Dr. Jeff Cross was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures at the University of Minnesota for the 2025-2026 academic year. Cross’ research situates the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism within their broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern contexts. His work focuses on Jewish scribal and compositional practices in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with special attention given to integrating literary, compositional, and material approaches to the manuscripts. Cross is also working on a research project that will reevaluate the concept of determinism in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple texts, where it occurs.