Dead Sea scrolls
Encyclopedia
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible
and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea
, from which they derive their name. They were specifically located at Khirbet Qumran
in the British Mandate for Palestine, in what is now known as the West Bank
.
The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include the oldest known surviving copies of Biblical and extra-biblical documents and preserve evidence of great diversity in late Second Temple Judaism
. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
, mostly on parchment
, but with some written on papyrus
. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BCE and 70 CE. The scrolls are traditionally identified with the ancient Jewish sect
called the Essenes
, though some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible
), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocrypha
l" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch
, Jubilees
, Tobit
, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized
in the Hebrew Bible
), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule
, War Scroll, Pesher on Habakkuk
(Hebrew: פשר pesher
= "Commentary"), and the Rule of the Blessing
, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls.
In the winter of 1946–47, Muhammed edh-Dhib
and his cousin discovered the caves, and soon afterwards the scrolls, not far from the known ruins of Khirbet Qumran that had been known to European explorers since the 19th century.
The excavated settlement of Qumran, suggested by Pliny the Elder
, is one kilometer inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The scrolls were found in 11 caves nearby, between 125 meters (e.g., Cave 4) and one kilometer (e.g., Cave 1) away. No texts were found within the excavated settlement, therefore failing to attract further investigation of the nearby terrain, and it remained unknown that the settlement originally included the caves which are not mentioned in the ancient texts. The proximity to a water source was explained by the presence of mikvah
ot (ritual baths) in the settlement, lending further credence to the settlement being the base of the Essene community. However, later comparative analysis of pottery, discovery of ink wells, and two layers of ash suggest that scrolls were produced at the settlement, but any texts present in the buildings during the Roman raid were destroyed in the ensuing fire, explaining lack of organic material in the site.
John C. Trever
reconstructed the story of the scrolls from several interviews with the Bedouin
. edh-Dhib's cousin noticed the caves, but edh-Dhib himself was the first to actually fall into one. He retrieved a handful of scrolls, which Trever identifies as the Isaiah Scroll
, Habakkuk Commentary
, and the Community Rule
(originally known as "Manual of Discipline"), and took them back to the camp to show to his family. None of the scrolls were destroyed in this process, despite popular rumor. The Bedouin kept the scrolls hanging on a tent pole while they figured out what to do with them, periodically taking them out to show people. At some point during this time, the Community Rule was split in two.
The Bedouin first took the scrolls to a dealer named Ibrahim 'Ijha in Bethlehem
. 'Ijha returned them, saying they were worthless, after being warned that they might have been stolen from a synagogue. Undaunted, the Bedouin went to a nearby market, where a Syrian Christian offered to buy them. A sheikh joined their conversation and suggested they take the scrolls to Khalil Eskander Shahin, "Kando," a cobbler and part-time antiques dealer. The Bedouin and the dealers returned to the site, leaving one scroll with Kando and selling three others to a dealer for £7 GBP ($29 in 2003 US dollars).
Arrangements with the Bedouin left the scrolls in the hands of a third party until a profitable sale of them could be negotiated. That third party, George Isha'ya, was a member of the Syrian Orthodox Church, who soon contacted St. Mark's Monastery in the hope of getting an appraisal of the nature of the texts. News of the find then reached Metropolitan
Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, better known as Mar Samuel
.
After examining the scrolls and suspecting their antiquity, Mar Samuel expressed an interest in purchasing them. Four scrolls found their way into his hands: the now famous Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa), the Community Rule
, the Habakkuk Pesher
(a commentary on the book of Habakkuk
), and the Genesis Apocryphon
. More scrolls soon surfaced in the antiquities market, and Professor Eleazer Sukenik and Professor Benjamin Mazar
, Israeli archaeologists at Hebrew University, soon found themselves in possession of three, The War Scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns
, and another, more fragmented, Isaiah scroll.
By the end of 1947, Sukenik and Mazar received word of the scrolls in Mar Samuel's possession and attempted to purchase them. No deal was reached, and instead the scrolls caught the attention of Dr. John C. Trever, of the American Schools of Oriental Research
(ASOR), who compared the script in the scrolls to that of The Nash Papyrus
, the oldest biblical manuscript then known, and found similarities between them.
Dr. Trever, a keen amateur photographer, met with Mar Samuel on February 21, 1948, when he photographed the scrolls. The quality of his photographs often exceeded the visibility of the scrolls themselves over the years, as the ink of the texts quickly deteriorated after they were removed from their linen wrappings.
The scrolls were analyzed using a cyclotron
at the University of California
, Davis
, where it was found that the black ink used was iron-gall ink. The red ink on the scrolls was cinnabar
(HgS, mercury sulfide).
In March, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
prompted the removal of the scrolls to Beirut, Lebanon for safekeeping.
Early in September 1948, Mar brought Professor Ovid R. Sellers
, the new Director of ASOR, some additional scroll fragments that he had acquired. By the end of 1948, nearly two years after their discovery, scholars had yet to locate the cave where the fragments had been found. With unrest in the country at that time, no large-scale search could be undertaken. Sellers attempted to get the Syrians to help him locate the cave, but they demanded more money than he could offer. Finally, Cave 1 was discovered, on January 28, 1949, by a United Nations observer.
The Dead Sea Scrolls went up for sale eventually, in an advertisement in the June 1, 1954 Wall Street Journal.
On July 1, the scrolls, after delicate negotiations and accompanied by three people including the Metropolitan, arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
in New York
. They were purchased by Prof. Mazar and the son of Prof. Sukenik, Yigael Yadin
, for US$250,000 ($ in present-day terms) and brought to Jerusalem, where they were on display at the Rockefeller Museum
. In December 1965, the British Museum held an exhibition of the "Jordanian Dead Sea Scrolls" which aroused great public interest and attracted large attendances. After the Six-Day War, they were moved to the Shrine of the Book
.
alleges that the scrolls were stolen from the Rockefeller Museum
, which was operated by Jordan from 1966 until the Six-Day War
when advancing Israeli forces took control of the Museum. After the war Israel moved the scrolls to the Shrine of the Book
in the Israel Museum
. Jordan regularly demands their return and petitions third-party countries that host the scrolls to return them to Jordan instead of to Israel, claiming they have legal documents that prove Jordanian ownership of the scrolls. When the scrolls arrived for a 2009 exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum
in Toronto, the Palestinian Authority and Canadian pro-Palestinian activists called on the Canadian government to cancel the showing and seize the scrolls under disputed international law. Ottawa dismissed the demands and the exhibit was enormously successful, with the scrolls returning to Israel upon its conclusion. Jordan has also asked the UN to intervene.
and Roland de Vaux
from February 15 to March 5, 1949. In addition to the original seven scrolls, Cave 1 produced jars and bowls, whose chemical composition and shape matched vessels discovered at the settlement at Qumran, pieces of cloth, and additional fragments that matched portions of the original scrolls, thereby confirming that the original scrolls came from Cave 1.
The original seven scrolls from Cave 1 are:
and the Wisdom of Sirach in the original Hebrew.
and the curious Copper Scroll
, which lists 67 hiding places, mostly underground, throughout the ancient Roman province of Judea (now Israel). According to the scroll, the secret caches held astonishing amounts of gold, silver, copper, aromatics, and manuscripts.
, and Józef Milik
. Cave 4 is actually two hand-cut caves (4a and 4b), but since the fragments were mixed, they are labeled as 4Q. Cave 4 is the most famous of Qumran
caves both because of its visibility from the Qumran plateau and its productivity. It is visible from the plateau to the south of the Qumran
settlement. It is by far the most productive of all Qumran caves, producing ninety percent of the Dead Sea Scrolls and scroll fragments (approx. 15,000 fragments from 500 different texts), including 9–10 copies of Jubilees
, along with 21 tefillin
and 7 mezuzot.
Cave 7 yielded fewer than 20 fragments of Greek documents, including 7Q2 (the "Letter of Jeremiah" = Baruch 6), 7Q5
(which became the subject of much speculation in later decades), and a Greek copy of a scroll of Enoch. Cave 7 also produced several inscribed potsherds and jars.
Cave 8 produced five fragments: Genesis (8QGen), Psalms (8QPs), a tefillin fragment (8QPhyl), a mezuzah
(8QMez), and a hymn (8QHymn). Cave 8 also produced several tefillin cases, a box of leather objects, lamps, jars, and the sole of a leather shoe.
Cave 9 produced only small, unidentifiable fragments.
Caves 8 and 9 also yielded several date pits similar to those discovered by Magen and Peleg to the west of Locus 75 during their "Operation Scroll" excavations.
, so called because more than half of it pertains to the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem, was found in Cave 11, and is by far the longest scroll. It is now 26.7 feet (8.15 m) long. Its original length may have been over 28 feet (8.75 m). The Temple Scroll
was regarded by Yigael Yadin
as "The Torah According to the Essenes
." On the other hand, Hartmut Stegemann, a contemporary and friend of Yadin, believed the scroll was not to be regarded as such, but was a document without exceptional significance. Stegemann notes that it is not mentioned or cited in any known Essene writing.
Also in Cave 11, an escatological fragment about the biblical figure Melchizedek
(11Q13) was found. Cave 11 also produced a copy of Jubilees
.
According to former chief editor of the DSS editorial team John Strugnell
, there are at least four privately owned scrolls from Cave 11, that have not yet been made available for scholars. Among them is a complete Aramaic manuscript
of the Book of Enoch.
. The biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls push that date back a millennium to the 2nd century BCE. Before this discovery, the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament were in Greek in manuscripts such as Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209 and Codex Sinaiticus
.
According to The Oxford Companion to Archaeology:
About 35% of the DSS biblical manuscripts belong to the Masoretic tradition (MT), 5% to the Septuagint family, and 5% to the Samaritan, with the remainder unaligned. The non-aligned fall into two categories, those inconsistent in agreeing with other known types, and those that diverge significantly from all other known readings. The DSS thus form a significant witness to the mutability of biblical texts at this period. The sectarian texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, most of which were previously unknown, offer new light on one form of Judaism practiced during the Second Temple
period.
and Józef Tadeusz Milik
, though independently both Eliezer Sukenik
and Butrus Sowmy of St Mark's Monastery connected scrolls with the Essenes well before any excavations at Qumran. The Qumran-Essene theory holds that the scrolls were written by the Essenes
, or perhaps by another Jewish sectarian group, residing at Khirbet Qumran
. They composed the scrolls and ultimately hid them in the nearby caves during the Jewish Revolt sometime between 66 and 68 CE. The site of Qumran was destroyed and the scrolls were never recovered by those that placed them there.
