This lecture lays out the varied calendrical systems used in ancient Judaism. Calendars are complex things and lie at the core of our lives, as well as how most religious traditions function. How to count time was one of the most contentious issues between various ancient Jewish groups and sects–whether…
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946-47. We are already seeing signs of various retrospective reporting and analysis in special issues of major mass media publications such as National Geographic and Life magazine. These thick, lavishly illustrated, special editions are harbingers of much more…
Here is a lecture version of my previous post, “Dead Messiahs Who Don’t Return.” Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, and click the “bell” on Youtube if you want notifications. I am uploading dozens if lectures from my decades long career in March. https://youtu.be/rMe0g52O-OY
I am continuing to post the materials that I have used in my courses for 45 years now–free for anyone to see and use. You are welcome to print out, read, and share the link via social media, but please do not repost or reproduce without permission. The following excerpt from…
Many of my readers are aware of the publication of Ross Nichols’s new book, The Moses Scroll that chronicles the whole Moses Shapira Saga and the question of whether or not the 19th century “Dead Sea Scroll” was most likely ancient or a modern forgery. I just received word from Nichols…
From Ross Nichols. Well worth reading. An Easter 1883 resurrection. Then and now https://themosesscroll.com/moses-shapiras-manuscript-and-an-easter-to-remember/ https://themosesscroll.com/moses-shapiras-manuscript-and-an-easter-to-remember/
Today’s international weekend edition of the New York Times has the Moses Shapira “Dead Sea Scroll” story, that appeared on-line March 10th, on the front page, above the fold! Congratulations to Idan Dershowitz for his years of painstaking work on the 1878 Shapira Scroll fragments–which have disappeared–trying to reconstruct them and…
Updated March 19th Okay, the expression is overused, but I like it: “When it rains it pours…” If you have been keeping up with the news, both in international media breaking headlines, and in the academic world of biblical studies and blogs–it is all about Dead Sea Scrolls–present and past…
I first heard of Moses Shapira in graduate school at the University of Chicago the summer of 1976. I remember the specific time as I was preparing for my Ph.D. exams, which included reading selections of the Dead Sea Scrolls in manuscript form. Fortunately, David Wilmot—who was a brilliant up-and-coming…
I will be reviewing this new book by Ross Nichols this weekend here on my blog. I highly recommend. I received my copy on my birthday, March 2nd, and could hardly put it down. Includes not only the most complete version of the Shapira story every published, but a reconstruction…