2.66: What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter?

This discussion with John J. Collins covers the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient biblical manuscripts, and the community at Qumran.

Subscribe:

In this episode, Prof. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston talk with Prof. Collins, Holmes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School, about the question: What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and why do they matter?

Show notes

Biblical books and passages mentioned

  • Torah/Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)
  • Isaiah
  • Jeremiah
  • Daniel
  • Esther
  • Ezra
  • Nehemiah
  • Chronicles

Recent Publications by Professor John J. Collins

Topics and themes mentioned

  • The Great Isaiah Scroll
  • Canonization
  • The Temple Scroll
  • Qumran Community
  • Ben Sira

Ancient works mentioned

  • Mishnah
  • Rabbinic Corpus
  • Midrash
  • Samaritan Pentateuch/Torah
  • Damascus Document
  • Book of Jubilees
  • Book of Enoch

Today's Episode Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Katie Langston

Katie Langston

Joined by

John Collins_200x200px

John J. Collins

Featuring:

Picture of John Collins

John Collins

Dr. John J. Collins is the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. A native of Ireland, Professor Collins was a professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Chicago from 1991 until his arrival at YDS in 2000. He previously taught at the University of Notre Dame. He has published widely on the subjects of apocalypticism, wisdom, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

His books include The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography; Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview; the commentary on Daniel in the Hermeneia series; The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature; Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls; Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age; The Apocalyptic Imagination; Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora; Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with CD-ROM; Does the Bible Justify Violence?; Jewish Cult and Hellenistic Culture; Encounters with Biblical Theology; The Bible after Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age; King and Messiah as Son of God (with Adela Yarbro Collins); and Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

He is coeditor of the three-volume Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, and The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and has participated in the editing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is general editor of the Yale Anchor Bible series. He has served as editor of the Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement Series, Dead Sea Discoveries, and Journal of Biblical Literature, and as president of both the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature. He holds an honorary D.Litt. from University College Dublin. Professor Collins is a fellow of Trumbull College.

See Profile

Hosted By:

Picture of Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisconsin, before coming to Luther in 2006. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to Working Preacher, Word & World, and the author of "Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job" (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

See Profile
Picture of Katie Langston

Katie Langston

Katie Langston is a doubter by nature and a believer by grace. She grew up Mormon in a small Utah town and still isn't sure she fits in anywhere sophisticated enough to have a Target. She's the author of Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, an acclaimed spiritual memoir about her conversion to orthodox Christianity. Katie is Pastor of Mission and Outreach at New Promise Lutheran Church in St. George, Utah. From 2020-2025, she was the director of digital strategy for Luther Seminary's innovation team, where she oversaw digital projects aimed at cultivating vibrant Christian spirituality in a post-modern, post-Christian cultural context.

See Profile