Norman Golb
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
Esthetically speaking, Dead Sea Scrolls, the recently published San Diego exhibition catalogue, is a delight to behold: beautiful color photographs of twenty fragmentary texts, including some of the most historically interesting ones, accompanied by descriptions laudably designed to encourage the wider public's appreciative admiration. To make matters even better, the catalogue has been supplemented by similarly colorful photographs of pages from six ancient and valuable Bible codices in the collection of St. Petersburg’s National Library of Russia, corresponding to the exhibit of those manuscripts simultaneously with the Scrolls. Judging by the obvious care with which these photographs have been produced and presented, one may infer that a major concern of the exhibitors was to develop a lavishly produced volume serving to enhance the exhibit itself. There can be little doubt that its purchasers will cherish what they have acquired.
