Project description
The Maskilic Corpus and the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are crucial for understanding Second Temple Judaism. However, the social identity and provenance of the scribes behind them remain unresolved. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MASKILICCORPUS will investigate the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls by focusing on a distinct group of manuscripts associated with the sectarian office of the Maskil (teacher/instructor). It proposes the scribes formed a multigenerational scribal network that may also have curated the broader Dead Sea Scrolls collection. The project will reconstruct how this network operated over time. It will also create a dedicated digital database of Maskilic manuscripts. Ultimately, the project is supporting the development of an international research network.
Objective
The Dead Sea Scrolls [DSS] (ca. 950 manuscripts from the 3rd cent. BCE to the 1st cent. CE) are among the most important sources for understanding Jewish thought and culture in the Second Temple period. Yet the question of who is behind this ancient library of scrolls from the Judean desert remains unresolved. The dominant Qumran–Essene Hypothesis attributes the DSS to the Essenes, but this identification rests on the limitations of the classical sources, Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder. This project advances beyond these limitations by focusing on scrolls designated for the sectarian office of the Maskil (teacher/instructor). I argue that the scribes responsible for this Maskilic Corpus—a multi-generic collection earmarked for the Maskil—were also curators of the DSS. This multigenerational network of scribes offers a concrete entry point for reconstructing the group behind the scrolls. My project's methodology combines material philology with Communities of Practice (CoP) theory to profile close-knit scribal networks and their intergenerational practices. Data on Maskilic manuscripts will be collected in a digital database, used to define the corpus, and analyzed to reconstruct scribal conventions, collaboration, and pedagogy. This approach will offer a profile of the scribal network behind the DSS that is grounded in the physical evidence.
Through this fellowship, I seek to enhance my research skills as a scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls by working with Prof. Årstein Justnes at UiA. This project provides the rare opportunity for training in manuscript microscopy, database development, and material philological analysis under Prof. Justnes. I will also have the opportunity to build a European research network and cultivate project management skills, preparing me to lead independent research and achieve my goal of developing a successful ERC Starting Grant application and reaching my long-term goal of becoming a professor at a European university.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- social sciences educational sciences pedagogy
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- humanities languages and literature literature studies history of literature
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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4604 Kristiansand
Norway
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