10 Questions About the Dead Sea Scrolls Answered

As some of the most important archaeological finds in the world, the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided an unparalleled look into Israel’s past. Yet, despite their significance they are rarely mentioned outside of academic and…
Lexie Herman
July 1, 2021 3:15 pm

https://honestreporting.com/10-answers-to-questions-you-might-have-about-the-dead-sea-scrolls/

As some of the most important archaeological finds in the world, the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided an unparalleled look into Israel’s past. Yet, despite their significance they are rarely mentioned outside of academic and research settings.

So, what exactly are the Dead Sea Scrolls and why are they important? The following answers the questions you might have about the Scrolls and what they mean in terms of Jewish history.

1. What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of thousands of millennia-old scrolls, scraps and fragments from ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance. Discovered in caves in the Dead Sea region, these antiquities date back to as early as the third century BCE. 

Though only a few were found intact, scholars have been able to piece together documents to account for every book of the Hebrew bible except the books of Esther and Nehemiah.

In addition to biblical texts, the caves revealed many documents, letters, and scribal exercises, providing insight into life in the Judean Desert thousands of years ago. In total, over 950 manuscripts have been uncovered to date.

The documents, which are made from a variety of materials including animal skin, papyrus, and copper, have amazed people around the world with their well-preserved condition. Due to the lack of humidity and aridness of the Judean Desert, the artifacts were able to survive for thousands of years.

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2. Who Wrote the Scrolls?
Despite decades of excavations, scholars are still unsure who actually wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. Before they were discovered, many believed the region, specifically the Qumran area, was inhabited by a single group. However, the Scrolls suggest that there were actually multiple groups of sectarian Jews living in the region around the time they were written, particularly the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

Regardless of any differences among the sects, all of the manuscripts found in the Qumran Caves place a strong emphasis on religion. But even though each work centers around the Torah, the various groups all interacted with it in their own unique way. Alterations made to classic religious texts highlight the notion that writers from different communities took liberties to modify them as they saw fit.

It is unclear where these sects came from, with some scholars believing that they may not have even lived in the area and simply hid their manuscripts in the caves while fleeing Roman persecution. 

This presumption is heightened by the fact that the Scrolls are written in various languages and styles. While the majority of the Scrolls are written in the standard “square” script known to modern Hebrew, others are in paleo-Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and Arabic, indicating multiple points of origin. 

3. Who Were the Essenes?
Many researchers believe the Essenes to be the main community responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls. The discovery of the Scrolls has offered a unique, unprecedented insight into the lives of this group of Jews.

Believed to have been a sect of religious Jews who abandoned Jerusalem in protest at the way the Temple was being run, the Essenes viewed themselves as a sacred community, and referred to themselves as the “Sons of Light.” They believed anyone who was not a part of their holy sect was a “Son of Darkness,” or an enemy of Israel.

Like other sects of their time, the Essenes were an apocalyptic sect of Judaism, meaning they believed that there would be a battle between good and evil, or “Sons of Light” against “Sons of Darkness.” This catastrophic war would end the dark age with a return to the golden age of David and Solomon.

The group was almost exclusively composed of adult males who devoted themselves to the writing and preservation of sacred texts. Living in a monastic community, the Essenes spent the majority of their time dedicated to their studies without any outside distractions.

4. What is Included in the Scrolls?
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain a wide variety of content, from biblical texts and annotations to records of everyday life. 

Among the manuscripts found, the Book of Isaiah has proven to be the most prominent. It is the only manuscript preserved in its entirety, and the content of the document aligns with the messianic beliefs of the sectarians.

Additionally, many of the Scrolls feature critiques and interpretations of the Torah known as Pesherim. These are divided into two different types: those that deal with a specific subject and those that are written as running commentaries.

Among the interpretations found in the Qumran Caves were the Community Rule and the Temple Scroll. The Community Rule is the key to comprehending the daily lifestyle of the sectarians in Qumran. It discusses the acceptance of new members of the community, behavioral rules, and theological principles. The Temple Scroll, on the other hand, plans out details for the future of the Temple, written entirely from the perspective of the divine.

The sectarians also placed an emphasis on Hodayot, or thanksgiving hymns. They are partitioned into hymns of the teacher, expressing gratitude for being rescued from the forces of evil, and of the community, relating to their society as a whole.

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5. What is the Historical Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls?
With the amount of detail put into each manuscript, the Scrolls offer information on historic events through primary sources that scholars had not previously had access to.

For instance, letters stored in a leather waterskin in the Nahal Hever Caves provide original first-hand accounts from leaders of the Bar Kokhba revolt approximately 1,900 years ago. Furthermore, the same caves revealed the Archive of Babatha, a collection of finance documents, marriage certificates, and land deeds saved by a refugee during the revolt.

