The Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies is among the organizers of “The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy: Clear a Path in the Wilderness,” a week-long symposium in Jerusalem.
NYU’s Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies is among the organizers of “The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy: Clear a Path in the Wilderness,” a week-long symposium in Jerusalem that will consider the historical, sociological, and archaeological elements linked to the initial discovery of the scrolls in the late 1940s.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, first discovered in the Qumran Caves in what is now the West Bank, date back to the centuries leading up to the Common Era and represent early-known forms of Judaic scripture. The theme of the conference is “The Desert”—in reference to the site where the scrolls were discovered, as the site where biblical stories took place, and as a formative concept. The event will include presentations relating to the content, as well as to geological and technological aspects related to the scrolls, their meaning, and their conservation and preservation.
The symposium will include three presentations from NYU researchers (times listed are Israel Daylight Time):
- Zachary Levine, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, on “The Covenant of the First-Ones and Their Chastisement: Leviticus 26:44–45 at Qumran” (April 30, 9:15 a.m.)
- Lawrence Schiffman, a professor in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, on “The Desert Tabernacle and the Temple of the Temple Scroll” (May 1, 7 p.m.)
- Alex Jassen, an associate professor in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, on “Feeling Persecuted in the Wilderness: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Narrative of Victimhood” (May 2, 11 a.m.).
Reporters wishing to attend should contact Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Marketing and Communications Division, at pr@huji.ac.il or 02-5882812.
The event is hosted by Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with additional support from the University of Vienna, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the Israel Museum.