Dead Sea Scrolls - 2007 First Edition Exhibition Catalog

Large-format illustrated softcover exhibition catalogue, 96 pages, with black pictorial wrappers, gold lettering, and a photographic image of an ancient scroll jar on the front cover. Edited by Margaret Dykens; designed by Mary Lou Morreal. Published in conjunction with the San Diego Natural History Museum's landmark 2007 exhibition, presented by Joan and Irwin Jacobs. An extensively illustrated scholarly catalogue documenting ancient biblical manuscripts and archaeological discoveries from the Judean Desert. The publication reproduces numerous Dead Sea Scroll fragments in color, accompanied by historical commentary, manuscript identification, dating, transliteration context, and English translations. Featured texts include Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Psalms, the Copper Scroll, the Community Rule; the Damascus Document, and the Book of War. A separate section, From Scroll to Codex: Ancient Bibles of the Near East, examines significant biblical manuscripts from the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg. The catalogue brings together material associated with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, and international manuscript collections. Condition: Near Fine. Original illustrated softcover wrappers exhibit light superficial rubbing and faint handling marks, most visible against the black surfaces, with minor wear along the extremities. Interior pages appear bright, clean, and well preserved; the illustrated plates retain their strong color reproduction. A handsome, well-kept example of this substantial museum publication. One of the distinguishing features of this catalogue is its inclusion of both the Dead Sea Scrolls and medieval biblical codices. The contents extend beyond the familiar Qumran manuscripts to include Hebrew biblical material preserved in Russian collections, allowing readers to examine the transmission of biblical texts across many centuries. The exhibition opened on June 29, 2007, and involved international institutional cooperation, including the Israel Antiquities Authority and Jordanian antiquities authorities. This gives the catalogue documentary importance as a record of a particular museum exhibition, rather than simply another general-interest book about the scrolls.…