The volume contains the papers read at the 51st Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense (July 31 - August 2, 2002) dedicated to the study of the theme of Wisdom and Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the biblical tradition in general. The "Main papers" and some of the "Offered papers" have been thematically grouped in four parts.

Part I comprises four articles dealing with the relationship between wisdom and apocalypticism in the Scrolls compared to the biblical tradition. Part II includes five papers which focus on specific wisdom compositions from Qumran, such as 1Q/4QMysteries, 4QInstruction, 4QTime of Righteousness, or the "Tractate of the Two Spirits" from the «Rule of the Community». The nine contributions of Part III analyse different aspects of biblical Wisdom compositions (in Qohelet, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon) or of apocalyptic writings (in 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra) in the light of the Qumran Wisdom texts. Part IV groups six studies on several aspects of the Wisdom compositions from Qumran (messianic ideas, ecstatic worship, the beatitudes, or the fate of the righteous) which are directly relevant for the study of the New Testament.

The articles are written in English (14), French (6), and German (4). Among the contributors are specialists of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Jean Duhaime, Torleif Elgvin, Armin Lange, Hermann Lichtenberger, Emile Puech, Eibert Tigchelaar) and of Early Judaism (e.g., John J. Collins, Daniel Harrington, Michael Knibb), as well as Old Testament scholars (e.g., Hainz-Josef Fabry, Maurice Gilbert, Klaus Koch).