Seventy-five years ago, roughly a thousand scrolls were discovered in caves near the shore of the Dead Sea at a site called Qumran. Lost for over two thousand years, these scrolls have since revolutionized our understanding of the Bible, ancient Judaism, and the Christian New Testament. The Dead Sea Scrolls preserve our earliest copies of the Hebrew Bible along with a treasure trove of previously unknown ancient Jewish writings. The academic study of the Dead Sea Scrolls has reintroduced to the world a long-forgotten religious community.

We are pleased to invite members of the State College community to a public lecture on these fascinating scrolls in their historical context. We will be joined by Professor Sidnie White Crawford, a world-renowned expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. She will be talking with us about the Qumran collection of scrolls as an ancient library.