The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction

Introduces the historical and cultural context of the scrolls, through the archaeology and history of the Dead Sea region 2,000 years ago.
Provides an accessible account of the leading interpretations of the scrolls, and how they have changed the way we understand the emergence of the Old Testament, Ancient Judaism, and Early Christianity.
Discusses the scrolls' rise to the status of cultural icon, beginning with their discovery in the 1940s, to the political, legal, and scholarly controversies that still persist today.
Navigates the ongoing scholarly debates over the archaeological site of Khirbet Qumran, the caves, and the marginalization of women
Analyses the communities associated with the Scrolls and Essenes, the textual fluidity of the biblical texts, the formation of the canon, and the sectarian nature of early Christianity
Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over eight million copies sold worldwide

New to this Edition:
The Qumran-Essene theory that held sway in the last generation has been challenged by various scholars who have reassessed Roland de Vaux's interpretation of Khirbet Qumran, and the close link between the communities reflected in the Scrolls and the archaeological site. This edition discusses the alternate views to the Qumran-Essene theory
Expands the discussion on the issue of 'canon', showing how the sectarian community did have an understanding of authoritative scriptures, forming a broadly bipartite canon of the Torah and the prophets
Discusses the cultural significance of the Scrolls, including the most recent online digital projects

1: The Dead Sea Scrolls as cultural icon
2: The archaeological site and caves
3: On scrolls and fragments
4: New light on the Hebrew Bible
5: The canon, authoritative scriptures, and the scrolls
6: Who owned the scrolls?
7: Literary compositions of the scrolls collections
8: Jewish sectarianism in the Second Temple Period
9: The communities of the Dead Sea Scrolls
10: The religious beliefs of the sectarian communities
11: The scrolls and early Christianity
12: The greatest manuscript discovery