A number of arguments are used to support this theory.
The Qumran-Essene theory has been the dominant theory since its initial proposal by Roland de Vaux
and J.T. Milik
. Recently, however, several other scholars have proposed alternative origins of the scrolls.
. Most proponents of the Qumran-Sectarian theory understand a group of Jews living in or near Qumran
to be responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, but do not necessarily conclude that the sectarians are Essenes
.
, who proposes that the community was led by a group of Zadokite priests (Sadducees
). (This view has also been proposed by numerous Israeli scholars, including Rachel Elior
, Moshe Goshen-Gottstein
, and Chaim Menachem Rabin
). The most important document in support of this view is the "Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah
" (4QMMT
), which cites purity laws (such as the transfer of impurities) identical to those attributed in rabbinic writings to the Sadducees. 4QMMT
also reproduces a festival calendar that follows Sadducee principles for the dating of certain festival days.
Jesuit
Josep O'Callaghan-Martínez has argued that one fragment (7Q5
) preserves a portion of text from the New Testament
Gospel of Mark
6:52-53. In recent years, Robert Eisenman
has advanced the theory that some scrolls describe the early Christian
community. Eisenman also attempted to relate the career of James the Just
and the Apostle Paul
/ Paul of Tarsus
to some of these documents.
living in Jerusalem, who hid the scrolls in the caves near Qumran
while fleeing from the Romans
during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Karl Heinrich Rengstorf first proposed that the Dead Sea Scrolls originated at the library of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
. Later, Norman Golb
suggested that the scrolls were the product of multiple libraries in Jerusalem, and not necessarily the Jerusalem Temple
library. Proponents of the Jerusalem Origin theory point to the diversity of thought and handwriting among the scrolls as evidence against a Qumran origin of the scrolls. Several archaeologists have also accepted an origin of the scrolls other than Qumran
, including Yizhar Hirschfeld
and most recently Yizhak Magen and Yuval Peleg, who all understand the remains of Qumran
to be those of a Hasmonean
fort that was reused during later periods.
Although heralded as one of the great events in modern archaeology, the discovery of the scrolls is not without controversy. All the manuscripts were initially placed under the oversight of a committee of scholars appointed by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. This responsibility was assumed by the Israel Antiquities Authority
after 1967.
Prior to 1968, most of the known scrolls and fragments were housed in the Rockefeller Museum
in Jerusalem. After the Six Day War, these scrolls and fragments were moved to the Shrine of the Book
, at the Israel Museum
.
Publication of the scrolls has taken many decades, and the delay has been a source of academic controversy. As of 2011, one volume remains to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to forty volumes in total. Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book
in Jerusalem, while others are housed in the University of Chicago
's Oriental Institute
, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary
, Azusa Pacific University
(all of which are located in the U.S.A.), and in the hands of private collectors.
Most of the longer, more complete scrolls were published soon after their discovery. The majority of the scrolls, however, consists of tiny, brittle fragments, which were published at a pace considered by many to be excessively slow. Even more unsettling for some was the fact that access to the unpublished documents was severely limited to the editorial committee. In 1991, researchers at Hebrew Union College
in Cincinnati, Ohio
, Ben Zion Wacholder and Martin Abegg, announced the creation of a computer program that used previously published scrolls to reconstruct the unpublished texts. Officials at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California
, led by Head Librarian William Andrew Moffett
, announced that they would allow researchers unrestricted access to the library’s complete set of photographs of the scrolls. With their monopoly broken, the officials of the Israel Antiquities Authority agreed to lift their long-standing restrictions on the use of the scrolls.
In the fall of 1991, Ben Zion Wacholder published 17 documents that had been reconstructed in 1988 from a concordance and had come into the hands of scholars outside of the International Team; in the same month, there occurred the discovery and publication of a complete set of facsimiles of the Cave 4 materials at the Huntington Library, which were not covered by the "secrecy rule".
After further delays, public interest attorney William John Cox
undertook representation of an "undisclosed client," who had provided a complete set of the unpublished photographs, and contracted for their publication. Professors Robert Eisenman
and James Robinson
indexed the photographs and wrote an introduction to A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which was published by the Biblical Archaeology Society in 1991. As a result, the "secrecy rule" was lifted.
Following the publication of the Facsimile Edition, Professor Elisha Qimron sued Hershel Shanks, Eisenman, Robinson and the Biblical Archaeology Society for copyright infringement of one of the scrolls, which he deciphered (MMT). The District Court of Jerusalem found in favor of Qimron in September 1993. The Court issued a restraining order, which prohibited the publication of the deciphered text, and ordered defendants to pay Qimron NIS 100,000 for infringing his copyright and the right of attribution. Defendants appealed the Supreme Court of Israel, which approved the District Court's decision, in August 2000. The Supreme Court further ordered that the defendants hand over to Qimron all the infringing copies. The decision met Israeli and international criticism from copyright law scholars.
Publication accelerated with the appointment of the respected Dutch-Israeli textual scholar Emanuel Tov
as editor-in-chief in 1990. Publication of the Cave 4 documents soon commenced, with five volumes in print by 1995. As of March 2009 volume XXXII remains to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to thirty nine volumes in total.
In December 2007, the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation commissioned London publisher Facsimile Editions to publish exact facsimiles of three scrolls, The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa), The Order of the Community (1QS), and The Pesher to Habakkuk (1QpHab). Of the first three facsimile sets, one was exhibited at the Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, and a second set was purchased by the British Library in London. A further 25 sets including facsimiles of fragments 4Q175 (Testimonia), 4Q162 (Pesher Isaiahb) and 4Q109 (Qohelet) were announced in May 2009.
's website. They can also be purchased in inexpensive multi-volumes - on disc media or in book form - or viewed in certain college and university libraries.
According to Computer Weekly
(16 November 2007), a team from King's College London
is to advise the Israel Antiquities Authority
, who are planning to digitize the scrolls. On 27 August 2008 the Israeli Internet news agency YNET announced that the project is under way. The scrolls are planned to be made available to the public via Internet. The project is to include infrared
scanning of the scrolls which is said to expose additional details not revealed under visible light.
The text of nearly all of the non-biblical scrolls has been recorded and tagged for morphology
by Dr. Martin Abegg, Jr., the Ben Zion Wacholder Professor of Dead Sea Scroll Studies at Trinity Western University
in Langley, BC, Canada. It is available on handheld devices through Olive Tree Bible Software - BibleReader
, on Macs through Accordance
, and on Windows through Logos Bible Software
and BibleWorks.
On 19 October 2010, it was announced that IAA would scan the documents using multi-spectral imaging
technology developed by NASA
to produce high-resolution images of the texts, and then, through a partnership with Google
, make them available online free of charge, on a searchable database and complemented by translation and other scholarly tools. The first images, which according to the announcement could reveal new letters and words, are expected to be posted online in the few months following the announcement, and the project is scheduled for completion within five years. According to IAA director Pnina Shor, "from the minute all of this will go online there will be no need to expose the scrolls anymore", referring to the dark, climate-controlled storeroom where the manuscripts are kept when not on display.
On September 25, 2011, the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls site went online. Google and the Israel Museum teamed up on this project, allowing users to examine and explore these most ancient manuscripts from Second Temple times at a level of detail never before possible. Developed in partnership with Google, the new website gives users access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum
have been digitized for the project at this stage and are now accessible online.
"We are privileged to house in the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book the best preserved and most complete Dead Sea Scrolls ever discovered," said James S. Snyder
, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. "They are of paramount importance among the touchstones of monotheistic world heritage, and they represent unique highlights of our Museum's encyclopedic holdings. Now, through our partnership with Google, we are able to bring these treasures to the broadest possible public."
The five Dead Sea Scrolls that have been digitized thus far include the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War Scroll, with search queries on Google.com sending users directly to the online scrolls. All five scrolls can be magnified so that users may examine texts in exacting detail. Details invisible to the naked eye are made visible through ultra-high resolution digital photography by photographer Ardon Bar-Hama– at 1,200 mega pixels each, these images are almost two hundred times higher in resolution than those produced by a standard camera. Each picture utilized UV-protected flash tubes with an exposure of 1/4000th of a second to minimize damage to the fragile manuscripts. In addition, the Great Isaiah Scroll may be searched by column, chapter, and verse, and is accompanied by an English translation tool and by an option for users to submit translations of verses in their own languages.,
"The Dead Sea Scrolls Project with the Israel Museum enriches and preserves an important part of world heritage by making it accessible to all on the internet," said Professor Yossi Matias, Managing Director of Google’s R&D Center in Israel. "Having been involved in similar projects in the past, including the Google Art Project, Yad Vashem Holocaust Collection, and the Prado Museum in Madrid, we have seen how people around the world can enhance their knowledge and understanding of key historical events by accessing documents and collections online. We hope one day to make all existing knowledge in historical archives and collections available to all, including putting additional Dead Sea Scroll documents online."
The Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project is funded by George Blumenthal and the Center for Online Judaic Studies, which first envisioned the project in order to make these manuscripts widely accessible and to create an innovative resource for scholars and the public alike. Dr. Adolfo D. Roitman, Lizbeth and George Krupp Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Head of the Shrine of the Book, and Dr. Susan Hazan, Curator of New Media and Head of the Museum's Internet Office, directed the project for the Israel Museum, working in collaboration with Eyal Fink, Technical Lead, and Eyal Miller, New Business Development Manager, at Google's R&D Center in Israel.
Exhibits and academic projects
Media coverage and academic articles
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
, from which they derive their name. They were specifically located at Khirbet Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
in the British Mandate for Palestine, in what is now known as the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include the oldest known surviving copies of Biblical and extra-biblical documents and preserve evidence of great diversity in late Second Temple Judaism
Second Temple Judaism
Second Temple Judaism refers to the religion of Judaism during the Second Temple period, between the construction of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 515 BCE, and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE This period witnessed major historical upheavals and significant religious changes that...
. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, mostly on parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
, but with some written on papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BCE and 70 CE. The scrolls are traditionally identified with the ancient Jewish sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
called the Essenes
Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
, though some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
, Jubilees
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
, Tobit
Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent...
, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized
Biblical canon
A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...
in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule
Community Rule
The Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
, War Scroll, Pesher on Habakkuk
Habakkuk Commentary
The Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
(Hebrew: פשר pesher
Pesher
Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
= "Commentary"), and the Rule of the Blessing
The Rule of the Blessing
The Rule of the Blessing is a very fragmentary text once thought to be part of the text of the Community Rule. It is added as one of two appendices following the book of the Community Rule, on one of the first seven scrolls discovered at the Qumran site...
, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls.
Discovery
Muhammed edh-Dhib
Muhammad Ahmed al-Hamed , better known by his nickname Muhammed edh-Dhib , was a Bedouin shepherd from the Ta'amireh clans residing in Bethlehem, who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in winter 1946/47....
and his cousin discovered the caves, and soon afterwards the scrolls, not far from the known ruins of Khirbet Qumran that had been known to European explorers since the 19th century.
The excavated settlement of Qumran, suggested by Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, is one kilometer inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The scrolls were found in 11 caves nearby, between 125 meters (e.g., Cave 4) and one kilometer (e.g., Cave 1) away. No texts were found within the excavated settlement, therefore failing to attract further investigation of the nearby terrain, and it remained unknown that the settlement originally included the caves which are not mentioned in the ancient texts. The proximity to a water source was explained by the presence of mikvah
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
ot (ritual baths) in the settlement, lending further credence to the settlement being the base of the Essene community. However, later comparative analysis of pottery, discovery of ink wells, and two layers of ash suggest that scrolls were produced at the settlement, but any texts present in the buildings during the Roman raid were destroyed in the ensuing fire, explaining lack of organic material in the site.
John C. Trever
John C. Trever
John C. Trever was a biblical scholar and archaeologist, who was involved in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls....
reconstructed the story of the scrolls from several interviews with the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
. edh-Dhib's cousin noticed the caves, but edh-Dhib himself was the first to actually fall into one. He retrieved a handful of scrolls, which Trever identifies as the Isaiah Scroll
Isaiah scroll
The Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa was found in a cave near the Dead Sea with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end...
, Habakkuk Commentary
Habakkuk Commentary
The Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
, and the Community Rule
Community Rule
The Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
(originally known as "Manual of Discipline"), and took them back to the camp to show to his family. None of the scrolls were destroyed in this process, despite popular rumor. The Bedouin kept the scrolls hanging on a tent pole while they figured out what to do with them, periodically taking them out to show people. At some point during this time, the Community Rule was split in two.
The Bedouin first took the scrolls to a dealer named Ibrahim 'Ijha in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
. 'Ijha returned them, saying they were worthless, after being warned that they might have been stolen from a synagogue. Undaunted, the Bedouin went to a nearby market, where a Syrian Christian offered to buy them. A sheikh joined their conversation and suggested they take the scrolls to Khalil Eskander Shahin, "Kando," a cobbler and part-time antiques dealer. The Bedouin and the dealers returned to the site, leaving one scroll with Kando and selling three others to a dealer for £7 GBP ($29 in 2003 US dollars).
Arrangements with the Bedouin left the scrolls in the hands of a third party until a profitable sale of them could be negotiated. That third party, George Isha'ya, was a member of the Syrian Orthodox Church, who soon contacted St. Mark's Monastery in the hope of getting an appraisal of the nature of the texts. News of the find then reached Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, better known as Mar Samuel
Mar Samuel
Metropolitan Athanasius Yeshue Samuel , more often referred to as Mar Samuel, was a Metropolitan and Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, as well as a central figure in the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls....
.
After examining the scrolls and suspecting their antiquity, Mar Samuel expressed an interest in purchasing them. Four scrolls found their way into his hands: the now famous Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa), the Community Rule
Community Rule
The Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
, the Habakkuk Pesher
Habakkuk Commentary
The Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
(a commentary on the book of Habakkuk
Book of Habakkuk
The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. A copy of chapters 1 and 2 is included in the Habakkuk Commentary, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.Chapters 1-2...
), and the Genesis Apocryphon
Genesis Apocryphon
The Genesis Apocryphon, originally called the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Cave 1 near Qumran in the West Bank. Composed in Aramaic, this document consists of four sheets of leather, and is the least well preserved document of...
. More scrolls soon surfaced in the antiquities market, and Professor Eleazer Sukenik and Professor Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links...
, Israeli archaeologists at Hebrew University, soon found themselves in possession of three, The War Scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns
Thanksgiving Hymns
The Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
, and another, more fragmented, Isaiah scroll.
By the end of 1947, Sukenik and Mazar received word of the scrolls in Mar Samuel's possession and attempted to purchase them. No deal was reached, and instead the scrolls caught the attention of Dr. John C. Trever, of the American Schools of Oriental Research
American Schools of Oriental Research
The American Schools of Oriental Research, founded in 1900, supports and encourages the study of the peoples and cultures of the Near East, from the earliest times to the present. It is apolitical and has no religious affiliation...
(ASOR), who compared the script in the scrolls to that of The Nash Papyrus
Nash Papyrus
The Nash Papyrus is a collection of four papyrus fragments acquired in Egypt in 1898 by W. L. Nash, the secretary of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. He presented to Cambridge University Library. They comprise a single sheet and are not part of a scroll. The papyrus is of unknown provenance,...
, the oldest biblical manuscript then known, and found similarities between them.
Dr. Trever, a keen amateur photographer, met with Mar Samuel on February 21, 1948, when he photographed the scrolls. The quality of his photographs often exceeded the visibility of the scrolls themselves over the years, as the ink of the texts quickly deteriorated after they were removed from their linen wrappings.
The scrolls were analyzed using a cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Davis
Davis, California
Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, where it was found that the black ink used was iron-gall ink. The red ink on the scrolls was cinnabar
Cinnabar
Cinnabar or cinnabarite , is the common ore of mercury.-Word origin:The name comes from κινναβαρι , a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances...
(HgS, mercury sulfide).
In March, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
prompted the removal of the scrolls to Beirut, Lebanon for safekeeping.
Early in September 1948, Mar brought Professor Ovid R. Sellers
Ovid R. Sellers
Ovid Rogers Sellers was an internationally known Old Testament scholar and archaeologist who played a role in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls...
, the new Director of ASOR, some additional scroll fragments that he had acquired. By the end of 1948, nearly two years after their discovery, scholars had yet to locate the cave where the fragments had been found. With unrest in the country at that time, no large-scale search could be undertaken. Sellers attempted to get the Syrians to help him locate the cave, but they demanded more money than he could offer. Finally, Cave 1 was discovered, on January 28, 1949, by a United Nations observer.
The Dead Sea Scrolls went up for sale eventually, in an advertisement in the June 1, 1954 Wall Street Journal.
On July 1, the scrolls, after delicate negotiations and accompanied by three people including the Metropolitan, arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They were purchased by Prof. Mazar and the son of Prof. Sukenik, Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin on 21 March 1917, died 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, politician, and the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.-Early life and military career:...
, for US$250,000 ($ in present-day terms) and brought to Jerusalem, where they were on display at the Rockefeller Museum
Rockefeller Museum
The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in Ottoman Palestine beginning in the late 19th century.The museum is under the management...
. In December 1965, the British Museum held an exhibition of the "Jordanian Dead Sea Scrolls" which aroused great public interest and attracted large attendances. After the Six-Day War, they were moved to the Shrine of the Book
Shrine of the Book
The Shrine of the Book , a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls—discovered 1947–56 in 11 caves in and around the Wadi Qumran...
.
Ownership dispute
JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
alleges that the scrolls were stolen from the Rockefeller Museum
Rockefeller Museum
The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in Ottoman Palestine beginning in the late 19th century.The museum is under the management...
, which was operated by Jordan from 1966 until the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
when advancing Israeli forces took control of the Museum. After the war Israel moved the scrolls to the Shrine of the Book
Shrine of the Book
The Shrine of the Book , a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls—discovered 1947–56 in 11 caves in and around the Wadi Qumran...
in the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
. Jordan regularly demands their return and petitions third-party countries that host the scrolls to return them to Jordan instead of to Israel, claiming they have legal documents that prove Jordanian ownership of the scrolls. When the scrolls arrived for a 2009 exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
in Toronto, the Palestinian Authority and Canadian pro-Palestinian activists called on the Canadian government to cancel the showing and seize the scrolls under disputed international law. Ottawa dismissed the demands and the exhibit was enormously successful, with the scrolls returning to Israel upon its conclusion. Jordan has also asked the UN to intervene.
The Caves
The caves surrounding Qumran are numbered based upon the order of their discovery and their production of scrolls and scroll fragments. Therefore, caves 7-9 and 4 are very close to the settlement at Qumran, while caves 1, 3, and 11 are farther away. Likewise, there are hundreds of other caves surrounding Qumran, discovered both before and after the 11 scroll caves, that did not produce scrolls and are therefore not numbered as scroll caves. Below is a summary of each of the Qumran Caves:Cave 1
Cave 1 was discovered in the winter or spring of 1947. It was first excavated by Gerald Lankester HardingGerald Lankester Harding
Gerald Lankester Harding was the Director of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities for twenty years. His tenure spanned the period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and brought to public awareness...
and Roland de Vaux
Roland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
from February 15 to March 5, 1949. In addition to the original seven scrolls, Cave 1 produced jars and bowls, whose chemical composition and shape matched vessels discovered at the settlement at Qumran, pieces of cloth, and additional fragments that matched portions of the original scrolls, thereby confirming that the original scrolls came from Cave 1.
The original seven scrolls from Cave 1 are:
- 1QIsaaIsaiah scrollThe Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa was found in a cave near the Dead Sea with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end...
("Great Isaiah ScrollIsaiah scrollThe Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa was found in a cave near the Dead Sea with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end...
", a copy of the book of "IsaiahBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
") - 1QIsab (a second copy of the book of "IsaiahBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
") - 1QSCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
("Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
") cf. 4QSa-j = 4Q255-64, 5Q11 - 1QpHabHabakkuk CommentaryThe Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
("Pesher on HabakkukHabakkuk CommentaryThe Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
") - 1QM ("War Scroll") cf. 4Q491, 4Q493
- 1QHThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
("Thanksgiving HymnsThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
") - 1QapGenGenesis ApocryphonThe Genesis Apocryphon, originally called the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Cave 1 near Qumran in the West Bank. Composed in Aramaic, this document consists of four sheets of leather, and is the least well preserved document of...
("Genesis ApocryphonGenesis ApocryphonThe Genesis Apocryphon, originally called the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Cave 1 near Qumran in the West Bank. Composed in Aramaic, this document consists of four sheets of leather, and is the least well preserved document of...
")
Cave 2
Cave 2 was discovered in February 1952. It yielded 300 fragments from 33 manuscripts, including JubileesJubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
and the Wisdom of Sirach in the original Hebrew.
