Michael DeVries

@michaeldevries

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Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· 2d

Proofs are back!

First page of the proofs for the article "Remnant and Identity Formation in Ezra-Nehemiah and the Damascus Document" from the forthcoming volume *Ezra and the Dead Sea Scrolls* (eds. Charlotte Hempel and Michael DeVries) with SBL Press.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· 11d

Patrick Angiolillo reviews *Reimagining Apocalypticism: Apocalyptic Literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Writings* (DiTommaso and Goff, eds.) for RBL. @sblpress.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of *Reimagining Apocalypticism: Apocalyptic Literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Writings* (SBL Press)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· 19d

Post a perfect album from the 90s.

Cover of the album *OK Computer* from Radiohead.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· 21d

"As long as sufficient numbers of people admire the ancient world uncritically and remain ignorant of the violence that admiration has authorized, the prestige of the 'classical' will continue to be available to white nationalist intellectuals [to legitimize their ideas]." @curtisdozier.bsky.social

Cover of Curtis Dozier's *The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate* (Yale University Press)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· 23d

Just arrived for review for JSJ. Excited to dive in soon! @dgb-relbibtheo.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org

Cover of Alex P. Jassen’s *Violence, Power, and Society in the Dead Sea Scrolls*

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Jul 6

Melissa Sayyad Bach reviews Charlotte Hempel's *The Community Rules from Qumran: A Commentary* for RBL. Definitely one of the best commentaries on the Community Rules available. @fortresspress.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of *The Community Rules from Qumran: A Commentary* by Charlotte Hempel (Fortress Press).

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Jun 29

My review of *The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea* (eds. Pieter Hartog and Andrew Perrin, STDJ 142) is now live on RBL. The volume is fantastic! @dgb-relbibtheo.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of *The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea: Proceedings of the Tenth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies (Aberdeen, 5–8 August, 2019),* edited by Pieter Hartog and Andrew Perrin

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Jun 15

Jürg Hutzli review's Dan Machiela's *A Handbook of the Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves: Manuscripts, Language, and Scribal Practices* for RBL. @dgb-relbibtheo.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of Dan Machiela's *A Handbook of the Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves: Manuscripts, Language, and Scribal Practices* (Brill)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Jun 11

*The Bible and Violence* is live on @bloomsburyrs.bsky.social Theology & Religion Online (TARO) platform. Several chapters are open access. Sadly, my chapters are not. Be sure to check out this amazing project. Volumes due out in this November. www.theologyandreligiononline.com/the-bible-an...

Cover shot of *The Bible and Violence* (Bloomsbury T&T Clark)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Jun 3

Working on revisions of my dissertation for publication and pulled my copy of John Trever’s *The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account* (a 1977 revised edition of his 1965 *The Untold Story of Qumran*) and forgot that it was signed!

Photo of a signed copy of *The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account* by John Trever

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· May 7

Excellent study applying insights from the cognitive science of religion and cultural anthropology to ritual action in the Sermon on the Mount. Highly recommend!

Cover of *Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon in the Mount* (eds., Roitto, Shantz, Luomanen)

“Ritual Acts in the Sermon on the Mount” by Rodney A. Werline

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· May 2

Inspired by @davidaburnett.bsky.social’s recent used bookstore haul, decided to try out a new local used bookstore. Not as impressive as his haul, but still pretty cool. Highly recommend!

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 30

A sampling of recent arrivals.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 29

Michael Johnson (@scrollsgeek.bsky.social) reviews Carol Newsom's *The Spirit within Me: Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism* for RBL. @yalepress.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of *The Spirit within Me: Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and the Second Temple Judaism* by Carol A. Newsom

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 29

Congratulations to my doktormutter, Charlotte Hempel, on being elected a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Such a wonderful and well-deserved honor for an amazing scholar!

