First Museum of the Bible Volume Released with 13 Previously Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls

Pete Williams sent word yesterday that the first volume of the Publications of Museum of the Bible was published this week. Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments in the Museum Collection is edited by Emanuel Tov, Kipp Davis, and Robert Duke and features 13 previously unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls fragments. A number of introductory essays help explain the Museum’s collection and the program that led to this volume.

That program, known as the Scholars Initiative, is one of the book’s unique features. The program involves dozens of undergraduate and graduate students who are given the opportunity to help with fresh research on the museum’s artifacts. As someone who has been through this program, I can say that the opportunity it affords to young students is unparalleled. It is a fantastic way to mentor and train students interested in Biblical research.

The risks of involving students in this level of research are (hopefully) mitigated by the tiered structure of the program where students are overseen by scholar-mentors who are, in turn, overseen by the editors of the volumes (here Emanuel Tov). A special shout-out to Michael Johnson who was in the first “class” of the Scholars Initiative with me and who became one of the “principal investigators” in the volume (see p. xiii n. 15).

It is exciting to see this work coming to fruition. Hopefully the Greek volume will follow in the next year or two. (The press release says it “will be published soon.”)

MOTB.SCR.003172 Jeremiah. Showing image manipulation used to read the texts. Images by Bruce and Kenneth Zuckerman and Marilyn Lundberg, West Semitic Research

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Text Editions, the Collection of the Museum of the Bible, Textual and Orthographic Character, Relation to Other Fragments from the Judaean Desert Emanuel Tov
2. Paleographical and Physical Features of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Museum of the Bible Collection: A Synopsis Kipp Davis
3. A Methodology for the Digital Reconstruction of Dead Sea Scroll Fragmentary Remains Bruce Zuckerman, Asher Levy and Marilyn Lundberg
4. 4 The Process and Goal of Research Robert Duke
5. 5 Procedure Followed by the MOTB Scholars Teams: Manuscript Research as Pedagogy Lisa M. Wolfe
6. Genesis 31:23–25?, 32:3–6 (Inv. motb.scr.000124) Elaine Bernius et al.
7. Exodus 17:4–7 (Inv. motb.scr.000120) Karl Kutz et al.
8. Leviticus 23:24–28 (Inv. ncf.scr.004742) Karl Kutz et al.
9. A Fragment of Leviticus? (Inv. motb.scr.000122) Marty Alan Michelson et al.
10. Numbers 8:3–5 (Inv. motb.scr.003173) Timothy D. Finlay et al.
11. Jeremiah 23:6–9 (Inv. motb.scr.003172) Karl Kutz et al.
12. Ezekiel 28:22 (Inv. motb.scr.003174) Ishwaran Mudliar
13. Jonah 4:2–5 (Inv. motb.scr.003171) Catherine McDowell and Thomas Hill
14. Micah 1:4–6 (Inv. motb.scr.003183) Peter W. Flint and David R. Herbison
15. Psalm 11:1–4 (Inv. motb.scr.000121) Lisa M. Wolfe et al.
16. Daniel 10:18–20 (Inv. motb.scr.003170) Robert Duke et al.
17. Nehemiah 2:13–16 (Inv. motb.scr.003175) Martin G. Abegg Jr. et al.
18. A Fragment of Instruction (Inv. motb.scr.000123) Michael Brooks Johnson