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Distinguished Lecture
Series
Coming to San Diego, June 29 - December 31,
2007
The Ever-alive
Dead Sea Scrolls
Shalom
Paul, Ph.D., Professor, The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Israel; and Chairman, The Dead
Sea Scrolls Foundation
Join us for a compelling introduction
to the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls that
highlights the significance of the scrolls
for the understanding of the Bible, early
Judaism, and the birth of Christianity.
Monday, July 9
Class Code: S7-350-01
Archaeological Interpretation
at Qumran
Jean
Baptiste Humbert, Ph.D., Director of Excavations
and Archaeological Publications, École
Biblique, Jerusalem, Israel
This lecture introduces to the archaeological
site of Khirbet Qumran, the settlement closest
to the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were
discovered; focusing on the communal structures
at the site, the water system, the ritual
baths, and the way in which archaeologists
interpret these remains to better understand
the Qumran community.
Monday, July 16
Class Code: S7-350-02
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Controversies
and Theories of Early Judaism and Christianity
Eric
Meyers, Ph.D., Bernice and Morton Lerner
Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of
the Graduate Program in Religion, Duke University,
North Carolina
The discovery of the scrolls has clearly
proven that the enormous library found at
Qumran 60 years ago could not have been produced
without the knowledge of and dependency on
the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament is dependent
on both the canonical Hebrew Bible and some
of the literature found at Qumran. Dr. Meyers
will review this topic and suggest a better
way to explore the common roots of Judaism
and Christianity.
Monday, July 23
Class Code: S7-350-03
The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls
on Our Bible
Gene
Ulrich, Ph.D., John A. O'Brien Professor
of Theology, the University of Notre Dame
The 230 biblical scrolls from Qumran are
a millennium older than previous Hebrew manuscripts.
They have illumined a dark period in the history
of biblical text and revolutionized our understanding
of how the Scriptures grew from national and
religious traditions to sacred authoritative
texts. Dr. Ulrich will discuss 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.
Monday, July 30
Class Code: S7-350-04
Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Russell
Fuller, Ph.D., Professor of Hebrew Bible,
University of San Diego
Since the Dead Sea Scrolls first came
to light in 1947 scholars have tried to discover
who wrote and collected them. There are several
competing theories ranging from the traditional
idea that the scrolls were authored by the
Essenes living in intentional isolation from
mainstream Jewish society in Roman Palestine
to the idea that they are simply an eclectic
collection hidden from the Romans by citizens
of Jerusalem. Dr. Fuller will examine these
and other theories concerning who wrote the
Dead Sea Scrolls.
Monday, August 6
Class Code: S7-350-05
Jesus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and
the Da Vinci Code
Peter
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 BCE 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.
Monday, August 13
Class Code: S7-350-06
The Conservation of the Dead Sea
Scrolls
Pnina
Shor, Head of the Department for the Treatment
and Conservation of Artifacts, Israel Antiquities
Authority
Both scholars and conservators have been
concerned about the conservation and preservation
of the Dead Sea Scrolls ever since their discovery
at the end of the 1940s. From the time of
their discovery and removal from the caves
to the establishment of the conservation laboratory
of the Israel Antiquities Authority in 1991,
the scrolls were heavily damaged. Due to their
extreme brittleness, the task of conservation
and preservation of the scrolls continues
to be an ongoing project using the most up-to-date
conservation methods known worldwide.
Monday, August 20
Class Code: S7-350-07
The War Scroll and Apocalypse
Martin
Abegg, Ph.D., Chair of Religious Studies
Department, Trinity Western University; and
Co-director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute,
Langley, British Columbia, Canada
The scroll community had their own unique
understanding of the coming apocalypse. This
presentation will highlight how their vision
of the end influenced 1st century CE Christian
thought, rabbinic musings, and our own expectations
in the 21st century.
