BARlines

Nova on Scrolls

TV Program Probes Dead Sea Scroll Scandal

The science documentary series Nova plans to expose the Dead Sea Scroll controversy this fall on public television. More than 40 years after the astonishing discovery of these ancient manuscripts, Nova will examine the laborious, ongoing process of compiling and translating the fragmentary texts and of interpreting their religious relevance. The 60-minute program, featuring interviews with BAR editor Hershel Shanks and former chief scroll editor John Strugnell, will investigate the secrecy of the small team of scholars who have kept tight control over the unpublished scrolls. “Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls” will air on Tuesday, October 15 at 8 p.m. (EST) on PBS (check local listings).

Ancient Israel

BAR Editor Will Moderate Smithsonian Seminar

Several internationally renowned scholars will gather in Washington, D.C., on October 26, 1991, to deliver lectures on “The Rise of Ancient Israel,” sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associate Program in cooperation with the Biblical Archaeology Society. BAR editor Hershel Shanks will moderate the seminar and present its opening lecture, “Defining the Problems.” He will be followed by Baruch Halpern on “The Exodus from Egypt—Myth or Reality,” William G. Dever on “How to Tell a Canaanite from an Israelite” and P. Kyle McCarter on “The Origins of Israelite Religion.”