T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls, eds. George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel (London: T&T Clark, 2019; reprinted 2025)

The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of various manuscripts and documentary (i.e., texts not intended for official publication) papyri dating between the fourth century BC and the first century AD that have been discovered at sites around the Dead Sea. This work, which has been recently reprinted, serves as a companion to these ancient Jewish texts and, in the process, seeks to accomplish six objectives. 

First, the editors, Brooke and Hempel, want to provide an accessible introduction to the Scrolls and their ancient contexts to the reader. Second, they desire to educate the reader as to the history of research on these texts. Third, Brooke and Hempel wish to inform the reader about the current state of scholarship as it relates to research on the Scrolls. Fourth, they seek to demonstrate how these documents illuminate other aspects of Jewish antiquity such as scribal practices, the canon of Scripture, etc. Fifth, Brooke and Hempel have limited their editing to the ease of accessibility for the reader, thereby allowing the reader to perceive the diversity of opinions about the Scrolls and the site of Qumran in the various chapters. The achievement of this goal, however, means that the reader must pay attention to the individual scholars and their judgments about the texts and the site in question, as not all contributors hold the same opinions. Finally, the editors have placed a bibliography at the end of each contribution that the reader can consult for further research. 

To accomplish these ends, Brooke and Hempel have divided this companion into six parts with six appendices. The first part (for a list of these entries and for all entries in each part, see below) examines the background of the Scrolls and includes chapters on their discovery, the archaeology of the site of Qumran, an overview of the manuscripts among the Scrolls, a discussion of their acquisition and publication (which was and remains controversial), and the scholarly and popular reception of the Scrolls. 

The companion’s second part focuses on the ancient contexts of the Scrolls with articles on ethnicity in them, the sectarians who lived at Qumran in light of other similar groups in the Greco-Roman world, the regional context of the Dead Sea, the ancient Near Eastern context of Qumran, the Scrolls and ancient Judaism and Christianity, and the Scrolls in light of other ancient Jewish and non-Jewish literature.

The third portion concentrates on methods for interpreting the Scrolls with chapters on the physical characteristics of the manuscripts, various technologies used in their study, how to read and reconstruct a fragmented manuscript, the three languages in which these texts were composed: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, how critical biblical scholarship relates to the Scrolls and Qumran, the study of the Scrolls in light of the study of the ancient world, the Scrolls and historiography, social scientific approaches used to interpret the Scrolls, and Postmodern questions that the Scrolls raise.

The companion’s fourth part contains entries of various sizes on key texts or collections of texts among the Scrolls such as commentaries on Biblical books, the (in)famous Copper Scroll, hymns, and much more. The fifth portion explores various types of literature found in the Scrolls such as the rewriting of the Bible, texts that contain rules for life, poetry and hymns, calendars, liturgical texts, etc. The companion’s sixth part focuses on various issues and topics associated with the Scrolls such as the concept of revelation, divine beings, eschatology, messianism, purity, holiness, etc. 

Finally, the appendices provide helpful information for the reader: a timeline of events associated with the Scrolls, principal printed and electronic editions of them, major reference works and translations of the Scrolls, and the most essential introductions to these ancient texts. 

In short, the T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls is an excellent, well-conceived and executed introduction to the Scrolls in one accessible and affordable volume. Its great strength lies not only in the breadth and diversity of topics that the works covers but also in the diversity of scholars, there are over seventy contributors to the volume, who contributed chapters to it. Therefore, this companion is a must have for anyone conducting research on early Judaism or early Christianity and you can purchase it either from T&T Clark directly or Amazon!

Part 1: Background

• 1. Discoveries by Hans Debel (7–16)
• 2. Archaeology of Qumran by Dennis Mizzi (17–36)
• 3. The Manuscript Collections: An Overview by Mladen Popović (37–50)
• 4. Acquisition and Publication by Weston Fields and Herman Fields (51–58)
• 5. Scholarly and Popular Reception by Matthew A. Collins (59–73) 

Part 2: Context

• 6. Ethnicity: A Fresh Religious Context for the Scrolls by Robert Kugler (77–85)
• 7. The Yahad in the Context of Hellenistic Group Formation by Benedikt Eckhardt (86–96)
• 8. The Regional Context of the Dead Sea by Joan E. Taylor (97–108)
• 9. Qumran and the Ancient Near East by Henryk Drawnel (109–18)
• 10. Scrolls and Early Judaism by George J. Brooke (119–28)
• 11. Scrolls and Early Christianity by Albert L. A. Hogeterp (129–38)
• 12. Scrolls and Hellenistic Jewish Literature 
  • a. Philo by Joan E. Taylor (139–48)
  • b. Josephus by James McLaren (148–53)
  • c. Other Literature by Mattias Henze (153–55)
• 13. Scrolls and Non-Jewish Hellenistic Literature by Jutta Loenhardt-Balzer (156–63)

