Get a comprehensive, 24-lecture introduction to the unique series of archaeological documents that have irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. In The Dead Sea Scrolls, Professor Gary A. Rendsburg&;amp;-a dedicated Dead Sea Scrolls scholar who has spent decades immersed in the study of this amazing find&;amp;-tells you what the scrolls are and what they contain, and describes the intriguing story of how their unparalleled insights into religious and ancient history came into focus.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Unearth the spellbinding story of the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century-a 2000 year old library of historical, religious, and linguistic significance.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Prospero1962 from
Hodge Podge of Great Info
I was a little thrown off by the course. I expected a long look at the various books found at Qumran. Instead I found a lot about the history of the events, the various sects at the time, the books themselves, and other topics. This was a pleasant surprise as it really gives a complete picture. The lecturer is enthusiastic and very obviously knows the subject. He could go a tick slower, but that's just me. The one major critique I have is that this course could have been several episodes shorter as a lot of info is repeated more than once. For example, the Essene calendar is mentioned and talked about several times throughout the first part of the course, but a later episode is also devoted to that one subject. A little tightening would have made this a near perfect course.
Date published: 2024-10-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
RSL1 from
Enormous Value -- Way More Than I Imagined
I bought this course due to a mild interest in learning about the Dead Sea Scrolls. But I quickly became immersed in all the detail and intriguing insights Professor Rendsburg provided. The course covers a lot of information and the professor is an excellent presenter. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Date published: 2024-02-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
WASIII from
Ideal Overview
A former teacher of Bible at a private school, familiar with, but not deeply so, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essene community, I am finding Professor Rendsburg's course an important way to catalyze my enthusiasm for continued study of multiple aspects of the Judeo/Christian/Muslim sphere. What is most refreshing is Professor Rendsburg's willingness, in this hyper partisan environment we find ourselves, to create a context for objective, open-minded, inclusive exploration of a topic of fascination for both Jews and Christians. Professor Rendsburg goes further, showing us how extra Biblical sources, Pliny the Elder, Philo, and Josephus, to name three, illuminate the discussion. In this manner, Professor Rendsburg maintains the standard of inquiry, call it synecdoche if you will, I have come to enjoy from the myriad of Teaching Company courses I have purchased over the years and to which I return to refresh my memory as the moment dictates. These are a blessing to the intellectually curious.
Date published: 2023-11-29
Rated 5 out of
5
by
moderator7 from
Excellent Introduction
I strongly recommend this to any and all Christians for better information on how to evaluate the NT Text.
Date published: 2023-05-02
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Retired Outdoors from
Incomplete Impression
Have not completed the series yet. So far it seems to be more about the discovery and the scrolls rather than the content of the scrolls. The presentation is well done. The pace is comfortable. Hopefully, more information on the content and the impact of the scrolls on the traditional doctrines of Christianity and Judaism will emerge, as the rest of the series unfolds.
Date published: 2022-05-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
KLKM from
Loved this course
Loved this course. Gave me a whole new perspective of both Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity. The teacher was very careful to include other points of view on the points he brought out and gave careful references to the texts he quoted. Since I graduated from Douglass College (part of Rutgers) in the 60's, it was fun to see someone from my Alma Mater, too.
Date published: 2022-05-09
Rated 5 out of
5
by
anonamous from
Very Informative
Prior to watching this lecture series I had not understood the impact of this important discovery. The research and analysis that has gone into communicating this discovery is fascinating.
Date published: 2022-04-27
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Franalice from
A lively Dead Sea Scrolls Presentation!
Dr. Rendsburg presents in-depth information in a compelling and well organized manner. His explanations cover different viewpoints with clarity. He is an enthusiastic lecturer who combines information from the dead sea scrolls with other sources of information in order to provide a comprehensive view of the latest research and ideas about the themes in the scrolls as well as the lifestyles of the inhabitants of Qumran.
Date published: 2021-11-04
Overview
About
Dr. Gary A. Rendsburg holds the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University, where he also holds an appointment in the History Department. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from New York University and taught at Canisius College and Cornell University-the latter for 18 years-before joining the Rutgers faculty in 2004. The author of six books and more than 120 scholarly articles, Professor Rendsburg takes a special interest in literary approaches to the Bible, the history of the Hebrew language, the history of ancient Israel, and the development of Judaism in the post-biblical period. His works include The Bible and the Ancient Near East (1997), a general survey of the biblical world coauthored with the late Cyrus H. Gordon, and, most recently, Solomon's Vineyard: Literary and Linguistic Studies in the Song of Songs (2009), coauthored with Scott B. Noegel. Professor Rendsburg has visited all of the major archaeological sites in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan and has explored Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, repeatedly for several decades. He has participated in excavations at Tel Dor and Caesarea. His main research interests are the literature of the Bible, the history of ancient Israel, the historical development of the Hebrew language, and the relationship between ancient Egypt and ancient Israel. Professor Rendsburg has received several fellowships including the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Trailer
01: The Discoveries and Their Significance
Learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are, the story of their unlikely discovery, and the state of scholarship about ancient Judaism and early Christianity prior to the scrolls' surfacing. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls would alter our understanding of every aspect of the crucial historical period in which they were created.
32 min
02: The First Seven Scrolls
Plunge into a tale of excitement and adventure and discover more about how scholars gained access to the first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran-and what they found when they began to translate these extraordinary initial discoveries.
28 min
03: Opening and Reading the First Scroll
This lecture begins your immersion into the text of the scrolls themselves, starting with the scroll known as the Community Rule or Manual of Discipline-the important text that gives us our first insight into the community and theology of the scrolls' creators and guardians.
