DSS & Bible at Chester Cathedral Library

In May, after giving a talk on the Essenes in the ancient literary sources for the Chester Theological Society, Joan Taylor was given a personal tour of the highly interesting exhibition, ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible’, at Chester Cathedral Library by its creator George Brooke. Brooke has been a collector of useful and illuminating items associated with the Scrolls and the caves for many years, and has generously shared these, supplemented by materials from Manchester University and Chester Cathedral itself. There are highlights that are of particular interest in terms of the Network. Photographic and archival material is supplemented by a range of books, articles and even postcards that provide a deeper understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls caves. Notably, there is a replica scroll jar produced at a Nazareth workshop. Reproductions of scrolls are remarkable for their similarity to the real artefacts. In particular there is Allegro’s replica of the Copper Scroll and panels from the Copper Scroll exhibition of some years ago, including one on Wright the opening of the scroll. This rich, eclectic exhibition is extremely useful for students and scholars of the scrolls and caves. The full exhibition catalogue is available for free download here: https://chestercathedral.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Guide.The-Dead-Sea-Scrolls-and-the-Bible.pdf It includes the English version of an article ‘The ‘Library’ of Qumran after 70 Years’ by Brooke, published in Le Monde de la Bible (April 2017).