The following four essays were in response to a comprehensive essay exam I gave in my Dead Sea Scrolls course. They were written by my student Jeffrey Poplin and used with his permission. I thank Jeffrey for his superb work and happily pass these along to my blog readers: Essay One: Offer…
And he will rule the nations with a rod of iron shattering them as earthen pots I wanted to recommend another post by fellow-blogger Alex Finkelson of “Scribes of the Kingdom.” ((Search “Finkelson” on my TaborBlog for previous posts that Alex has done that I have put up on my…
1. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947-1956 in 11 caves (5 by Beduin; 6 by archaeologists) on the upper northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The area is 13 miles east of Jerusalem, and is -1300 ft. below sea level (Jerusalem is +2400 ft. above sea level). 2.…
Ross Nichols has just uploaded on a very balanced and reasonable set of reflections on the “Jerusalem stone” inscription and the resulting controversies that broke over the weekend–see my “Breaking News and Updates” posted here on my blog this morning–with quite a few links that fill in the backstory on…
Dr. James Tabor retired (2022) as a full-Professor from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he taught Christian origins and ancient Judaism, for 33 years, serving as Chair for a decade. His MA/Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago (1981). He previously…
I have written and lectured a lot on “When Prophecy Fails,” that is how various groups over the past 2500 years, both Jewish and Christian, have had their hopes and expectations dashed by what one might call the “brick wall” of historical reality. In times of global unrest and uncertainty,…
As many of you know I officially retired yesterday, June 30th, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte after thirty-three yeas of teaching, but forty-five total including my previous years at Notre Dame and the College of William and Mary. I might also mention that UNC Charlotte was founded in 1946–the year…
Summer Sale: The Book of Genesis: A New Translation from the Transparent English Bible, is available in Kindle, Paperback and Hardcover at significantly reduced prices on Amazon. What is the best-known verse in the Bible—one that millions could quote immediately by heart? Christians might say John 3:16—after all, one even sees placards and signs…
In 1883 fifteen leather strips found by Bedouin in caves on the east side of the Dead Sea came into possession of book and manuscript antiquities dealer Moses Shapira of Jerusalem. These ancient texts were written in Paleo-Hebrew and after painstaking reading and transcription of the faded letters by Shapira,…
The three hundred year period of Jewish history from 150 BCE to 150 CE was characterized by the utter failure of all apocalyptic expectations of the End of the Age arriving. These failed hopes and dreams shape collectively what might be called “The Great Disappointment.” This included a variety of…
