Hershel Shanks, editor of the magazine 'Biblical Archaeology Review', put together this wonderful volume on the archaeology of Jerusalem in honour of the 3000th anniversary of the establishment of the city by King David (a date of conjecture, to be sure, and with some variability even within the conjecture). In the introduction, Shanks states:

'Through the archaeology of Jerusalem, one can learn about almost everything even remotely connected to the ancient Near East: from Bible and ancient history, art and architecture, burial practices, languages and scripts to geography, water supply systems, chronology, theology, pottery typology, archaeological methodology, warfare and daily life.'

Jerusalem is at or near the centre of three major faiths that have had profound and lasting impact not only on the city or region, but upon the entire world. Jerusalem has long been at an important crossroads in history--military expansion of major empires have had to go through the city; trade routes east and west have always been through or nearby the city -- indeed, Jerusalem has been conquered 23 times in its history. From the sack of the city Salem by King David (who had to conquer it three times before being able to hold it from the Jebusites) to the Moslem reconquest from the Crusaders, archaeological evidence is rich in diverse time periods.

This makes Jerusalem rather like the wall made of successive layers of wallpaper with subtle but distinct patterns--it is hard, when scrapping away layers, to discern accurately which layer belongs to which period.

The first chapter begins with Jerusalem before the Israelites. Despite the year 2000 celebrating the 3000th anniversary of the city, it has in fact a much longer history. Egyptian hieroglyph records show the existence of a city on the site of Jerusalem as early as 1850 B.C.E., called Rushalimum. Continuous occupation can be seen from various records (such as Armana letters) to the year Davidic conquests. However, yet other evidence points to even earlier settlement; pottery dating back to the Chalcolitic period, and architectural remains point to inhabitation as early as 3000 B.C.E., making this truly one of the oldest cities in continuous occupation in the world. From earliest times, Jerusalem has been a 'cosmopolitan' place; even the Bible attests to the fact that despite conquest, the Jebusites remained inhabitants alongside the Israelites. This of course give more credence to the idea of assimilation of the cities and tribal/pastoral groups in Canaan, as opposed to the military conquest idea which is high on glory and patriotic ideal, but short on archaeological evidence. Obviously, if Jebusites still held Jerusalem, Joshua could not have truly conquered the entire land.

Other articles explore the strongholds of Jerusalem, the possible tombs of David and other kings; intrigues about finding (and not finding) evidence of the first Temple, and the difficulties involved in working around presently-functioning holy sites; the Babylonian period of destruction, including preserved clay bullae, one of which bears the name of the prophet Jeremiah's scribe, dated to the proper time period; Jerusalem during the time of Herod and Jesus, including a discussion of the authenticity of 'holy sites' that are pilgrimage sites today; Roman destruction, Byzantine reconstruction, Moslem conquest, Crusader conquest, and Moslem reconquest.

This book has an extensive collection of beautiful photography, timelines, maps and charts. From collections of art and ruins to panoramic views including the beautiful Dome of the Rock, a magnificent piece of Moslem architecture which remains substantially unaltered since it was built 1300 years ago, standing on the site of the Temple mount; to recreations of architecture to textual analysis, this is a book that will treat the eyes and the mind with fascinating detail and general ideas about the sweeping history of this city, and with this, a greater sense of the history of the religions that have shaped the world.

This book was given to me as a gift from my friend Monty, and I continue to be grateful for it - a magnificent gift indeed.

Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review (BAR) Magazine, offers an unrivaled look into the ancient City of Jerusalem. His concise descriptions and beautiful pictures captivated this reader and helped me to finally understand the relationship between biblical narrative and archeological evidence in the capital of Israel. Famous sites ranging from Hezekiah's Tunnel, to the Western Wall, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to the Dome of the Rock are wonderfully elucidated within their historical context. If you are interested in the Bible, the history of Jerusalem, or Archeology in general, this book is a MUST!

