AND
FORGOTTEN WORLDS
REDISCOVERING THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
ANDREW B. PERRIN
Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls
Copyright 2025 Andrew B. Perrin
Lexham Academic, an imprint of Lexham Press
1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at permissions@lexhampress.com.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Print ISBN 9781683597957
Digital ISBN 9781683597940
Lexham Editorial: Derek R. Brown, Katrina Smith, Abigail Stocker
Cover Design: Sarah Brossow
For Emma, my first great adventure.
For Jude, my second.
Preface: How to Read a Dead Sea Scroll
Introduction: Tattered Scrolls and a Tissue Paper Time Machine
Chapter 1 First Impressions from Qumran Cave 1
Chapter 2 (Re)Discoveries in the Judean Desert: Fact, Fable, and Finding the Dead Sea Scrolls
Chapter 3 Eight-Figure Souvenirs? Modern Forgeries of Ancient Scripture
Chapter 4 Essene-ish: Classical and Qumran Sources on Ancient Jewish Identities and Movements
Chapter 5 Tour de Qumran: Death, Toilets, and Other Archaeological Highlights
Chapter 6 The Vitality of Ancient Scriptures and the Making of Modern Bibles
Chapter 7 The Orbits of Traditions: Patriarchs and Matriarchs Before the Bible
Chapter 8 The Aramaic Imagination: Extending Ancestral Traditions in Imperial Language
Chapter 9 Conspiracy and Opportunity at the Intersection of Qumran and Christian Origins
Finis (for Now): Closing Thoughts from the Unfolding History of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Scripture & Ancient Sources Index
The Perrin home team (Tanya, Emma, and Jude) are my reason for everything. When I first had the idea for this volume, I penned the dedication in a blank Word document, then slogged along from there, word by word, regularly looking back to my “why” on page one. Emma and Jude, being your dad is among my greatest pleasures in life. Thanks for being my North Star. This one’s for you.
Many scholars have shaped my understanding of the scrolls—too many to list here. More than any, I am indebted to Martin Abegg, Peter Flint, Daniel Machiela, Eileen Schuller, and Loren Stuckenbruck. Your scholarship and generous spirits inspire my work in the scrolls. Thanks for both teaching me and living out what a scholar can be. I am particularly grateful to Eileen Schuller, who read and reviewed this manuscript in full. Thanks also to Årstein Justnes for being a thought partner and reviewer of chapter 3.
The early content of this book was developed and test-driven in my Dead Sea Scrolls classes at Trinity Western University. Thanks to ...
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About Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea ScrollsUnearthing the unfamiliar world behind 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 ourselves. 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: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls, 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. |
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