A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature.

• Author: Strawn, Brent A.
• Position: Book review

A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. By JOSEPH A. FITZMYER, S.J. Revised ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 2008. Pp. xvii + 302. $24.

Some might be confused regarding the title and edition of Fitzmyer's book: Though it is, in fact, a revised and expanded edition of an earlier work, that earlier work did not have the same title, but appeared as The Dead Sea Scrolls: Major Publications and Tools for Study. This latter volume was first published in 1975, then reissued with an addendum in 1977 (both by the Society of Biblical Literature), and was then significantly revised in 1990 (Scholars Press). The current version, then, while not sharing the same title, is nevertheless the fourth installment of a tried and true resource. This new revised and expanded edition brings the discussion up to date--as far as possible, that is, in light of the continuing explosion of publications in Qumran studies, no small cottage industry! Indeed, given the rate of publication in that subfield, this 2008 edition is already out of date. That granted, it should be pointed out that Fitzmyer does not purport to offer a comprehensive bibliographical resource at all, but rather, as the new title indicates, a guide. For up-to-date comprehensive bibliographies, interested researchers can consult the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature and its online bibliography (http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il/). Guides like Fitzmyer's, however, are practically nonexistent, and his is thus an excellent "one-stop shop"--not to mention the logical first point of entry for those not yet initiated into this increasingly specialized subfield.

The 2008 edition is timely, given the completion of the publication of all the Scrolls in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series. This allows Fitzmyer, in turn, to provide a complete listing of all the manuscripts and their major publications, which he does in the lengthiest part of the book (chapter 2; chapter 1 concerns the system of abbreviations used in the study of the Scrolls). One easily finds here a listing of all the texts, regardless of date or language, that have been found not only at the eleven caves of Qumran, but also at thirteen other sites (e.g., Masada, Wadi Sdeir, Wadi Ghweir, the Cairo Genizah, etc.), along with seven texts of unknown provenience, each with citation of the editio princeps. Fitzmyer defines the term "Dead Sea Scrolls" quite...