In addition to primary sources, the Scrolls delve into great detail about religious regulations and laws followed by the sectarians. The manuscripts help researchers analyze religious life during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, centuries before Jewish scholars compiled the Talmud. 

Before the Scrolls were discovered, the only evidence of the lifestyle during this period came from a small number of allusions found in rabbinic literature. As such, the discovery of the ancient texts is highly significant to contemporary understanding of life in the Judean Desert at the time.

“another small piece of the puzzle of the past”

–  Oren Ableman, member of the Antiquities Authority team, describing the artifacts

6. How Were the Scrolls Found?
In 1947, a young Bedouin shepherd was chasing after a stray sheep in the Judean Desert when he came across a cave. While walking along, he tossed a rock into the darkness, and was shocked to hear the sound of breaking glass. Upon further inspection, he found large clay jars, many of which were filled with rolled-up scrolls.

Unaware of their true value, the Bedouin sold the initial seven Scrolls to antiquities dealers. But word got out, and Hebrew University Professor Eliezer Lipa Sukenik decided to investigate.

Sukenik was able to hunt down three of the Scrolls in the possession of a dealer in Bethlehem. Seven years later, his son, Yigael Yadin, acquired the other four, bringing the original Scrolls together at Hebrew University where they became the property of the State of Israel.

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7. What Happened After the Scrolls Were Discovered?
Over the course of nine years after the first cave was discovered, archaeologists uncovered similar artifacts in ten more caves along the Dead Sea. Further excavations have also unearthed documents in caves outside of the Qumran area, specifically in Nahal Hever, Wadi Murabba’at, and Masada.

As interest in the Scrolls grew, the pursuit after more of the texts became a competition between archaeologists and Bedouin treasure hunters, who sought to make a fortune by selling them. 

Yet, by 1956, Roland de Vaux, director of École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem, and Gerald Lankester Harding, British director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, had managed to negotiate with the Bedouin to obtain the artifacts the latter had found.

8. Why Were the Scrolls Sold in a Wall Street Journal Ad?
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were first sold to antiquities dealers, four of them were purchased by Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, a Syrian Orthodox Archbishop from Jerusalem. Once the Israeli War of Independence broke out in 1948, Samuel fled to America where he unsuccessfully attempted to sell the Scrolls to universities.

By 1954, Samuel was desperate to sell the Scrolls, leading him to place an ad in the Wall Street Journal. The advertisement, posted on June 1, 1954, read:

“Biblical manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group.”

Seeing the ad, Yigael Yadin was able to find and purchase the Scrolls and bring them to his father at Hebrew University.

9. What is the Shrine of the Book?
Built in 1965 as part of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Shrine of the Book was created to house the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls. Today, many of the Scrolls, as well as artifacts found along with them, are on display there.

The shape of the building itself is a unique dome-like structure, meant to embody the nature of the jars that the Scrolls were originally discovered in. The building is continuously cooled by fountains spraying water over the exterior, and the exhibition rooms are kept dimly lit in order preserve the fragile texts. 

The dome is white, in stark contrast to the black wall alongside it — a clear visual reference to the “Sons of Light” and “Sons of Darkness.”

Additionally, the dark and cavernous interior of the Shrine of the Book is a tribute to the many caves in the Judean Desert that encased the Scrolls for over 2,000 years.

10. Are Archaeologists Still Finding More Scrolls?
On March 16, 2021, archaeologists uncovered the first scroll fragments in over 60 years. The remains have been identified as having come from a larger scroll found in the same cave in the 1950s.

The specific cave containing these Scrolls is called the Cave of Horror, named for the remains of 40 Jewish refugees unearthed the first time the cave was excavated.

With new drone technology, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is hopeful that it can uncover even more artifacts.

Since 2017, the IAA has been working on a national project in order to find remaining scroll fragments before looters can take and sell them.

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https://aish.com/the-not-so-dead-sea-scrolls/?src=ac-txt
How the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered by many to be the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century, speak to Jews in the 21st century.

The Israel Museum is an incredible place, with everything from Biblical artifacts to a magnificent collection of impressionist art. Jewish ritual art, reconstructed synagogues from around the world, prehistoric fossils from the Middle East and installations and exhibits of contemporary artists all live together under one roof.

For me the most exciting display in the museum is the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls and other artifacts from Qumran are on display.1 During a visit with my children, one of my sons climbed on to a display case (he is Israeli, after all) and called me to come over. He began reading from the Isaiah scroll,2 the oldest extant version of his prophecies, and said to me that he had been studying those verses in school the previous week.

