Office of University Communications 

Renowned Dead Sea Scrolls scholar to present lecture

SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State University religious studies department and the College of Humanities and Public Affairs will host a public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in the Plaster Student Union Theater. The lecture, entitled “So What’s Happening with the Dead Sea Scrolls Today?” will be presented by Dr. James C. VanderKam, professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls are the most important archaeological find in the area of Biblical studies of the Twentieth Century,” said Dr. John Strong, associate professor of religious studies at Missouri State. “While the story of their discovery and publication has all of the thrill and intrigue of a spy-novel, it is what they tell us about the texts of the Bible and Judaism in the 1st Century A.D. that make them of lasting value. To have Dr. VanderKam on campus, who is one of the world’s preeminent scholars of the scrolls, is a great opportunity for us all.”

VanderKam has focused his research on Jewish literature of the second temple period and the Dead Sea Scrolls and served as a member of the team that published the scrolls. Among his books are “The Dead Sea Scrolls Today” (1994) and “The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” (2002, co-authored). In 2005, VanderKam became editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature.

The lecture is free and open to the public. During his two-day visit to the campus, VanderKam will also guest-lecture in an upper-level archeology class and will meet with religious studies department students, staff and faculty.