published in 1994.