The Tanakh is 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...

 and Qumran is an archaeological site near 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...

. More than two hundred portions of the Tanakh

Tanakh

The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...

 have been found 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...

, forming part of the Dead Sea Scrolls

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...

. The scrolls were found in a series of caves, which have since been numbered, and these numbers used in the reference name of each scroll portion. For example 4Q108

4Q108

4Q108 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...

 is a fragment of a scroll from Cave 4, it is the 108th listed manuscript from that cave. More than half of the Tanakh portions from Qumran are from Cave 4.

The Dead Sea Scrolls in general are Hebrew language

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 manuscripts, written in Assyrian Block script

Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...

 (90—95%). Some, however, were written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet

Paleo-Hebrew alphabet

The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , is an abjad offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet, identical to the Phoenician alphabet. At the very least it dates to the 10th century BCE...

. A few biblical manuscripts were written in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 uncial

Uncial

Uncial is a majuscule script commonly used from the 3rd to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters are written in either Greek, Latin, or Gothic.-Development:...

 script and appear to be copies of the Septuagint text. Nearly all the scrolls were written on vellum

Vellum

Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...

, however there are a few papyri

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....

. Although not a biblical text, one scroll (3Q15

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...

) was actually inscribed on copper.

List of Tanakh portions from Qumran

Tanakh at Qumran

Name	Contents	#	Script	type
1Q1	Genesis		Hebrew	vellum
1Q2	Exodus		Hebrew	vellum
1Q3	Leviticus Leviticus The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....		Paleo	vellum
1Q4	Deuteronomy Deuteronomy The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...	a	Hebrew	vellum
1Q5	Deuteronomy	b	Hebrew	vellum
1Q6	Judges Book of Judges The 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...		Hebrew	vellum
1Q7	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...		Hebrew	vellum
1Q8	Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...	b	Hebrew	vellum
1Q9	Ezekiel Ezekiel Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...		Hebrew	vellum
1Q10	Psalms Psalms The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...	a	Hebrew	vellum
1Q11	Psalms	b	Hebrew	vellum
1Q12	Psalm 44		Hebrew	vellum
1Q13	Phylactery Decalogue		Hebrew	vellum
1Q71	Daniel Daniel Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...	a	Hebrew	vellum
1Q72	Daniel	b	Hebrew	vellum
1QIsa	Isaiah	a	Hebrew	vellum
1QIsb	Isaiah	b	Hebrew	vellum
2Q1	Genesis		Hebrew	vellum
2Q2	Exodus	a	Hebrew	vellum
2Q3	Exodus	b	Hebrew	vellum
2Q4	Exodus	c	Hebrew	vellum
2Q5	Leviticus	en	Paleo	vellum
2Q6	Numbers	a	Hebrew	vellum
2Q7	Numbers	b	Hebrew	vellum
2Q8	Numbers	c	Hebrew	vellum
2Q9	Numbers	d	Hebrew	vellum
2Q10	Deuteronomy 1	a	Hebrew	vellum
2Q11	Deuteronomy	b	Hebrew	vellum
2Q12	Deuteronomy 10	c	Hebrew	vellum
2Q13	Jeremiah Jeremiah Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...		Hebrew	vellum
2Q14	Psalms 103-104		Hebrew	vellum
2Q15	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...  3		Hebrew	vellum
2Q16	Ruth Book of Ruth The 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...	a	Hebrew	vellum
2Q17	Ruth	b	Hebrew	vellum
3Q1	Ezekiel 16		Hebrew	vellum
3Q2	Psalm 2 Psalm 2 Psalm 2 is the second Psalm of the Bible. It tells us that we can either defy God and perish, or submit to him and be blessed. Psalm 2 itself does not identify its author, but Acts 4:25-26 clearly attributes it to David.-In the original Hebrew:...		Hebrew	vellum
3Q3	Lamentations Book of Lamentations The 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....		Hebrew	vellum
4Q1	Gen-Ex	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q2	Genesis	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q3	Genesis	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q4	Genesis	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q5	Genesis	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q6	Genesis	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q7	Genesis	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q8	Genesis	h	Hebrew	vellum
4Q9	Genesis	j	Hebrew	vellum
4Q10	Genesis	k	Hebrew	vellum
4Q11	Gen-Ex	l	Paleo	vellum
4Q12	Genesis	m	Paleo	vellum
4Q13	Exodus	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q14	Exodus	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q15	Exodus	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q16	Exodus	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q17	Ex-Lev	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q18	Exodus	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q19	Exodus	h	Hebrew	vellum
4Q20	Exodus	j	Hebrew	vellum
4Q21	Exodus	k	Hebrew	vellum
4Q22	Exodus	m	Paleo	vellum
4Q23	Lev-Num	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q24	Leviticus	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q25	Leviticus	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q26	Leviticus	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q26a	Leviticus	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q26b	Leviticus	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q27	Numbers	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q28	Deuteronomy	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q29	Deuteronomy	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q30	Deuteronomy	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q31	Deuteronomy	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q32	Deuteronomy	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q33	Deuteronomy	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q34	Deuteronomy	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q35	Deuteronomy	h	Hebrew	vellum
