From Library Journal
In the fertile imaginations of some writers, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been the seed for imaginative (if not sound) speculation, resulting in such recent books as Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh's The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception (LJ 1/92) and Barbara Thiering's Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992). In the wake of these books, VanderKam's sane appraisal of the Scrolls' saga and of current Scrolls scholarship, written on a level that is understandable to lay readers and others who are not specialists in the field, is especially welcome. In a balanced fashion, Bible scholar VanderKam addresses the major issues regarding the Scrolls: the circumstances surrounding their discovery and subsequent publication (and nonpublication); the identity of the Qumran group responsible for writing and collecting the documents; and the impact of the Scrolls upon traditional theories and beliefs. Recommended for seminary, academic, and public libraries.Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama Lib., BirminghamCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Heralded as the greatest manuscript find in modern times, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls by a Bedouin shepherd boy in 1946 has prompted as much scholarly debate as excitement.

In the last few years much has happened in connection with the Dead Sea Scrolls. International controversy has erupted over the lack of access to the unpublished scrolls, while a renewed effort has been made to finish the large task of editing the remaining texts from the fourth cave—the richest repository of writings—in which 15,000 fragments have been found representing more than 500 texts. These events have unleashed a flurry of discussion and new theories about the scrolls.

In The Dead Sea Scrolls Today preeminent scroll researcher James C. VanderKam offers an up-to-date guide to all the scrolls—published and still unpublished—discussing what they tell us about the community associated with them and what importance they hold for biblical studies.

The book￯﾿ﾽs chapters cover in scrupulous fashion the major subjects of scroll studies: the discoveries of the manuscripts and nearby archaeological remains during the 1940s and 1950s and the methods used to date the scrolls and ruins; the content and character of the texts themselves; the identity, history, and beliefs of the people who lived in the area of Qumran and collected, wrote, and copied scrolls; and the contributions the scrolls have made to the study of the Old and New Testaments.

Main features of the book include the following: a unique introduction dealing with all of the evidence, including that which has only recently become available analyses of recently proposed theories about the scrolls documentation of arguments by quotations from the scroll texts text written with a diverse audience in mind, from scholars in related fields to the general, interested reader interesting pictures supplementing the text."

FROM THE CRITICS

Commonweal

"This is the book for those interested in a sober, careful, and well-written account of the discovery of the scrolls, their meaning, and the current state of research on them. A well-organized and highly readable account."

America

Reliable in assembling data, calm in tone and balanced in judgment.

Choice

With this volume, VanderKam admirably responds to their need for a clear, authoritative, and well-structured account of the scrolls, from initial discoveries through current controversies.

Biblical Archaeology Review

If I had to choose an introductory volume for students in a survey course in Second Temple history now, I would select The Dead Sea Scrolls Today.

Journal of Biblical Literature