THBS213 - The Dead Sea Scrolls

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THBS100 Introduction to the Bible OR ARCH100 Archaeology of Ancient Israel

Teaching organisation

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures and tutorials. The remaining hours typically involve individual reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

Unit rationale, description and aim

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as one of the most significant manuscript discoveries of all time. They offer an unparalleled insight into the formation of the Jewish and Christian biblical canons, and the world in which they emerged. They contain the earliest copies of the texts that would come to form the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and reveal ways in which those texts were interpreted and used in the late Second Temple period. Yet important questions remain about who composed and used the texts, how they came to be deposited at the caves near Qumran, the nature of the corpus, and the extent to which the scrolls can be considered representative of broader intellectual and interpretative traditions. Engaging in a close reading of key texts within the collection, THBS213 introduces major themes and debates in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and considers the insights the manuscripts provide into Jewish society and culture at the time of Jesus and the formation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

• An overview of Jewish history and society during the Hellenistic and Roman periods
• The Dead Sea Scrolls in their eastern Mediterranean context
• Key texts in translation and debates among the Dead Sea Scrolls (e.g., 4QMMT, Community Rule, Damascus Document, Temple Scroll, Pesharim)
• Debates about the Dead Sea Scrolls, including questions of origin
• The Essene hypothesis
• Theories and debates about the nature of the emergent scriptural tradition
• Apocalyptic writings
• Digital and other current approaches to Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship
• The archaeology of Khirbet Qumran

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The unit is normally offered in online scheduled mode. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities that support the achievement of the learning outcomes through interactive discussion and analysis of primary sources. Students are asked to critically reflect, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then apply what they have learned. Collaborative and peer learning is also emphasized.

These activities enable students to acquire and assimilate knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls, their social and historical background, and the modern interpretative approaches, debates, and controversies that inform their study. Students will be guided to develop the academic skills needed to study ancient texts and contexts and to begin to generate and evaluate hypotheses about the interpretation and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Students will be provided opportunities to encounter and utilise technologies, databases, and strategies that facilitate analysis of ancient manuscripts.  

THBS213 emphasises students as active, adult learners. Students are recognised as adult learners who engage best when what they are learning is relevant to them and gives them the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. In many ways, the student is the one who drives the learning forward. Active participation in this unit is essential and is at the core of its learning strategy. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive experience, which helps students to develop critical thinking and reflection skills.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve an overall grade of Pass (50% or higher).

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.

The first assessment task requires students to research and assimilate information about a topic. It enables assessment of students’ ability to consolidate information in order to explain its significance for the study of the past. It is designed for students to demonstrate their attainment of LO1. It is intended as a relatively low-stakes opportunity for students to develop their research and communication skills and to receive feedback that will assist them in the preparation of assessment tasks 2 and 3.

The second assessment task requires students to engage in close, analytical reading of ancient manuscripts in translation. It will support them to identify and utilise appropriate resources and methodologies in order to interpret ancient writings and to evaluate and bridge the gaps of indeterminacy that characterise the study of lacunose texts. It is primarily intended to assess students’ attainment of LO2.

The third assessment task requires students to demonstrate advanced research and critical thinking skills to engage in a major debate in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls studies. It recognises that students learn best when their learning is relevant and grounded in real-world problems. It is intended to support students to consolidate their learning throughout the semester and to apply it to the evaluation and analysis of new and unresolved problems.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Brooke, George J., and Charlotte Hempel. T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.

Collins, John J., and Ananda Geyser-Fouché, eds. Emerging Sectarianism in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Leiden: Brill, 2022. 

García Martínez, Florentino., and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Hartog, Pieter B., and Andrew Perrin, eds., The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea, Leiden: Brill, 2022.

Hogeterp, Albert. Expectations of the End. A Comparative Traditio-Historical Study of Eschatological, Apocalyptic and Messianic Ideas in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 83. Leiden: Brill, 2009.

Lange, Armin, Emanuel Tov, Matthias Henze, Russell Earl Fuller, and Frank Felder. Textual History of the Bible Online. Edited by Lange Armin, Emanuel Tov, Matthias Henze, Russell Earl Fuller, and Frank Felder. Leiden: Brill, 2016: https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/qpf7hm/alma991012693097602352

Leon-Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library: https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/home

Mroczek, Eva. The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Parry, Donald W., Andrew C. Skinner, Emanuel Tov, and Eugene Ulrich. Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Biblical Texts. Edited by Donald W. Parry and Andrew C. Skinner. Leiden: Brill, 2015: https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/qpf7hm/alma991013096789802352

Reynolds, Noel B., and Emanuel Tov. Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Non-Biblical Texts. Leiden: Brill, 2006: https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/qpf7hm/alma991013096789702352