Bibliography

This brief bibliographical guide to resources on the scrolls and for further reading is designed to accompany the Grove Booklet, The Qumran Scrolls, the Jewish Jesus, and the New Testament by George J. Brooke.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls have virtually all now been published in principal editions; the great majority of these are available in the series known as Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955–), most of whose volumes have appeared since 1990. In addition there are two handy collections of Hebrew/Aramaic texts with parallel English translations:

F. García Martínez and E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Leiden: Brill; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2nd edn, 2000), 2 volumes.

D.W. Parry and E. Tov, ed., The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader (Leiden: Brill, 2003–2005); this has six volumes:

1. Texts Concerned with Religious Law;
2. Exegetical Texts;
3. Parabiblical Texts;
4. Calendrical and Sapiential Texts;
5. Poetic and Liturgical Texts;
6. Additional Genres and Unclassified Texts. This is the closest you can get to the official principal editions without breaking the bank.

In addition to various electronic resources, especially the Accordance text and concordance software for Mac users, there is a concordance to the non-biblical scrolls:
M. G. Abegg with J. E. Bowley and E. M. Cook in consultation with E. Tov, The Dead Sea Scrolls Concordance, Volume I, The Non-Biblical Texts from Qumran (Leiden: Brill, 2003).

The Scrolls in English Translation

There are three generally available translations with English texts alone; parts of the first two are incorporated with adjustments in the parallel Hebrew/Aramaic and English editions above.

1. M. Wise, M. G. Abegg, E. Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996); renames many of the scrolls to bring out the significance of their content in a fresh way.
2. F. García Martínez, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English (Leiden: Brill; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2nd edn, 1996); a very handy collection with complete column and line numbers.
3. G. Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London: Penguin Books, 5th edn, 1998; now available as a Penguin Classic); the most literary of the translations and the cheapest, though not entirely complete as the title might suggest, since many fragments are too small for intelligible translation.

General Introductions

J. G. Campbell, Deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2nd edn, 2003); the best introduction for setting the scrolls in a broader context of Jewish history.

P. R. Davies, G. J. Brooke and P. R. Callaway, The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls (London: Thames and Hudson, 2002); the most lavishly illustrated introduction available with many explanatory diagrams and boxes addressing special topics.

F. García Martínez and J. Trebolle Barrera, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Writings, Beliefs and Practices (Leiden: Brill, 1995); a set of essays that addresses many of the issues, particularly about belief, with brevity and clarity.

L. H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: The History of Judaism, the Background of Christianity, the Lost Library of Qumran (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1994); the most accessible introduction by a Jewish scholar with a wealth of pertinent information from a Jewish perspective.

H. Stegemann, The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus (Leiden: Brill; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998); a good survey introduction which distances the scrolls from Jesus and his followers; suggests that Qumran was an Essene manuscript factory.

J. C. VanderKam and P. W. Flint, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance for Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002); the introduction that has most to say about the so-called ‘biblical’ manuscripts.

Reference Collections

P. W. Flint and J. C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years (Leiden: Brill, 1998, 1999), 2 volumes. A collection of essays by leading scrolls scholars; every major biblical studies library should have these volumes.

L. H. Schiffman and J. C. VanderKam, ed., Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 2 volumes. Short studies on almost everything to do with the scrolls from Qumran and all the other sites, including articles on Jesus and the New Testament books. A must for reference libraries.

Bibliographies (in date order of publication; listing thousands of technical and popular publications on the scrolls since their first discovery)

W. S. LaSor, Bibliography of the Dead Sea Scrolls 1948–1957 (Fuller Theological Seminary Bibliographical Series 2; Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1958)

C. Burchard, Bibliographie zu den Handschriften vom Toten Meer (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 76; Berlin: A. Töpelmann, 1959)

C. Burchard, Bibliographie zu den Handschriften vom Toten Meer II (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 89; Berlin: A. Töpelmann, 1965)

B. Jongeling, A Classified Bibliography of the Finds in the Desert of Judah 1958–1969 (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 7; Leiden: Brill, 1971)

J. A. Fitzmyer, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Major Publications and Tools for Study (Society of Biblical Literature Resources for Biblical Study, 20; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 2nd edn, 1990)
F. García Martínez and D.W. Parry, A Bibliography of the Finds in the Desert of Judah 1970–95 (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 19; Leiden: Brill, 1996)

A. Pinnick, The Orion Center Bibliography of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1995–2000) (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 41; Leiden: Brill, 2001); updated regularly on the website of the Orion Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il). This is the best website for providing links to others which handle the scrolls responsibly.