This is a collected set of lectures presented at the Smithsonian Institution in September of 1993. The book has been out for several years, and it's just my bad luck to have recently discovered it; I'm happy though, to live in a time when such information is open to the public, and open almost as soon as it is known.

The lecturers proceed through the phases of the life of Jesus-- or rather, chronologically as they would through the life of any person. The lectures deduce from archeological information the politics of the times, and reason to the kind of message Jesus must have delivered in order to attract a following. They are not afraid of the implications of, for example, the fact that Jesus came from Galilee. They dismiss with granite hard logic, the infancy narratives of Luke and Matthew as fiction, and then proceed to deal with the fact that Jesus' origins in Galilee meant certain things, and here in what they are.

The gospels are not dealt with as historical documents, but they are dealt with as texts that contain valuable information of the nature of Jesus message, (or at any rate, the public's reception of it) and therefore what made him attractive as a missionary figure. Several of the lecturers peel away layers of the texts to show different historical additions and interpolations. Jesus' eschatological message may not have been part of his original message after all, we learn.

This book is full of tightly packed prose, with little "paradigmatic" lecturese to wade through-- it's actually exciting to read. If you have the opportunity, you may read it in one setting.

I guess that the lectures must have come from notes, and not transcriptions, because they are chatty to different degrees. Some almost seem to be transcriptions, and some read like book chapters. I found this jarring at first, but as I read more, I found that it helped me distinguish among the lecturers, and that this was helpful.

My only reservation is Stephen J. Patterson's "Sources for a Life of Jesus." There is nothing new here. He gives the usual information about the historical question of the primacy of Matthew, the Markan Priority Hypothesis, the Q Hypothesis, the interpolation of Josephus, the Talmud Sanhedrin, etc. Anyone who has read a book on the historical Jesus before can skip this lecture.

And anyone with even a cursory interest in the Jesus of history should read this book.

Anyone wishing to get a brief overview of current trends in biblical scholarship as it focusses on the gospel narratives will find this book useful and enjoyable. Warning: fundamentalists will not like this book.

Abraham & Family: New Insights Into The Patriarchal Narratives is a compilation of groundbreaking essays from a roster of very impressive men and women who consider that the family stories of Genesis embody turmoil, tragedy, deception, violence, passion, desire, love, and reconciliation that are as meaningful and relevant today as they have been for the past two thousand years and more. Informative, thought-provoking, occasionally challenging and controversial, these essays deeply examine the stories of Abraham and his dysfunctional family who would become the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel, whose stories would have a lasting impact on the history and development of western culture. Abraham & Family is highly recommended reading for Bible study groups, church and synagogue class curriculums, college and university courses, as well as personal, seminary, and community library collections.

This book is not only an inspiring story about the life of Avraham Birin, but it is also a tale of an adventurous spirit. One may also say it is a story about Birin's love for his wife, Biblical archaeology and Israel. In detail understandable to the layman, the remarkable discoveries of the Tel Dan excavations are described. An abundance of excellent photographs help to give the reader a delightful experience.

Years ago, this was the first book I read on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Since then, it has become one of my most important DSS references. This is a great introduction. The story of the discovery, the temple scroll, the copper scroll and much more are explained simply. My only complaint would be a need for more photos of the scrolls, but those included are very nice....

Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, has compiled in his book, Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of some of the most important articles on the Dead Sea Scrolls to appear in the magazine and its companion, Bible Review in the half-century since they were discovered.

The Find
Scholars Harry Thomas Frank and Frank Moore Cross discuss in this section the initial discovery of the scrolls, the political intrigue surrounding their sale and acquisition, the difficulties of ascertaining what in fact had been found, and some of the historical context behind the scrolls, including dating the scrolls. This is a tale of Bedouins, an antiquities dealer (not always on the up-and-up) named Kando, dealings with the Orthodox and Roman Catholic clergy hierarchies, the British Mandate administration, and the newly-formed Israeli and Jordanian administrations. Sometimes the history takes bizarre twists -- the astute reader of the Wall Street Journal would have first seen reference to the scrolls in the classified, for sale.

