Alex P. Jassen

Ethel and Irvin Edelman Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies

Bio

Alex P. Jassen is the Ethel and Irvin Edelman Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University. Dr. Jassen previously taught at the University of Minnesota, where he was the recipient of the university’s prestigious McKnight Land-Grant Fellowship. He has published widely on the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism and is a member of the international editorial team responsible for publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is the author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (Brill, 2007), winner of the 2009 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise; Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Cambridge University Press, 2014); as well as many articles and reviews; and co-editor of Scripture, Violence, and Textual Practice in Early Judaism and Christianity (Brill, 2010). Dr. Jassen is co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ancient Judaism (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht). He served as academic advisor for The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. He is a popular lecturer at community centers, synagogues, churches, and museums. Dr. Jassen was featured in CNN’s Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery (2017). He is currently working on a book on religious violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism. His work on religious violence has been recognized with a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Areas of Research/Interest

Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple Judaism, Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic Judaism, Early Christianity, Biblical Interpretation, History of Law, Religion and Violence

Education

2006: New York University. Ph.D. Hebrew and Judaic Studies.

2001: University of Washington. B.A. Jewish Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Cum Laude.

Academic Honors and Fellowships

2017-18: University Research Challenge Fund, New York University

2017: Fellow, Leadership Seminar, American Academy of Jewish Research

2014-15: Faculty Fellow, Humanities Initiative, New York University

2013: Grant-in-Aid, Book Publication Subvention, Humanities Initiative, New York University

2011: Imagine Fund: Arts, Design, and Humanities, University of Minnesota

2010: Imagine Fund Course Release Support Fund, University of Minnesota

2010: National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Stipend

2010-12: McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, University of Minnesota

2010: National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem, Israel (declined)

2010-11: Fellow, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton University (declined)

2010: Single Semester Leave, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota (declined)

2009: John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, Templeton Foundation and University of Heidelberg

2009: Imagine Fund: Arts, Design, and Humanities, University of Minnesota

2008-10: Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship, University of Minnesota

2008: Faculty Summer Research Fellowship, University of Minnesota

2008: McKnight Arts and Humanities Summer Fellowship, University of Minnesota

2007: Travel Grant, Office of International Programs, University of Minnesota

2006: Research Fellow, Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Litearture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

2005: Fellow, American Academy of Jewish Researc Summer Graduate Seminar

2004 Antonina S. Ranieri International Scholars Fund Travel Grant, New York University

2002-6: Jacob K. Javits Graduate Fellowship, United States Department of Educations

2002: Floyd L. Moreland Scholarship, City University of New York Latin/Greek Institute

2001-6: MacCracken Graduate Fellowship, New York University

2001: Mary Gates Fellowship for Undergraduate Research, University of Washington

2000: Sandler-Shurman Scholarship for Jewish Studies, University of Washington

1999: National Council of Jewish Women Scholarship, University of Washington

Television Broadcasts

"Dead Sea Scrolls." Access Minnesota with Jim du Bois (April 12, 2010)

Newspaper Articles and Blog Posts

"Dead Sea Scrolls" CLA Reach. (June 1 2010)

"The Dead Sea Scrolls Come Alive" By Deane Morrison. UM News (April 15, 2010)

"Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit brings 2,000-year-old documents to life" By Scott Noble. Minnesota Christian Chronicle (April 2010)

"Dead Sea Scrolls: In a World of Hype, the Real Deal" By Jeff Strickler. Star Tribune (Mar 12, 2010)

"Dead Sea Scrolls go on exhibit at Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul" By Mordechai Spektor (blog post). The American Jewish World. March 11, 2010.

"Dead Sea Scrolls Come to St. Paul." By Kyle Potter. Minnesota Daily (Mar 10, 2010).

"Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls." By Maja Beckstrom. Pioneer Press (Mar 7, 2010).

"The Dead Sea Scrolls: Coming to a Museum Near You." Blog interview at tcjewfolk.com (Feb 18, 2010).

Authored Books

Edited Books

Articles

“Dead Sea Scrolls.” In The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha. Edited by Jonathan Klawans and Lawrence M. Wills. Oxford: Oxford University Press (in press; anticipated 2018; 4,000 words).

“War and Violence.” Pages 568-76 in Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel. London: T. & T. Clark, 2018.

“The Wood Offering Celebration – “As Written in the Torah.’” TheTorah.com. May 2018. https://thetorah.com/the-wood-offering-celebration-as-written-in-the-torah/

“Qumran Literature: Exegetical Compositions.” Pages 726–31 in Textual History of the Bible: The Hebrew Bible, volume 1C. Edited by Armin Lange.Leiden: Brill, 2017.

“Scribes, Visionaries, and Prophets: On the Place of Apocalyptic in the History of Prophecy.” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 5:3 (2016): 233–52.

“The Prophets and the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pages 353–72 in The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets. Edited by Carolyn J. Sharp. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

“The Rabbinic Construction of Jeremiah’s Lineage. Pages 3–20 in Texts and Contexts of Jeremiah. The Exegesis of Jeremiah 1 and 10 in Light of Text and Reception History. Edited by Karin Finsterbusch and Armin Lange. Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology xxx; Leuven: Peeters, 2016.

“The Prohibition to Carry on Shabbat: Historical and Exegetical Development.” TheTorah.com. March 2016. http://thetorah.com/the-prohibition-to-carry-on-shabbat-historical-and-exegetical-development/

“Violent Imaginaries and Practical Violence in the War Scroll.” Pages 175–203 in The War Scroll, War and Peace in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Edited by Kyung S. Baek, Kipp Davis, Peter W. Flint and Dorothy M. Peters. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

“Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pages 143–54 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law, volume 2. Edited by Brent Strawn et al. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

“Pseudepigrapha.” Pages 767–68 in Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, volume 3. Edited by Eric M. Orlin et al. New York, Routledge, 2015.