The Scrolls and the New Testament

O. Betz and R. Riesner, Jesus, Qumran and the Vatican: Clarifications (London: SCM Press, 1994); the best brief attempt at putting in their place various conspiracy theories and the highly unlikely proposals of B. Thiering and R. H. Eisenman.

M. Black, The Scrolls and Christian Origins: Studies in the Jewish Background of the New Testament (London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1961); a classic work which has extensive analysis of the significance of the classical sources of Philo and Josephus for understanding the scrolls.

G. J. Brooke, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament: Essays in Mutual Illumination (London: SPCK, 2005); a set of recent essays which discuss many details of biblical interpretation seemingly shared by the authors of the scrolls and the New Testament.

J. H. Charlesworth, ed., John and Qumran (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1972); republished as J. H. Charlesworth, ed., John and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Crossroad, 1990); a classic set of essays by leading members of the first generation of scholars to study the relationship between the scrolls and the Fourth Gospel.
J. H. Charlesworth, ed., Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Doubleday, 1992); a recent set of essays by leading New Testament scholars, taking account of the Dead Sea Scrolls for painting a better picture of Jesus’ teaching and practices.

J. A. Fitzmyer, The Semitic Background of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Livonia, MI: Dove, 1997); an oft-reprinted collection of essays which have stood the test of time because they offer close description of the data rather than grand theories.

J. A. Fitzmyer, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); more excellent detailed studies.

D. Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1988); a wealth of material on the scrolls and the New Testament from a Jewish scholar who expressed matters with much empathy for the early Christian writings.

N. S. Fujita, A Crack in the Jar: What Ancient Jewish Documents Tell Us About the New Testament (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1986); a freshly written work summarising the insights of others.

J. Murphy-O’Connor, ed., Paul and Qumran (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1968); republished as J. Murphy-O’Connor and J. H. Charlesworth, ed., Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Crossroad, 1990); the classic set of essays from the first generation of scholars working on how the scrolls illuminate matters in the writings of Paul.
A. E. Palombo, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Personages of Earliest Christianity (New York: Algora Publishing, 2004); an unconvincing combination of the ideas of B. Thiering and R. H. Eisenman which proves that for some reason many still find their theories appealing.

K. Stendahl, ed., The Scrolls and the New Testament (New York: Harper, 1957; London: SCM Press, 1958; republished New York: Crossroad, 1992); a first set of essays from within ten years of the first discoveries–many of the insights still remain valid.

C. P. Thiede The Earliest Gospel Manuscript? The Qumran Fragment 7Q5 and Its Significance for New Testament Studies (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1992); a brave but vain attempt to suggest that Cave 7 contained fragments from the New Testament.

C. P. Thiede, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Origins of Christianity (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2000); still overstating the case for Cave 7’s fragments, but with some other useful recent information.

Further Reading

There is one series of books which specializes in highly technical studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls; this series is called Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah (Leiden: Brill, 1956–) and includes specialist monographs as well as the proceedings of conferences; there are currently fifty-four volumes in the series.

There are three recently-started series of publications of a more popular sort; in all three series further volumes are planned:

1. Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature (in date order)

• C. A. Evans and P. W. Flint, ed., Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997)
• E. C. Ulrich, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999)
• J. J. Collins and R. Kugler, ed., Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000)
• J. A. Fitzmyer, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000)
• P. W. Flint, ed., The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape and Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
• J. Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002)
• M. Henze, ed., Biblical Interpretation at Qumran (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005)

2. The Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls

• D. J. Harrington, Wisdom Texts from Qumran (London: Routledge, 1996)
• J. J. Collins, Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls (London: Routledge, 1997)
• J. C. VanderKam, Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time (London: Routledge, 1998)

3. Companions to the Qumran Scrolls

• C. Hempel, The Damascus Texts (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 1; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000)
• S. A. White Crawford, The Temple Scroll and Related Texts (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 2; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000)
• T. H. Lim, Pesharim (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 3; London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002)
• J. Campbell, The Exegetical Texts (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 4; London: T & T Clark International, 2004)
• H.K. Harrington, The Purity Texts (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 5; London: T & T Clark International, 2004)
• J. Duhaime, The War Texts: 1QM and Related Manuscripts (Companion to the Qumran Scrolls, 6; London: T & T Clark International, 2004)

Journals

Many journals occasionally publish articles related to the Dead Sea Scrolls, but two specialize in the Scrolls:

1. Dead Sea Discoveries (Leiden: Brill, 1994–)
2. Revue de Qumrân (Paris: Gabalda, 1958–)