The Interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the Dead Sea Scrolls: A German-Israeli Research Cooperation (2007 - 2011)

The report will offer a retrospective presentation of a German-Israeli research cooperation. The project was funded during the years 2007-2011 by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and was housed under the auspices of the Centrum Orbis Orientalis et Occidentalis (Centre for Ancient and Oriental Studies of the University of Göttingen and the Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Göttingen). The project was initiated and directed by R.G. Kratz of the University of Göttingen, Germany, and D. Dimant of the University of Haifa, Israel. Two teams were established in the respective universities, each consisting of one post-doctoral researcher (Dr. R. Vielhauer in Göttingen and Dr. L. Goldman in Haifa), one doctoral student (H. Samuel in Göttingen and A. Livneh in Haifa), and one M.A. research assistant. The post-doctoral researchers undertook the writing of monographs of particular subjects, while the Ph.D. students were engaged in writing their dissertations under the supervision of the two principal investigators. For communication and the continuous exchange of relevant data (concordance of relevant texts, bibliography), a joint internet platform was established. Furthermore, joint workshops in Haifa (2008) and in Göttingen (2009) were organized to discuss the results and to outline further perspectives. In 2007 and 2011, two international conferences were launched around the themes relevant to the project, the proceedings of which were subsequently published. Both meetings took place in Göttingen; the second was funded by the Lichtenberg-Kolleg, Göttingen. Both directors were fortunate to be elected fellows of the Lichtenberg-Kolleg during the academic year 2010-2011 and they would like to thank its former director, Professor D. Coester-Waltjen, for her generous and unfailing support.