This impressive volume is edited by two prominent Dead Sea Scrolls experts and includes contributions by a slate of experienced senior scholars as well as talented younger scholars. The importance of this work, however, lies not merely in this wealth of expertise but rather in its unique objective. Volumes of this sort typically aspire to provide general assessments of various areas of a field of research. Such works tend to highlight the scholarly consensus on the most important issues. Collins and Lim have instead set out to explore disputed areas and unsettled questions in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What makes Scrolls’ scholarship so interesting (and sometimes maddening) is that many basic issues remain contested despite over 60 years of research. While previous reference works have typically attempted to foreground scholarly consensus, this volume seeks to demonstrate that vigorous and even heated debate surrounds the study of fundamental issues like the nature of the Qumran site, the identity of the sect (or sects) that wrote and preserved the manuscripts, and the place of the Scrolls in the intellectual and social context of Second Temple Judaism. Most of the entries in the Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls rise to the task of mapping this disputed scholarly terrain, and as a result the work is a fascinating read and will be a valuable resource for specialists in a wide range of fields.

Collins and Lim offer an opening essay which provides an overview of the shape and content of the Handbook. The rest of the volume is divided into eight sections, each of which comprises anywhere from two to six essays. Accompanying each essay are suggestions for further reading and a helpful bibliography. Part I addresses archaeology, easily one of the most hotly contested areas of Qumran scholarship, and features judicious essays by Eric Myers and Rachel Hachlili. Part II explores the role of the Scrolls in illuminating the history of Judaism in the Second Temple Periods, with essays from Martin Goodman, Michael Wise (who provides a typically provocative and engaging approach to the social history of the community) and Tal Ilan. John Collins’ stamp is clearly evident in part III, in which the much-debated question of sectarianism is tackled. In addition to a lead essay by Collins, which helpfully summarises a decade of his own work and thinking on this question, there are contributions from Joan Taylor, Jutta Jokiranta (who continues to benefit the field in her use of interdisciplinary approaches), Sacha Stern and James Vanderkam (his essay on Enoch is as clear and helpful as one could ever want).

Textual criticism, linguistic issues and biblical interpretation are covered in part IV, with pieces by Ronald Hendel, Timothy Lim (his essay is an insightful and sensible treatment of the notion of ‘canon’), Molly Zahn (who contributes an excellent essay which points out that rewritten scriptures are considerably more important and prevalent in the Scrolls than the celebrated lemmatic commentaries), Bilhah Nitzan and Jan Joosten. Part V is a bit of a catch-all which organises six relatively disparate essays under the rubric ‘Religious Themes’; the authors are Jonathan Klawans, Michael Knibb, James Davila (whose essay on mysticism demonstrates his typical conceptual clarity), Armin Lange (his piece is a succinct and masterful overview of the study of wisdom texts and themes in the Scrolls), Albert de Jong and David Lambert. Part VI comprises three essays on the significance of the Scrolls for the study of early Christianity by experienced scholars who know this territory well and describe it skilfully (Jörg Frey, Larry Hurtado and George Brooke). Three studies of the relevance of the Scrolls for the understanding of later Judaism by Aharon Shemesh, Daniel Falk and Stefan Reif are found in part VII. Finally, in part VIII, Carol Newsom, Maxine Grossman and Hector McQueen discuss scholarship on the Scrolls which is informed by contemporary theories like rhetorical criticism and deconstruction.

Multi-author works like this one often end up with little cohesion among the individual contributions but the decision of Collins and Lim to highlight contested questions in diverse areas of Scrolls’ scholarship give this particular volume a refreshing and welcome overarching unity. It will be consulted and appreciated by any scholar whose work engages the field of Second Temple Judaism.