“Qumran Cave 4 Texts Reconsidered”
International symposium on Dead Sea Scrolls
University of Copenhagen
June 16-18 2009
The main focus of the symposium is the group of manuscript fragments from Qumran Cave 4
(4Q158-186), published by British scholar John M. Allegro in 1968. A re-edition of these texts is
now underway, under the direction of George J. Brooke (University of Manchester), and Moshe J.
Bernstein (Yeshiva University, New York), in cooperation with Jesper Høgenhaven (University of
Copenhagen).
A number of international Dead Sea Scrolls scholars will contribute to the new text edition, which
will replace Allegro’s 1968 edition (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert V). The scholars in charge
of the new edition will give papers at the symposium, which is arranged jointly by the Universities
of Manchester and Copenhagen. The re-edition is scheduled to appear in 2010.
The fragments in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert V exhibit many different genres: Biblical
interpretation and rewriting, halakha, wisdom, poetry, and astrology. During the past 40 years
scholarly interest has focused mainly on texts interpreting the Hebrew Bible. Often these texts were
viewed as particularly informative with regard to the history and identity of the Qumran
community. Recent scholarship tends to focus less on ‘sectarian’ aspects of the texts, and to view
this literature in a broader perspective, within the general setting of ancient Judaism. The
significance of literary genre for understanding the Dead Sea texts has been increasingly
acknowledged in recent years. The symposium will attempt an update of our understanding of this
particular group of texts and of the Qumran library in general in its religious, literary, and historical
context.
The new editions will contribute to ongoing research into the texts of 4Q158-186, and have long
been a desideratum within Qumran scholarship.
The 1968 edition is a ‘minimalist’ edition with very sparse notes and commentaries, and today it
does not provide a reliable base for studying these significant Qumran texts. Allegro was swift in
publishing his texts, and his early edition reflects a marked position in the debate on how to make
the Dead Sea Scrolls accessible to the scholarly community as well as the general public. This
aspect of the discussion will also be addressed at the symposium.
Qumran scholars contributing to the symposium include: George J. Brooke, Moshe J. Bernstein,
Alex P. Jassen, Molly Zahn, Roman Vielhauer, Annette Steudel, Eibert Tigchelaar, Jutta Jokiranta,
Shani Berrin, Mladen Popovic, Søren Holst, Jesper Høgenhaven, Trine Bjørnung Hasselbalch.
For registration, please contact the University of Copenhagen, Department of Biblical Exegesis
(abe@teol.ku.dk).
For further information, please contact Jesper Høgenhaven (jh@teol.ku.dk) or Trine Bjørnung
Hasselbalch (tbh@teol.ku.dk).