What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

From 1947-1956 the remains of approximately 900 Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek scrolls were discovered in caves near the site of Khirbet Qumran, overlooking the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. These documents, most of which date to the second and first centuries BCE, include copies of every book of the Hebrew Bible (except Esther and Nehemiah), apocryphal and pseudepigraphical books, as well as commentaries on biblical books and a mass of other Jewish religious texts that were previously unknown. These strange and wonderful texts have transformed our understanding of late Second Temple Judaism, the very Judaism out of which Christianity emerged. As scrolls scholar Michael Wise has written: “For Jews, the Qumran texts say, ‘Our family was larger than you knew.’ […] For Christians, the texts say, ‘You are more Jewish than you realized.’ […] For both Jews and Christians, the Dead Sea Scrolls group are the cousins we never knew we had.” (M.O. Wise, M.G. Abegg Jr., and E.M. Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation [rev. ed.; Harper San Francisco, 2005], p. 35). 

Presenter: 
· Pastor Brooks Schramm (PhD; Hebrew Bible; University of Chicago) 
       · Prior to coming to Goleta, Pastor Schramm served for twenty-five years as Kraft Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His scholarly interests include the history of Jewish biblical interpretation; Jewish//Christian dialogue; and Martin Luther and the Jews.

Dates and Times: 
· 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. 
· Oct 22; Oct 29; Nov 5; Nov 12 

Location: 
· Christ Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall 
6595 Covington Way 
Goleta, CA 93117 

*Free of Charge and Open to the Public* 
*Ample opportunity each evening for questions and discussion.
*People of all faiths and belief systems are welcome!
*Christ Lutheran Church is an open community that is part of the ELCA, an LGBTQ+ friendly organization.