32 min
04: The Historical Backdrop of Ancient Judaism
Consider history prior to the scrolls, beginning with the biblical period and moving forward to focus on the Maccabean revolt, the arrival of the Romans, the reign of King Herod, the life of Jesus, the Zealot uprising, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the fall of Masada.
31 min
05: The Rise of the Jewish Sects
Gain insight into the appearance of Jewish sectarianism in late antiquity-focusing primarily on the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots-through the Jewish historian Josephus, along with the Jewish philosopher Philo, the authors of the New Testament books, the later rabbis, and even the Roman polymath Pliny the Elder.
29 min
06: The Dead Sea Site of the Qumran Sect
Journey to the isolated region of Qumran's caves and learn how archaeological excavations of a nearby ruin helped scholars form the most accepted hypothesis of who wrote the scrolls and why the scrolls were deposited in the caves.
32 min
07: The Emergence of the Rabbinic System
Step forward in time to examine some later rabbinic texts from the 3rd century and the rise of the rabbinical tradition itself, both of which provide vital perspectives on the composition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
32 min
08: A Dead Sea Scroll from Medieval Cairo
Focus on the famous Damascus Document, two copies of which were discovered in a Cairo synagogue in the 1890s. Although the copies were medieval, the texts themselves were believed to be ancient-a conclusion later confirmed when fragments of the same texts were found at Qumran.
30 min
09: Pesher Interpretation-Prophecy Read Anew
Look at a scroll known as the Pesher Habakkuk, the most prominent representative of an interpretive method whereby the true message of a biblical book is read as speaking to present-day conditions, as opposed to the original setting centuries earlier.
28 min
10: The War Scroll and Other Apocalyptic Texts
Two key scrolls-one of which details a cataclysmic battle between the "Sons of Light" (the Qumran sect's self-designation) and the "Sons of Darkness" (all other Jews, apparently)-offer you a window into apocalyptic belief among the Dead Sea sectarians.
29 min
11: Biblical Manuscripts at Qumran
Using clarifying examples of biblical text, enter the arcane world of textual criticism, learning about the transmission of texts in antiquity, the oral reading tradition, the translation of the Bible into Greek, the Samaritan version of the Torah, and, of course, the Qumran biblical manuscripts themselves.
31 min
12: Alternative Views of Qumran and the Scrolls
Most scholars believe the Dead Sea Scrolls were authored by a Jewish sect identified with the Essenes, who then hid the documents from the advancing Roman army in 68 C.E. This is not the only view, however. In this lecture, learn about several dissenting views.
29 min
13: Stops and Starts En Route to Publication
The story of the Dead Sea Scrolls involves much more than just archaeology and analysis. This lecture takes you into the intrigue, scholarly rivalry, and sometimes astonishing delays that marked the scrolls' long journey from discovery to complete publication.
28 min
14: The Qumran Vision for a New Temple
Explore in detail the Temple Scroll, which reworked the Torah's laws, using the book of Deuteronomy as a base. Also, learn how a key shift in the text's narrative voice-to that of God speaking in the first person-has drawn attention to a major belief central to the Qumran sect.
31 min
15: Daily Life at Qumran
How did the Qumran community go about its daily life? This lecture integrates both textual and archaeological data to examine the sect's social structure, economy, farming, food production, and the question of women at Qumran.
31 min
16: The Halakhic Letter-Rituals Define the Sect
This treatise on 20 points of Jewish law, written by the Qumran sect's leader, was published in modern form 40 years after its discovery. Follow the twists and turns of that story before delving into the contents of this foundational text for the Qumran community.
31 min
17: The Qumran Biblical Canon
When the Qumran community existed, the biblical canon was not yet fixed, with different Jewish groups seeing as canonical some texts that others did not. Examine some texts shedding light on the Qumran canon, including the Genesis Apocryphon and its detailed elaboration of Sarah's physical beauty.
30 min
18: The Qumran Calendar
Look at the ways in which the arrangement of the yearly calendar influenced the practice of faith, and how the Qumran community used a different calendar from other Jews of the time.
31 min
19: Jewish Scholars and Qumran Ritual Practices
Return to the process by which the scrolls were published, learning how several key events in 1991 ultimately shattered the scholarly monopoly and paved the way for close examination of religious practices at Qumran, including the use of tefillin, the mezuzah, and the recitation of Grace after Meals.
32 min
20: Prayers, Hymns, and the Synagogue
Continue your focus on Jewish ritual at Qumran, with special attention to prayer and the role of the synagogue, before turning to the last of the original seven documents to be examined in this course, a lengthy collection of poetry known as the Thanksgiving Hymns.
30 min
21: Qumran Hebrew as an Anti-Language
Turn to the dialect used in the Dead Sea Scrolls known to scholars as "Qumran Hebrew"-an example of the sociolinguistic phenomenon of "anti-language"-and investigate how it could be used by the sect to set itself apart.
31 min
22: The Enigma of the Copper Scroll
Learn how the Qumran community's most remarkable and puzzling text-the corroded metal sheets of which needed to be cut apart into strips to permit reading-proved to contain obscure hints of the locations of vast and specific amounts of gold, silver, and other treasure.
32 min
23: Connections to Christianity
There are many links between the Dead Sea Scrolls sect and the Jesus movement. This lecture gathers connections already mentioned in earlier lectures and further explores beliefs and practices shared by the Qumran sect and earliest Christianity.
33 min
24: Scroll Fragments and a New View of Judaism
Even quite fragmentary scrolls offer new insights. This lecture samples three such fragments, turns to the ultimate fates of the different sects, and then concludes with a look at lessons the scrolls offer us today.
34 min
