Sidnie White Crawford

Sidnie White Crawford is the Willa Cather Professor of Classics and Religious Studies and Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to coming to UNL in 1997, she taught at Albright College in Pennsylvania and St. Olaf College. She earned her Ph.D. from the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. Dr. Crawford is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls, and was one of the youngest members of the international team responsible for the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for which she edited 14 manuscripts. She is the author of numerous books and articles on the Scrolls, including her most recent, Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times (Eerdmans Press, 2008).

Presenter at

Bible & Archaeology Fest XIV, November 18-20, 2011
The Fluidity of Scripture and the Process of Canon in Second Temple Judaism
*Plenary Session*
The Dead Sea Scrolls have revolutionized our understanding of how the Bible came to be. Although previous generations of scholars were able to draw a sharp distinction between “Biblical” and “non-Biblical” Jewish writings—and attempt to recover the “original text” of scripture—we now know that to be impossible. This presentation will examine the new evidence from the Scrolls for how the text of the Biblical books reached its present form, using examples from the Dead Sea Scrolls. It will also guide us through the process of the canonization of Jewish scripture, explaining how the books that make up the Jewish Bible (the Christian Old Testament) were chosen.

Bible & Archaeology Fest XIII, November 19-21, 2010
Scripture and Canon in Second Temple Judaism: The Evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls have presented scholars with a wealth of information regarding the Jewish Bible (Christian Old Testament), its text, and the process of its canonization. This presentation will discuss the shape of the Scriptures in the Second Temple period and the various scribal approaches to the text of Scriptures, as well as the historical processes that led to the canonization of the books we now call “the Bible.” In addition, we will discuss the evidence in the Qumran Biblical scrolls for relations among various Jewish or related groups in the Second Temple period, such as the Essenes and its subset at Qumran, the priests and scribes controlling the Temple and the Samaritans.

Selected Articles by Sidnie White Crawford:

Esther Not Judith
BR 18:01, February 2002

The Fluid Bible
BR 15:03, June 1999

Dead Sea Scrolls Reflect Political History
BAR 35:06, Nov/Dec 2009

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Biblical Archaeology Review