Cave 3
Cave 3 was discovered on March 14, 1952. The cave yielded 14 manuscripts including JubileesJubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
and the curious Copper Scroll
Copper Scroll
The Copper Scroll is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Cave 3 near Khirbet Qumran, but differs significantly from the others. Whereas the other scrolls are written on parchment or papyrus, this scroll is written on metal: copper mixed with about 1 percent tin...
, which lists 67 hiding places, mostly underground, throughout the ancient Roman province of Judea (now Israel). According to the scroll, the secret caches held astonishing amounts of gold, silver, copper, aromatics, and manuscripts.
Cave 4
Cave 4 was discovered in August 1952, and was excavated from September 22–29, 1952 by Gerald Lankester Harding, Roland de VauxRoland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
, and Józef Milik
Józef Milik
Józef Tadeusz Milik was a Polish biblical scholar and a former Catholic priest. Fluent in Polish, Russian, Italian, French, German, and English plus many ancient languages Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Georgian, Ugaritic, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and...
. Cave 4 is actually two hand-cut caves (4a and 4b), but since the fragments were mixed, they are labeled as 4Q. Cave 4 is the most famous of Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
caves both because of its visibility from the Qumran plateau and its productivity. It is visible from the plateau to the south of the Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
settlement. It is by far the most productive of all Qumran caves, producing ninety percent of the Dead Sea Scrolls and scroll fragments (approx. 15,000 fragments from 500 different texts), including 9–10 copies of Jubilees
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
, along with 21 tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
and 7 mezuzot.
Caves 5 and 6
Caves 5 and 6 were discovered in 1952, shortly after Cave 4. Cave 5 produced approximately 25 manuscripts, while Cave 6 contained fragments of about 31 manuscripts.Caves 7–9
Caves 7–9 are unique in that they are the only caves that are accessible only by passing through the settlement at Qumran. Carved into the southern end of the Qumran plateau, archaeologists excavated caves 7–9 in 1957, but did not find many fragments, perhaps due to high levels of erosion that left only the shallow bottoms of the caves.Cave 7 yielded fewer than 20 fragments of Greek documents, including 7Q2 (the "Letter of Jeremiah" = Baruch 6), 7Q5
7Q5
Among the Dead Sea scrolls, 7Q5 is the designation for a small papyrus fragment discovered in Qumran Cave 7. The significance of this fragment is derived from an argument made by Jose O´Callaghan in his work ¿Papiros neotestamentarios en la cueva 7 de Qumrân? in 1972, later reasserted and expanded...
(which became the subject of much speculation in later decades), and a Greek copy of a scroll of Enoch. Cave 7 also produced several inscribed potsherds and jars.
Cave 8 produced five fragments: Genesis (8QGen), Psalms (8QPs), a tefillin fragment (8QPhyl), a mezuzah
Mezuzah
A mezuzah is usually a metal or wooden rectangular object that is fastened to a doorpost of a Jewish house. Inside it is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah...
(8QMez), and a hymn (8QHymn). Cave 8 also produced several tefillin cases, a box of leather objects, lamps, jars, and the sole of a leather shoe.
Cave 9 produced only small, unidentifiable fragments.
Caves 8 and 9 also yielded several date pits similar to those discovered by Magen and Peleg to the west of Locus 75 during their "Operation Scroll" excavations.
Cave 11
Cave 11 was discovered in 1956 and yielded 21 texts, some of which were quite lengthy. The Temple ScrollTemple Scroll
The Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
, so called because more than half of it pertains to the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem, was found in Cave 11, and is by far the longest scroll. It is now 26.7 feet (8.15 m) long. Its original length may have been over 28 feet (8.75 m). The Temple Scroll
Temple Scroll
The Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
was regarded by Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin on 21 March 1917, died 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, politician, and the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.-Early life and military career:...
as "The Torah According to the Essenes
Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
." On the other hand, Hartmut Stegemann, a contemporary and friend of Yadin, believed the scroll was not to be regarded as such, but was a document without exceptional significance. Stegemann notes that it is not mentioned or cited in any known Essene writing.
Also in Cave 11, an escatological fragment about the biblical figure Melchizedek
Melchizedek
Melchizedek or Malki Tzedek translated as "my king righteous") is a king and priest mentioned during the Abram narrative in the 14th chapter of the Book of Genesis....
(11Q13) was found. Cave 11 also produced a copy of Jubilees
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
.
According to former chief editor of the DSS editorial team John Strugnell
John Strugnell
John Strugnell, was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, UK. At the age of 23 he became the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem...
, there are at least four privately owned scrolls from Cave 11, that have not yet been made available for scholars. Among them is a complete Aramaic manuscript
Aramaic Enoch Scroll
The Aramaic Enoch Scroll is a non-published, privately owned, complete copy of the Book of Enoch.There is no absolute public proof of its existence, but according to the former chief editor of the official Dead Sea Scrolls editorial team, John Strugnell , the scroll is well preserved, and microfilmed...
of the Book of Enoch.
Survey of Scrolls
While many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are small fragments of Biblical, apocryphal, or sectarian manuscripts, some of the scrolls have come to be well known and influential to Second Temple Judaism. The following is a list of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves near Qumran:Cave 1
- 1QIsaaIsaiah scrollThe Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa was found in a cave near the Dead Sea with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end...
("Great Isaiah ScrollIsaiah scrollThe Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa was found in a cave near the Dead Sea with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end...
", a copy of the book of "IsaiahBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
") - 1QIsab (a second copy of the book of "IsaiahBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
") - 1QS ("Serekh ha-YahadCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
" or "Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
") cf. 4QSa-j = 4Q255-64, 5Q11 - 1QpHab ("Pesher on HabakkukHabakkuk CommentaryThe Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher Habakkuk, labelled 1QpHab was among the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951...
") - 1QM ("Milhamah" or "War Scroll") cf. 4Q491, 4Q493; 11Q14?
- 1QHa ("HodayotThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
" or "Thanksgiving HymnsThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
") - 1QapGen ar ("Genesis ApocryphonGenesis ApocryphonThe Genesis Apocryphon, originally called the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Cave 1 near Qumran in the West Bank. Composed in Aramaic, this document consists of four sheets of leather, and is the least well preserved document of...
" in Aramaic)
- CTLevi ar ("Cairo GenizaCairo GenizaThe Cairo Geniza is a collection of almost 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments found in the Genizah or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, presently Old Cairo, Egypt. Some additional fragments were found in the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and the collection includes a number of...
Testament of Levi" in Aramaic)
- 1QGen ("Genesis") = 1Q1
- 1QExod ("Exodus") = 1Q2
- 1QpaleoLev ("Leviticus" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 1Q3
- 1QDeuta ("Deuteronomy") = 1Q4
- 1QDeutb ("Deuteronomy") = 1Q5
- 1QJudg ("JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
") = 1Q6 - 1QSam ("Samuel") = 1Q7
- 1QIsab (fragments from the 1QIsabBook of IsaiahThe Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
scroll) = 1Q8 - 1QEzek ("EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
") = 1Q9 - 1QPsa ("Psalms") = 1Q10
- 1QPsb ("Psalms") = 1Q11
- 1QPsc ("Psalms") = 1Q12
- 1QPhyl (58 fragments from a "PhylacteryTefillinTefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
") = 1Q13 - 1QpMic ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on MicahBook of MicahThe Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
") = 1Q14 - 1QpZeph ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on ZephaniahBook of ZephaniahThe superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” . All that is known of Zephaniah comes from the text. The superscription of the book is lengthier than...
") = 1Q15 - 1QpPs ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Psalms") = 1Q16 - 1QJuba ("Jubilees") = 1Q17
- 1QJubb ("Jubilees") = 1Q18
- 1QNoah ("Book of NoahBook of NoahThe Book of Noah is currently thought to be a non-extant Old Testament pseudepigraphal work, attributed to Noah. It is quoted in several places in another pseudepigraphal work, 1 Enoch, as well as mentioned in another, Jubilees...
") = 1Q19 - 1QapGen ar (fragments from the "Genesis ApocryphonGenesis ApocryphonThe Genesis Apocryphon, originally called the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Cave 1 near Qumran in the West Bank. Composed in Aramaic, this document consists of four sheets of leather, and is the least well preserved document of...
" in Aramaic) = 1Q20 - 1QTLevi ar ("Testament of Levi" in Aramaic) = 1Q21
- 1QDM ("Dibrê Moshe" or "Words of Moses") = 1Q22
- 1QEnGiantsa ar ("Book of Giants" from "EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
" text in Aramaic) = 1Q23 - 1QEnGiantsb ar ("Book of Giants" from "EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
" text in Aramaic) = 1Q24 - 1Q25 ("Apocryphal Prophecy")
- 1Q26 ("Instruction")
- 1QMyst ("Mysteries") = 1Q27
- 1Q28 (fragment of the title of "1QSCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
" or "Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
") - 1QSa ("Rule of the CongregationThe Rule of the CongregationThe Rule of the Congregation is an appendix to one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in caves near the Qumran site in 1946. Three related sectarian documents were discovered in Qumran Cave 1: The Community Rule , The Rule of the Congregation , and The Rule of the Blessing...
") = 1Q28a - 1QSb ("Rule of the BlessingThe Rule of the BlessingThe Rule of the Blessing is a very fragmentary text once thought to be part of the text of the Community Rule. It is added as one of two appendices following the book of the Community Rule, on one of the first seven scrolls discovered at the Qumran site...
" or "Rule of the BenedictionsThe Rule of the BlessingThe Rule of the Blessing is a very fragmentary text once thought to be part of the text of the Community Rule. It is added as one of two appendices following the book of the Community Rule, on one of the first seven scrolls discovered at the Qumran site...
") = 1Q28b - 1Q29 ("Liturgy of the Three Tongues of Fire")
- 1Q30 ("Liturgical Text")
- 1Q31 ("Liturgical Text")
- 1QNJ ar ("New Jerusalem11Q18 New Jerusalem11Q18 is a Dead Sea Scroll discovered in Cave 11 that speaks of a New Jerusalem.-Bibliography:*García Martínez, F., The Last Surviving Columns of 11QNJ," in F. García Martínez et al. , The Scriptures and the Scrolls: Studies in Honour of A.S. van der Woude on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday ...
" text in Aramaic) = 1Q32 cf. 11Q18 ar - 1Q33 (fragment of 1QM or "War Scroll")
- 1QLitPr ("Liturgical Prayers" or "Festival Prayers") = 1Q34
- 1QHb ("HodayotThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
" or "Thanksgiving HymnsThanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Scroll or Hodayot was one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin. The scroll gets its name from the recurring use of the phrase “I thank you” in many of the poems, thus ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’ or Hodayot...
