Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (DJD) is the official 40-volume publication that serves as the editio princeps for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is published by Oxford University Press.
Publication details
The international team of scholars, involved in the publishing project, consisted of 106 editors and contributors, and came from North America, Israel, and Europe. The manuscripts included in the series were discovered at the following archeological sites: Wadi Daliyeh, Ketef Jericho, Qumran, Wadi Murabba'at, Wadi Sdeir, Nahal Hever, Nahal Mishmar, and Nahal Se'elim. Approximately 1000 manuscripts were published during the run of the DJD-series. The maunuscripts were in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Greek. The paleographical date of the texts ranged from c.250 BCE to the 11th century CE. Most volumes are written in English; a few volumes are in French. The volumes also covers analyses of archaeological data and archaeological missions. Volume 39 provides an introduction for, and summaries of, the preceding 38 volumes.
Publication history
First wave of publication - Roland de Vaux, P. Benoit O.P
The first wave of publication took place between 1955 and 1982. In this period material from the findings at Qumran was published over seven volumes. Editor-in-chief of the first five volumes was Roland de Vaux. The first work to appear was the 1955 release of Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, volume 1: Qumran Cave 1, edited by D. Barthélémy and Józef Milik, with contributions by R. de Vaux, G. M. Crowfoot, H. J. Plenderleith, and G. L. Harding. The publication was overseen by the Jordan Department of Antiquities, École Biblique et Archéologique Française and Palestine Archaeological Museum. The volume contained fragments of Biblical and Apocryphal books, as well as fragments of text from the Qumran collective such as the Rule of the Community, the Rule of the Congregation, the Collections of Blessings, the Warfare Scroll and the Songs of Thanksgiving. 1961 saw the publication of Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, volume 2: Les grottes de Murabba ât, edited by J. T. Milik, and R. de Vaux. The volume documented the activities of rebel leader Simon bar Kochba. The volume also established that Mishnaic Hebrew was "the language of the people of Judaea during the Persian and Greco-Roman period".
In the period from 1962 to 1968 the series (spanning vols. 3–4) was, for a limited time, published under the name Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan.1962 saw the publication of Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, volume 3: Les ‘petites grottes’ de Qumrân, edited by Maurice Baillet, J. T. Milik, and Roland de Vaux. The volume covered the relationship between manuscripts and pottery, apocryphal and non-biblical texts, and the Copper Scroll. Biblical texts included fragments of Exodus and Kings. Non-Biblical texts included a description of the New Jerusalem and a reworking of the Ezekiel-material. The volume described the cutting of the Copper Scroll and suggested a non-Essene authorship for the scroll. 1965 saw the publication of Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, volume 4: The Psalms Scroll of Qumrân Cave 11 (11QPsa), edited by James A. Sanders. The scroll was unrolled in November 1961, and Sanders presented his manuscript in December 1962. The volume uncovered two types of psalms, canonical and apocryphal. Apocryphal psalms included A Plea for Deliverance, Apostrophe to Zion, Hymn to the Creator, and a small text called David's Composition. 1968 saw the publication of Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, volume 5: Qumrân Cave 4.I (4Q158–4Q186), edited by John M. Allegro with A.A. Anderson. The volume included manuscripts from Qumran cave 4. Among the works were commentaries (pesher texts), a biblical paraphrase, a Florilegium, Testimonia, Catenae (2), Tanhumim, lamentations, and a text titled The Ages of Creation. There were also commentaries on old testament books, such as Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah and Psalms. In this period de Vaux was replaced by P. Benoit O.P, who oversaw volumes 6 and 7.