Isaiah scroll
Encyclopedia
The Isaiah Scroll or 1Qlsa (also called the Great Isaiah Scroll) was found in a cave near the Dead Sea (Qumran Cave 1) 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. It is the oldest complete copy of Isaiah known, being 1100 years older than the Leningrad Codex
. Pieces of the Isaiah Scroll have been carbon-14 dated at least four times, giving calibrated date ranges between 335-324 BC and 202-107 BC; here have also been numerous paleographic and scribal dating studies placing the scroll around 150-100 BC.
The scroll is written on 17 sheets of parchment. It is particularly large, being about 24 ft. long and 11 in. high. There are 54 columns of text.
The scroll was sold by the Bedouins to an antiques dealer who happened to be a member of the Syrian Church. He sold it to Anastasius Samuel, the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Church in East Jerusalem. Mar Samuel
brought the scroll to the U.S., hoping to sell it and the three others he had in his possession. They were bought by Israeli archeologist Yigael Yadin
for $250,000 in 1954 and brought back to Israel. The scroll, along with over 200 fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls, is now housed in Jerusalem at the Shrine of the Book
at the Israel Museum.
This copy of Isaiah contains many minor differences from the later Masoretic text (the text which forms the basis of the modern Hebrew bible). Most of the differences are simply grammatical (for example, spelling certain words with an extra letter that does not alter the pronunciation). Of the remainder, for example some added words, most do not significantly alter the meaning of the passage.
Dead Sea scrolls
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...
. It is the most complete scroll out of the 220 found, being complete from beginning to end. It is the oldest complete copy of Isaiah known, being 1100 years older than the Leningrad Codex
Leningrad Codex
The Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization. It is dated AD 1008 according to its colophon...
. Pieces of the Isaiah Scroll have been carbon-14 dated at least four times, giving calibrated date ranges between 335-324 BC and 202-107 BC; here have also been numerous paleographic and scribal dating studies placing the scroll around 150-100 BC.
The scroll is written on 17 sheets of parchment. It is particularly large, being about 24 ft. long and 11 in. high. There are 54 columns of text.
The scroll was sold by the Bedouins to an antiques dealer who happened to be a member of the Syrian Church. He sold it to Anastasius Samuel, the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Church in East Jerusalem. 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....
brought the scroll to the U.S., hoping to sell it and the three others he had in his possession. They were bought by Israeli archeologist 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 $250,000 in 1954 and brought back to Israel. The scroll, along with over 200 fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls, is now housed in Jerusalem at 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.
This copy of Isaiah contains many minor differences from the later Masoretic text (the text which forms the basis of the modern Hebrew bible). Most of the differences are simply grammatical (for example, spelling certain words with an extra letter that does not alter the pronunciation). Of the remainder, for example some added words, most do not significantly alter the meaning of the passage.
External links
- The Great Isaiah Scroll - View the entire scroll.