") = 1Q35 - 1Q36-40 ("Hymnic Composition")
- 1Q41-70 (Unclassified Fragments)
- 1QDana ("DanielBook of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
") = 1Q71 - 1QDanb ("DanielBook of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
") = 1Q72
Cave 2
- 2QGen ("Genesis") = 2Q1
- 2QExoda ("Exodus") = 2Q2
- 2QExodb ("Exodus") = 2Q3
- 2QExodc ("Exodus") = 2Q4
- 2QpaleoLev (section of "Leviticus" 11:22-29 written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 2Q5
- 2QNuma ("NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 2Q6 - 2QNumb ("NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 2Q7 - 2QNumc ("NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 2Q8 - 2QNumd ("NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 2Q9 - 2QDeuta ("Deuteronomy") = 2Q10
- 2QDeutb ("Deuteronomy") = 2Q11
- 2QDeutc ("Deuteronomy" 10:8-12) = 2Q12
- 2QJer ("JeremiahBook of JeremiahThe Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
") = 2Q13 - 2QPs ("Psalms") = 2Q14
- 2QJob ("JobBook of JobThe Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
" 33:28-30) = 2Q15 - 2QRutha ("RuthBook of RuthThe Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
") = 2Q16 - 2QRuthb ("RuthBook of RuthThe Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
") = 2Q17 - 2QSir ("Wisdom of Sirach" or "Ecclesiasticus") = 2Q18
- 2QJuba ("Jubilees") = 2Q19
- 2QJubb ("Jubilees") = 2Q20
- 2QapMoses ("Apocryphon of Moses") = 2Q21
- 2QapDavid? ("Apocryphon of David?") = 2Q22
- 2QapProph ("Apocryphal Prophecy") = 2Q23
- 2QNJ ar ("New JerusalemNew JerusalemIn the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
" text in Aramaic) = 2Q24 cf. 1Q32 ar, 11Q18 ar - 2Q25 ("Juridical Text")
- 2QEnGiants ar ("Book of Giants" from "EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
" in Aramaic) = 2Q26 cf. 6Q8 - 2Q27-33 (unidentified texts)
Cave 3
- 3QEzek ("EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
" 16:31-33) = 3Q1 - 3QPs ("Psalms" 2:6-7) = 3Q2
- 3QLam ("LamentationsBook of LamentationsThe Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
") = 3Q3 - 3QpIsa ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Isaiah") = 3Q4 - 3QJub ("Jubilees") = 3Q5
- 3QHymn (an unidentified hymn) = 3Q6
- 3QTJudah? ("Testament of Judah"?) = 3Q7 cf. 4Q484, 4Q538
- 3Q8 (fragment of an unidentified text)
- 3Q9 (possible unidentified sectarian text)
- 3Q10-11 (unclassified fragments)
- 3Q12-13 (unclassified Aramaic fragments)
- 3Q14 (unclassified fragments)
- 3QCopper Scroll ("The Copper ScrollCopper ScrollThe Copper Scroll is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Cave 3 near Khirbet Qumran, but differs significantly from the others. Whereas the other scrolls are written on parchment or papyrus, this scroll is written on metal: copper mixed with about 1 percent tin...
") = 3Q15
Cave 4
- 4QGen-Exoda ("Genesis and Exodus") = 4Q12
- 4QGenb ("Genesis") = 4Q2
- 4QGenc ("Genesis") = 4Q3
- 4QGend ("Genesis" 1:18-27) = 4Q4
- 4QGene ("Genesis") = 4Q5
- 4QGenf ("Genesis" 48:1-11) = 4Q6
- 4QGeng ("Genesis") = 4Q7
- 4QGenh1 ("Genesis" 1:8-10) = 4Q8
- 4QGenh2 ("Genesis" 2:17-18) = 4Q8a
- 4QGenh-para (a paraphrase of "Genesis" 12:4-5) = 4Q8b
- 4QGenh-title (the title of a "Genesis" manuscript) = 4Q8c
- 4QGenj ("Genesis") = 4Q9
- 4QGenk ("Genesis") = 4Q10
- 4QpaleoGen-Exodl ("Genesis and Exodus" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 4Q11
- 4QpaleoGenm ("Genesis" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 4Q12
- 4QExodb ("Exodus") = 4Q13
- 4QExodc ("Exodus") = 4Q14
- 4QExodd ("Exodus") = 4Q15
- 4QExode ("Exodus" 13:3-5) = 4Q16
- 4QExod-Levf ("Exodus and Leviticus") = 4Q17
- 4QExodg ("Exodus" 14:21-27) = 4Q18
- 4QExodh ("Exodus" 6:3-6) = 4Q19
- 4QExodj ("Exodus") = 4Q20
- 4QExodk ("Exodus" 36:9-10) = 4Q21
- 4QpaleoExodm ("Exodus" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 4Q22
- 4QLev-Numa ("Leviticus and NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 4Q23 - 4QLevb ("Leviticus) = 4Q24
- 4QLevc ("Leviticus) = 4Q25
- 4QLevd ("Leviticus) = 4Q26
- 4QLeve ("Leviticus) = 4Q26a
- 4QLevg ("Leviticus) = 4Q26b
- 4QNumb ("NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
") = 4Q27
- 4QCantb ("Pesher on Canticles4Q1074Q107 is a fragment of the Song of Songs in Hebrew found in Cave 4 at Qumran in the West Bank and which comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From the palaeography on the fragment it has been identified as being early-Herodian, i.e. c.30-31 BCE. The scribe responsible for 4Q107 did not write...
or "Pesher on the Song of Songs4Q1074Q107 is a fragment of the Song of Songs in Hebrew found in Cave 4 at Qumran in the West Bank and which comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From the palaeography on the fragment it has been identified as being early-Herodian, i.e. c.30-31 BCE. The scribe responsible for 4Q107 did not write...
) = 4Q107 - 4QCantc ("Pesher on Canticles4Q1084Q108 is a fragment containing a portion of the Song of Songs in Hebrew. Fragments from three such scrolls were found in Cave 4 at Qumran...
or "Pesher on the Song of Songs4Q1084Q108 is a fragment containing a portion of the Song of Songs in Hebrew. Fragments from three such scrolls were found in Cave 4 at Qumran...
) = 4Q108 - 4Q112 ("DanielBook of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
") - 4Q123 ("Rewritten Joshua")
- 4Q127 ("Rewritten Exodus")
- 4Q128-148 (various tefillinTefillinTefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
) - 4Q156 ("TargumTargumTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
of Leviticus") - 4Q157 ("TargumTargumTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
of Job") = 4QtgJob - 4QRPa ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q158
- 4Q161-164 ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Isaiah") - 4Q166-167 ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Hosea") - 4Q169 ("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Nahum") - 4Q174 ("Florilegium" or "Midrash on the Last Days")
- 4Q175 ("Messianic Anthology" or "Testimonia")
- 4Q179 ("Lamentations") cf. 4Q501
- 4Q196-200 ("TobitBook of TobitThe Book of Tobit is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent...
") - 4Q213-214 ("Aramaic Levi")
- 4Q215 ("Testament of Naphtali")
- 4QCanta4Q2404Q240 is believed to be a commentary on the Song of Songs, also known as 'Canticles'. Written in Hebrew, it was found in Cave 4 at Qumran in Israel and comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls...
("Pesher on Canticles4Q2404Q240 is believed to be a commentary on the Song of Songs, also known as 'Canticles'. Written in Hebrew, it was found in Cave 4 at Qumran in Israel and comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls...
or "Pesher on the Song of Songs4Q2404Q240 is believed to be a commentary on the Song of Songs, also known as 'Canticles'. Written in Hebrew, it was found in Cave 4 at Qumran in Israel and comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls...
") = 4Q240 - 4Q2464Q2464Q246, also known as the Aramaic Apocalypse, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran which is notable for an early Messianic mention of a Son of God.-Text:...
("Aramaic ApocalypseApocalypseAn Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
) or "the Son of GodSon of God"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
text" - 4Q2524Q2524Q252, or the "Pesher on Genesis," is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the technical designation for a collection of scroll fragments found in Qumran's cave 4. Together these fragments are currently named 4Q Commentary on Genesis A or 4QComm Gen A. It is dated approximately to the 1st century...
("PesherPesherPesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....
on Genesis") - 4Q258 ("Serekh ha-YahadCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
" or "Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
") cf. 1QSd - 4Q265-273 ("CDDamascus DocumentThe Damascus Document or Damascus Rule is one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls because it is the only Qumran sectarian work that was known before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls....
or "Damascus DocumentDamascus DocumentThe Damascus Document or Damascus Rule is one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls because it is the only Qumran sectarian work that was known before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls....
") cf. 4QDa/g = 4Q266/272, 4QDa/e = 4Q266/270, 5Q12, 6Q15, 4Q265-73 - 4Q285 ("Rule of War") cf. 11Q14
- 4QRPb ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q364
- 4QRPc ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q365
- 4QRPc ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q365a (=4QTemple?)
- 4QRPd ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q366
- 4QRPe ("Rewritten Pentateuch") = 4Q367
- 4Q415-418 ("Musar leMevin") = 4QInstruction4QInstruction4QInstruction, or Sapiential Work A, or Musar leMevin, is a document that is preserved in at least seven fragmentary manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls; these are 4Q415, 4Q416, 4Q417, 4Q418, 4Q418a, 4Q423, and 1Q26. Cave 1 materials were first published by Józef Milik in DJD 1 in 1955...
, "Sapiential Work A" - 4Q422 ("4QParaphrase of Genesis and Exodus")
- 4Q434 ("Barkhi Napshi - Apocryphal Psalms") (15 fragments likely hymns of thanksgiving, praising God for his power and expressing thanks)
- 4QMMT4QMMT4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
("Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah4QMMT4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
" or "MMT4QMMT4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
" or "Some Precepts of the Law4QMMT4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
" or the "Halakhic Letter4QMMT4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
") cf. 4Q394-399 - 4Q400-407Songs of the Sabbath SacrificeThe Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, also referred to as the Angelic Liturgy, are a series of thirteen songs, one for each of the first thirteen Sabbaths of the year, contained in fragments found among the Dead Sea scrolls. The Songs were found in 10 fragmentary copies: nine at Qumran and one at...
("Songs of Sabbath SacrificeSongs of the Sabbath SacrificeThe Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, also referred to as the Angelic Liturgy, are a series of thirteen songs, one for each of the first thirteen Sabbaths of the year, contained in fragments found among the Dead Sea scrolls. The Songs were found in 10 fragmentary copies: nine at Qumran and one at...