The seal of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 20

Did some peer review for a journal last week and came across a reference to this little gem from 1958. Looking forward to the reading! #DeadSeaScrolls

Cover of J. van der Ploeg’s *The Excavations at Qumran: A Survey of the Judaean Brotherhood and its Ideas*

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 18

Excellent review of *Tracing the Ritual Body: Catherine Bell and Rituals of the Ancient Biblical World* (Cohen, DeMaris, Schwiebert, eds.) by Giancarlo Voellmy for RBL. @sblsite.bsky.social @tandtclark.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover of *Tracing the Ritual Body: Catherine Bell and Rituals of the Ancient Biblical World* (Cohen, DeMaris, and Schwiebert, eds.)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 4

Klaus-Peter Adam reviews Thomas Kazen's outstanding monograph *Dirt, Shame, Status: Perspectives on Same-Sex Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient World* for RBL. Spoiler: Adam also thinks it is outstanding. @eerdmansbooks.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover photo of Thomas Kazen's *Dirt, Shame, Status: Perspectives on Same-Sex Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient World*

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Apr 1

Excited my paper proposal was accepted for the Cognitive Science Approaches in the Biblical World Section! I’ll be presenting on the cognitive mechanisms associated with magical agency/efficacy and their connection with apotropaic texts from Qumran. See you all in Denver!

Dear Michael DeVries,

Congratulations! Your proposal, Agency and Efficacy: A Cognitive Analysis of Apotropaic and Incantational Texts from Qumran, has been accepted by the Cognitive Science Approaches to the Biblical World Section program unit. The meeting will be held in Denver, Colorado, USA, from 21 to 24 November 2026.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 28

Bärry Hartog reviews Franziska Ede's *Vom Prophetenbuch zum Prophetenpescher: Das Buch Habakuk und seine Auslegung in 1QpHab* for RBL. #DeadSeaScrolls @sblsite.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover shot of Franziska Ede's *Vom Prophetenbuch zum Prophetenpescher: Das Buch Habakuk und seine Auslegung in 1QpHab

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 14

Excellent review of Lorne Stuckenbruck and Daniel Gurtner's (eds.) *T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, Vol. 1* from @rlharris.bsky.social. This two volume series is indeed amazing. @tandtclark.bsky.social www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet...

Cover image of Stuckebruck/Gurtner's *T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism* with T&T Clark/Bloomsbury.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 14

Marco Pavan reviews Hindy Najman's *Scriptural Vitality: Rethinking Philology and Hermeneutics* for RBL. The volume is also OPEN ACCESS through @academic.oup.com! www.sblcentral.org/home/bookDet... global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Cover image for Hindy Najman's *Scriptural Vitality: Rethinking Philology and Hermeneutics*

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 3

With the midterms coming up this fall this feels like a timely read. @jonlemire.bsky.social

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 2

This looks amazing! Just registered. #DeadSeaScrolls

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Mar 2

Well said.

And if “Greatness” fails to arrive—if the regime changes the name at the top but not its basic character, and its security forces slaughter thousands more Iranians who follow Trump’s videotaped advice to “take over” their country, and civil war breaks out in ethnic-minority regions, and the entire Middle East is in flames—who can believe that Trump will take any responsibility? Rather, he’ll claim the glory of war without owning the tragedy of all that it brings and move on to something else, while the Iranian people are betrayed again, this time by us.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Feb 4

And I hope that YOU will reconsider the value of the necessary and important work YOUR journalists do to keep citizens informed. Just saying... #WashingtonPost #WaPo

Cancellation message from The Washington Post that reads "We hope you’ll reconsider the value of the necessary and important work our journalists do to keep citizens informed. Absolutely nothing has changed about that. In fact, it’s more important than ever."

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Feb 3

Incredibly proud of my alma mater! @unibirmingham.bsky.social

Cover of TIME magazine noting that the University of Birmingham has been ranked #62 in the world in TIME World’s Top Universities of 2026.

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Dec 22

I mean, I have been reading up on exorcistic texts lately, but really???

Text that reads, “Dr. Michael, please get back to me when you see this. My puppy seems to be getting worse. What should I do?”

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Dec 13

Submitted a review of Anthony Giambrone's *The Bible and the Priesthood* for CBQ. Fascinating read. @catholicbiblical.bsky.social

Cover image of Anthony Giambrone's *The Bible and the Priesthood: Priestly Participation in the One Sacrifice for Sins* (Baker Academic)

Michael DeVries@michaeldevries· Dec 9

Say what?!? Students are NOT your “customers.” THIS is the problem.