Geza Vermes was born in Hungary in 1924. He studied in Budapest and Leuven, where he was a reader of history and oriental languages, and in 1953 he received his doctorate in theology with a thesis on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

From 1957 to 1991 he taught at the universities of Newcastle and Oxford.

His pioneering work on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the historical figure of Jesus made him the first Professor of Jewish Studies at Oxford University, of which he is currently Professor Emeritus.

Since 1991 he has been director of the Qumram Research Forum at the Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. His works include: The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, The Changing Faces of Jesus, Jesus in His Jewish