The discoveries and their significance -- The first seven scrolls -- Opening and reading the first scroll -- The historical backdrop of ancient Judaism -- The rise of the Jewish sects -- The Dead Sea site of the Qumran sect -- The emergence of the rabbinic system -- A Dead Sea scroll from medieval Cairo -- Pesher interpretation: prophecy read anew -- The war scroll and other apocalyptic texts -- Biblical manuscripts at Qumran -- Alternative views of Qumran and the scrolls.
Stops and starts en route to publication -- The Qumran vision for a new temple -- Daily life at Qumran -- The Halakhic letter: rituals define the sect -- The Qumran biblical canon -- The Qumran calendar -- Jewish scholars and Qumran ritual practices -- Prayers, hymns, and the synagogue -- Qumran Hebrew as an anti-language -- The enigma of the copper scroll -- Connections to Christianity -- Scroll fragments and a new view of Judaism.
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