Author Information

Theodor H. Gaster is one of the world's most eminent Hebraists and an expert on the period during which the scrolls were written. Working in twenty-nine languages and dialects, Professor Gaster is the author of many distinguished articles and books on the religions and civilizations of the Ancient Near East. His major work Thespis (1950) is a study of the ritual origins of the drama. He is also the author of the standard work Myth, Legend and Custom in the Old Testament (1969). Emeritus Professor of Religion at Barnard College—Columbia University, he is currently a member of the faculty and Chairman of the Ancient Near Eastern Study Program at Dropsie University in Philadelphia. He has served as Fulbright professor, History of Religions, at the University of Rome as well as Fulbright professor, Biblical Studies, at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has been the recipient of two Guggenheim awards. Professor Gaster is also the editor of The New Golden Bough.

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