“It’s a miracle!” I exclaimed; my eyes filled with tears. “My son remembered what he learned in school last week!” The real miracle, however, was the fact that a child of the 20th century was able to read a 2000-year-old text fluently, understand the language of the text and was familiar with the rituals, artifacts and places that are discussed in the text.

During another visit to the museum when one of my sons was becoming bar mitzvah and had just begun to wear tefillin, we went to the Shrine of the Book and I pointed out an artifact found at Qumran. It was a square piece of formed leather with four compartments containing small scrolls inscribed in Hebrew. My son looked at it and said, with classic teenage attitude accompanied by rolling of eyes, “Big deal, they’re tefillin.” Think about it. The fact that a 13-year-old boy can instantly recognize a 2000-year-old artifact to the extent that it’s boring to him is incredible. It demonstrates a continuity of an ancient tradition that is alive and well today.

What exactly are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) • Qumran Cave 1 • 1st century BCE • Parchment • H: 22-25, L: 734 cm • Government of Israel • Accession number: HU 95.57/27

“The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many to be the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century.”3 They are a collection of scrolls that were the communal library of a religious Jewish community that existed in the Qumran region of Israel near the Dead Sea. Professor Lawrence Schiffman, a world-leading expert on the scrolls, describes them as: “the documents of various groups of Second Temple Jews whose writings were assembled by a particular sect inhabiting the Qumran settlement during the Hasmonean and Herodian periods…”4

“All the books of the Hebrew Bible, except for Nehemiah and Esther, were discovered at Qumran. In some cases, several copies of the same book were found (for instance, there were 30 copies of Deuteronomy), while in others, only one copy came to light (e.g., Ezra). Sometimes the text is almost identical to the Masoretic text, which received its final form about one thousand years later in medieval codices; and sometimes it resembles other versions of the Bible (such as the Samaritan Pentateuch or the Greek translation known as the Septuagint). Scrolls bearing the Septuagint Greek translation (Exodus, Leviticus) and an Aramaic translation (Leviticus, Job) have survived as well. The most outstanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls is undoubtedly the Isaiah Scroll – the only biblical scroll from Qumran that has been preserved in its entirety (it is 734 cm long). This scroll is also one of the oldest to have been preserved; scholars estimate that it was written around 100 BCE.”5

Tefillin from Qumran – note the four compartments and the scrolls

In addition to the Bible, there is correspondence between the Qumran sect and the Rabbis of Jerusalem, an apocalyptic text, “The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness,” mezuzahs, tefillin, prayers and calendars, and much more. Although the Qumran community do not appear to be “mainstream” Jews, but rather sectarians [a small breakaway group, who differed somewhat in practice and beliefs from the majority of Jews], they nevertheless clearly identified as Jews, both religiously and nationally. What are surprising are not the differences in text and practice6 but the similarities. The scrolls highlight disputes amongst the Jewish people during the Second Temple Era, however, they also indicate that all the various approaches, “with the exception of the extreme Hellenizers, demanded observance of the Torah’s commandments.”7

The story surrounding the discovery of the scrolls and their return to Israel is fascinating and historically significant. “The first seven Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by chance in 1947 by Bedouin, in a cave near Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Three of the scrolls were immediately purchased by archaeologist E. L. Sukenik on behalf of the Hebrew University; the others were bought by the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Church in East Jerusalem, Mar Athanasius Samuel. In 1948 Samuel smuggled the four scrolls in his possession to the United States; it was only in 1954 that Sukenik’s son, Yigael Yadin, also an archaeologist, was able to bring them back to this country.”8

Israeli archeologist Yigael Yadin, seen here with a papyrus document from the Cave of Letters
Yigael Yadin became famous for his excavation of the Masada fortress, near Qumran, that served as one of the last outposts of the Jewish struggle against Roman occupation following the destruction of the Second Temple.9 Yadin was not only an archaeologist, but was a general who was Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1949 until 1952. He published at least one book and five research papers on the Dead Sea Scrolls and was instrumental in bringing the archaeology of the land of Israel into the public consciousness.

In 1963, speaking to soldiers from the Armored Corps who had their swearing-in ceremony at the Masada excavation, Yadin said: “When Napoleon stood among his troops next to the pyramids of Egypt, he declared, ‘Four thousand years of history look down upon you.’ But what would he not have given to be able to say to his men: ‘four thousand years of your own history look down upon you.’10

Dead Sea Scrolls are Alive and Well
How do these “Dead” Sea Scrolls speak to living Jews in the 21st century? When we next hear the Torah being read in a synagogue, we can appreciate that the storage and transmission methods of our sacred texts have not changed in over 3,000 years. That is quite impressive, when we consider all the other changes that have taken place during that period. The scrolls of the Torah that we still use are islands of authenticity amid a world awash in artifice. There is a sense of solidity and security in knowing that certain aspects of life, like the Jewish text that is the bedrock of our faith, are constant.

