James C. VanderKam

James C. VanderKam
Born	1946 (age 79–80)
Known for	Research on the Dead Sea Scrolls Studies of Jubilees and Enochic literature Co-editor of Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls Editor of volumes in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
Awards	Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2022
Academic background
Alma mater	Calvin College (BA, 1968), Calvin Theological Seminary (BD, 1971), Harvard University (PhD, 1976)
Academic work
Discipline	Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, Dead Sea Scrolls
Institutions	North Carolina State University, University of Notre Dame
Notable works	The Dead Sea Scrolls Today An Introduction to Early Judaism From Revelation to Canon Jubilees commentary

James C. VanderKam (born 1946) is an American scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism, John A. O'Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures, Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. His research centers on the Dead Sea Scrolls and related literature, including Enoch and Jubilees. He served as general editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature, co edited the two volume Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and edited multiple volumes in the official Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series.

Early life and education

VanderKam earned a BA in classics from Calvin College in 1968, then a BD from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1971. During seminary studies he taught introductory Greek at Calvin. He subsequently studied in Scotland as a Fulbright recipient before doctoral work at Harvard University, where he completed the PhD in 1976.

Career

VanderKam joined the faculty of North Carolina State University in 1976, where he taught for fifteen years, then moved to the University of Notre Dame in 1991. He later held the John A. O'Brien chair in Hebrew Scriptures and now holds emeritus status. His editorial and field leadership includes service as general editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature and as editor of thirteen volumes in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022.

In 2011, colleagues and former students honored VanderKam with a Festschrift titled A Teacher for All Generations, celebrating both his sixty-fifth birthday and twenty years of distinguished service at Notre Dame. The volume was published in the Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism series.

Publications

Title	Year	Role	Publisher	Notes
The Dead Sea Scrolls Today	1994, rev. 2010	Author	Wm. B. Eerdmans	Introductory survey of the scrolls, widely used in courses
Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time	1998	Author	Wm. B. Eerdmans	Study of calendrical texts and systems
From Revelation to Canon: Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature	2000	Author	Brill	Collected essays on scripture, high priesthood, Enoch, and Jubilees
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls	2000	Co editor with Lawrence H. Schiffman	Oxford University Press	Two volume reference work
An Introduction to Early Judaism	2001, 2nd ed. 2022	Author	Wm. B. Eerdmans	Survey of history, texts, and institutions in the Second Temple period
The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls	2002	Co author with Peter W. Flint	HarperSanFrancisco	Synthesis for scholarly and general audiences
From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests After the Exile	2004	Author	Fortress Press	Reference study on Second Temple high priests
Jubilees, A Commentary in Two Volumes (Hermeneia)	2018	Author	Fortress Press	Comprehensive critical commentary