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Dead Sea Scroll

Caches of ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts found at several sites on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.

Caches of ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts found at several sites on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea (1947-56).

The writings date from between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD and total 800-900 manuscripts in 15,000 fragments. Many scholars believe that those deposited in 11 caves near the ruins of Qumran belonged to a sectarian community whom most scholars believe were Essenes, though other scholars suggest Sadducees or Zealots. The community rejected the rest of the Jewish people and saw the world as sharply divided between good and evil. They cultivated a communal life of ritual purity, called the "Union," led by a messianic "Teacher of Righteousness." The Dead Sea Scrolls as a whole represent a wider spectrum of Jewish belief and may have been the contents of libraries from Jerusalem hidden during the war of AD 66-73. They also cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and the relationship of early Christian and Jewish religious traditions.

The Discovery

The scrolls were found in 11 caves near a settlement at Qumran, none of them coming from the actual settlement. It is generally accepted that a Bedouin goat- or sheep-herder by the name of Mohammed Ahmed el-Hamed (nicknamed edh-Dhib, "the wolf") made the first discovery towards the beginning of 1947.

In the most commonly told story the shepherd threw a rock into a cave in an attempt to drive out a missing animal under his care. The shattering sound of pottery drew him into the cave, where he found several ancient jars containing scrolls wrapped in linen.

Dr. John C. Trevor has carried out a number of interviews with several men going by the name of Muhammed edh-Dhib, each relating a variation on this tale.

The scrolls were first brought to a Bethlehem antiquities dealer named Ibrahim 'Ijha, who returned them after being warned that they may have been stolen from a synagogue. The scrolls then fell into the hands of Khalil Eskander Shahin, "Kando", a cobbler and antiques dealer. By most accounts the Bedouin removed only three scrolls following their initial find and, either encouraged by Kando to return, revisited the site to gather more. Alternatively, it is postulated that Kando engaged in his own illegal excavation: Kando himself possessed at least four scrolls.

Arrangements with Bedouin left the scrolls in the hands of a third party until a 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, more often referred to as Mar Samuel.

After examining the scrolls and suspecting their age, Mar Samuel expressed an interest in purchasing them. All four scrolls found their way into his hands, the now famous Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule, the Habakkuk Peshar, and the Genesis Apocryphon. Through the antiquities market, more scrolls soon surfaced, and Eleazer Sukenik found himself in possession of three: The War Scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns, and another more fragmented Isaiah scroll.

By the end of 1947, Sukenik, received word of the scrolls in Mar Samuel's possession and attempted to purchase them. No deal was reached, and instead the scrolls found the attention of Dr. John C. Trevor, of the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR). Dr. Trevor compared the script in the scrolls to the Nash Papyrus, the oldest biblical manuscript at the time, finding similarities between the two.

Dr. Trevor, a keen amateur photographer, met with Mar Samuel on February 21, 1948, when he photographed the scrolls. The quality of his photographs often exceeded that of the scrolls themselves over the years, as the texts quickly eroded once removed from their linen wraps.

In March of that year, violence erupted between Arabs and Jews in Palestine, prompting the removal of the scrolls from the country for safekeeping. The scrolls were illegally removed to Beirut.

Cave 1

In 1949, scholars pinpointed the cave from which the scrolls were lifted, following the initial discovery, two years previously. Excavations of the cave began in February, under the direction of G L Harding, Roland de Vaux, and Ibrahim El-Assouli, caretaker of the Rockefeller Museum. Many of the larger manuscripts and fragments had been removed by local Bedouin peoples, yet the excavation uncovered some 600 fragments, alongside scraps of wood, cloth and pottery fragments. Infrared photographs, later to provide a valuable means of reading the texts, were taken on-site. A sum of 1000 Jordanian pounds was negotiated with the Bedouin, working with Kando, in exchange for the remaining fragments, after it became apparent that the scrolls obtained by Sukenik and Mar Samuel were missing.

Cave 2

Three years later in 1952, the Bedouin, working with Kando, uncovered numerous fragments and sold them to the Palestine Archaeological Museum and the École Biblique.

Cave 3

On March 14 of the same year, the scholarly expedition discovered a third cave containing manuscript fragments. In addition to these fragments was the Copper Scroll, which aroused much speculation, comprising a list and directions to treasure sites.

Cave 4

In August 1952 the Bedouin made a find in Cave 4. Large volumes of scroll fragments (though no complete scrolls) soon surfaced on the antiquities market. When Harding discovered the site more than half of the cache had been gathered from the cave. The archaeological excavation began in late September of that year, yielding many more fragments from many more texts, as well as a second chamber to the cave.

The financially struggling Jordanian government soon found itself unable to fund further purchases, and so instead offered the opportunity to foreign institutions to invest in the acquisition of the scrolls, for which they would be compensated with fragments. Several institutions responded, but were to be denied their purchase and refunded their money when the Jordanian government changed its position, instead keeping the texts in Jordan.

Caves 5 and 6

Excavations at Cave 4 soon led to the discovery of Cave 5, offering a modest yield of fragments. The Bedouin, shortly thereafter, found Cave 6, removing the remains of nearly three dozen more scrolls. Most of these were papyrus rather than the leather that predominated in the other caves.