Where They Came From
In this section, articles by noted scholars Lawrence Schiffman, James VanderKam, Raphael Levy and Hershel Shanks discuss the possible origins of the scrolls. Were they developed by the Essenes, a shadowy sect that might have encamped at Qumran? Were they written by another minor group of Sadducees? Were the Essenes an off-shoot of the Sadducees? Of course, not a lot of people realise that the first discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls occurred fifty years prior to the discovery in the caves near Qum'ran, and hundreds of miles from the Dead Sea, in a genizah in Cairo. There, in the repository for worn-out holy texts, a text was found that scholars have grouped with the Dead Sea Scrolls in paleographic and content terms. This is the Damascus Document (try explaining that a Dead Sea Scroll entitled the Damascus Document was in fact found neither in Damascus nor near the Dead Sea, and you begin to understand the confusion that has always surrounded the scrolls!).

The Temple Scroll
In this section, the longest of the scrolls is addressed by none other than the legendary Yigael Yadin, together with Magen Broshi, Shanks, and Hartmut Stegemann. This scroll has an intriguing history, too, having been negotiated for by a Virginian clergyman who gives a very different account of the 'return' of the scroll to the Israeli officials than does Yadin. According to Yadin, this scroll represented the Torah of the Essenes. Stegemann addresses the question of 'how can you tell if a document is sectarian or biblical?' With this question, he opens up the possibility that his book belonged as part of the Bible, or even the Torah, for Judaism at the time of the Roman occupation. A startling conjecture!

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism
These sections are perhaps the heart of the matter for most people who have an interest in the scrolls. While archaeological discovery and intrigue might make for entertaining and even educational reading, the true value in the scrolls lies in what they do to enlighten us in our knowledge of religion. Scholars Frank Moore Cross, Ronald Hendel, VanderKam, Otto Betz, Schiffman, and Shanks explore matters of textual accuracy and variation with current Bibles, address a few particular passages that held particular meaning or insight in variation from the current texts, address questions such as 'was John the Baptist an Essene?'

The Copper Scroll
P. Kyle McCarter discusses the Copper Scroll, a piece unique in substance as well as content. The scroll was inscribed on thin sheets of copper, thus obviously a piece of great importance. It is written in a variety of Hebrew different from all other scrolls, and does not fit into any of the scroll categories (biblical, sectarian, etc.). Through political vicissitudes, the scroll is in fact in Jordanian ownership, who prize it highly, rather than the museums in Jerusalem. McCarter discusses the meaning of the scroll, which may be a treasure guide (not a map, but rather an accounting) of the Temple treasures and other religious holdings during the period between the first and second revolts against Rome (the years 70-130 CE).

Reconstructing the Scrolls
Stegemann discusses here the time-consuming and nearly-impossible task of reconstructing the scrolls. Unlike the Temple scroll, most of the Dead Sea Scrolls in fact consist of fragments and bits of parchment, that have been worn away by time, rodent-chompings, water and fire damage, and mis-handling damage. Sometimes the text left a mirror-impression on the opposite side of the rolled scrolls -- sometimes this mirror-impression, highlighted by photographic technique, is easier to read than the actual text.

Controversy and the Scrolls
Controversy has followed the scrolls since the day they were discovered. The bedouins who found them wondered what in fact they were, and what to do with them. The newly forming state of Israel was at odds with much of the world; they did not have resources to track all of the scrolls (in fact, Kando and other antiquities dealers maintained that there might be more scrolls being hidden, but not recoverable due to heavy-handed tactics used to recover the scrolls to Israeli ownership). Given that most of the Dead Sea area was in Jordanian administration, the task of scroll scholarship was turned over to a predominantly-Christian academic establishment; in fact, it was problematic to include Jewish scholars, given the political situation. More recent scroll developments have both put Jewish scholars at the head of research teams, and opened the scrolls for all to see, albeit, not without lawsuits and claims of academic and intellectual property theft, as if the scrolls 'belonged' to particular scholars. Given the lack of progress of release of the scrolls for decades, speculation arose that the church (most scholars working on the scrolls in the early years were Roman Catholic clerics) was suppressing information that would be damaging or embarrassing to the church.

