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Dead Sea Scrolls: Home

A guide to using Gordon-Conwell Library System resources to study the canonical and non-canonical texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Director of Networked Education Libraries

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David Richards
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Accessing the Dead Sea Scrolls

 
GCTS Libraries provide multiple resources for accessing the Dead Sea Scrolls. Below are some ever-expanding ways of accessing the biblical and non-biblical scrolls in both print and electronic formats.

Non-Biblical Texts from Qumran

The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (NEW unlimited access)

The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, edited by Florentino García Martínez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar is available through EBSCOhost eBook Collection. This edition contains both the Hebrew/Aramaic text and an English translation of all non-biblical texts found at Qumran and surrounding areas:

García Martínez, Florentino, and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Instructions:

  • Click the link above and sign in with your GCTS user ID and password (if off-campus).
  • To access the full text, click the "PDF Full Text" link in the left side menu (screenshot).
  • To search the full text, click the "Search within" link at the top-right side menu (screenshot).

See also the version on ProQuest Ebooks through DTL.

The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library provides high resolution photos of the manuscripts themselves (www.deadseascrolls.org.il). To navigate to images of a particular scroll, use the "Explore the Archive" feature to search on specific scrolls or content (e.g. books of the OT, names of sectarian documents, etc.). This site promises to become a very rich resource over time (as notes are added to each image, etc.).

Accessing The Dead Sea Scrolls at Goddard

Accessing The Dead Sea Scrolls at Goddard is a brief PDF research guide that reviews how to navigate the numbering system of the scrolls. It also provides a brief bibliography of print resources and a quick guide to finding the Hebrew "reflex" of a particular Greek word.

NEW: Brill's Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Non-Biblical Texts

 

Biblical Texts from Qumran

The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants (NEW access!)

The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants, by Eugene Ulrich is available through EBSCOhost eBook Collection. This reference work collects all Hebrew fragments of biblical texts found at Qumran. It arranges them in canonical order along with footnotes highlighting differences with the MT and LXX. Consult DJD for Greek & Aramaic texts, pesher/’expanded’ texts, or texts found in other sites near the Dead Sea, e.g. Murabbat, Nahal Hever.)

Ulrich, Eugene. The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 134. Leiden: Brill, 2010.

Instructions:

  • Click the link above and sign in with your GCTS user ID and password (if off-campus).
  • To access the full text, click the "PDF Full Text" link in the left side menu (screenshot).
  • To search the full text, click the "Search within" link at the top-right side menu (screenshot).
  • Navigate to a specific passage of Scripture using the table of contents in the right side menu.

    * Keep in mind that in Isaiah, you will need to consult 1QIsaa and the other fragments [b,c,d,etc.] separately. The full text of 1QIsaa [all 66 chs.] is presented first, followed by the other fragments.

NEW: Brill's Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Biblical Texts

Old Testament Textual Criticism at Goddard Library (Research Guide)

The Old Testament Textual Criticism at Goddard Library research guide provides links and bibliography for accessing the biblical texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.