Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls

James C. VanderKam is professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (Eerdmans 1994).

• Table of Contents. Part I:Introduction to Biblical and Post-biblical Calendars. Chapter 1: The Hebrew Bible. A. Some important passages. B. The moon and the sun. C. Three systems for designating months. D. The festivals. E. The Gezer Calendar. F. Some debated issues. Chapter 2: Sources later than the Hebrew Bible. A. Elephantine papyri. B. The Samaria papryi. C. 1Enoch 72-82. D. Sirach E.The Book of Jubilees. Part II. Chapter 1: The first calendrical hints. A. Introduction. B. Calendrical information in the first scrolls and the Damascus Document. Chapter 2: A history of scholarship on the Qumran calendars. A. S. Talman. B. D.Barthelemy. C. A.Jaubert D. J.T.Milik. E. S.Talmon. F. J.Sanders. G. Y.Yadin. Chapter 3: The Calendrical texts. A. Introduction. B. The texts. C. A Sundial Chapter 4: Measuring and symbolizing longer units of time. A. Evidence from the Hebrew Bible. B. The scrolls. Chapter 4: Conclusion. A. Summary statements. B. A hypothetical sketch of the role of the calendar in Qumran origins. Bibliography.