Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit in Houston TX

[RosaLydia]

The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit is being presented at the Houston Museum of Natural Science http://deadseascrolls.hmns.org/ and I was looking forward to going to it.

I am sorry to read in this post forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=10307&highlight=dead+scrolls
that the exhibit may be considered anti-Catholic. So I think I may need to “arm” myself with resources prior to going to the exhibit to be able to enjoy it and have enough information to get past all the anti-Catholic propaganda.

I would appreciate your help!

1. 
   *](1) Are there any books or resources on the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves that you would recommend?
   
   (2) In the next post, I’ll list the speakers that the museum has lined up. Is it worth to go see any of these people? Is there anyone in the list that we should definitely avoid?
   
   (3) The museum webpage mentions that all books of the Hebrew bible were found. Does anyone know if the scrolls included the deuterocanonical books?
   
   Thanks!
   
   Lydia

 

[RosaLydia]

Any “must-see” or “must-avoid” lectures?
**Thanks
Lydia

==================================================**
**** Israel at the Time of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Thursday, Oct. 14

Lawrence H. Schiffman, Ph.D., Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies,

New York University.

The Second Temple period (520 B.C. – 70 A.D.) was a momentous era in ancient Israel,

beginning with the conquest by Alexander the Great that expanded the rise of Hellenism

and the great Jewish religious movements. It also included the Maccabean Revolt, the

Roman conquest, the rise of Christianity and the Jewish revolt against Rome that

resulted in the destruction of the Temple and the land. This lecture will survey these

developments and their significance in providing background for the Dead Sea Scrolls while at the same time

explaining how the scrolls have enriched the understanding of the history of this period.

Biblical Interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Thursday, Oct. 21

Matthias Henze, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Biblical Studies, Rice University,

Houston, Texas.

The sacred traditions embodied in Scripture are a cornerstone of ancient Judaism. Nearly all

of the Qumran Scrolls are pervaded with biblical interpretation, whether they are explicitly

linked with Scripture or not. Dr. Henze will examine the remarkably diverse nature of

biblical interpretation at Qumran that will include the diversity of authoritative texts commented upon, the

multiple purposes of reading Scripture, and the different genres and methods of biblical exegesis. Not only

does the study of biblical interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls lead to the core of the community’s theology

and self-understanding, but it opens a window into the world of Jewish and Christian biblical interpretation

in antiquity.

 

[RosaLydia]

More…

Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Thursday, Oct. 28

Jodi Magness, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of Religious Studies, University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill

Qumran, a small ruin on the northwest coast of the Dead Sea, has become world famous

because of its close proximity to the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Though excavated in the 1950s, the original field notes and artifacts from Qumran have still

not been published and access to them is largely restricted. This fuels a debate about the

possible connection between the people who lived in this community and the ancient

manuscripts. Archaeologist Jodi Magness was one of the few scholars allowed to study the pottery from

Qumran and she finds a strong connection between the ruin and the caves. The author of several books, her

most recent contribution, *The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls *(2002), won the Biblical

Archaeology Society Award for the Best Popular Book in Archaeology of 2001-2002.

The Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians

Thursday, Nov. 4

James C. VanderKam, Ph.D., Professor, University of Notre Dame

The Dead Sea Scrolls provides a unique insight into the people who used the site of Qumran

for communal purposes such as meals, work and meetings. Join VanderKam as he explores

the written descriptions of the community, its way of life and its philosophy. This

information will then be compared with accounts of the earliest followers of Jesus in the

book of Acts, highlighting similarities and differences.

 

[RosaLydia]

Last one!

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======================
The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls on Our Bible
Thursday, Nov. 11

Eugene Ulrich, Ph.D*., Chief Editor of the Biblical Scrolls, University of Notre Dame*

The 230 biblical scrolls from Qumran are a millennium older than previous Hebrew

manuscripts and have illumined a dark period in the history of the biblical text. They have

revolutionized our understanding of how the Scriptures grew from national and religious

traditions to sacred authoritative texts. Now they provide manuscript evidence for the growth

of revised literary editions suggested by scholars since the Enlightenment. This slide lecture

will deal with the dynamic composition of the biblical books, the surprises offered by the

biblical scrolls and how superior readings from the scrolls are improving modern translations

of the Bible.

Publishing the Dead Sea Scrolls

Thursday, Nov. 18

Emanuel Tov, J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible, Hebrew University, Jerusalem and Editor-in-Chief,

Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project

Following their initial discovery, thousands of fragile fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls were handed over to

the scholars in complete disarray and some were badly damaged. An international team of 8 scholars was

appointed to inventory, identify and photograph the priceless documents as the first step towards final

publication. Following a series of delays and mounting international pressure, the Israel Antiquities

Authority initiated new procedures in 1990 and named Professor Emanuel Tov as the Editor-in-Chief of the

International Dead Sea Scrolls publication project. Under his leadership, the scrolls have finally been

published and made available to the public and scholars, opening a new chapter in scrolls research.

Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Thursday, Dec. 2

Peter W. Flint, Ph.D., Professor of Biblical Studies and Director, The Dead Sea Scrolls Institute,

Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have transformed scholarship on the New Testament. These ancient manuscripts

clearly show that many of the ideas contained in the sacred books were actually part of Judaism in the first

century B.C. and not added by later Christian generations to validate their faith. Biblical scholar Peter Flint

will explore the philosophy of Jesus in relationship to similar concepts found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.