Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls

2025 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award (GOLD Winner for Religion)

Unearthing the unfamiliar world behind the Bible

· Reencounter the Bible and its ancient and unfamiliar world
· Discern fact from fable about the Dead Sea Scrolls
· Discover how the Scrolls continue to mystify and revolutionize
· Learn how the Scrolls changed the ways we translate and read the Bible

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a window into an unfamiliar ancient culture and a mirror that reflects our own strange world back to us. The Scrolls simultaneously challenge and confirm what we thought we knew about the Bible, both its worlds and its very words. Though first recovered in 1947, their story continues to unfurl.

In Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds, Andrew B. Perrin reintroduces readers to the Scrolls while correcting common misunderstandings and highlighting overlooked issues. Perrin's tour spans the traditions of ancient Judaism and extends to the "big business" of modern antiquities trading―and the surprising number of forgeries on display in our museums. Along the way, he debunks popular myths and conspiracies.

Andrew B. Perrin (PhD, McMaster University) is associate vice president of research at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. Previously, he was director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University and Canada Research Chair in Religious Identities of Ancient Judaism. He is the author and editor of several books, including The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls. His research has been recognized with several academic awards.