Lawrence H. Schiffman Audio & Video

In this course, Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman presents the real Dead Sea Scrolls. In so doing, this widely published authority on Judaic studies imparts a clear understanding of what the Scrolls are, and even more importantly, what they are not.

The Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanakh and to Christians as the Old Testament, is the basis for the West's tradition of monotheism, as well as our civilization's ethics and mores.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has revolutionized our picture of the early history of Judaism and of the Jewish background of early Christianity.

The lectures address-in chronological sequence-a series of major works that have shaped the ongoing development of Western thought both in their own right and in cultural dialogue with other traditions.

The lectures draw upon the resources of history, philosophy, literary study, art history, religious studies, political science, and the history of science and technology, in hopes of engaging the rich and profoundly interactive discussions that, over the course of forty centuries, have made Western culture what it is.