Part 3: Methods

• 14. Physicality of Manuscripts and Material Culture by Ingo Kottsieper (167–77)
• 15. Scientific Technologies by Ingo Kottsieper (178–85)
• 16. Reading and Reconstructing Manuscripts by Annette Steudel (186–91)
• 17. Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek by Holger Gzella (192–203)
• 18. Biblical Scholarship and Qumran Studies by Reinhard G. Kratz (204–15)
• 19. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Study of the Ancient World by Benjamin G. Wright III (216–27)
• 20. Historiography by Philip R. Davies (228–236)
• 21. Social Scientific Approaches
  • a. Sectarianism by David Chalcraft (237–41)
  • b. Sociolinguistics by Trine Bjørnung Hasselbalch (241–44)
  • c. Identity Theory by Lloyd K. Pietersen (244–45)
• 22. Postmodern Questions and Sexuality Studies by Maxine Grossman (246–56)

Part 4: Key Texts

• 23. Aramaic Job by David Shepherd (259–60)
• 24. Aramaic Levi by Vered Hillel (261–63)
• 25. Authoritative Scriptures: Torah and Related Texts by Katell Berthelot (264–68)
• 26. Authoritative Scriptures: Prophets and Related Texts by Roman Vielhauer (269–72)
• 27. Authoritative Scriptures: Writings and Related Texts by Ulrich Dahmen (273–79)
• 28. Authoritative Scriptures: Other Texts by Kelley Coblentz Bautch and Jack Weinbender (280–85)
• 29. Barkhi Nafshi by Daniel K. Falk (286–88)
• 30. Bar Kokhba Letters by Lutz Doering (289–94)
• 31. Beatitudes by Dorothy M. Peters (295–97)
• 32. Berakhot by Daniel K. Falk (298–301)
• 33. Commentaries on Genesis (4Q252–254) by George J. Brooke (302–3)
• 34. Copper Scroll by Jesper Højenhaven (304–5)
• 35. Damascus Document (D) by Liora Goldman (306–9)
• 36. Genesis Apocryphon by Daniel A. Machiela (310–13)
• 37. Hodayot (H) by Angela Kim Harkins (314–17)
• 38. Instruction by Benjamin Wold (318–19)
• 39. Messianic Apocalypse by Eric F. Mason (320–21)
• 40. Milḥamah (M) by Brian Schultz (322–24)
• 41. Miqṣat Ma´aśeh ha-Torah (MMT) by Hanne von Weissenberg (325–28)
• 42. Mysteries by Samuel I. Thomas (329–31)
• 43. New Jerusalem by Michael Langlois (332–34)
• 44. Pesharim by Shani Tzoref (335–38)
• 45. Rule of Blessings (Sb) by Judith H. Newman (339–40)
• 46. Rule of the Congregation (Sa) by Corrado Martone (341–43)
• 47. Serekh ha-Yahad (S) by Stephen Hultgren (344–46)
• 48. Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice by Judith H. Newman (347–49)
• 49. Son of God Text by Eric F. Mason (350–51)
• 50. Tanḥumim by Jesper Høgenhaven (352–53)
• 51. Temple Scroll by Joseph L. Angel (354–57)
• 52. Testimonia by Eva Mroczek (358–61)
• 53. Wiles of the Wicked Woman by Michael Lesley (362–64)
• 54. Words of the Luminaries by Judith H. Newman (365–66)

Part 5: Types of Literature 

• 55. Bible by Mika Pajunen (369–77)
• 56. Parabiblical Texts/Rewritten Scripture by Molly M. Zahn (378–85)
• 57. Exegesis and Interpretation by Michael Segal (386–94)
• 58. Halakhah by Vered Noam (395–404)
• 59. Rules by Charlotte Hempel (405–12)
• 60. Poetry and Hymns by Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra (413–22)
• 61. Liturgical Texts by Daniel K. Falk (423–34)
• 62. Calendars by Helen R. Jacobus (435–48)
• 63. Wisdom by Matthew Golf (449–56)
• 64. Mystical Texts, Magic, and Divination by Gideon Bohak (457–66)

Part 6: Issues and Topics 

• 65. Patriarchs and Aramaic Traditions by Ariel Feldman (469–80)
• 66. Revelation by Hindy Najman and Nicole Hilton (481–89)
• 67. God(s), Angels and Demons by Hanne von Weissenberg (490–95)
• 68. Eschatologies and Messianisms by Kenneth E. Pomykala (496–504)
• 69. Jerusalem and the Temple by Mila Ginsburskaya (505–12)
• 70. Purity and Holiness by Cecilia Wassén (513–23)
• 71. The Scribes of the Scrolls by Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar (524–32)
• 72. Forms of Community by Alison Schofield (533–46)
• 73. Daily Life by Cecilia Wassén (547–58)
• 74. Ethics and Dualism by Marcus Tso (559–67)
• 75. War and Violence by Alex P. Jasen (568–76)

Appendices

• Appendix A: Timeline of Events (577–83)
• Appendix B: Principal Printed Editions (584–87)
• Appendix C: Electronic Editions (588–89)
• Appendix D: Major Reference Works (590)
• Appendix E: Translations (591)
• Appendix F: Introductory Works (592–93)

Indices

• Index of Ancient Sources (595–626)
• Index of Modern Authors (627–39)
• Subject Index (641–57)

Thanks to T&T Clark for the gratis copy of this work, which in no way influenced by review of it.