This revision of the 1996 edition marks the golden anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, of major significance to understanding early Judaism and Christianity. Incorporating newly available scholarship, Wise (Hebrew Bible, Northwestern College, St. Paul, Minnesota) presents annotated English translations of the Enoch, Qumran calendar, and other key texts. The introduction enlightens general readers on the controversial reconstruction and interpretation process and technological aids.
Michael Wise, who is among the foremost young scholars translating the Scrolls today, has been profiled in Time, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune. He is Scholar-in-Residence and Professor of Ancient Languages at Northwestern College, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are not just for scholars anymore. They are here in a book that anyone can understand. Read these texts. Hidden in their caves, they survived the ravages of time and decay to speak to us today across two thousand years. They have survived their authors and will survive us, their readers.
- John Dominic Crossan