Deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls - Softcover

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Jonathan Campbell is Lecturer in Jewish studies at the University of Bristol.

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HOW THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS CAN CHANGE OUR VIEW OF HISTORY –
AND HOW THEY CANNOT.

In 1947, a huge collection of ancient manuscripts was found in remote caves near Khirbet Qumran on the edge of the Dead Sea. These manuscripts, numbering nearly eight hundred, have radically altered the way scholars view both the Judaic world in the centuries leading up to the time of Christ, and the bible itself. Written by the Qumran Essenes, a persecuted Jewish sect, the Scrolls illuminate the world into which Jesus was born, and place the growth of Christianity in its historical context.

The result is complex and fascinating: Campbell cuts through sensationalist conspiracy theories to give an incisive, and at times startling, portrait of the Scrolls themselves, the impact of their amazing discovery on our understanding of the religions of the ancient Palestine, the status of the Bible in the last two centuries before the birth of Christ and these remarkable documents’ enduring significance. Authoritative and accessible, Jonathan Campbell’s book gives an incomparable overview for the uninitiated general reader of the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

“In 'Deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls', Jonathan Campbell, an established expert on Qumran, has written for students and the general reader a clear, well researched, balanced and highly informative account of the discovery of the Scrolls, the debates surrounding them, and their significance for a better understanding of ancient Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity.”
Dr GEZA VERMES, author of 'The Dead Sea Scrolls in English'