Monday, August 27
Class Code: S7-350-08
Women in the Dead Sea Scrolls
and at Qumran
Sidnie
White Crawford, Ph.D., Professor of Hebrew
Bible and Chair Department of Classics and
Religious Studies, University of Nebraska,
Lincoln
There is the evidence of women as members
of or at least participating in the Essene
movement in late Second Temple Judaism, as
found in the Dead Sea Scrolls texts, in particular
the Damascus Document. Dr. Crawford will explore
the archaeological evidence, or lack of evidence,
for the presence of women at the settlement
at Qumran.
Monday, September 10
Class Code: S7-350-09
The Qumran Community: The Wicked
Priest and the Righteous Teacher
David
Noel Freedman, Ph.D., Endowed Chair in
Hebrew Biblical Studies, University of California,
San Diego
Central to the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls
is the eschatological conflict between good
and evil: the "Sons of Light" versus
the "Sons of Darkness." Many of
the principal figures are shrouded in mystery,
bearing descriptive titles rather than personal
names. The leaders on either side are called
the "Righteous Teacher" and the
"Wicked Priest." But who are they
as historical human beings?
Monday, September 17
Class Code: S7-350-10
Publishing the Dead Sea Scrolls
Emanuel
Tov, Ph.D., 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
in complete disarray were handed over to scholars;
some were badly damaged. In 1990, the Israel
Antiquities Authority named Professor Emanuel
Tov 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.
Monday, September 24
Class Code: S7-350-11
Manuscripts from the Ancient Near
East in the National Library of Russia
Olga
Vasilyeva, Ph.D., Curator of Oriental
Manuscripts, Russian National Library, St.
Petersburg, Russia
The National Library of Russia houses
27,000 Oriental manuscripts: most belong to
the collection of Abraham Firkovich, a Karaite
Jew and book-collector who bought them in
1863 from the Karaite-Jewish community in
Old Cairo. The Firkovich collection contains
many fragments of Hebrew manuscripts which
are over 1000 years old. Dr.Vasilyeva will
discuss some of the important manuscripts
in this collection, including the oldest complete
manuscript of the Hebrew Bible and the pages
from the Russian National Library on display
in Dead Sea Scrolls.
Monday, October 1
Class Code: F7-350-01
The Modern History and Importance
of the Dead Sea Psalms Scroll
James
Sanders, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of
the Claremont School of Theology, Claremont,
California; and Founder of the Ancient Biblical
Manuscript Center
Qumran Cave 11, the last cave discovered,
produced a number of surprises that have caused
review of some of the earlier "assured
results" of scientific biblical study.
Review the drama of discovery and unrolling
of the Psalms Scroll and then take a look
at what the Dead Sea Scrolls in general have
done to change our understanding of some of
the basics of biblical studies. Dr. Sanders
was the first scholar to unroll and study
the Psalms Scroll in the 1960s.
Monday, October 8
Class Code: F7-350-02
Israel at the Time of the Dead
Sea Scrolls
Lawrence
Schiffman, Ph.D., Edelman Professor of
Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Chair of the
Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies,
New York University
The Second Temple period 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. Dr. Schiffman will survey
these developments and their significance
in providing background for the Dead Sea Scrolls,
and explain how the scrolls have enriched
the understanding of the history of this period.
Monday, October 15
Class Code: F7-350-03
Bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls
Back to Life
Bruce
Zuckerman, Ph.D., Director, West Semitic
Research Project and Associate Professor of
Hebrew Bible, School of Religion, University
of Southern California
Dr. Zuckerman has specialized in documenting
inscriptions from the biblical world, including
the Dead Sea Scrolls, using the highest quality
photographic and digital technologies. Learn
how advances in digital technologies and imaging
help scholars decipher the Dead Sea Scrolls
and read what was previously unreadable. In
a visually-rich presentation, discover imaging
techniques used in the study of ancient inscriptions.
Monday, October 22
Class Code: F7-350-04
Messianic Expectation in the Dead
Sea Scrolls
John
Collins, Ph.D., Holmes Professor of Old
Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Yale
University
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide the main
evidence for renewed messianic expectation
in the last century before the Common Era.
