(J ST 153, RL ST 153)
Dead Sea Scrolls (3) Examines the discovery, contents, and interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish texts from approximately 225 B.C.E. to 68 C.E.
CAMS (J ST/RL ST) 153 Dead Sea Scrolls (3)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
This course will explore early Judaism through what is known about it from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish documents dating from approximately 225 B.C.E. to 68 C.E. that were discovered in 1947-1956 along the Dead Sea in Jordan (now the West Bank of Palestine). The course will be divided into three parts: 1) a short introduction to Judaism, especially the history of early Judaism, from the writing of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) to the Talmud; 2) a discussion of the caves above the Dead Sea and their relationship to the archaeological site called Khirbet Qumran; and 3) a survey of the contents of the 900+ Dead Sea Scrolls and select readings of some of them. These scrolls are primarily of three kinds: “biblical” books (books that came to comprise what is now known as the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) and their commentaries or translations; “apocryphal” or “pseudepigraphical” books (previously known Jewish writings that never made it into the Hebrew Bible, such as Tobit, Enoch, etc.); and “sectarian” Jewish writings (previously unknown writings that seem to come from a minority Jewish group).
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.