" or the "Angelic LiturgySongs of the Sabbath SacrificeThe Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, also referred to as the Angelic Liturgy, are a series of thirteen songs, one for each of the first thirteen Sabbaths of the year, contained in fragments found among the Dead Sea scrolls. The Songs were found in 10 fragmentary copies: nine at Qumran and one at...
") cf. 11Q5-6 - 4Q4484Q4484Q448, often called the "Hymn to King Jonathan," is a piece of parchment from among the Dead Sea Scrolls containing two separate short works, part of Psalm 154 and a prayer mentioning King Jonathan....
("Hymn to King Jonathan4Q4484Q448, often called the "Hymn to King Jonathan," is a piece of parchment from among the Dead Sea Scrolls containing two separate short works, part of Psalm 154 and a prayer mentioning King Jonathan....
") - 4Q511 ("Songs of the Sage")
- 4Q5214Q5214Q521 or the 4QMessianic Apocalypse is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.4Q521 comprises two larger fragments. The original editor was Jean Starcky, though translation revisions have been proposed by Émile Puech.The text begins:...
("Messianic Apocalypse") - 4Q523 "Kleine Fragmente, z.T. gesetzlichen Inhalts". fragment is legal in content. PAM number, 41.944.
- 4Q539 ("Testament of Joseph")
- 4Q554-5 ("New Jerusalem") cf. 1Q32, 2Q24, 5Q15, 11Q18
Cave 5
- 5QDeut ("DeuteronomyDeuteronomyThe Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
") = 5Q1 - 5QKgs ("1 Kings") = 5Q2Joshua") = 5Q9
- 5Q10 Apocryphon of Malachi
- 5Q11 Rule of the Community
- 5Q12 Damascus Document
- 5Q13 Rule
- 5Q14 Curses
- 5Q15 New Jerusalem
- 5Q16-25 unclassified
- 5QX1 Leather fragment
Cave 6
- 6QpaleoGen (section of "Genesis" 6:13-21 written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 6Q1
- 6QpaleoLev (section of "Leviticus" 8:12-13 written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 6Q2
- 6Q3 Deuteronomy
- 6Q4 Kings
- 6QCant ("Canticles" or "Song of SongsSong of songsSong of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
") = 6Q6 - 6Q7 Daniel
- 6QpapEnGiants ("Book of Giants" from "EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
") = 6Q8 - 6Qpap apSam-Kgs ("Apocryphon on Samuel-Kings") = 6Q9
- 6QpapProph (an unidentified prophetic fragment) = 6Q10
- 6Q11 ("Allegory of the Vine")
- 6QapocProph (an apocryphal prophecy) = 6Q12
- 6QPriestProph ("Priestly Prophecy") = 6Q13
- 6QD ("Damascus DocumentDamascus DocumentThe Damascus Document or Damascus Rule is one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls because it is the only Qumran sectarian work that was known before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls....
") = 6Q15 - 6QpapBened ("Benediction") = 6Q16
- 6Q17 Calendrical Document
- 6Q18 Hymn
- 6Q19 Genesis
- 6Q20 Deuteronomy
- 6Q21 Prophetic text?
- 6Q22-6QX2 Unclassified
- 6Q23 ("Words of Michael"; Archangel) cf. 4Q529
Cave 7
- 7QLXXExod (a section of "Exodus" from the Septuagint) = 7Q1
- 7QLXXEpJer ("Letter of Jeremiah" = Baruch 6) = 7Q2
- 7Q3 Biblical Text?
- 7QpapEn gr ("EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
") = 7Q4, 8, 11-14 - 7Q57Q5Among the Dead Sea scrolls, 7Q5 is the designation for a small papyrus fragment discovered in Qumran Cave 7. The significance of this fragment is derived from an argument made by Jose O´Callaghan in his work ¿Papiros neotestamentarios en la cueva 7 de Qumrân? in 1972, later reasserted and expanded...
Biblical Text - 7Q6, 7, 9, 10 unclassified
- 7Q15-18 unclassified
- 7Q19 imprint
Cave 8
- 8QGen ("Genesis") = 8Q1
- 8QPs ("Psalms") = 8Q2
- 8QPhyl (fragments from a "PhylacteryTefillinTefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
") = 8Q3 - 8QMez (portion of "Deuteronomy" 10:12-11:21 from a MezuzahMezuzahA mezuzah is usually a metal or wooden rectangular object that is fastened to a doorpost of a Jewish house. Inside it is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah...
) = 8Q4 - 8QHymn (a previously unidentified hymn) = 8Q5
- 8QX1 Tabs
- 8QX2-3 Thongs
Cave 11
- 11QpaleoLeva ("Leviticus" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 11Q1
- 11QpaleoLevb ("Leviticus" written in palaeo-Hebrew script) = 11Q2
- 11QDeut ("DeuteronomyDeuteronomyThe Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
") = 11Q3 - 11QEz ("EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
") = 11Q4 - 11QPsa ("Psalms") = 11Q5
- 11QPsb ("Psalms") = 11Q6
- 11QPsc ("Psalms") = 11Q7
- 11QPsd ("Psalms") = 11Q8
- 11QPse ("Psalms") = 11Q9
- 11QtgJob ("TargumTargumTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
of JobBook of JobThe Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
") = 11Q10 - 11QapocrPs ("Apocryphal Psalms") = 11Q11
- 11QJub ("Jubilees") = 11Q12
- 11QMelch11Q1311Q13, also 11QMelch or the Melchizedek document, is a fragmentary manuscript among the Dead Sea Scrolls which mentions Melchizedek as leader of God's angels in a war in Heaven against the angels of darkness instead of the more familiar archangel Michael. The text is an apocalyptic commentary on...
(see also "Heavenly Prince Melchizedek") = 11Q1311Q1311Q13, also 11QMelch or the Melchizedek document, is a fragmentary manuscript among the Dead Sea Scrolls which mentions Melchizedek as leader of God's angels in a war in Heaven against the angels of darkness instead of the more familiar archangel Michael. The text is an apocalyptic commentary on... - 11QSM ("Sefer Ha-Milhamah" or "Book Of War") = 11Q14. cf. 1QM?
- 11QHymnsa = 11Q15
- 11QHymnsb = 11Q16
- 11QShirShabb ("Songs of the Sabbath SacrificeSongs of the Sabbath SacrificeThe Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, also referred to as the Angelic Liturgy, are a series of thirteen songs, one for each of the first thirteen Sabbaths of the year, contained in fragments found among the Dead Sea scrolls. The Songs were found in 10 fragmentary copies: nine at Qumran and one at...
") = 11Q17 - 11QNJ ar ("New Jerusalem11Q18 New Jerusalem11Q18 is a Dead Sea Scroll discovered in Cave 11 that speaks of a New Jerusalem.-Bibliography:*García Martínez, F., The Last Surviving Columns of 11QNJ," in F. García Martínez et al. , The Scriptures and the Scrolls: Studies in Honour of A.S. van der Woude on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday ...
" text in Aramaic) = 11Q18 cf. 1Q32, 2Q24 - 11QTaTemple ScrollThe Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
("Temple ScrollTemple ScrollThe Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
") = 11Q19 - 11QTbTemple ScrollThe Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
("Temple ScrollTemple ScrollThe Temple Scroll is one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scrolla.1 It describes a Jewish temple which has never been built along with extensive detailed regulations about sacrifices and temple practices...
") = 11Q20 - 11Q21 Hebrew text
- 11Q22-28 unclassified
- 11Q29 Serekh ha-Yahad related
- 11Q30 unclassified
- 11Q31 unclassified
- XQ1-4 Phylacteries
- XQ5 fragments
- XQ6 offering
Significance to the Canon of the Bible
The significance of the scrolls relates in a large part to the field of textual criticism and how accurately the Bible has been transcribed over time. Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible were Masoretic texts dating to 10th century CE such as the Aleppo CodexAleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the 10th century A.D.The codex has long been considered to be the most authoritative document in the masorah , the tradition by which the Hebrew Scriptures have been preserved from generation to generation...
. The biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls push that date back a millennium to the 2nd century BCE. Before this discovery, the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament were in Greek in manuscripts such as Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209 and Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
.
According to The Oxford Companion to Archaeology:
About 35% of the DSS biblical manuscripts belong to the Masoretic tradition (MT), 5% to the Septuagint family, and 5% to the Samaritan, with the remainder unaligned. The non-aligned fall into two categories, those inconsistent in agreeing with other known types, and those that diverge significantly from all other known readings. The DSS thus form a significant witness to the mutability of biblical texts at this period. The sectarian texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, most of which were previously unknown, offer new light on one form of Judaism practiced during the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
period.
Dead Sea Scrolls (books found)
The books ranked according to number of manuscripts found for the top 16 are:| Book | Number found |
|---|---|
| Psalms Psalms The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible... |
39 |
| Deuteronomy | 33 |
| 1 Enoch Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel... |
25 |
| Genesis | 24 |
| Isaiah Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve... |
22 |
| Jubilees Jubilees The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches... |
21 |
| Exodus | 18 |
| Leviticus | 17 |
| Numbers Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch.... |
11 |
| Minor Prophets | 10 |
| Daniel Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,... |
8 |
| Jeremiah Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve.... |
6 |
| Ezekiel Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve.... |
6 |
| Job Book of Job The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a... |
6 |
| 1 & 2 Samuel Books of Samuel The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by... |
4 |
Origin of the Scrolls
There has been much debate about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The dominant theory remains that the scrolls were the product of a sect of Jews living at nearby Qumran called the Essenes, but this theory has come to be challenged by several modern scholars. The various theories concerning the origin of the scrolls are as follows:Qumran-Essene Theory
The prevalent view among scholars, almost universally held until the 1990s, is the "Qumran-Essene" hypothesis originally posited by Roland Guérin de VauxRoland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
and Józef Tadeusz Milik
Józef Milik
Józef Tadeusz Milik was a Polish biblical scholar and a former Catholic priest. Fluent in Polish, Russian, Italian, French, German, and English plus many ancient languages Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Georgian, Ugaritic, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and...
, though independently both Eliezer Sukenik
Eliezer Sukenik
Eleazar Lipa Sukenik was an Israeli archaeologist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Having arrived in Palestine in 1911 he worked as a school teacher and tour guide...
and Butrus Sowmy of St Mark's Monastery connected scrolls with the Essenes well before any excavations at Qumran. The Qumran-Essene theory holds that the scrolls were written by the Essenes
Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
, or perhaps by another Jewish sectarian group, residing at Khirbet Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
. They composed the scrolls and ultimately hid them in the nearby caves during the Jewish Revolt sometime between 66 and 68 CE. The site of Qumran was destroyed and the scrolls were never recovered by those that placed them there.
