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Dead Sea Scrolls
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The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek. In general, they were written on parchment, with the exception of a few written on papyrus. The vast majority of the scrolls survived as fragments - only a handful were found intact. Nevertheless, scholars have managed to reconstruct from these fragments approximately eight hundred and fifty different manuscripts of various lengths.
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Undoubtedly the Dead Sea Scrolls are the most controversial archaeological discovery of the 20th Century. The Art Gallery of New South Wales together with the Israel Antiquities Authority will present an exhibition of these enigmatic manuscripts for the first time in Australia. The initial discovery in 1947 by Bedouin shepherds in a cave on the shores of the Dead Sea revealed seven nearly complete scrolls encased in clay jars. The scrolls are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and contain Biblical texts in the Hebrew Bible, some apocryphal literature, prayer texts and sectarian documents.
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The Dead Sea Scrolls have provided phenomenal evidence for the credibility of biblical scripture. Specifically, the nearly intact Great Isaiah Scroll is almost identical to the most recent manuscript version of the Masoretic text from the 900's AD. (Scholars have discovered a handful of spelling and tense-oriented scribal errors, but nothing of significance.) In light of Isaiah's rich Messianic prophecy, we thought it would be rewarding to reproduce a portion of the English translation of the actual Hebrew text found in the Great Isaiah Scroll. Specifically, the following corresponds to Isaiah 53 in today's Old Testament. Remember, this text was dated 100 to 335 years before the birth of Jesus Christ!
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The Dead Sea Scrolls have had a complicated and often colorful history. But what is in the Scrolls and why are they important? Those are the questions most people are interested in. Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, addresses those key topics in The Dead Sea Scrolls—What They Really Say, a lavishly illustrated e-book that is available as a FREE download.
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The term "Dead Sea Scrolls" has become the standard designation for fragmentary mss. discovered in limestone caves carved out of cliffs along the wadis that descend through the Judean wilderness to the left bank of the Dead Sea. From David (10th c. BCE) to the bar Kochba revolt (135 CE), Jewish fugitives often found shelter in caves in this area. But except for a few scrolls found "near Jericho" in the 8th c. CE, public attention to texts discovered in the Judean wilderness is a phenomenon of the past sixty years. Manuscripts found in eleven caves within a few miles of ancient ruins on a plateau overlooking the mouth of wadi Qumran have become the primary focus of an intense international scholarly debate related to the history of Judaism & the origins of Christianity. The main issues in this debate are:
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"The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to the events described in the New Testament, have added to our understanding of the Jewish background of Christianity. Scholars have pointed to similarities between beliefs and practices outlined in the Qumran literature and those of early Christians. These parallels include comparable rituals of baptism, communal meals, and property. Most interesting is the parallel organizational structures: the sectarians divided themselves into twelve tribes led by twelve chiefs, similar to the structure of the early Church, with twelve apostles who, according to Jesus, would to sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Many scholars believe that both the literature of Qumran and the early Christian teachings stem from a common stream within Judaism and do not reflect a direct link between the Qumran community and the early Christians."
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Dead Sea Scrolls