The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh is hosting an eight-part lecture series to complement The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition.

New York University Professor Lawrence Schiffman will present the second lecture of the series, "Israel at the Time of the Dead Sea Scrolls," Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. in the museum's WRAL Digital Theater.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of the first lecture, the museum strongly recommends purchasing tickets in advance, says a spokesman.

The Second Temple period (538 BCE-70 CE) was a pivotal time in ancient Israel, beginning with the conquest of Alexander the Great that expanded the rise of Hellenism and the great Jewish religious movements. Schiffman will survey these developments and illustrate their significance, providing background for the Dead Sea Scrolls and explaining how they have enriched the understanding of the history of this period.

Schiffman is Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Chair of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University. He lectures widely on the Dead Sea Scrolls; Jewish religious, political and social history in late antiquity; as well as the history of Jewish law and Talmudic literature.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are widely acknowledged to be among the greatest archaeological treasures ever discovered. The Scrolls, discovered after 2,000 years hidden in caves of the Judean desert, are a bridge to a period that laid the foundation of Western traditions, beliefs and practices throughout the past two millennia. Among the Scrolls are more than 200 biblical manuscripts that represent nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) and that predate any previously known copies by more than 1,000 years. The Museum exhibition runs through Dec. 28.

The museum offers the Distinguished Lecture Series to expand on some of the cultural and scientific themes of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition. The series includes local, national and international scholars speaking on topics ranging from the conservation of the scrolls to the roles women had at Qumran. Individual tickets for the lectures are $25 for the general public and $20 for Friends of the Museum; additional package discounts are available.

Last tickets to the exhibition are sold at 5 p.m. on lecture nights.

Regular exhibition hours are noon to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, including a full schedule for the lecture series, visit www.natural sciences.org/scrolls.