Today, Accordance released Ada Yardeni’s Understanding the Alphabet of the Dead Sea Scrolls for only $10.99. It is a part of the Savings in Full Bloom sale. The print book is only 40 pages, but it includes over 80 awesome pictures. If you have ever seen a picture of the Dead Sea Scrolls and wished for someone to explain to you how that beautiful script developed, this is the book for you.
For more information about the author, see Accordance’s tribute to Ada Yardeni here.
The book starts with the very earliest example of biblical Hebrew writing (a few centuries before the earliest DSS) and walks the reader through how the script developed up to the time of the DSS.
The book is literally filled with fabulous pictures.
She explains various ways the letters are written and how paleography has been used to date the Dead Sea Scrolls.
She walks the reader through the main phases of the evolution of the Jewish script with pictures at every step.
The majority of the book is illustrative pictures.
This picture is particularly cool comparing four different Dead Sea Scrolls:
She discuses how paleography helps scholars make some sense of lacunae filled fragments like 4Q397:
Yardeni concludes with a helpful table highlighting key features that help scholars date a fragment based on how the letters are written.
Whether or not you catch this book on sale, it is worth every penny. Check it out here.
Brian W. Davidson 