Mar Samuel, meanwhile, had made his way to America. Here he tried in vain to sell the texts in his possession, even displaying them once at the Library of Congress. Finally a now famous advertisement was taken out in the Wall Street Journal. On June 1, 1954, a Wall Street Journal ad proclaimed, "The Four Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical Manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC [sic], are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group." This ad was brought to the attention of Yigael Yadin, who, working through an intermediary, managed to purchase the scrolls for the sum of $250,000.

Caves 7-10

In 1955 archaeologists would discover four more caves, 7 through 10. Yielding few fragments, they were nonetheless significant. Cave 7 would yield nineteen Greek fragments (including 7Q5) and spark much debate in the ensuing decades. Cave 8 held but five fragments, though many materials used in the tying of scrolls would be found. Cave 9 held but one fragment and Cave 10 nothing but an ostracon.

Cave 11

The Bedouin discoverd Cave 11, yielding over two dozen texts, including the Temple Scroll, which would later be seized by the Israeli army at the behest of Yigael Yadin. Two other complete scrolls would emerge from Cave 11, a copy of Leviticus and a book of Psalms, including several previously unknown hymns. Many have speculated that more Cave 11 scrolls may rest in the hands of a private collector.

Web Links about Dead Sea Scroll

The Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed
The Dead Sea Scrolls lay hidden in the Judean desert for almost 2,000 years. They were written at a time when Judaism was undergoing momentous developments, and Christianity was about to take shape.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: the Koran connection
In 1947 a group of children stumbled upon the first set of scrolls in a cave on the shores of the dead sea. These scrolls were imediately identified as the work of a very devout sect of the Jewish community that lived centuries before the birth of Jesus (pbuh).

The Hebrew Scrolls and Historical "Truh"
The freeing of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1991 for study by all scholars has greatly advanced the search for the meaning and origin of these manuscripts, but that does not mean that we can by now distinguish with certainty between the false and the true of Qumranology.

The Dead Sea Scrolls
According to the official record, in the summer of 1947, the year before the founding of the modern state of Israel, a few Bedouin boys were grazing their flocks near the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Contradict the Qur'an
Mr. Mishaal Al-Kadhi tried to show that the Dead Sea Scrolls confirms the Qur'an. Christians, Muslims and atheists alike are just as likely to be excited about the possibility of the Dead Sea Scrolls either confirming one's or debunking others' beliefs.

Dead Sea Scrolls & Qumran
Links to Dead Sea Scroll and Qumran sites; Bibliography; Ancient and Modern Timelines; Profiles of Key Investigators and Historic Figures; Glossary; and an Inventory of Manuscripts by Cave are included.

Report on Certain Unusual Symbols Found in the Margins of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Victor H. Mair
eport on Certain Unusual Symbols Found in the Margins of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Victor Mair.

The Eschatology of Dead Sea Scrolls by Dr. Randall Price
This material is composed of biblical texts, commentaries on biblical texts,aprochyphal and pseudepigraphal texts, sectarian and ritualistic documents, and apocalyptic literature. Every book of the Old Testament is represented, except Esther, although there is evidence it too was known.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Controversy by Steve Mizrach
The current furor over the Dead Sea Scrolls has mostly been examined by the media as a simple scholarly feud. It is scandal enough that scroll researchers have restricted access by "outsiders" to the scrolls for over forty years.

Discovery of the Scrolls
Men of Qumran and the Messiah.

The Dead Sea Scrolls by Ayala Sussman and Ruth Peled
Ancient Hebrew scrolls accidentally discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin boy have kindled popular enthusiasm as well as serious scholarly interest over the past half century.

Scrolls From The Dead Sea
The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship.

The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship: Scrolls From the Dead Sea
Brings before the American people a selection from the scrolls which have been the subject of intense public interest. Over the years questions have been raised about the scrolls' authenticity, about the people who hid them away during the period in which they lived, about the secrets the scrolls might reveal, and about the intentions of the scrolls' custodians in restricting access.

Yahweh's name in the Dead Sea Scrolls
This is a photo of Psalms 119:59-64 in the Dead Sea Scrolls which are a collection of Hebrew Scriptures that date back 2000 years. Note Yahweh's name in the ancient Hebrew script while the rest of the text is in a more modern Hebrew that was used at the time...

The Dead Sea Scrolls Project
The Dead Sea Scrolls Project was established by the Oriental Institute during the months that followed the freeing of the scrolls (autumn 1991). The project was originally staffed by Dr. Norman Golb, Professor of Jewish History and Civilization, Dr. Michael Wise, Assistant Professor of Aramaic, as well as by our graduate research assistant, Anthony Tomasino.

Dead Sea Scrolls: The Angel Scroll
In 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been hailed as the greatest manuscript find of modern times. First discovered in 1947 in caves along the northwestern rim of the Dead Sea near the ancient site of Qumran, the scrolls are the fragmentary remains of more than 800 biblical and nonbiblical works dating from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 60.

Whatever Happened to the Dead Sea Scrolls? by Dr. Martin A. Larson
After listening to so many magnificent talks on Revisionism, I wonder whether my subject has any real relevance. But it does deal with an historical distortion and cover-up of the first magnitude and I hope you will find it interesting and constructive.