Fifty years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls there have been many advances in the field of Qumran Studies. Yet much work remains undone. In particular the study of the scrolls has continued to follow long established historical critical methods while largely failing to incorporate recent advances in literary, ideological and sociological approaches.

The essays collected here are the result of the Bristol Colloquium on the Dead Sea Scrolls held in September 2003. Here, ten scholars working in a diversity of areas demonstrate how these recent advances in scholarship increase...

Katie J. Woolstenhulme considers the pertinent questions: Who were ‘the matriarchs’, and what did the rabbis think about them? Whilst scholarship on the role of women in the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism has increased, the authoritative group of women known as ‘the matriarchs’ has been neglected. This volume consequently focuses on the role and status of the biblical matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah, the fifth century CE rabbinic commentary on Genesis. Woolstenhulme begins by discussing the nature of midrash and introducing Genesis Rabbah; before exploring the term ‘the matriarchs’...

In this study of the Aramaic materials at Qumran, Andrew B. Perrin examines the Aramaic Levi Document, Words of Qahat, and Visions of Amram, showing how they exhibit a concentration of priestly concerns/knowledge and exploring new models for evaluating their potential textual or traditional connections. The Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most understudied items in the Qumran collection, and with open questions posed around their origins, transmission, and reception in and beyond the Second Temple period, these writings provide both new materials and fresh insight...