Dead Sea Scrolls Professor retires

What contribution have the Dead Sea Scrolls made to research into the formation of the biblical canon? This is the central theme of the retirement symposium for Prof. Florentino García Martínez, Director of the Qumran Institute of the University of Groningen. The international symposium will be held on 28 and 29 April 2008 in Groningen. On the final day, Tuesday 29 April, García Martínez will give his valedictory lecture ‘Rethinking the Bible: Sixty Years of Dead Sea Scrolls Research and Beyond’ in the Aula of the Academy Building, at 5 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Florentino García Martínez is retiring from the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Groningen. He has worked at the Faculty since 1980, first as a research fellow, later as professor of Religion and Literature of Early Judaism with special attention for the Qumran manuscripts. Together with Adam van der Woude, he turned the Groningen Qumran Institute into a flourishing research centre. Florentino García Martínez is a foreign member of the KNAW, Language and Literature section.

Symposium

On the occasion of his retirement, the Qumran Institute is organizing an international symposium on 28 and 29 April 2008 entitled The Authoritativeness of Scriptures in Ancient Judaism: The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Prominent scholars and participants from across the globe will study the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for research into the formation of the canon of the Hebrew Bible.

The Qumran Institute

The Qumran Institute, founded in 1961 by Professor Adam van der Woude and later headed by García Martínez, is unique in the Netherlands. It is the only expertise centre where the study of early Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls plays a central role. Internationally, Groningen plays an important role in research into the Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Judaism. The Qumran Institute edits prominent academic publications (journals and series) and hosts the website of the International Organization for Qumran Studies.

More information

Further information: Dr Mladen Popović, tel. + 31 50 363 55 77 or + 31 50 363 80 17,

e -mail: m.popovic@rug.nl