| CODE | NES2015 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit offers an in-depth look at the site of Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in caves adjacent to the site. Important topics that will be discussed include: the history, the practices and beliefs, and the form and structure of the sectarian community or communities that are responsible for the scrolls; the relationship between the archaeological site of Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and between the different manuscripts themselves; the function of the Qumran settlement. This study-unit will also discuss in detail the contents of the various manuscripts found at Qumran and their significance for the understanding of Second Temple Period Judaism. Study-unit Aims: 1. To present an introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls and to what they tell us about Second Temple Period Judaism in general, and about the community or communities who are responsible for these documents in particular. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Have a good background knowledge on the Dead Sea Scrolls, on their contents and themes, and on their cultural significance. 2. Skills (including transferable [generic] skills): By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Apply the knowledge gained in this study-unit to various other study-units (both cultural and language study-units), including units offered in Hebrew, archaeology, theology, etc.; Apply the methodological skills gained (particularly on the relationship between texts and artefacts) to other subjects. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: (availability at the Library or otherwise is indicated against each entry) De Vaux, R. 1973 Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls, London: Oxford University Press (originally published in French in 1961) (I own a copy) Galor, K., Humbert, J.-B., and Zangenberg, J. (eds.) 2006 Qumran. The Site of the Dead Sea Scrolls: archaeological interpretations and debates. Proceedings of a Conference held at Brown University, November 17-19, 2002, Leiden: Brill (I own a copy) Hirschfeld, Y. 2004 Qumran in Context: reassessing the archaeological evidence, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers (I own a copy) Magness, J. 2002 The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (Library owns a copy) Schiffman, L.H. 1994 Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: the history of Judaism, the background of Christianity, the lost library of Qumran, Jerusalem: The Jewish Publication Society (Library owns a copy) Schiffman, L.H., and VanderKam, J.C. (eds.) 2000 Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 vols., Oxford: Oxford University Press (I own a copy) VanderKam, J.C., and Flint, P. 2005 The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity, London: T&T Clark (Library owns a copy) Vermes, G. 2004 The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, revised edition, London: Penguin Books Ltd. (Library owns a copy) |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit cannot be taken by students who are registered or intend to register for a degree in Near Eastern Studies or Classical Hebrew. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Dennis Mizzi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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