The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition is a practical reference tool to facilitate access to the Qumran collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains newly edited Hebrew and Aramaic transcriptions and English translations of the non-biblical scrolls on facing pages, arranged by serial number from Cave 1 to Cave 11. In addition, it offers a summary of the contents of the biblical scrolls from Qumran. Each Q-number is provided with a heading which contains the essential information on the text and selected bibliographical references. Although unidentified and unclassified fragments have been omitted, and no snippets of manuscripts have been reproduced, this edition aims to be complete for the non-biblical scrolls.
The work is primarily intended for classroom use and for use by specialists from other disciplines who need a reliable compendium to all the materials found. It will also be useful as a companion for those studying the original manuscripts using the microfiche or CD-ROM editions of the scrolls.
A considerable part of the materials was already accessible in translation in The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated (Wilfred G.E. Watson, Translator). This translation has served as the base-text of the translations presented in this edition, but has been thoroughly checked and corrected by the authors.
