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Ezra and the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Forgotten Dialogue sheds fresh light on the relationship between Ezra and ‎the Dead Sea Scrolls through a nuanced and sustained examination of key issues, ‎including interpretations of legal and halakic perspectives across a broad range of ‎pertinent texts. Contributors include Lindsey A. Davidson, Michael DeVries, Lisbeth S. Fried, Charlotte Hempel, Reinhard G. Kratz, Roger S. Nam, Judith H. Newman, Laura Quick, Lawrence H. Schiffman, and Shlomo Zuckier, all leading scholars of the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and rabbinic literature. The essays examine questions, including Ezra’s absence from Ben Sira’s Praise of the Fathers, priests who never left the land, the function of clothing and liturgical practice within communal identities, ‎as well as law and the economy. This innovative collection engages neglected perspectives on Ezra and the Dead Sea Scrolls and is an essential reference ‎for scholars and students interested in biblical studies and the Second Temple period‎. 

Charlotte Hempel is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Birmingham, UK and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her publications include The Community Rules from Qumran: A Commentary (2020; pb. 2023); The Qumran Rule Texts in Context: Collected Studies (2013); and, with George J. Brooke, T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls (2019; pb. 2025). 

Michael DeVries is Senior Adjunct Professor at Azusa Pacific University. His ‎publications include essays on eschatological violence and ritual studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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