As a Yeshiva student I found "Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls" to be the best resource in a complete study of the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Original Texts of the 'Tanach' (Bible). This work incorporates the views of Jewish, Christian, and non-partisan scholars regarding what may arguably be the 'greatest Biblical find of the 20th century'.

The contributions of Mr. Frank Moore Cross were especially enlightening on biblical subjects often ignored by both Jewish and Christian scholars because their truths cut against the grain of modern Biblical interpretation and thought.

This work, edited by Hershel Shanks, compiles several 'Readers Digest' type compilations of much larger works by several noted DSS scholars without sacrificing the essential points of each. All topics pertaining to the events surrounding the discovery and publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the obvious significance to a clear understanding of the origins of both rabbinic Jewry and the eventual development of Christianity are clearly presented so the Bible student can formulate an accurate viewpoint as to the events that were present in Palestine at the turn of the Common Era that helped to shape modern Biblical interpretation.

Many opinionated viewpoints are presented along side accepted scientific and archaeological proven facts so the DSS student can differentiate between that which is fact and that which is fiction.

A must for any serious DSS student and a valuable resource for the laymen looking for a 'one stop shopping' type resource with articles from several of the leading scholars on this most significant Judeo-Christian subject.

Baruch Hashem
Dave Friday-Freitag

I found this book very comprehensive and easy to read. Mr. Shanks, clearly an expert in the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls, takes the reader from the first finds in 1947, through the amazing stories of how the scrolls were obtained, mostly from the dealer, Kando, and significantly, perhaps, coinciding with the creation of the modern state of Israel and its initial struggles; continuing finds, where the bedouins usually triumphed over the archaeologists; the controversial delays in publishing translations by the Catholic-controlled translating team, and finally, what the scrolls (might) mean for Jews and Christians.

I enjoyed the chapters discussing whether Qumran was actually an Essene community, and whether the scrolls were really composed there. The chapter on the relevance of the scrolls to the Old Testament is one of the best in the book, and some consider it the most important aspect of the find. The conclusion that the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that the Greek Septuagint translation of the original Hebrew is closer than the current Hebrew version in certain passages of the Bible fascinated me, as a (former) linguist.

While Mr. Shanks pushed hard for completion of the translations for many years, here he doesn't want to rock the boat of anyone's belief systems and faith. I will admit that my criticisms may be irrelevant since my comments below may have nothing to do with what the author intended to accomplish, but I feel that it's at least as important to question belief systems rather than simply to detail and "validate" them.

In the chapter "Undermining Christian Faith - of a Certain Kind," he does indeed prove that the scrolls preface the concept of Jesus as a "son of God." In doing this he mentions the fact that in the 4 "chosen" gospels of the Christianity there is little similarity as to when Jesus actually became the "son of God." It would seem that a more important issue is why people base their faith on inconsistent material of so-called "messangers of the Lord." This is but one of a number of such examples in both official versions of Judaeo-Christian texts, and of course in this case many would rather feel that everyone is a "son (or daughter!) of God," and that no one person is the most "chosen" one.

Another statement in this chapter is that "Nothing mitigates against the 'uniqueness of Jesus'." Well, maybe not in the official texts, but there is plenty of evidence that many other religions had similiar "sons of God," born of a "virgin," who died on a cross, were resurrected, and were thus "Saviours."

This book is a fine overview of the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the bibliography provides many references for additional study. But I feel that a far deeper questioning of what people base their faiths on is the real requirement for our times, and neither this book nor apparently the scrolls themselves - if we reject Barbara Thiering's work and others who have disputed the official interpretations - are going to bring these questions to bare. I feel that we need a more universal Religion rather than the continuation of the status quo religions, which prepetuate the divisive, tribal nature of humanity.

