Pontifical Biblical Institute: Studying the Bible for 100 Years

On one of Rome's quieter, less traveled streets the world's only institution dedicated solely to Biblical studies houses over 200,000 volumes. It was founded by Pius X 100 years ago. Jose Maria Abrego, Rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, says: "One hundred years for an academic institution is nothing. But it does allow it to claim a certain experience and try to look toward the future and toward the service it can develop in the future with a base."

A Century of Studying the Bible

Its been a century since the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome has been teaching the Bible. It was founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X and handed to the Society of Jesus due to their intellectual apostolate. As they prepare to celebrate their 100th anniversary, their main objective remains teaching the Bible, but most importantly what it represents.

Is it about Time to Discard All You Know about Qumran?

Simone Paganini, a young Italian exegete teaching in Vienna and Innsbruck, has just published a book Qumran: Le rovine della luna questioning many of the commonly held views about Qumran. His main arguments are the following: [1] The people who lived in Qumran were not the hypothetical sectarian Essene community that Josephus wrote about. Instead, they were men and women engaged in farming and commerce, particularly in the manufacture of vessels for priestly use. [2] The scrolls found in various caves near the Dead Sea were not produced in Qumran. Rather, they belonged to the library of the Temple of Jerusalem. The scrolls were hidden in the caves to save them from the impending destruction of the Temple by the Roman army. [3] The scroll 7Q5 does not contain a verse from the Gospel of Mark as previous thought by some scholars.

About: Dr. Simone Paganini