Description
Book SynopsisGeza Vermes is known world-wide as an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and for his pioneering work, Jesus the Jew. But in addition to that he is the living embodiment of Jewish-Christian relations in the context of an honest quest for the truth. Few scholars have had such a colorful and eventful life, the course of which he describes here. Born into a Hungarian Jewish family which later converted to Christianity, he received a Catholic education and was later ordained priest after the turmoil of the War. The quest for membership in a religious order led him to the Sion Fathers, in Louvain and then in Paris, where among other things he was introduced to biblical studies and became fascinated with the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. Subsequent emotional turmoil from conflicting pressures made him ill , but a series of Providential Accidents which gave this book its title brought him to England, marriage, and a new fulfilled life, first in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and then in Oxford, and to a public reassertian of his Jewishness. As well as telling a fascinating personal story, this book provides a vivid insider''s account of developments in Scrolls research and of the lengthy battle with procrastinating editors over the academic scandal of the century. These memoirs shed much light on the deep personal friendships and antagonisms and the complex, non-scholarly factors which accompany even committed study of the Bible, Qumran, and the Gospels.
Trade ReviewIt is a remarkable story. * Times Literary Supplement *
Vermes provides a more intimate view of the twists and turns by which he entered the church, survived fascist Hungary and the Nazis, studied in Louvain and Paris, entered British academic life and a life outside the church, came to Oxford, fought for almost forty years for free access to the treasures of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and came to search for the historical Jesus. It is a truly gripping narrative….His memoir is also a love story…[and] and international thriller, especially with the high-level goings-on around the Scrolls. * The New Republic *
Geza Vermes is one of the most prominent and most productive Dead Sea Scroll scholars in the world. His is the most widely used translation of the scrolls... a leading scholar in what is referred to as historical Jesus studies. -- Hershel Shanks * Bible Review, June 1999 *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Prologue: 10 June 1993 Part 2 Part One: From Makó to Budapest (1924–1946) Chapter 3 Roots Chapter 4 Childhood Memories (1926–1937) Chapter 5 Unread Signs of Doom (1938–1942) Chapter 6 From Boredom to Nightmare (1942–1944) Chapter 7 From Darkness to Light (1945–1946) Part 8 Part Two: At Notre-Dame de Sion (Louvain-Paris 1946–1957) Chapter 9 The Fathers of Notre-Dame de Sion: Prelude (1946–1948) Chapter 10 Discovery of the Bible (1948–1950) Chapter 11 Meeting the Dead Sea Scrolls (1950–1952) Chapter 12 Jerusalem and Qumran (September–December 1952) Chapter 13 Paris and theCahiers (1953–1955) Chapter 14 The Turmoil of Transition (1955–1957) Part 15 Part Three: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1957-1965) Chapter 16 Finding my Feet in Newcastle (1957–1958) Chapter 17 Laying the Foundations (1958–1965) Part 18 Part Four: The Golden Years of Oxford (1965–1993) Chapter 19 The Wonderland of Oxford Chapter 20 The Journal and the New English Schürer Chapter 21 The Battle over the Scrolls: A Personal Account Chapter 22 Jesus the Jew and his Religion Chapter 23 Harvest Time Chapter 24 Epilogue: Late Afternoon Sunshine (1993– ) Chapter 25 Notes Chapter 26 Index