Herschel Shanks and his publications, primarily Biblical Archaeology Review, are deserving of great credit in the effort to break the small, scholarly monopoly on access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. To this end, Shanks has collected in a few volumes key articles and essays on the Scrolls from leading interpreters (including occasionally one or more of the original enclave of scholars who fought so hard to maintain strict control on access to the majority of the scrolls).

Shanks was one of the first to dare to break the stranglehold by publishing previously unpublished scroll fragments; by pulling his finger out of the dike, others also began to publish and reconstruct texts, so that eventually there was no point to maintaining a rigid control on access, both for research and for publication.

This story is one of great interest of itself, and shortly I shall be reviewing books which talk in greater detail of the intrigue behind the Scrolls. The current volume under review, however, takes us in a different direction.

This volume, 'The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls', concentrates primarily on context (both religious and historical), meaning and implications of the Scrolls.

Among the Scrolls were biblical texts (some of which differ slightly, others radically from the biblical texts which have come down to us today), accounting scrolls, commentaries, calendars, and, perhaps the most mysterious and 'juicy', apocalyptic texts, with characters flamboyant even by current celebrity standards, the Teacher of Righteousness and the Wicked Priest.

The first few chapters do talk about the Scroll history, including some of the intrigues. However, the bulk of the book examines theories about the proto-Christian and Essene teachings found in the scrolls (and whether or not these labels are even appropriate to apply to the scrolls), illumination on Judaism, especially the complexity of Judaism to be found in the generation around the destruction of the Temple, and looks forward to future research and meaning from the scrolls.

'The scrolls emphasise a hitherto unappreciated variety in Judaism of the late Second Temple period, so much sa that scholars often speak not simply of Judaism, but of Judaisms.'

Among the various controversies surrounding the scrolls is the determination of the nature of the location where the scrolls were found. Scroll fans know that the first scrolls were found near Qumran, a desert and deserted building complex near the north shore of the Dead Sea. Was this place a villa, a religious outpost, a trading centre, an ancient travel-lodge, a scriptorium? The latter idea was popularised by Roland de Vaux, one of the original enclave of scholars, and an archaeologist who, being a Roman Catholic priest, was more inclined toward the medieval monastic model with which he was more familiar, than with other interpretations (which have been advanced by others, particularly see Norman Golb), but the popular conception and possibly the plurality if not majority of scholars continue to believe that the Essenes were the inhabitants of Qumran, and that the scrolls (or at least most of them) comprise part of their library. However, Shanks cautions against jumping to premature conclusions.

'We must be careful not to read into the ancient sources or the scrolls something that isn't there. For example, neither Josephus nor the scrolls say that Essenes lived in the wilderness. Though they separated themselves from other Jews, they did not necessarily leave Jerusalem or other towns where they lived.'

Coupled with the lack of self-identification in the scrolls, the original authorship of them remains in doubt.

This is a book accessible to even the most novice of persons interested in the scrolls, and yet provides new detail and insight that will please the veteran scroll follower.

Here is an excellent overview of the history and mystery surrounding the scrolls. In a methodic and easy-to-comprehend manner, Hershel Shanks describes the evolution of scholarly conjecture on several of the individual scrolls and the Qumran community itself. I found the book absolutely tantalizing because of the many key questions about the scrolls that remain unanswered. The author also provided what I consider to be an incisive overview of the impact several of the scrolls have had on Judaism and Christianity during the last four decades. I highly recommend "The Mystery & Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls" to those seeking a broad, layman's understanding of this incredible archeological find, the peculiar trail of the scrolls since their discovery, and the often contradictory religious conclusions the scrolls have provoked.

Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism is one of my well-worn reference books. I purchased it several years ago to obtain a better understanding of first century Judaism. It's a very good introductory book for that purpose. The authors are a distinguished group of Jewish and Christian academics who each author a chapter in this parallel history. While some of the Christian history seems to be from a somewhat liberal view, I continue to benefit from the chapters on Rabbinic Judaism and especially appreciate that the book is laden with archeaological evidence and quotations from 1st through 5th century sources. I like this book very much.

