In Jewish theological discourse, the term megilloth refers to five specific books within the third section of the Hebrew Bible. The Latin Scrolls: Selections from the Five Megilloth Translated from the Latin Vulgate provides students with the Megilloth, or selections from them, in a single volume. As a collective whole, the Megilloth emphasize the humanity within Judaism and demonstrate the divine in common human existence. This text provides students with a different understanding of life and God than what is commonly found in other books on the Hebrew Bible. Each of the five sections examines one of the books of the Megilloth: Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Esther. Introductions to each section underscore main themes with the book. The text is presented side by side in both its original Latin and translated English. Each section features a conclusion that highlights contemporary takeaways, encouraging students to draw connections between the historical text and modern applications. The Latin Scrolls is an ideal supplementary text for courses and programs in religious, Judaic, and biblical studies, especially those with emphasis on the Old Testament. Adam Oliver Stokes, M.Div. holds degrees in religion from Duke University and Yale Divinity School. He has published on a variety of topics, including biblical studies, Mormon studies, Classical studies, and ancient American history. He is the author of From Egypt to Ohio: A Semitic Origin for the Giants of North America and Perspectives on the Old Testament: Diverse Perspectives from Ancient to Modern Times. Stokes teaches high school Latin in New Jersey and a course on the Old Testament at Saint Joseph's University.

In this important collection of studies, copublished by Eerdmans and Brill, one of the world's foremost experts on the Dead Sea Scrolls outlines a comprehensive theory that reconstructs the complex development of the ancient texts that eventually came to form the Old Testament.

Thousands of documentary and literary texts written on papyri and potsherds, in Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Persian, have transformed our knowledge of many aspects of life in the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. Here experts provide a comprehensive guide to understanding this ancient documentary evidence.

What was a Roman book? How did it differ from modern books? How were Roman books composed, published and distributed during the high period of Roman literature that encompassed, among others, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Martial, Pliny and Tacitus? What was the ‘scribal art’ of the time? What was the role of bookshops and libraries? The publishing of Roman books has often been misrepresented by false analogies with contemporary publishing. This wide-ranging study re-examines, by appeal to what Roman authors themselves tell us, both the raw material and the aesthetic criteria of the Roman book, and shows how slavery was the ‘enabling infrastructure’ of literature. Roman publishing is placed firmly in the context of a society where the spoken still ranked above the written, helping to explain how some books and authors became politically dangerous and how the Roman book could be both an elite cultural icon and a contributor to Rome’s popular culture through the mass medium of the theatre.

In The Codex, published in 1954, C.H. Roberts studied the process by which in the early centuries of our era the roll as the vehicle for literature was replaced by the codex, which has remained the format of the book ever since. New evidence that has accumulated in the last thirty years has set some of the problems in a new light and in this book, published here for the first time in paperback, the authors re-examine these and offer a different explanation for the remarkable part in the transformation played by the early Church.

The first truly comprehensive look at all aspects of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, from its original Roman context to the most recent archaeological investigations. The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, the model for the Getty Villa in Malibu, is one of the world’s earliest systematically investigated archaeological sites. Buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the Villa dei Papiri was discovered in 1750 and excavated under the auspices of the Neapolitan court. Never fully unearthed, the site yielded spectacular colored marble floors and mosaics, frescoed walls, the largest known ancient collection of bronze and marble statuary, intricately carved ivories, and antiquity’s only surviving library, with over a thousand charred papyrus scrolls. For more than two and a half centuries, the Villa dei Papiri and its contents have served as a wellspring of knowledge for archaeological science, art history, classics, papyrology, and philosophy. Buried by Vesuvius: The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum offers a sweeping yet in-depth view of all aspects of the site. Presenting the latest research, the essays in this authoritative and richly illustrated volume reveal the story of the Villa dei Papiri's ancient inhabitants and modern explorers, providing readers with a multidimensional understanding of this fascinating site.

Close analysis of formal and conventional features of the bookrolls not only provides detailed information on the bookroll industry- but also, in turn, suggests some intriguing questions and provisional answers about the ways in which the use and function of the bookroll among ancient readers may differ from modern or medieval practice.

"Gripping and Graphic... Davis's narrative strengths lie in portraying the horrifying realities of war and in vivifying the ancient setting..." --(Publisher's Weekly) "Is it better to be a bad man and accomplish great things, or be a great man and accomplish nothing?" Quintus Sertorius has spent the first 20 years of his life training horses on his family farm, but this must end when his father dies and his village's political connections to Rome are severed. For the sake of his family, Quintus must leave his village for the Eternal City. If he succeeds, his people will be fed. If he fails, his people will starve. He begins his political career under the most influential men in Rome, but soon discovers that those in the Senate are less inclined to help him than he had hoped. His journey takes him from the corrupt and treacherous Forum to the deadly forests of Gaul, making powerful friends and enemies along the way. But it will take more than allies to succeed. He will have to decide what compromises he is willing to make, and what risks he is willing to take, if he is to secure a future for himself and his people.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are regarded as perhaps the most important archaeological find of the twentieth century - their importance to the history and development of Judaism and Christianity is unquestionable. This lavishly produced book shows the scrolls in their context, providing translations, pictures, and information on associated finds.

From the ancient city of Jerusalem to the mountains of New York, the Scrolls of Onteora, known as the Cremona Document, tell the story of the Knights Templars who found artifacts and documents, revealing how the scrolls were transported to the Americas - centuries before they were settled by Europeans. Learn the meaning of these artifacts found beneath the walls of Jerusalem and follow Ralph de Sudeley and his companions as they endeavor to recover these lost scrolls. Examine the pictures and documents that Don Ruh has accumulated about them over the last 30 years and weigh the evidence yourself. Front cover: A modern view of ancient Jerusalem Rear cover photo: The mountains of New York