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Fifty years ago, in a cave near Qumran on the Dead Sea, a bedouin shepherd made a remarkable discovery - a cache of scrolls in Hebrew and Aramaic, dating roughly from the time of Jesus. Here, in hundreds of literary fragments, was a window into an unknown world - the world where Christianity and modern Judaism were born. Shanks provides insight into the content and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His treatment of the findings is well balanced, providing an examination of the history of their discovery and dissemination, a summary of their scholarly interpretation, and a meditation on their ultimate significance. For those just curious about the scrolls, or for those with extensive knowledge about them, Shanks provides a major contribution to the understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Herschel Shanks is founder and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible Review. In 1991 he was the first to publish excerpts of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments, which had been kept secret by a small group of scholars.
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