Dead Sea Scrolls

The Psalms Scroll with transcription. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible , discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in 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; " Apocryphal " 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 (Hebrew pesher פשר = "Commentary") on Habakkuk , and the Rule of the Blessing , which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls. From papyrus to cyberspace The Guardian August 27, 2008. Story of the Bible . ed.

The Dead Sea Scrolls , in the narrow sense of Qumran Caves Scrolls , are a collection of some 981 different texts discovered between 1946 and 1956 in eleven caves from the immediate vicinity of the ancient settlement at Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank . The caves are located about 2 kilometres inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea , from which they derive their name. The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the second oldest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon , along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism . There are only two silver scrolls which contain biblical text and are older than the Dead Sea Scrolls; they were excavated in Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom and date from around 600 BCE. Most of the texts are written in Hebrew , with some in Aramaic (in different regional dialects, including Nabataean ), and a few in Greek . If discoveries from the Judean desert are included, Latin (from Masada ) and Arabic (from Khirbet al-Mird ) can be added. Most texts are written on parchment , some on papyrus and one on copper . The larger consensus is that the Qumran Caves Scrolls date from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE (see "Age" paragraph in this article and the dedicated site of the Israel Museum ). Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (135–104 BCE) and continuing until the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the radiocarbon and paleographic dating of the scrolls. Manuscripts from additional Judean desert sites go back as far as the eighth century BCE to as late as the 11th century CE. The scrolls have traditionally been identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes , although some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem , Zadokites or other unknown Jewish groups. Due to the poor condition of some of the Scrolls, not all of them have been identified. Those that have been identified can be divided into three general groups: some 40% of them are copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible, approximately another 30% of them are texts from the Second Temple Period which ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible , like the Book of Enoch , Jubilees , the Book of Tobit , the Wisdom of Sirach , Psalms 152–155 , etc., and the remaining roughly 30% of them are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule , the War Scroll , the Pesher on Habakkuk and The Rule of the Blessing . "On the Jerusalem Origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls" (PDf) . University of Chicago Oriental Institute . There are <ref group=notes> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Ancient Jewish religious manuscripts found in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls ) are ancient Jewish religious manuscripts that were found in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert , near Ein Feshkha on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank . Scholarly consensus dates these scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE . The texts have great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the second-oldest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon , along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism . Almost all of the Dead Sea Scrolls are held by the state of Israel in the Shrine of the Book on the grounds of the Israel Museum , but ownership of the scrolls is disputed by Jordan and Palestine . Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area. They represent the remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by natural causes or through human interference, with the vast majority holding only small scraps of text. However, a small number of well-preserved, almost intact manuscripts have survived – fewer than a dozen among those from the Qumran Caves. Researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts – discovered in 1946/47 and in 1956 – from 11 caves. The 11 Qumran Caves lie in the immediate vicinity of the Hellenistic-period Jewish settlement at Khirbet Qumran in the eastern Judaean Desert , in the West Bank . The caves are located about one mile (1.6 kilometres) west of the northwest shore of the Dead Sea , whence they derive their name. Scholarly consensus dates the Qumran Caves Scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE. Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (in office 135–104 BCE) and continuing until the period of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the radiocarbon and paleographic dating of the scrolls . In the larger sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls include manuscripts from additional Judaean Desert sites, dated as early as the 8th century BCE and as late as the 11th century CE. Biblical texts older than the Dead Sea Scrolls have been discovered only in two silver scroll-shaped amulets containing portions of the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers , excavated in Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom and dated c. 600 BCE; some scholars also include the controversial Shapira Scroll . The third-oldest surviving known piece of the Torah, the En-Gedi Scroll , consists of a portion of Leviticus found in the Ein Gedi synagogue, burnt in the 6th century CE and analyzed in 2015. Research has dated it palaeographically to the 1st or 2nd century CE, and using the C14 method to sometime between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. Most of the texts use Hebrew , with some written in Aramaic (for example the Son of God text ; in different regional dialects, including Nabataean ), and a few in Greek . Discoveries from the Judaean Desert add Latin (from Masada ) and Arabic (from Khirbet al-Mird ) texts. Most of the texts are written on parchment , some on papyrus , and one on copper . Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes , although some recent interpretations have challenged this connection and argue that priests in Jerusalem , or Zadokites , or other unknown Jewish groups wrote the scrolls. Owing to the poor condition of some of the scrolls, scholars have not identified all of their texts. The identified texts fall into three general groups: About 40% are copies of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures . Approximately another 30% are texts from the Second Temple Period which ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible , like the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees , the Book of Tobit , the Wisdom of Sirach , Psalms 152–155 , etc. The remainder (roughly 30%) are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group ( sect ) or groups within greater Judaism , like the Community Rule , the War Scroll , the Pesher on Habakkuk , and The Rule of the Blessing . The Hebrew University of Jerusalem . University of Chicago Oriental Institute .