4Q36	Deuteronomy	i	Hebrew	vellum
4Q37	Deuteronomy	j	Hebrew	vellum
4Q38	Deuteronomy	k1	Hebrew	vellum
4Q38a	Deuteronomy	k2	Hebrew	vellum
4Q38b	Deuteronomy	k3	Hebrew	vellum
4Q39	Deuteronomy	l	Hebrew	vellum
4Q40	Deuteronomy	m	Hebrew	vellum
4Q41	Deuteronomy	n	Hebrew	vellum
4Q42	Deuteronomy	o	Hebrew	vellum
4Q43	Deuteronomy	p	Hebrew	vellum
4Q44	Deuteronomy	q	Hebrew	vellum
4Q45	Deuteronomy	r	Paleo	vellum
4Q46	Deuteronomy	s	Paleo	vellum
4Q47	Joshua	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q48	Joshua	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q49	Judges	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q50	Judges	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q51	Samuel	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q52	Samuel	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q53	Samuel	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q54	Kings		Hebrew	vellum
4Q55	Isaiah	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q56	Isaiah	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q57	Isaiah	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q58	Isaiah	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q59	Isaiah	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q60	Isaiah	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q61	Isaiah	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q62	Isaiah	h	Hebrew	vellum
4Q63	Isaiah	j	Hebrew	vellum
4Q64	Isaiah	k	Hebrew	vellum
4Q65	Isaiah	l	Hebrew	vellum
4Q66	Isaiah	m	Hebrew	vellum
4Q67	Isaiah	n	Hebrew	vellum
4Q68	Isaiah	o	Hebrew	vellum
4Q69	Isaiah	p	Hebrew	vellum
4Q70	Jeremiah	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q71	Jeremiah	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q72	Jeremiah	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q73	Ezekiel	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q74	Ezekiel	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q75	Ezekiel	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q76	The Twelve	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q77	The Twelve	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q78	The Twelve	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q79	The Twelve	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q80	The Twelve	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q81	The Twelve	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q82	The Twelve	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q83	Psalms	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q84	Psalms	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q85	Psalms	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q86	Psalms	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q87	Psalms	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q88	Psalms	f	Hebrew	vellum
4Q89	Psalms	g	Hebrew	vellum
4Q90	Psalms	h	Hebrew	vellum
4Q91	Psalms	j	Hebrew	vellum
4Q92	Psalms	k	Hebrew	vellum
4Q93	Psalms	l	Hebrew	vellum
4Q94	Psalms	m	Hebrew	vellum
4Q95	Psalms	n	Hebrew	vellum
4Q96	Psalms	o	Hebrew	vellum
4Q97	Psalms	p	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98	Psalms	q	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98a	Psalms	r	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98b	Psalms	s	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98c	Psalms	t	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98d	Psalms	u	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98e	Psalms	v	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98f	Psalms	w	Hebrew	vellum
4Q98g	Psalms	x	Hebrew	vellum
4Q99	Job	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q100	Job	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q101	Job	c	Paleo	vellum
4Q104	Ruth	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q105	Ruth	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q106 4Q106 4Q106 is one large and three small fragments from three columns of a scroll containing portions of the Song of Songs in Hebrew. It is one of three scrolls found in Cave 4 at Qumran that have been reconstructed as copies of the Song of Songs...	Canticles	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q107 4Q107 4Q107 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...	Canticles	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q108 4Q108 4Q108 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...	Canticles	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q109	Qohelet	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q110	Qohelet	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q111	Lamentations		Hebrew	vellum
4Q112	Daniel	a	Hebrew	vellum
4Q113	Daniel	b	Hebrew	vellum
4Q114	Daniel	c	Hebrew	vellum
4Q115	Daniel	d	Hebrew	vellum
4Q116	Daniel	e	Hebrew	vellum
4Q117	Ezra		Hebrew	vellum
4Q118	Chronicles		Hebrew	vellum
4Q119	Leviticus	a	Greek	vellum
4Q120	Leviticus	b	Greek	papyrus
4Q121	Numbers		Greek	vellum
4Q122	Deuteronomy		Greek	vellum
4Q123	Joshua*		Paleo	vellum
4Q124	Unidentified		Paleo	vellum
4Q125	Unidentified		Paleo	vellum
4Q126	Unidentified		Greek	vellum
4Q127	Exodus*		Greek	papyrus
4Q522	Ps 122*		Hebrew	vellum
5Q1	Deuteronomy		Hebrew	vellum
5Q2	1 Kings 1		Hebrew	vellum
5Q3	Isaiah 40		Hebrew	vellum
5Q4	Amos 1		Hebrew	vellum
5Q5	Psalms 119		Hebrew	vellum
5Q6	Lamentations	a	Hebrew	vellum
5Q7	Lamentations 4	b	Hebrew	vellum
5Q8	Phylactery		Hebrew	vellum
6Q1	Genesis 6		Paleo	vellum
6Q2	Leviticus 8		Paleo	vellum
6Q3	Deuteronomy 26		Hebrew	vellum
6Q4	1-2 Kings		Hebrew	vellum
6Q6 6Q6 6Q6 is a small portion of a scroll from Cave 6 at Qumran, containing Song of Songs 1:1-7 in Hebrew. Together with three scroll portions found in Cave 4, they comprise the total witness to the Song from the Dead Sea Scrolls...	Canticles		Hebrew	vellum
6Q7	Daniel		Hebrew	vellum
6Q19	Genesis		Hebrew	vellum
6Q20	Deuteronomy		Hebrew	vellum
7Q1	Exodus		Greek	papyrus
7Q3	Unidentified		Greek	papyrus
7Q4	Unidentified		Greek	papyrus
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...	Controversial		Greek	papyrus
8Q1	Genesis 17-18		Hebrew	vellum
8Q2	Psalms 17-18		Hebrew	vellum
8Q3	Phylactery Ex, Dt		Hebrew	vellum
11Q1	Leviticus	a	Paleo	vellum
11Q2	Leviticus	b	Paleo	vellum
11Q3	Deuteronomy 1		Hebrew	vellum
11Q4	Ezekiel		Hebrew	vellum
11Q5	Psalms	a	Hebrew	vellum
11Q6	Ps 141;133;144;118	b	Hebrew	vellum
11Q7	Psalms	c	Hebrew	vellum
11Q8	Psalms	d	Hebrew	vellum
11Q9	Psalms 36-37;86	e	Hebrew	vellum

