For those who want to go deeper in their understanding of the canon of Scripture, leading international scholars provide cutting-edge perspectives on various facets of the biblical writings, how those writings became canonical Scripture, and why canon matters. Craig Evans begins by helping those new to the field understand the different versions of the Hebrew Bible as well as the books of the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. Later essays also help beginners by explaining "canon" and the development of canons in various Jewish and Christian communities, the much-debated tripartite canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, and questions of authority. But the book also includes insightful explorations and perspectives to challenge more advanced readers, starting with Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls expert Emanuel Tov delving into the complexities of biblical writing and moving into a critical investigation of the usefulness of extracanonical Gospels for historical Jesus research and an exploration of the relationship of Paul to the canonization process. The result is a thought-provoking book that concludes with discussion of an issue at the fore today--the theological implications of canon.

ContributorsJames H. Charlesworth
Stephen G. Dempster
Craig A. Evans
Lee Martin McDonald
Stanley E. Porter
Emanuel Tov
Jonathan R. Wilson
R. Glenn Wooden

"The eight essays in this volume form a very worthwhile set of considerations of the emerging canons of the Jewish and Christian Bibles. The complexity of the processes of canonization is refreshingly tackled on the basis of both internal and external evidence. Two essays cover some of the implications of the evidence of the Septuagint, two review especially the internal data of the Old Testament and Paul, two put in their places the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament Apocrypha, and two consider the theological bases of the authority that lies behind the text of Scripture. This two-by-two collection is a veritable ark full of expert analysis to enable any reader to navigate the flood of recent writing on canon. Some studies rescue old theories for a new generation; others provide polychromatic perspectives for a fresh start."--George J. Brooke, University of Manchester

This handbook provides a practical guide for the student and scholar alike who wishes to use the Septuagint (LXX) in the text-critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible. It does not serve as another theoretical introduction to the LXX, but it provides all the practical background information needed for the integration of the LXX in biblical studies. The LXX, together with the Masoretic Text and several Qumran scrolls, remains the most significant source of information for the study of ancient Scripture, but it is written in Greek, and many technical details need to be taken into consideration when using this tool. Therefore, a practical handbook such as this is needed for the integration of the Greek translation in the study of the Hebrew Bible. The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research is based on much background information, intuition and experience, clear thinking, and a solid description of the procedures followed. The author presents his handbook after half a century of study of the Septuagint, four decades of specialized teaching experience, and involvement in several research projects focusing on the relation between the Hebrew and Greek Bibles. The first two editions of this handbook, published by Simor of Jerusalem (Jerusalem Biblical Studies 3 [1981] and 8 [1997]), received much praise but have been out of print for a considerable period. This, the third, edition presents a completely revised version of the previous editions based on the many developments that took place in the analysis of the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible and the Qumran Scrolls. Much new information has also been added. Eisenbrauns has been involved in the marketing of the previous two editions and is proud to offer now its own completely novel edition. A must for students of the Hebrew Bible, textual criticism, the Septuagint and the other ancient translations, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Jewish Hellenism.

This volume is the first in the series to present a long Greek text (large sections of the Minor Prophets). The version in the scroll represents an early revision of the Septuagint towards a closer correspondence with the Hebrew text of the Bible - the revision given the name kaige by D. Barthelemy ('Les devanciers d'Aquila', SVT 10, 1963). After an extensive introduction (which includes a description of the materials by R. A. Kraft, and of the script by Peter J. Parsons) the volume contains an edition of the text, both with and without reconstructions, notes on the palaeography and reconstructions, an extensive commentary on the translation technique, orthographic peculiarities and textual relations, and is supplemented by an index of all words, as well as twenty plates (containing fragments arranged so as to present their position in the original scroll).

This volume contains a collection of compositions from cave 4 at Qumran. These compositons, written during the Second Temple period, are linked to the Hebrew Bible through text, characters, themes, or genre. Some of them present a reworking, rewriting, or paraphrase of biblical books. Of these texts, Reworked Pentateuch is probably closest to the biblcial books, while Jubilees is somewhat more removed from the text of the Hebrew Bible. Furthest removed from the biblical text in this volume are A Prayer for Enosh and ParaKings. Among the texts here published, Jubilees was known previously from Greek and Ethiopic translations, while Prayer for Enosh, Reworked Pentateuch, ParaKings, and the Commentary on Genesis-Exodus are hitherto unknown, All these documents greatly enhance our understanding of biblical interpretation during the Second Temple Period and of the phenomenon of pseudepigraphy (writing in the name of a famous biblical or religious character) so prevalent in antiquity.

Text in English and French. Qumran Cave 11Q was discovered by Bedouin in 1956. In the cave, remains of around 30 Dead Sea Scrolls were found, a few of them in very good state of preservation (the Temple Scroll, the Psalm Scroll, the Paleo Leviticus Scroll, and the Targum Job Scroll). The cave was excavated by Roland de Vaux (Ecole Biblique et Archeologique FranAaise, Jerusalem) and Gerald L. Harding (Department of Antiquities of Jordan) in 1956; later by Joseph Patrich (University of Haifa) in 1988, and by Marcello Fidanzio and Dan Bahat (ISCAB FTL and Universitedella Svizzera Italiana) in 2017. Due to Roland de Vaux's premature death, the archaeology of Cave 11Q has never been published. This volume presents the final report on the 1956, 1988 and 2017 excavations at Cave 11Q. Next to discussing the physical characteristics and stratigraphy of the cave and offering a full analysis of non-textual finds, the volume for the first time presents many tiny manuscript fragments found in storerooms during recent work. These fragments, most of which were collected during 1956 excavation, have not been known until now. The volume, therefore, offers the final report of Cave 11Q excavations as well as the editio princeps of the new fragments, followed by a reevaluation of the entire set of texts found in this famous cave.

Composed at the end of the editorial process, this provides a general overview of and introduction to the thirty eight volumes of the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series and includes several indexes to the whole series.

Offered in celebration of Talmon’s half-century of life and study in Israel, the essays in this Festschrift reflect Talmon’s lifelong interest in all phases of biblical and related study. Also included is a comprehensive listing of Talmon’s published writings.