Since their initial discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have drawn the interest of people world­wide. FARMS has been fortunate to play a part in bringing the scrolls to the world, and that effort continues. The FARMS Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­day Saints and managed by full­time missionaries Wayne and Janet Chamberlain, completed its tour of the United Kingdom and western Europe in May and is now making its way through central Europe.

A new multivolume work promises to facilitate study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader, published by the prestigious academic publisher E. J. Brill, offers transcriptions and English translations of all the nonbiblical Qumran texts.

The Savior and the division of the kingdoms

Most modern historians view social, economic, and political factors as the sole shaping influences of history. For other scholars, the role of divine providence in history cannot be denied and is a topic worthy of serious consideration. Last year, Latter-day Saint scholars who embrace the notion of “providential history” shared their perspectives at a symposium titled “A Latter-day Saint View of History,” held at Brigham Young University on 6–7 February 2003. Among the 21 presenters at this unique event was John W. Welch, publications director for the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, editor in chief of BYU Studies, and founder and board member of FARMS.

The latest FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 2, 2004) is another weighty issue flush with articles covering a wide array of interesting topics. In the lineup are reviews of works on Book of Mormon geography, de-Christianization of the Old Testament, the Joseph Smith Papyri, Isaiah’s central message, Jerusalem in Lehi’s day, creation theology, gospel symbolism, and the Christian countercult movement. Also included are two freestanding essays, one older article of lasting appeal (initiating a new feature in the Review), book notes, a 2003 Book of Mormon bibliography, and the editor’s top picks of recent publications. A foretaste of the many engaging articles follows.

David, Saul, and Solomon’s understanding of the Savior

The creation of man

In “Who Controls the Water? Yahweh vs. Baal,” the lead article in Occasional Papers 4, Fred E. Woods presents a fascinating discussion of the polemical usage of water and storm language in the Deuteronomic History (the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). As Woods notes, the most active deity at the Canaanite city of Ugarit (located in present-day Syria near the Mediterranean coast) is Baal, the god of water and storm. The strong denunciation of Baal in the Old Testament indicates that the Baal cult had deeply penetrated Israelite culture. And while scholars have long been aware of the explicit warnings against worshipping Baal, the metaphorical arguments against Baal have gone virtually unnoticed.

This compilation of articles exploring topics related to the Old Testament is selected from over fifty years of LDS scholarship published by BYU Studies. This volume features articles on the Hebrew Bible at the end of the first century, the prophetic commission of Enoch, Joseph as a type of Christ, Moses typology in the Book of Mormon, the Book of Enoch, the Ezekiel Mural at Dura Europos, Psalm 22, singular and plural address in the scriptures, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and more. Contents “Sacred Books: The Canon of the Hebrew Bible at the End of the First Century” Robert L. Maxwell “A Prologue to Genesis: Moses 1 in Light of Jewish Traditions” E. Douglas Clark “Behold I” by Kent P. Jackson “The Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch (Moses 6)” Stephen D. Ricks “Joseph as a Type of Christ in Syriac Literature” Kristian S. Heal “The Israelite Background of Moses Typology in the Book of Mormon” Noel B. Reynolds “Elisha and the Children: The Question of Accepting Prophetic Succession” Fred E. Woods “The Ezekiel Mural at Dura Europos: A Witness of Ancient Jewish Mysteries?” Jeffrey M. Bradshaw “‘Wisdom’ (Philosophy) in the Holy Bible” David H. Yarn Jr. “The Psalm 22:16 Controversy: New Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls” Shon Hopkin “‘My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me’” Shon Hopkin “Temple Worship and a Possible Reference to a Prayer Circle in Psalm 24” Donald W. Parry “‘The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord’: The Anatomy of an Expression” Dana M. Pike “Singular and Plural Address in the Scriptures” James R. Rasband “A Bibliography of LDS Publications on the Old Testament (1830–2005)”

On May 8 Andrew Skinner, executive director of the Maxwell Institute, Daniel C. Peterson, editor in chief and director of its Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, and Ed Snow, Development Director, met with U.S. Senator Bob Bennett and leaders of the Library of Congress in Washington DC to thank the senator for helping to secure federal funding for METI and to present him with several volumes of METI publications. Beginning in 2005, Senator Bennett worked to obtain $750,000 from the Library of Congress’s bud-get to go toward METI publications, in addition to requesting $250,000 more for 2008.

Donald W. Parry, Brigham Young University pro­ fessor of Biblical Hebrew and longtime contribu­ tor to the work of the Maxwell Institute, has been appointed as an editor for a new edition of Biblia Hebraica, the standard critical edition of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). He is one of about two dozen well­established Hebrew scholars from the world­ wide community also serving as editors for this new edition, and one of three from the United States.

The Sunday School Supplement on the Rod of Aaron, an apocryphal account of Adam and the origin of sacrifice, cultural borrowing, and the Levitical Endowment

How the Book of Mormon is the stick of Ephraim, even though Lehi was from Manassah

A FARMS symposium at BYU on Saturday, 26 January, highlighted findings from a years-long effort to collect, translate, and publish ancient accounts of the early life of the patriarch Abraham. Titled “Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham,” the free public event featured presentations by John Tvedtnes, Brian Hauglid, and John Gee, compilers and editors of a new book of the same title published by the Institute under the FARMS imprint.

Early LDS interpretations of the Bible

The Sunday School Supplement on the Mosaic Hypothesis of authorship

An exegesis of Genesis 1