Recommended Texts and Resources
The texts below are recommended reading but are not required for purchase
The following works are recommended for students wishing to pursue topics beyond the material presented in the Reading Notes and Lectures.
The list will be expanded as additional courses are added to the curriculum.
Core Texts
Michael Heiser
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible
A highly accessible introduction to the divine council, spiritual beings, and the supernatural worldview that underlies the biblical text.
Margaret Barker
Temple Theology: An Introduction
An overview of Barker's influential reconstruction of First Temple traditions and their enduring significance for Judaism and early Christianity.
Biblical Cosmology
Crispin Fletcher-Louis
Jesus Monotheism (Volume 1) Christological Origins: The Emerging Consensus and Beyond
A major scholarly study demonstrating that the earliest Christian belief in Jesus' divinity emerged from existing Second Temple Jewish temple traditions rather than from later Greek or pagan influences.
Andrei Orlov
Dark Mirrors
An exploration of priestly, angelic, and visionary traditions in Second Temple Judaism, with particular attention to Enochic and Adamic figures.
Second Temple Judaism
John J. Collins
Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls
A detailed examination of the origins, beliefs, and historical development of the sectarian movement responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Loren T. Stuckenbruck
The Myth of Rebellious Angels
A comprehensive study of the Watchers tradition and its central role in shaping Second Temple Jewish understandings of evil, judgment, and cosmic rebellion.
Brian Godawa
The Spiritual World of Ancient Israel and Greece
An accessible treatment of a variety of topics relevant to the Second Temple worldview and the cultural influences upon it.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Peter Flint & James C. VanderKam
The Dead Sea Scrolls After Fifty Years (Volumes I & II)
A substantial scholarly collection surveying the history, contents, interpretation, and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
James C. VanderKam
The Dead Sea Scrolls Today
The standard introductory guide to the discovery, contents, and historical importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
John J. Collins
Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls
An analysis of the apocalyptic worldview of the Qumran community and its expectations concerning history, judgment, and the end of the age.
Ancient Near Eastern Backgrounds
Mary R. Bachvarova
From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of the Ancient Greek Epic
A groundbreaking study tracing the influence of Anatolian and Near Eastern literary traditions upon the development of early Greek epic.
Doug Van Dorn
Giants: Sons of the gods
An accessible introduction to the Genesis 6 rebellion, tracing the traditions of the Watchers, the Nephilim, and the giant clans through the literature of Second Temple Judaism.
Essenian Judaism
Simon J. Joseph
Jesus, the Essenes, and Christian Origins: New Light on Ancient Texts and Communities
A fresh reassessment of the relationship between the Essenes, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the origins of the Jesus movement.
Lester L. Grabbe
An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism: History and Religion of the Jews in the Time of Nehemiah, the Maccabees, Hillel, and Jesus
A reliable survey of the history, institutions, beliefs, and diversity of Judaism during the Second Temple period.
John J. Collins
The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature
The standard introduction to Jewish apocalyptic thought, literature, symbolism, and its influence on early Christianity.
Christian Origins
James H. Charlesworth
Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls
A collection of essays exploring the historical and theological relationship between Jesus, early Christianity, and the world reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
John J. Collins & Craig A. Evans
Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls
An examination of how the Dead Sea Scrolls illuminate the beliefs, practices, and intellectual environment of the earliest Christians.
John Bergsma
Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity
An accessible study connecting key themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls to the beliefs, practices, and theological foundations of early Christianity.
This page is intended as a guide for further study and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of every conclusion reached by the authors listed.