| Conclusion The database includes numerous other features that will assist serious students in their study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as the ability to add the user’s research notes to the database or to conduct wild-card searches. External programs can be executed while using the database, and a Hebrew lexicon can be referenced. In addition, the "database supports the synchronization of two or more files simultaneously if they possess marked codes. . . . As the user scrolls down one text, the computer automatically repositions the other text(s) to the same section as the text being scrolled." 4
The database brings scholarship and state-of-the-art technology closer together. When it is published in 1997 or early 1998, we expect that its users will gain many new insights as they study the scrolls. We may also see new discoveries and contributions in related fields of study, including the Old Testament, Judaism, linguistics, history, Near Eastern languages, early Christianity, and religious studies. This same technology may eventually be used to study documents from other cultures and peoples, such as the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica or the early Chaldean Christians of Northern Persia. The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies anticipates continuing its pioneering efforts in this direction.
Notes 1. We acknowledge the work, dedication, and expertise of several individuals who have made the dream regarding the database become a reality. We appreciate the collaborative efforts and ongoing encouragement of both Emanuel Tov, editor in chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls publication project and professor at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Weston W. Fields, executive director of the DSS Foundation. We are grateful to Stephen J. Pfann of the Center for the Study of Early Christianity for the DSS transcription files and to James A. Sanders, president of the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center in Claremont, California, for the scroll and fragment photographs. We also recognize FARMS and BYU, both of which have contributed many resources in the form of personnel, services, and consultative assistance. In particular, we thank Noel B. Reynolds, professor of political science at BYU, president of FARMS, and producer of the FARMS-BYU Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Database; Monte F. Shelley, director of Instructional Applications Services at BYU; and his colleagues James S. Rosenvall, manager of WordCruncher™ development team, William A. Barrett, associate chair of the computer science department, and Daniel R. Bartholomew and Jason W. Dzubak, senior programmers. We also wish to thank Dana Pike, assistant professor of ancient scripture at BYU; Terry Szink, Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern languages and cultures at UCLA; and Kerry M. Muhlestein, a BYU graduate student in Near Eastern studies, for their professional assistance. 2. The database currently features only nonbiblical texts from the eleven caves of Qumran. 3. See Stephen A. Reed, The Dead Sea Scrolls Catalogue: Documents, Photographs and Museum Inventory Numbers (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1994). 4. Donald W. Parry and Steven W. Booras, "The Dead Sea Scrolls CD-ROM Database Project," in Current Research and Technological Developments on the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks (New York: E. J. Brill, 1996), 250.
Introduction | Conclusion and Notes |