“Apocalypse of Zephaniah.” Page 1021 in Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, volume 3. Edited by Eric M. Orlin et al. New York: Routledge, 2015.

“Prayer of Manasseh.” Page 751 in Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, volume 3. Edited by Eric M. Orlin et al. New York: Routledge, 2015.

“Dead Sea Scrolls Community.” In Bible Odyssey. Society of Biblical Literature, 2014.

“Power, Politics, and Prophecy in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism.” Pages 171–98 in Divination, Politics, and Ancient Near Eastern Empires. Edited by Alan Lenzi and Jonathan Stökl. Ancient Near Eastern Monographs; Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature, 2014.

“Scriptural Interpretation in Early Jewish Apocalypses.” Pages 69–84 in The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature. Edited by John J. Collins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

“Rule of the Community (1QS; 4QS).” Pages 2923–74 in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Not Included in Scripture. Edited by Louis Feldman, James Kugel, and Lawrence Schiffman. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013.

“Admonition Based on the Flood (4Q370).” Pages 263–71 in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Not Included in Scripture. Edited by Louis Feldman, James Kugel, and Lawrence Schiffman. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013.

“The Pesharim and the Rise of Commentary in Early Jewish Scriptural Interpretation.” Dead Sea Discoveries (theme issue on The Rise of Commentary: Commentary Texts in Ancient Near Eastern, Greek, Roman, and Jewish Cultures; ed. Mladen Popovic) 19:3 (2012): 363-98.

“American Scholarship on Jewish Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pages 101–54 in The Dead Sea Scrolls in Scholarly Perspective: A History of Research. Edited by Devorah Dimant. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 99. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2012.

“Tracing the Threads of Jewish Law: The Sabbath Carrying Prohibition from Jeremiah to the Rabbis.” (part of special section: “Second Temple Halakhot and the Historical Jesus: Three Contributions toward a Discussion”). Annali di storia dell'esegesi 28:1 (2011): 253-78.

“Survival at the End of Days: Aspects of Soteriology in the Dead Sea Scrolls Pesharim.” Pages 193–210 in This World and the World to Come: Soteriology in Early Judaism. Edited by Daniel M. Gurtner. Library of Second Temple Studies. London: T. & T. Clark, 2011.

“Prophecy after ‘The Prophets’: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Prophecy in Judaism.” Pages 577–93 in volume 2 of The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context:Integrating the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Study of Ancient Texts, Languages, and Cultures. Edited by Armin Lange, Emanuel Tov, Matthias Weigold, and Bennie H. Reynolds III. Vetus Testamentum Supplements 140. 2 vols.; Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2011.

“Rereading 4QPesher Isaiah A (4Q161) Forty Years after DJD 5.” Pages 57-90 in The Mermaid and the Partridge: Essays from the Copenhagen Conference on Revising Texts from Cave Four. Edited by George J. Brooke and Jesper Høgenhaven. STDJ 96. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2011.

“What Exactly Is Prohibited in the Field? A New Suggestion for Understanding the Text and Context of CD 10:20-21.” Revue de Qumran 25/no.97 (2011): 41-62.

“הלל hālal III, הולל hôlāl.” Pages 801-3 in Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten, Band I. Edited by Heinz-Josef Fabry and Ulrich Dahmen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2011.

“חלל ḥll I, חול ḥôl, תחלה teḥillāh.” Pages 980-86 in Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten, Band I. Edited by Heinz-Josef Fabry and Ulrich Dahmen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2011.

“Law and Exegesis in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Sabbath Carrying Prohibition in Comparative Perspective.” Pages 115-56 in The Dead Sea Scrolls at Sixty: Scholarly Contributions of New York University Faculty and Alumni. Edited by Lawrence H. Schiffman and Shani L. Tsoref. STDJ 89. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2010.

“A New Suggestion for the Reconstruction of 4Q370 1 i 2 and the Blessing of the Most High (Elyon) in Second Temple Judaism.” Dead Sea Discoveries: A Journal of Current Research on the Scrolls and Related Literature 17:1 (2010): 88–113.

“Violence and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Sectarian Formation and Eschatological Imagination.” Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches 17:1–2 (2009): 12–44; Reprint pages 13–45 in Violence, Scripture, and Textual Practice in Early Judaism and Christianity. Edited by Ra‘anan S. Boustan, Alex P. Jassen and Calvin J. Roetzel. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2009.

With Ra‘anan S. Boustan and Calvin J. Roetzel, “Introduction: Violence, Scripture, and Textual Practices in Early Judaism and Christianity.” Pages 1–11 in Violence, Scripture, and Textual Practice in Early Judaism and Christianity. Edited by Ra‘anan S. Boustan, Alex P. Jassen, and Calvin J. Roetzel. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2009.

“Prophets and Prophecy in the Qumran Community.” Association for Jewish Studies Review 32:2 (2008): 299–334.

“The Presentation of the Ancient Prophets as Lawgivers at Qumran.” Journal of Biblical Literature 127:2 (2008): 307–37.

“Literary and Historical Studies in the Samuel Apocryphon (4Q160).” Journal of Jewish Studies 59:1 (2008): 21–38.

“Teaching and Learning Guide for Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Religion Compass 2:5 (2008): 882–88.

“Reading Midrash with Maimonides: An Inquiry into the Sources of Maimonides’ Account of the Origins of Idolatry.” Australian Journal of Jewish Studies 21 (2007): 170–200.

“Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Religion Compass 1:1 (2007): 1–25.

“Intertextual Readings of the Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls: 4Q160 (Samuel Apocryphon) and Psalm 40.” Revue de Qumran 22:3 (2006): 403–30.