Gender in Biblical Studies: a Brief Overview

This article provides background and context for the ensuing contributions in this special journal edition, the focus of which is gender studies and the Dead Sea Scrolls. While the discovery and study of the Scrolls has certainly revolutionized Biblical Studies, the study of the Scrolls is nevertheless often perceived and treated as a subsidiary, even marginalized, field of Biblical Studies, rather than as either an integral part thereof, or as a discipline in its own right. This article aims to highlight how gender has been studied with reference to the Bible. Subsequent contributions demonstrate how gender is shaping interpretations of the Scrolls.