Summary: Essentially only the Pharisaic (Rabbinic) and Messianic (Christian) sects of Judaism survived the Jewish revolts of the 1st and 2nd cenuries - this book describes what happened and how they developed as separate groups.

This book is so apt to question the historicity of the Bible, it finds itself refuting orthodox history, because of its inherent bias. 'We can't be certain David and Solomon exist at all, can we?' I hope you detect my cynicism. It might as well deny Israel's existence prior to 200 B.C. Israel after all didn't appear to around Jesus' time, right?

Having gathered works by renown scholars of the history and anthropology of Israel, Hershel Shanks created a masterpiece in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple. The book itself is easily accessible to one who is unlearned in the history of Ancient Israel (as am I). It also is useful in an undergraduate college classroom setting - As it was used in a Biblical Archaeology class at my school. The only negative feedback I have on this book is that, by its very nature, it is far to concentrated with facts. At times, you may feel very overwhelmed with the information presented. However, if you familiarize yourself with the general history of Israel by quickly reading through the book and then following that reading up with a more indepth reading, this book may serve you well. However, trying to remember all of the dates, names, and rulers at once is overwhelming. I recommend this to anyone who is even slightly interested in learning thoroughly about Ancient Israel and has little background in history during this period of time.

A collection of eight essays by recognized scholars in the field, this book provides an overview and interpretation of relevant archaeological work for the non-technical reader. Its popular style makes it well suited for undergraduate classes as well as lay readers unfamiliar with the history of Israel.

All of the essays have been revised for this second edition, and most have been significantly expanded. Much has changed since the first edition appeared in 1988, and the revised edition reflects those changes well.

The archaeological data and literary evidence available for some periods of Israel's history is far more abundant and diverse than for others. The essays reflect this variation in the available data, and the authors do a competent job of stating the evidence upon which their claims are based.

It has now been well publicized that the initial examination of ossuary by the Geological Survey of Israel was preliminary, and the Israeli Antiquities Authority has completed the full study and found the ossuary inscription to be a forgery. The GSI has now released a statement agreeing that it is a forgery...

A word to the wise: Approach "great scientific discoveries" that are published in the popular press before peer review is completed with great caution, be it ossuary inscriptions or cold fusion. For the authors to rush to publish a book before the IAA had completed their work was very unscholarly. I am afraid that they have permanently damaged their reputations.

Shanks' and Witherington's book on the James ossuary is an excellent introduction to what is arguably the most profound archeological find of the century. This book will be of great benefit for seasoned scholars and others who simply want to know more about the Christian faith.

The authors provide a very readable description of the ossuary and the dramatic story of the events since it has come to light. They also provide a very balanced account of the controversies behind its authentication. This is one of the most important aspects of this book. As we would expect, the authenticity of the ossuary is currently being questioned. However, anyone who reads this book will be able to defend against such arguments. Shanks and Witherington have done an outstanding job of reviewing overwhelming evidence from the world's foremost experts to support the authenticity of the ossuary. As such, the implications about this find later presented in the book (and there are many) should be taken very seriously.

This book is actually the story of the James ossuary as well as a description of who James was. Shanks writes first about the James ossuary. In the first 80 pages he, tells the story of the find and dispels many of the concerns about the ossuary's authenticity. There was no sign of a modern tool used to make the inscription. The inscription (including the second half) is covered with patina which adheres to the ossuary yet there is no sign of a modern adhesive. Altman's reason for thinking that there were two handwritings may be explained by the softness of the limestone upon which are written the words "brother of Jesus." Ben Witherington then writes a very interesting account of James, the younger brother of Jesus, his asceticism, and his rise to prominence in the early church.

What's the verdict? Being an attorney Shanks says it this way: the evidence can not prove the authenticity beyond a shadow of a doubt, but there is a preponderance of evidence that would win a civil case.