The Dead Sea Scrolls , also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls , are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period . They were discovered over a period of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank , on the northern shore of the Dead Sea . Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons , along with extra-biblical and deuterocanonical manuscripts that preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism . At the same time, they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism . Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum , located in the city of Jerusalem . The Israeli government's custody of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on territorial, legal, and humanitarian grounds — they were mostly discovered following the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank and were acquired by Israel after Jordan lost the 1967 Arab–Israeli War — whilst Israel's claims are primarily based on historical and religious grounds, given their significance in Jewish history and in the heritage of Judaism . Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area. They represent the remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by natural causes or through human interference, with the vast majority holding only small scraps of text. However, a small number of well-preserved and near-intact manuscripts have survived — fewer than a dozen among those from the Qumran Caves. Researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts (discovered in 1946/1947 and in 1956) from 11 caves, which lie in the immediate vicinity of the Hellenistic Jewish settlement at the site of Khirbet Qumran in the eastern Judaean Desert , in the West Bank. The caves are located about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) west of the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, whence they derive their name. Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect known as the Essenes , although some recent interpretations have challenged this connection and argue that priests in Jerusalem , or Zadokites , or other unknown Jewish groups wrote the scrolls. Most of the manuscripts are written in Hebrew , with some written in Aramaic (for example the Son of God Text ; in different regional dialects, including Nabataean ) and a few in Greek . Discoveries from the Judaean Desert add Latin (from Masada ) and Arabic (from Khirbet al-Mird ). Most of the texts are written on parchment , some on papyrus , and one on copper . Though scholarly consensus dates the Dead Sea Scrolls to between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, there are manuscripts from associated Judaean Desert sites that are dated to as early as the 8th century BCE and as late as the 11th century CE. Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus , a ruler of the Hasmonean Kingdom (in office 135–104 BCE), and continuing until the period of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the paleography and radiocarbon dating of the scrolls. Owing to the poor condition of some of the scrolls, scholars have not identified all of their texts. The identified texts fall into three general groups: About 40% are copies of texts from Hebrew scriptures . Approximately another 30% are texts from the Second Temple period that ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible, like the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees , the Book of Tobit , the Wisdom of Sirach , Psalms 152–155 , etc. The remainder (roughly 30%) are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular sect or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule , the War Scroll , the Pesher on Habakkuk , and The Rule of the Blessing . Thus, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan base their claims on territorial aspects (places of discovery of the scrolls), humanitarian (illegal deprivation following the occupation of East Jerusalem by Israel) and legal (they claim to have proof of purchase of several scrolls) while, for its part, Israel's claims are primarily based in religious notions, invoking the sacred history of the Jewish people and recalling that the scrolls discovered in Qumran are, for the majority, the oldest known copies of biblical texts and are therefore of fundamental importance for the historical and religious heritage of Judaism. University of Chicago Oriental Institute .

They were discovered over a period of ten years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank , on the northern shore of the Dead Sea . Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons , including deuterocanonical manuscripts from late Second Temple Judaism and extrabiblical books. At the same time, they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism . In the wider sense , the Dead Sea Scrolls also include similar findings from elsewhere in the Judaean Desert , of which some are from later centuries. Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum located in Jerusalem . The Israeli government's custody of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on territorial, legal, and humanitarian grounds—they were mostly discovered following the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank and were acquired by Israel after Jordan lost the 1967 Arab–Israeli War —whilst Israel's claims are primarily based on historical and religious grounds, given their significance in Jewish history and in the heritage of Judaism . Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area – most have been published, together with the details of their discovery, in the 40-volume Discoveries in the Judaean Desert . They represent the remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by natural causes or through human interference, with the vast majority holding only small scraps of text. However, a small number of well-preserved and nearly intact manuscripts have survived—fewer than a dozen among those from the Qumran Caves. Researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts (discovered in 1946/1947 and in 1956) from 11 caves, which lie in the immediate vicinity of the Hellenistic Jewish settlement at the site of Khirbet Qumran in the eastern Judaean Desert in the West Bank. The caves are located about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) west of the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, whence the scrolls derive their name. Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect known as the Essenes , although some recent interpretations have challenged this connection and argue that priests in Jerusalem or other unknown Jewish groups wrote the scrolls. Most of the manuscripts are written in Hebrew , with some written in Aramaic (for example the Son of God Text , in different regional dialects, including Nabataean ) and a few in Greek . Other discoveries from the Judaean Desert add Latin (from Masada ), and some later Arabic manuscripts from the 7th-8th centuries CE (from Khirbet al-Mird ). Most of the texts are written on parchment , some on papyrus , and one on copper . Though scholarly consensus dates the Dead Sea Scrolls to between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, there are Arabic manuscripts from associated Judaean Desert sites that are dated between the 8th and 10th century CE. Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus , a ruler of the Hasmonean Kingdom (in office 135–104 BCE), and continuing until the period of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the paleography and radiocarbon dating of the scrolls. Owing to the poor condition of some of the scrolls, scholars have not identified all of their texts. The identified texts fall into three general groups: About 40% are copies of texts from Hebrew scriptures . Approximately 30% are texts from the Second Temple period that ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible, such as the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees , the Book of Tobit , the Wisdom of Sirach , Psalms 152–155 , etc. The remainder (roughly 30%) are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular sect or groups within greater Judaism, such as the Community Rule , the War Scroll , the Pesher on Habakkuk , and The Rule of the Blessing . Thus, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan base their claims on territorial aspects (places of discovery of the scrolls), humanitarian (illegal deprivation following the occupation of East Jerusalem by Israel) and legal (they claim to have proof of purchase of several scrolls) while, for its part, Israel's claims are primarily based in religious notions, invoking the sacred history of the Jewish people and recalling that the scrolls discovered in Qumran are, for the majority, the oldest known copies of biblical texts and are therefore of fundamental importance for the historical and religious heritage of Judaism. University of Chicago Oriental Institute .