External links

• Biblical Archaeology Society
  Biblical Archaeology Society
  The Biblical Archaeology Society is a non-denominational organization that supports and promotes biblical archaeology. It publishes Biblical Archaeology Review. Its past publications included Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey . The Biblical Archaeology Society also publishes books about...
  
   website: 'Caves and Contents'
• Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature
• D Barthélemy (ed) and JT Milik. Qumran Cave I. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
  Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
  Discoveries in the Judaean Desert is the almost complete 40 volume series that serves as the editio princeps for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is published by Oxford University Press. Volume 39 provides an introduction for, and summaries of, the preceding 38 volumes. Volume 32 is the final book and is...
  
  I. Oxford: Clarendon, 1955.
• M Baillet, JT Milik and R de Vaux (eds). Les 'Petites Grottes' de Qumrân. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert III. Oxford: Clarendon, 1962.
• Eugene Ulrich and others. Paleo Hebrew and Greek Biblical Manuscripts. Qumran Cave 4 IV. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert IX. Oxford: Clarendon, 1992.
• Eugene Ulrich and others. Genesis to Numbers. Qumran Cave 4 VII. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XII. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994.
• Eugene Ulrich and others. Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Kings. Qumran Cave 4 IX. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XIV. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995.
• Eugene Ulrich and others. Psalms to Chronicles. Qumran Cave 4 XI. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XVI. Oxford: Clarendon, 2000.
• MA Hoselton. 'Inventory of Manuscripts from Qumran'. Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran. Unpublished.