The 2000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls predate other biblical manuscripts by centuries and have revolutionized study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament text. Their rich evidence makes possible through the multi-volume Oxford Hebrew Bible a much-improved, critically established edition, as all the Greek and Latin classics and the New Testament have. As Chief Editor of the Biblical Scrolls, I edited the official publication of the 20 Isaiah scrolls and thus was chosen to do the OHB II-Isaiah volume. Every biblical scholar knows that in the medieval textus receptus there are mistakes and secondary readings, yet those are to this day printed in the main text of the Hebrew Bible. The proposed OHB II-Isaiah volume offers the best possible critical text, and will make available in both print and digital form to Bible translators, biblical scholars, students, and eventually the public (through Bible translations) a superior edition of one of the most important and beloved books of the Bible.

To support work on an edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

To support the preparation of an edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Preparation for publication of a new edition and translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Cave 1, discovered near Qumran in Israel in the 1950s. (36 months)

This project will produce two scholarly editions and translations of the first Dead Sea Scrolls found in Cave 1. They will rely on new photographs of the Scrolls, taken with multi-spectral and reflectance transformation imaging, and will revise, update, and add critical commentary to these texts, originally published in 1955 only in French. Divided into two volumes now under contract in the new Dead Sea Scrolls Editions series (Brill), these new editions and translations will increase scholarly and general access to these texts in English translation and will aid in the general understanding of these often fragmentary texts. Through new introductions and commentary, the editors will highlight the ways in which these Cave 1 texts illuminate our understanding of the Bible and the origins of modern-day Judaism and the early followers of Jesus. These Scrolls also shed light on the rise of sacred texts and how the written word became central to many Western religious traditions.

Preparation for publication of a print and digital edition of two sixth-century Latin texts, the Jubilees and the Testament of Moses, attributed to the Jewish patriarch Moses. (12 months)

This project will provide scholars and the general public with an edition of a collection of books attributed to Moses but excluded from the Jewish Bible. The two books, Jubilees and the Testament of Moses, provide important insight into Jewish thought from two thousand years ago, complementary to insight from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. These texts are concerned with Jewish law and a figure who sacrifices his own life to bring about the kingdom of God. The books are preserved in Latin translation in a single manuscript that was erased and heavily damaged. Advanced multispectral imaging has recently made it possible to read text and observe other features of scribal culture. A stable scholarly edition will be produced, peer-reviewed, printed, and distributed by a major scholarly publisher. The images, transcription, translation, and notes will be linked in a free interactive online edition.

To support the continuing preparation of an edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient writings that include the earliest extant versions of many Old Testament texts and a wealth of other religious writings.

To support the continuing preparation of an edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.