NCLA Review: Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship is a highly technical field. Yet the profound antiquity of this cache of discovered scrolls makes the study of them fascinating even to non-experts. Many Christian readers also have a particular interest in the archaeology of the Bible and the Christian tradition. If you can find a book that wears the scholarship lightly, but introduces the complexities of Dead Sea Scroll scholarship to a wide readership, such a book is a must-have for church libraries. James VanderKam’s new book is a one such must-have. Like a good “science for amateurs” volume, it introduces the main themes—the number of scrolls, their character and state of preservation; comparison of the scrolls to the (much later) manuscripts that scholars used to assemble the Bible we read today; the kind of additional commentary present in the scrolls; and a description of the community that preserved and studied these scrolls. Then in two concluding chapters, VanderKam looks at the implications of the Dead Sea Scrolls for our understanding of the New Testament Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the letters of Paul. You definitely want to purchase this book. Rating: 4 —CS ( )