The sectarians expected both a "messiah
of Israel," presumably the Davidic king
who would drive out the Gentiles, and a "messiah
of Aaron" who would serve as High Priest
in the messianic age. A number of messianic
texts are of special interest because of parallels
in the New Testament.
Monday, October 29
Class Code: F7-350-05
The Community of the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the First Christians
James
VanderKam, Ph.D., John A. O'Brien Professor
of Hebrew Scriptures, Department of Theology,
University of Notre Dame
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide a unique
insight into the people who used the site
of Qumran for communal purposes such as meals,
work and meeting. Join Dr. 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.
Monday, November 5
Class Code: F7-350-06
Mystery and Mysticism at Qumran
Esther
Chazon, Ph.D., Director of the Orion Center
for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and
Associated Literature, The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Israel
The Qumran community, the holy congregation
of elect "Sons of Light," held that
God revealed the deeper, hidden meaning of
the Torah and Prophets to its teachers and
members through a process of divinely inspired
exegesis. The Qumran community's transcendent
experience and intricate knowledge of the
heavenly realm uncover an early link in the
chain of tradition that developed into classical
Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Monday, November 12
Class Code: F7-350-07
The Archaeology of Qumran and
the Dead Sea Scrolls
Jodi
Magness, Ph.D., Kenan Distinguished Professor
for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism,
Department of Religious Studies, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In 1947, a Bedouin boy discovered the
first Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave by Qumran.
Eventually over 900 scrolls were found in
11 caves around Qumran. These scrolls represent
a library of religious literature that belonged
to the inhabitants of Qumran in the 1st century
BCE and 1st century CE. In Dr. Magness' slide-illustrated
lecture, we will review the archaeology of
Qumran, incorporating information that the
scrolls provide about the beliefs and practices
of the sect.
Monday, November 19
Class Code: F7-350-08
Qumran: The View from Jerusalem
David
Goodblatt, Ph.D., Endowed Chair in Judaic
Studies, University of California, San Diego
Scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls has
understandably placed Qumran at the center
of its attention. However, how would residents
of Jerusalem, the capital city of Second Temple
Judah, have viewed the few dozen residents
of Qumran and their literary production? By
looking at the periphery from the point of
view of the center, we gain a new perspective
on Qumran.
Monday, November 26
Class Code: F7-350-09
Interpreting the "Word of
God" in the Dead Sea Scrolls
William
Schniedewind, Ph.D., Chair, Department
of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and
Professor of Biblical Studies and Northwest
Semitic Languages, University of California,
Los Angeles
What was the "Word of God" according
to the Dead Sea Scrolls? How does it relate
to the Bible that Jews and Christians use
today? How do the Scrolls interpret Scripture?
This lecture explores the authority, limits,
and expansion of the Bible at Qumran.
Monday, December 3
Class Code: F7-350-10
Archaeological Explorations and
the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Cave of the Treasure
and Early Religion in Israel
Thomas
Levy, Ph.D., Norma Kershaw Endowed Chair
in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring
Lands and Professor of Anthropology and Judaic
Studies, University of California, San Diego
During the 1960s, Israeli archaeologists
were determined to discover more Dead Sea
Scrolls. Major archaeological surveys were
mounted by researchers. It was during one
of these surveys that the famous "Cave
of the Treasure" was discovered-perhaps
the richest ancient copper hoard to have ever
been found in the Middle East. The hoard was
dated to the Chalcolithic period, more than
4000 years earlier than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Examine the significance of this discovery
in relation to the major changes in society
and religion that emerged in southern Israel
at this time.
Monday, December 10
Class Code: F7-350-11
© San Diego Natural History Museum
Dr. Risa Levitt Kohn
Associate Professor, Religious Studies Department
Director, Jewish Studies Program
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8143
Tel. (619) 594-5327
Fax (619) 594-1004
Thomas E. Levy
Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0532 USA
Tel. 858-534-2765
Fax. 858-534-5946
URL anthro.ucsd.edu/~tlevy/
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