The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation

Translated into modern-day English by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr. and Edward Cook, this book contains virtually every legible portion of the fragmented scrolls, including revelatory information on early Christianity and its roots far deeper than previously realized in ancient Judaism. Included as well are scroll fragments that promise to alter dramatically our view of biblical history, including never-before released texts and newly discovered writings by and about key biblical prophets and ancestors. The translators provide illuminating commentary throughout that place the scrolls in their true historical context. They also present a compelling, insightful introduction that gives the reader an overview of the often surprising contents of the scrolls and discusses what are perhaps the greatest mysteries of the scrolls -- who authored them and why.

From a new generation of Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, here is a fresh look at the scrolls, including the most recently released texts. Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr. and Edward Cook unlock the secrets and rich mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the most comprehensive translation ever published for the general reader in any language. Their brilliant scholarship and illuminating commentary add dramatic new knowledge to our understanding of the scrolls. This historic translation includes:

• Intriguing revelations about biblical history and the roots of Christianity.
• Never-before-seen stories about the biblical figures Abraham, Jacob and Enoch -- including a text explaining why God demanded the sacrifice of Isaac.
• Twelve texts not included in the Bible that claim Moses as their author.
• New psalms attributed to King David and to Joshua.
• Texts illuminating ancient doctrines about angels and writings claiming to be revelations of angels themselves including the Archangel Michael.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation will set the standard for scrolls scholarship for years to come. This is an important, rigorously researched work that renders the scrolls vibrant and accessible.

In their great variety and stunning richness, the Dead Sea Scrolls as captured in this groundbreaking translation offer modern readers an unprecedented glimpse of the complex roots of modern Christianity. Its dozens of never-before-published texts encompass poetry and prose, teaching parables and magical tales, astrology, apocalyptic visions, lists of buried treasure, stories of messiahs and antichrists, demons and angels and together comprise a new classic of religious history.

Long withheld from public view, the ancient scrolls found in the caves of Qumran near the Dead Sea are revered by many but known in full by very few. Now three translators at the forefront of modern scrolls scholarship have revealed the entire rich complex of writings, stories, poems and texts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Michael Wise, who is among the foremost young scholars translating the Scrolls today, has been profiled in Time, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune. He is Scholar-in-Residence and Professor of Ancient Languages at Northwestern College, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Martin Abegg Jr. is co-director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. He is one of the translators of The Dead Sea Scrolls (HarperSanFrancisco, 1996).