The Afroasiatic Roots at Qumran and Its Implications for Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls
Join Museum of the Bible, in person or via Zoom, for our speaker series focusing on topics related to Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition.
This lecture focuses on the connections between North African Judaism and the community at Qumran.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and its principal community at Khirbet Qumran are situated in the larger Afroasiatic context illuminated by its geographic regionality, language families, and culture. To this end, the people of Qumran, who are identified by their archaeological remains and literary descriptions preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls, comprise a unique community linked to North African Judaism. Join Professor Jamal-Dominique Hopkins of Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary as he sheds light on this largely unexplored topic, which also offers fresh insight into the multiethnic dimensions of early Judaic and Christian origins. This presentation will reveal connections illustrating an African influence at Qumran and in the Dead Sea Scrolls, further deepening our understanding of the diversity present at the roots of our modern faith traditions.
Guests who attend this lecture will receive 10% off the price of the other lectures. The discount code will be included in your receipt.
Get your tickets today and learn more about the community at Qumran.
Dec 11, 2025 - Dec 11, 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST
Scholars Initiative Conference Room, Floor 5R
GA In Person $24.99
Members & Students In Person $19.99
GA Virual $14.99
Members & Students Virtual $9.99
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Speaker
Dr. Jamal-Dominique Hopkins
Jamal-Dominique Hopkins is associate professor of Christian Scriptures and director of the Black Church Studies Program at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. A graduate from Howard University and Fuller Theological Seminary, he received his PhD in religions and theology, with a focus on biblical criticism and late Second Temple Judaism, from the University of Manchester (UK). Dr. Hopkins’s research focuses on the intersection of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran studies with biblical literature and black religious thought. His work has been supported by Yale University’s Center for Faith and Culture (where he previously served as a Pedagogy Fellow), the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, and the Sacred Writes Media Partnership. He is the author of numerous publications, including the book Cultic Spiritualization: Religious Sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Gorgias Press, 2022). Dr. Hopkins and his wife, Karen, reside in the Waco, TX, area.