John Strugnell
John Strugnell | |
|---|---|
 John Strugnell in 1954 | |
| Born | 25 May 1930  Chipping Barnet |
| Died | 30 November 2007 (aged 77) Mount Auburn Hospital |
| Education | doctoral student |
| Alma mater | |
| Position held | professor emeritus (Harvard Divinity School) |
John Strugnell (May 25, 1930, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England – November 30, 2007, Boston, Massachusetts) was an English Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Divinity School and a former editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls project. Strugnell became, at 23, the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. He was studying Oriental languages at Jesus College, Oxford when Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver, a lecturer in Semitic philology, nominated him to join the Scrolls editorial team.
Although Strugnell had no previous experience in palaeography, he learned very quickly how to read the scrolls. He would be involved in the Dead Sea Scrolls project for more than 40 years.[1]
Early career
Strugnell was educated at
Despite not having completed his doctorate, Strugnell was given a position at the
Editor in Chief
His production of editions of texts was not large, but they were all exceptionally important, including The Angelic Liturgy, later published as Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifices (Shirot 'olat ha-Shabbat), and An Unpublished halakhic Letter from Qumran, later known as MMT [or 4QMMT] from the Hebrew (Miqtsat Ma'asei ha-Torah). The last text was edited with Elisha Qimron, who did much of the work. The texts helped to enrich scholarly knowledge of the cultus of the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Nevertheless, he was a slow worker and the times had changed since it had been acceptable to keep the scrolls protected from what was once considered misuse and hasty publication.
For many years, scholars had accepted the lack of access to unpublished texts and the slow publication of the texts. That changed during Strugnell's editorship, as there came a growing movement of scholars calling for access to the Scrolls. By then, his health had deteriorated. Only one volume was produced under his general editorship, The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever, by Emanuel Tov.
Ha'aretz interview controversy
In 1990, Strugnell gave an interview to
There was immediate condemnation of his comments, including an editorial in The New York Times. As a result of the interview, Strugnell was forced to take early retirement on medical grounds at Harvard,[2] and he was removed from his editorial post on the scrolls project by the Israel Antiquities Authority, which cited his deteriorating health as reason for his removal.[6]
Strugnell later said that he was suffering from stress-induced alcoholism and manic depression when he gave the interview. He insisted that his remarks were taken out of context and that he meant "horrible" only in the
Aftermath
Strugnell had come increasingly under controversy for his slow progress in publishing the scrolls, and his refusal to give scholars free access to the unpublished scrolls. Some[
Shortly after Strugnell was dismissed from his post, he was institutionalized in McLean Hospital for a period.[citation needed] At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Divinity School.
Strugnell Library
In 2003,
The early scrolls team made a concordance of the words in the unpublished texts to assist their own work.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b Sidnie White Crawford, "John Strugnell (1930–2007)" Obituary, Bible History Daily, Biblical Archaeology Society (11 December 2007). Retrieved 22-11-2013.
- ^ a b "John Strugnall," The Times obituary December 29, 2007. Retrieved 22-04-2020.
- ^ John Noble Wilford, "John Strugnell, Scholar Undone by His Slur, Dies at 77," The New York Times (December 9, 2007). Retrieved 22-11-2013.
- ^ John Noble Wilford, "Open, Dead Sea Scrolls Stir Up New Disputes," The New York Times (April 19, 1992). Retrieved 22-11-2013.
- ^ "Headliners; Fallen Scholar," The New York Times (December 16, 1990). Retrieved 22-04-2020.
- ^ "Scrolls' Editor Is Formally Dismissed," The New York Times (January 1, 1991). Retrieved 22-04-2020.
- ^ 'Copies Of Dead Sea Scrolls To Go Public -- Release Would End Scholars' Dispute' - The Seattle Times 22 September 1991
- ^ James R. Adair, Jr, "Old and New in Textual Criticism: Similarities, Differences, and Prospects for Cooperation," A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism (1996)]
- ^ Strugnell Collection in the City Seminary of Sacramento Archived July 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Detroit Jewish News
Sources
- Article by John J. Collins on John Strugnell, in The Encyclopaedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Lawrence Schiffman and James VanderKam, Oxford, 2000.
- The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, James VanderKam and Peter Flint, Harper San Francisco, 2002.
- "Headliners: Fallen Scholar", New York Times, Week in Review, December 16, 1990
- Ron Rosenbaum, "The Riddle of the Scrolls", Vanity Fair, reprinted in The Secret Parts of Fortune