A number of arguments are used to support this theory.
- There are striking similarities between the description of an initiation ceremony of new members in the Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
and descriptions of the Essene initiation ceremony mentioned in the works of Flavius JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
—a Jewish-Roman historian of the Second Temple Period. - Josephus mentions the EssenesEssenesThe Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
as sharing property among the members of the community, as does the Community RuleCommunity RuleThe Community Rule , which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls...
. - During the excavation of Khirbet QumranQumranQumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
, two inkwells and plastered elements thought to be tables were found, offering evidence that some form of writing was done there. More inkwells were discovered in nearby loci. De VauxRoland de VauxFather Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
called this area the "scriptoriumScriptoriumScriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
" based upon this discovery. - Several Jewish ritual bathsMikvahMikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
(Hebrew: miqvahMikvahMikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
= מקוה) were discovered at QumranQumranQumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
, which offers evidence of an observant Jewish presence at the site. - Pliny the ElderPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(a geographer writing after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE) describes a group of EssenesEssenesThe Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
living in a desert community on the northwest shore of the Dead SeaDead SeaThe Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
near the ruined town of 'Ein GediEin GediEin Gedi is an oasis in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the caves of Qumran.-Etymology:The name En-gedi is composed of two Hebrew words: ein means spring and gdi means goat-kid. En Gedi thus means "Kid spring."...
.
The Qumran-Essene theory has been the dominant theory since its initial proposal by Roland de Vaux
Roland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
and J.T. Milik
Józef Milik
Józef Tadeusz Milik was a Polish biblical scholar and a former Catholic priest. Fluent in Polish, Russian, Italian, French, German, and English plus many ancient languages Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Georgian, Ugaritic, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and...
. Recently, however, several other scholars have proposed alternative origins of the scrolls.
Qumran-Sectarian Theory
Qumran-Sectarian theories are variations on the Qumran-Essene theory. The main point of departure from the Qumran-Essene theory is hesitation to link the Dead sea Scrolls specifically with the EssenesEssenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
. Most proponents of the Qumran-Sectarian theory understand a group of Jews living in or near Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
to be responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, but do not necessarily conclude that the sectarians are Essenes
Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
.
Qumran-Sadducean Theory
A specific variation on the Qumran-Sectarian theory that has gained much recent popularity is the work of Lawrence H. SchiffmanLawrence Schiffman
Lawrence H. Schiffman was appointed as the Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Education at Yeshiva University and Professor of Jewish Studies in early 2011. He had been the Chair of New York University’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and serves as the Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman...
, who proposes that the community was led by a group of Zadokite priests (Sadducees
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
). (This view has also been proposed by numerous Israeli scholars, including Rachel Elior
Rachel Elior
Rachel Elior is an Israeli professor of Jewish philosophy and mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel.-Academic career:...
, Moshe Goshen-Gottstein
Moshe Goshen-Gottstein
Moshe Goshen-Gottstein was a German-born professor of Semitic linguistics and biblical philology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and director of the lexicographical institute and Biblical research institute of Bar-Ilan University.-Biography:Moshe Goshen-Gottstein was born in Berlin...
, and Chaim Menachem Rabin
Chaim Menachem Rabin
Chaim Menachem Rabin was an Israeli professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages.Chaim Rabin was born in Giessen, Germany, 22 November 1915, the son of Israel and Martel Rabin. He studied first at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1933-1934. He then studied in England, at the School of Oriental...
). The most important document in support of this view is the "Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah
4QMMT
4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
" (4QMMT
4QMMT
4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
), which cites purity laws (such as the transfer of impurities) identical to those attributed in rabbinic writings to the Sadducees. 4QMMT
4QMMT
4QMMT , also known as the Halakhic Letter, is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered at Qumran in the West Bank. The manuscript is mainly concerned with the issue of the purity of liquid streams, a matter of great debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in later rabbinic...
also reproduces a festival calendar that follows Sadducee principles for the dating of certain festival days.
Christian Origin Theory
SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
Josep O'Callaghan-Martínez has argued that one fragment (7Q5
7Q5
Among the Dead Sea scrolls, 7Q5 is the designation for a small papyrus fragment discovered in Qumran Cave 7. The significance of this fragment is derived from an argument made by Jose O´Callaghan in his work ¿Papiros neotestamentarios en la cueva 7 de Qumrân? in 1972, later reasserted and expanded...
) preserves a portion of text from the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
6:52-53. In recent years, Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman is an American Biblical scholar, theoretical writer, historian, archaeologist, and "road" poet. He is currently Professor of Middle East Religions, Archaeology, and Islamic Law and director of the Institute for the Study of...
has advanced the theory that some scrolls describe the early Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
community. Eisenman also attempted to relate the career of James the Just
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
and the Apostle Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
/ Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
to some of these documents.
Jerusalem Origin Theory
Some scholars have argued that the scrolls were the product of JewsJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
living in Jerusalem, who hid the scrolls in the caves near Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
while fleeing from the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Karl Heinrich Rengstorf first proposed that the Dead Sea Scrolls originated at the library of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
. Later, Norman Golb
Norman Golb
Norman Golb is the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1954. He joined the faculty of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati in 1958 before settling at the...
suggested that the scrolls were the product of multiple libraries in Jerusalem, and not necessarily the Jerusalem Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
library. Proponents of the Jerusalem Origin theory point to the diversity of thought and handwriting among the scrolls as evidence against a Qumran origin of the scrolls. Several archaeologists have also accepted an origin of the scrolls other than Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
, including Yizhar Hirschfeld
Yizhar Hirschfeld
Yizhar Hirschfeld was an Israeli archaeologist studying Greco-Roman and Byzantine archaeology. He was an associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and director of excavations at a number of sites around Israel, including Ramat Hanadiv, Tiberias, and Khirbet ed-Deir...
and most recently Yizhak Magen and Yuval Peleg, who all understand the remains of Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
to be those of a Hasmonean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
fort that was reused during later periods.
Publication
Some of the documents were published early. All the writings in Cave 1 appeared in print between 1950 and 1956, those from eight other caves were released in 1963, and 1965 saw the publication of the Psalms Scroll from Cave 11. Their translations into English soon followed.Although heralded as one of the great events in modern archaeology, the discovery of the scrolls is not without controversy. All the manuscripts were initially placed under the oversight of a committee of scholars appointed by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. This responsibility was assumed by the Israel Antiquities Authority
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
after 1967.
Prior to 1968, most of the known scrolls and fragments were housed in the Rockefeller Museum
Rockefeller Museum
The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in Ottoman Palestine beginning in the late 19th century.The museum is under the management...
in Jerusalem. After the Six Day War, these scrolls and fragments were moved to the Shrine of the Book
Shrine of the Book
The Shrine of the Book , a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls—discovered 1947–56 in 11 caves in and around the Wadi Qumran...
, at the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
.
Publication of the scrolls has taken many decades, and the delay has been a source of academic controversy. As of 2011, one volume remains to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to forty volumes in total. Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book
Shrine of the Book
The Shrine of the Book , a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls—discovered 1947–56 in 11 caves in and around the Wadi Qumran...
in Jerusalem, while others are housed in the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute, Chicago
The Oriental Institute , established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's archeology museum and research center for ancient Near Eastern studies.- History and purpose:James Henry Breasted built up the collection of the Haskell Oriental Museum...
, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
, Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University is a private, inter-denominational, evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles in suburban Azusa, California. It was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900 in Whittier, California. It began offering degrees in 1939...
(all of which are located in the U.S.A.), and in the hands of private collectors.
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Ben Zion Wacholder and Martin Abegg, announced the creation of a computer program that used previously published scrolls to reconstruct the unpublished texts. Officials at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, led by Head Librarian William Andrew Moffett
William Andrew Moffett
-Introduction:William Andrew Moffett was a historian and librarian who placed on the 1999 American Libraries list of "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century"...
, announced that they would allow researchers unrestricted access to the library’s complete set of photographs of the scrolls. With their monopoly broken, the officials of the Israel Antiquities Authority agreed to lift their long-standing restrictions on the use of the scrolls.
In the fall of 1991, Ben Zion Wacholder published 17 documents that had been reconstructed in 1988 from a concordance and had come into the hands of scholars outside of the International Team; in the same month, there occurred the discovery and publication of a complete set of facsimiles of the Cave 4 materials at the Huntington Library, which were not covered by the "secrecy rule".
After further delays, public interest attorney William John Cox
William John Cox
William John Cox is an American public interest lawyer, retired prosecutor, author and political activist.- Background :...
undertook representation of an "undisclosed client," who had provided a complete set of the unpublished photographs, and contracted for their publication. Professors Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman is an American Biblical scholar, theoretical writer, historian, archaeologist, and "road" poet. He is currently Professor of Middle East Religions, Archaeology, and Islamic Law and director of the Institute for the Study of...
and James Robinson
James M. Robinson
James McConkey Robinson is Professor Emeritus of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California. He is a member of the Jesus Seminar and arguably the most prominent Q and Nag Hammadi library scholar of the 20th century. He is also a major contributor to The International Q...
indexed the photographs and wrote an introduction to A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which was published by the Biblical Archaeology Society in 1991. As a result, the "secrecy rule" was lifted.
Following the publication of the Facsimile Edition, Professor Elisha Qimron sued Hershel Shanks, Eisenman, Robinson and the Biblical Archaeology Society for copyright infringement of one of the scrolls, which he deciphered (MMT). The District Court of Jerusalem found in favor of Qimron in September 1993. The Court issued a restraining order, which prohibited the publication of the deciphered text, and ordered defendants to pay Qimron NIS 100,000 for infringing his copyright and the right of attribution. Defendants appealed the Supreme Court of Israel, which approved the District Court's decision, in August 2000. The Supreme Court further ordered that the defendants hand over to Qimron all the infringing copies. The decision met Israeli and international criticism from copyright law scholars.
Publication accelerated with the appointment of the respected Dutch-Israeli textual scholar Emanuel Tov
Emanuel Tov
Emanuel Tov is Professor in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding to Fellow of the British Academy , since 2006.-Biography:...
as editor-in-chief in 1990. Publication of the Cave 4 documents soon commenced, with five volumes in print by 1995. As of March 2009 volume XXXII remains to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to thirty nine volumes in total.
