Kampen speaks at Beehive Books

Methodist Theological School in Ohio Professor John Kampen will discuss his work as a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and sign his book Wisdom Literature March 22 at Beehive Books, 25 N. Sandusky St. in Delaware. The event begins at 7 p.m. and will include remarks from Kampen as well as a question-and-answer session.

Wisdom Literature is the second volume of Eerdmans Commentaries on the Dead Sea Scrolls, a 16-volume set that provides English translation and extensive commentary on many of these texts for the first time. Kampen, the Dunn Professor of Biblical Interpretation, served as MTSO's academic dean from 2005 to 2009. He earned a Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, a Master of Divinity degree from the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and a BA in sociology from the University of Saskatchewan.

The texts Kampen covers in Wisdom Literature weren't available for study until 1991. This is the first comprehensive collection of them in a format accessible to the non-specialist.

"The Dead Sea Scrolls are the most significant materials available describing beliefs and practices at the time when two of the major religions of the present world began, Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity," Kampen said. "They're also a significant cultural artifact for the development of some of the central ideas of the Western world."

Kampen is the author or editor of four other books and contributor to reference works including The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Anchor Bible Dictionary.

Methodist Theological School in Ohio prepares leaders of many faith traditions for lives of significance in service to the church and the world. The school offers master's degrees in divinity, counseling ministries, theological studies and practical theology, as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree. For more information, visit www.mtso.edu.

CONTACT:
Danny Russell, director of communications
drussell@mtso.edu, 740-362-3322