We welcomed Dr. Gary A. Rendsburg of Rutgers University for a fascinating afternoon lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Dr.
Rendsburg is the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History
in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. His teaching
and research focus on ‘all things ancient Israel’ – primarily language
and literature, though also history and archaeology. His secondary
interests include post-biblical Judaism, the Hebrew manuscript
tradition, and Jewish life in the Middle Ages. Prof Rendsburg is the
author of six books and about 170 articles; his most popular book is The Bible and the Ancient Near East,
co-authored with the late Cyrus Gordon. In addition, he has produced
two courses for the ‘Teaching Company – Great Courses’ program, one on
‘The Book of Genesis’ and one on ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls’.
Prof
Rendsburg has visited all the major archaeological sites in Israel,
Egypt, and Jordan; plus he has excavated at Tel Dor and Caesarea. He
previously taught at Cornell University and Canisius College; and he has
served as visiting professor or visiting fellow at the University of
Pennsylvania, Colgate University, UCLA, the University of Oxford, the
University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney, and the Hebrew
University. His current book project is entitled How the Bible Is Written, with particular attention to the use of language to create literature to be published by CDL Press in 2016.
More information on Dr. Rendsburg is available here.