In December 2007, the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation commissioned London publisher Facsimile Editions to publish exact facsimiles of three scrolls, The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa), The Order of the Community (1QS), and The Pesher to Habakkuk (1QpHab). Of the first three facsimile sets, one was exhibited at the Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, and a second set was purchased by the British Library in London. A further 25 sets including facsimiles of fragments 4Q175 (Testimonia), 4Q162 (Pesher Isaiahb) and 4Q109 (Qohelet) were announced in May 2009.
Digital copies
High-resolution images of some of the Dead Sea scrolls are now available online at the Israel MuseumIsrael Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
's website. They can also be purchased in inexpensive multi-volumes - on disc media or in book form - or viewed in certain college and university libraries.
According to Computer Weekly
Computer Weekly
ComputerWeekly was a weekly magazine for IT professionals which was published by Reed Business Information for over 40 years. The magazine was available free to IT professionals who met the circulation requirements...
(16 November 2007), a team from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
is to advise the Israel Antiquities Authority
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
, who are planning to digitize the scrolls. On 27 August 2008 the Israeli Internet news agency YNET announced that the project is under way. The scrolls are planned to be made available to the public via Internet. The project is to include infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
scanning of the scrolls which is said to expose additional details not revealed under visible light.
The text of nearly all of the non-biblical scrolls has been recorded and tagged for morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
by Dr. Martin Abegg, Jr., the Ben Zion Wacholder Professor of Dead Sea Scroll Studies at Trinity Western University
Trinity Western University
Trinity Western University is a private, Christian liberal arts university located in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.The school was founded in 1962 as Trinity Junior College, and now enrolls approximately 4000 students and sits on a campus....
in Langley, BC, Canada. It is available on handheld devices through Olive Tree Bible Software - BibleReader
Olive Tree Bible Software - BibleReader
Olive Tree Bible Software creates technology in Biblical software and is an electronic publisher of Bible versions, study tools, Bible study tools and Christian eBooks for mobile devices. The firm is headquartered in Spokane, Washington, and is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers...
, on Macs through Accordance
Accordance
Accordance is a bible study program for Apple Macintosh and iPhone developed by OakTree Software, Inc. Reviewers consider it a premium program....
, and on Windows through Logos Bible Software
Logos Bible Software
Logos Bible Software is a Bellingham, Washington software company and electronic publisher specializing in Bible study. Their flagship product is Logos Bible Software 4, a bible study software application for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, iPhone/iPad and Android platforms...
and BibleWorks.
On 19 October 2010, it was announced that IAA would scan the documents using multi-spectral imaging
Multi-spectral image
A multispectral image is one that captures image data at specific frequencies across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or by the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range,...
technology developed by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
to produce high-resolution images of the texts, and then, through a partnership with Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, make them available online free of charge, on a searchable database and complemented by translation and other scholarly tools. The first images, which according to the announcement could reveal new letters and words, are expected to be posted online in the few months following the announcement, and the project is scheduled for completion within five years. According to IAA director Pnina Shor, "from the minute all of this will go online there will be no need to expose the scrolls anymore", referring to the dark, climate-controlled storeroom where the manuscripts are kept when not on display.
On September 25, 2011, the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls site went online. Google and the Israel Museum teamed up on this project, allowing users to examine and explore these most ancient manuscripts from Second Temple times at a level of detail never before possible. Developed in partnership with Google, the new website gives users access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
have been digitized for the project at this stage and are now accessible online.
"We are privileged to house in the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book the best preserved and most complete Dead Sea Scrolls ever discovered," said James S. Snyder
James S. Snyder
James S. Snyder is the director of the Israel Museum since 1996.James S. Snyder has served as the Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum since 1996...
, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. "They are of paramount importance among the touchstones of monotheistic world heritage, and they represent unique highlights of our Museum's encyclopedic holdings. Now, through our partnership with Google, we are able to bring these treasures to the broadest possible public."
The five Dead Sea Scrolls that have been digitized thus far include the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War Scroll, with search queries on Google.com sending users directly to the online scrolls. All five scrolls can be magnified so that users may examine texts in exacting detail. Details invisible to the naked eye are made visible through ultra-high resolution digital photography by photographer Ardon Bar-Hama– at 1,200 mega pixels each, these images are almost two hundred times higher in resolution than those produced by a standard camera. Each picture utilized UV-protected flash tubes with an exposure of 1/4000th of a second to minimize damage to the fragile manuscripts. In addition, the Great Isaiah Scroll may be searched by column, chapter, and verse, and is accompanied by an English translation tool and by an option for users to submit translations of verses in their own languages.,
"The Dead Sea Scrolls Project with the Israel Museum enriches and preserves an important part of world heritage by making it accessible to all on the internet," said Professor Yossi Matias, Managing Director of Google’s R&D Center in Israel. "Having been involved in similar projects in the past, including the Google Art Project, Yad Vashem Holocaust Collection, and the Prado Museum in Madrid, we have seen how people around the world can enhance their knowledge and understanding of key historical events by accessing documents and collections online. We hope one day to make all existing knowledge in historical archives and collections available to all, including putting additional Dead Sea Scroll documents online."
The Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project is funded by George Blumenthal and the Center for Online Judaic Studies, which first envisioned the project in order to make these manuscripts widely accessible and to create an innovative resource for scholars and the public alike. Dr. Adolfo D. Roitman, Lizbeth and George Krupp Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Head of the Shrine of the Book, and Dr. Susan Hazan, Curator of New Media and Head of the Museum's Internet Office, directed the project for the Israel Museum, working in collaboration with Eyal Fink, Technical Lead, and Eyal Miller, New Business Development Manager, at Google's R&D Center in Israel.
See also
- Ancient Qumran: A Virtual Reality TourAncient Qumran: A Virtual Reality TourAncient Qumran: A Virtual Reality Tour is the title of a computer-generated film that presents a theoretical reconstruction of the ancient Khirbet Qumran site. The film is silent, but is projected together with an oral presentation interpreting the Qumran site's historical significance...
(film) - Carbon dating the Dead Sea ScrollsCarbon dating the Dead Sea ScrollsThere were two series of carbon dating tests performed on the Dead Sea Scrolls, one series by the AMS lab of the Zurich Institute of Technology in 1990 and a second by the AMS Facility at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1994...
- École BibliqueÉcole BibliqueThe École Biblique, strictly the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, is a respected French academic establishment in Jerusalem, founded by Dominicans, and specialising in archaeology and Biblical exegesis.-Foundation:...
- from which came one of the initial translation teams - Nag Hammadi libraryNag Hammadi libraryThe Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
- Tanakh at QumranTanakh at QumranThe Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible and Qumran is an archaeological site near the Dead Sea. More than two hundred portions of the Tanakh have been found near Qumran, forming part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were found in a series of caves, which have since been numbered, and these numbers used...
- Teacher of RighteousnessTeacher of RighteousnessThe Teacher of Righteousness is a figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document. This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, probably Essenes, 390 years after the Babylonian exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way...
- The Book of MysteriesThe Book of MysteriesThe Book of Mysteries is an ancient Essene text found in fragmentary form among the Dead Sea Scrolls...
- Ugarit religious documents
- Wicked PriestWicked PriestWicked Priest is a sobriquet used in the Dead Sea scrolls pesharim, four times in the Habakkuk Commentary and once in the Commentary on Psalm 37 , to refer to an opponent of the "Teacher of Righteousness." The phrase is generally regarded as a pun on "High Priest" and identified with a Hasmonean...
Other sources
- Dead Sea Scrolls Study Vol 1: 1Q1-4Q273, Vol. 2: 4Q274-11Q31, (compact disc), Logos Research Systems, Inc., (contains the non-biblical portion of the scrolls with Hebrew and Aramaic transcriptions in parallel with English translations)
External links
- The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls hosted by the Israel MuseumIsrael MuseumThe Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, Jerusalem - Shrine of the Book, home of the physical scrolls at the Israel MuseumIsrael MuseumThe Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, Jerusalem
Exhibits and academic projects
- Dead Sea Scrolls facsimile of 1QIsa 1Qs and 1QpHab, Facsimile-editions.com
- Qumran Visualization Project, UCLA
- Timetable of the Discovery and Debate about the Dead Sea Scrolls, VirtualReligion.net
- The Dead Sea Scrolls Collection at the Gnostic SocietyGnostic SocietyThe Gnostic Society is an organization founded in Los Angeles in 1928, and incorporated in 1939, by John Morgan Pryse and his brother James Morgan Pryse for studies of Gnosticism. Stephan A...
Library - The Dead Sea Scrolls (FARMS), Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
- Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit at Azusa Pacific UniversityAzusa Pacific UniversityAzusa Pacific University is a private, inter-denominational, evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles in suburban Azusa, California. It was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900 in Whittier, California. It began offering degrees in 1939...
displays five Dead Sea Scrolls fragments in Azusa, California - Scrolls From the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
- Library of Congress On-line Exhibit, ibiblio.org
- The Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Oriental InstituteOriental Institute, ChicagoThe Oriental Institute , established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's archeology museum and research center for ancient Near Eastern studies.- History and purpose:James Henry Breasted built up the collection of the Haskell Oriental Museum...
of the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
features several articles by Norman Golb, some of which take issue with statements made in popular museum exhibits of the Dead Sea Scrolls- The Qumran Essene Theory and recent strategies employed in its defense Norman Golb (2007)
- The Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, includes bibliography - Ancient Treasures and the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Canadian Museum of CivilizationCanadian Museum of CivilizationThe Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
- Dead Sea Scrolls at the Royal Ontario MuseumRoyal Ontario MuseumThe Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
Media coverage and academic articles
- The Importance of the Discoveries in the Judean Desert Israel Antiquities Authority
- F.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls (1956) On-line book (PDF).
- Pesher Technique: Dr. Barbara Thiering's Writings Barbara Thiering's (unconventional) theories connecting the scrolls with the Bible
- The Dead Sea Scrolls as a source on Palestine History of 1st Century AD. Sergey E. Rysev.
- "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene," Stephen Goranson, on Teacher of Righteousness and Wicked Priest identities.
- "Others and Intra-Jewish Polemic as Reflected in Qumran Texts," Stephen Goranson, evidence that English "Essenes" comes from Greek spellings that come from Hebrew 'osey hatorah, a self-designation in some Qumran texts.
- Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Archaeology Review
- Searching for the Better Text: How errors crept into the Bible and what can be done to correct them, Biblical Archaeology Review
- The Dead Sea Scrolls and Why They Matter, Biblical Archaeology Review