Geza Vermes was brought up in a Christian family, ordained a Catholic priest, and subsequently reverted to his Jewish roots. His work on the historical figure of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls led to his appointment as Professor of Jewish Studies atOxford, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He is the author of THE COMPLETE DEAD SEA SCROLLS IN ENGLISH, which has sold in the region of half a million copies in Penguin to date.