This volume continues the publication of the series of biblical Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in Cave 4 at Qumran. It contains forty-two manuscripts of the Writings or Wisdom Books, from Psalms to Chronicles. These Hebrew texts antedate by a millennium what had previously been considered the earliest surviving biblical manuscripts in the original language. They document a pluriformity that characterized the ancient biblical textual tradition before the text became uniform later in the Rabbinic period. The Book of Psalms was the most widely copied book at Qumran, and the manuscripts...

With contributions by: Barns, J. W. B.; Unknown function: Carswell, J.

The tenth volume in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series, this is the first ever edition, complete with translation, commentary, and plates, of one of the most important documents found at Qumran: a letter from one of the leaders of the Dead Sea sect to one of the leaders of Israel. It is a unique and extremely valuable legal document from the first century A.D. which sheds light both on the ritual practices of the Qumran community, and on the Hebrew language.

This volume continues the publication of the series of biblical Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in Cave 4 at Qumran. It contains thirty-three manuscripts of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Twelve Minor Prophets. These texts antedate by a millennium those that had previously held the title of the earliest surviving Hebrew biblical manuscripts. They document a pluriformity acceptable in the ancient biblical textual tradition before the text became standardized later in the Christian and Rabbinic period.
The Book of Isaiah was one of the most widely copied books at...

This volume contains a collection of Jewish works composed during the intertestamental period linked to biblical texts through characters, themes, or genre. Some of these were known previously as part of the Pseudepigrapha, while others were not previously known. They all enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of pseudepigraphy (writing in the name of a famous biblical or religious character) and of biblical interpretation during the Second Temple period.

This volume inaugurates the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the main collection discovered in Cave 4 at Qumran. It continues six biblical manuscripts written in ancient Palaeo-hebrew script, four Septuagint manuscripts, and five hitherto unknown compositions. The Hebrew texts antedate by a millennium what had previously been the earliest surviving biblical codices in the original language, and they document the pluriform nature of the ancient biblical textual tradition before the text became standardized. The most extensive and significant manuscript exhibits the expanded textual...

In this long awaited edition Baumgarten presents all the known Qumran Cave 4 manuscripts of the Damascus Document on the basis of J. T. Milik's original transcriptions. These eight manuscripts antedate the two medieval Cairo Geniza texts (CD) by more than a millennium and are indispensable for all future literary and historical studies on one of the major foundational works of the Qumran community.

It is well documented that the Qumran community followed a solar calendar which differed fundamentally from the lunar calendar observed at the Temple in Jerusalem. This volume contains Qumran texts which delineated the community's calendar. Some of the texts were written in a unique script known as "Cryptic A," indicating their secret nature.

Cave 11 at Qumran contained a number of extremely important well-preserved manuscripts such as the Temple Scroll which have been published elsewhere. This volume contains complete editions of the remainder of the Cave 11 manuscripts, including biblical scrolls such as Ezekiel and Psalms, as well as several important extra-biblical texts such as Jubilees, Melchizedek, Berakoth, and Hymns, and a new edition of the Targum of Job.

Religious observance in all areas of life was an issue of major importance to the Qumran community. Several collections of laws or halakhot from Qumran bear witness to the parallel development of these laws with those that emerged within Rabbinic Judaism. This volume includes several such compositions of which Tohorot is the largest.