Library of Congress to Host Dead Sea Scroll Symposium April 21-22
 To: National and Assignment desks, Daybook Editor
 Contact: John Sullivan, 202-707-9216, or Lucy Suddreth, 202-707-9191
          both of the Library of Congress

   WASHINGTON, April 19  -- A symposium on the Dead Sea 
Scrolls will be held at the Library of Congress on Wednesday,
April 21, and Thursday, April 22.  The two-day program, cosponsored
by the library and Baltimore Hebrew University, with additional
support from the Project Judaica Foundation, will be held in the
library's Mumford Room, sixth floor, Madison Building.
   Seating is limited, and admission to any session of the symposium
must be requested in writing (see Note A).
   The symposium will be held one week before the public opening of a
major exhibition, "Scrolls from the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of
Qumran and Modern Scholarship," that opens at the Library of Congress
on April 29.  On view will be fragmentary scrolls and archaeological
artifacts excavated at Qumran, on loan from the Israel Antiquities
Authority.  Approximately 50 items from Library of Congress special
collections will augment these materials.  The exhibition, on view in
the Madison Gallery, through Aug. 1, is made possible by a generous
gift from the Project Judaica Foundation of Washington, D.C.
   The Dead Sea Scrolls have been the focus of public and scholarly
interest since 1947, when they were discovered in the desert 13 miles
east of Jerusalem.  The symposium will explore the origin and meaning
of the scrolls and current scholarship.  Scholars from diverse
academic backgrounds and religious affiliations, will offer their
disparate views, ensuring a lively discussion.
   The symposium schedule includes opening remarks on April 21, at
2 p.m., by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, and by
Dr. Norma Furst, president, Baltimore Hebrew University.  Co-chairing
the symposium are Joseph Baumgarten, professor of Rabbinic Literature
and Institutions, Baltimore Hebrew University and Michael Grunberger,
head, Hebraic Section, Library of Congress.
   Geza Vermes, professor emeritus of Jewish studies, Oxford
University, will give the keynote address on the current state of
scroll research, focusing on where we stand today. On the second
day, the closing address will be given by Shmaryahu Talmon, who will
propose a research agenda, picking up the theme of how the Qumran
studies might proceed.
   On Wednesday, April 21, other speakers will include:

   -- Eugene Ulrich, professor of Hebrew Scriptures, University of
Notre Dame and chief editor, Biblical Scrolls from Qumran, on "The
Bible at Qumran;"
   -- Michael Stone, National Endowment for the Humanities
distinguished visiting professor of religious studies, University of
Richmond, on "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Pseudepigrapha."
   -- From 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. a special preview of the exhibition
will be given to symposium participants and guests.

   On Thursday, April 22, beginning at 9 a.m., speakers will include:

   -- Magen Broshi, curator, shrine of the Book, Israel Museum,
Jerusalem, on "Qumran: The Archaeological Evidence;"
   -- P. Kyle McCarter, Albright professor of Biblical and ancient
near Eastern studies, The Johns Hopkins University, on "The Copper
Scroll;"
   -- Lawrence H. Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies,
New York University, on "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of
Judaism;" and
   -- James VanderKam, professor of theology, University of Notre
Dame, on "Messianism in the Scrolls and in Early Christianity."

   The Thursday afternoon sessions, at 1:30 p.m., include:

   -- Devorah Dimant, associate professor of Bible and Ancient Jewish
Thought, University of Haifa, on "Qumran Manuscripts: Library of a
Jewish Community;"
   -- Norman Golb, Rosenberger professor of Jewish history and
civilization, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, on "The
Current Status of the Jerusalem Origin of the Scrolls;"
   -- Shmaryahu Talmon, J.L. Magnas professor emeritus of Biblical
studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, on "The Essential 'Commune of
the Renewed Covenant': How Should Qumran Studies Proceed?" will close
the symposium.

   There will be ample time for question and answer periods at the
end of each session.

   Also on Wednesday, April 21, at 11 a.m.:
   The Library of Congress and The Israel Antiquities Authority
will hold a lecture by Esther Boyd-Alkalay, consulting conservator,
Israel Antiquities Authority, on "Preserving the Dead Sea Scrolls"
in the Mumford Room, LM-649, James Madison Memorial Building, The
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.
    ------
   NOTE A: For more information about admission to the symposium,
please contact, in writing, Dr. Michael Grunberger, head, Hebraic
Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 20540.
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