The Great Isaiah Scroll
Click here (YouTube) for an informative... if somewhat melodramatic... presentation about the priceless ancient texts from Qumran...
And click here (HebrewUniversity) for a wealth of information about the Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible...
3 comments:
This provides historical evidence, but the one thing that seems a little bothering is how different parts of the scrolls were spread apart in different caves. Were they hidden away for protection or for some other reason?
This is a pretty cool find. I wonder why the scrolls were all spread apart though. Could all of these archeological finds be building up to something greater ? I have bets on someone finding Noah's Ark here soon. At this rate there will be nothing left to excavate from ancient times!
-Taylor E.
Just how and why the scrolls ended up where they did (in 11 caves spread along the Dead Sea coast) remains a debated question among experts. Many believe that the scrolls were hidden there by their makers (probably the Essene apocalyptic community at Qumran) to protect them from Roman Destruction during the First Jewish War (66-70CE). Some argue that many of the scrolls were deliberately ripped up, possibly by Romans who found them. We simply don't know for sure. Qumran itself had a scriptorium (scroll writing and storage facility), so finding the DSS in caves strongly suggests they needed to be hidden and protected... fortunately for us, they largely were!
pdk
Post a Comment