These ancient scrolls of a community living in the Dead Sea region of Israel remind us that Israel is not new, but ancient. As the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, put it, “On the 14th of May, 1948 a new state was not founded ex nihilo. Rather, the crown was restored to its pristine splendor 1,813 years after the independence of Israel was destroyed, during the days of Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiba ...”11

The Caves of Qumran

Here are remnants and artifacts of a Jewish community living in the Israeli desert, near the Ein Gedi oasis, after the destruction of the Second Temple. Here were Jews clinging to their land under the boot of the Roman Empire and clinging to their traditions in a world of chaos and change. They put mezuzahs on their doorposts, as we do; the men wore tefillin every morning, as we do; they immersed in the mikveh, recited the Psalms of King David and read the prophecies of Isaiah. We, the Jewish people of the 21st century, are descendants of the Hebrew-speaking, Jewish, indigenous people of Israel, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The verse in Psalms12 states “Truth will spring from the ground…” and archaeology of the land of Israel is a fulfilment of this verse. The Dead Sea Scrolls bring home the idea that the Jewish people’s presence in Israel is not a recent phenomenon; it is a continuation of a broad and deep history of Jewish communities in Israel and that the ancient practices of the Jewish people still live among their descendants.

Photos courtesy the Israel Museum website - https://www.imj.org.il/ and from the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls website http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/

Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Israel Museum, Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Collection http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah
Biblical Archaeology Review – Summer 2022 Vol. 48 No. 2 p. 55 – Charlotte Hempel, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Birmingham, UK. Expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Doubleday, NY, 1994, Preface, p. xiii
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Dead Sea Discoveries, 2006. Vol. 13, No. 3, Pre-Maccabean Halakhah in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Biblical Tradition. Author: Lawrence H. Schiffman
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Introduction, p. XXV
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand. New York: Random House, 196
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-06-28/ty-article/.premium/1984-israels-beloved-archaeologist-dies
David Ben-Gurion, Address To The Knesset On The Law Of Return, 1950, Knesset Hansards.
Psalms 85:12

https://aish.com/the-not-so-dead-sea-scrolls/?src=ac-txt
How the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered by many to be the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century, speak to Jews in the 21st century.

The Israel Museum is an incredible place, with everything from Biblical artifacts to a magnificent collection of impressionist art. Jewish ritual art, reconstructed synagogues from around the world, prehistoric fossils from the Middle East and installations and exhibits of contemporary artists all live together under one roof.

For me the most exciting display in the museum is the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls and other artifacts from Qumran are on display.1 During a visit with my children, one of my sons climbed on to a display case (he is Israeli, after all) and called me to come over. He began reading from the Isaiah scroll,2 the oldest extant version of his prophecies, and said to me that he had been studying those verses in school the previous week.

“It’s a miracle!” I exclaimed; my eyes filled with tears. “My son remembered what he learned in school last week!” The real miracle, however, was the fact that a child of the 20th century was able to read a 2000-year-old text fluently, understand the language of the text and was familiar with the rituals, artifacts and places that are discussed in the text.

During another visit to the museum when one of my sons was becoming bar mitzvah and had just begun to wear tefillin, we went to the Shrine of the Book and I pointed out an artifact found at Qumran. It was a square piece of formed leather with four compartments containing small scrolls inscribed in Hebrew. My son looked at it and said, with classic teenage attitude accompanied by rolling of eyes, “Big deal, they’re tefillin.” Think about it. The fact that a 13-year-old boy can instantly recognize a 2000-year-old artifact to the extent that it’s boring to him is incredible. It demonstrates a continuity of an ancient tradition that is alive and well today.

What exactly are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) • Qumran Cave 1 • 1st century BCE • Parchment • H: 22-25, L: 734 cm • Government of Israel • Accession number: HU 95.57/27

“The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many to be the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century.”3 They are a collection of scrolls that were the communal library of a religious Jewish community that existed in the Qumran region of Israel near the Dead Sea. Professor Lawrence Schiffman, a world-leading expert on the scrolls, describes them as: “the documents of various groups of Second Temple Jews whose writings were assembled by a particular sect inhabiting the Qumran settlement during the Hasmonean and Herodian periods…”4

“All the books of the Hebrew Bible, except for Nehemiah and Esther, were discovered at Qumran. In some cases, several copies of the same book were found (for instance, there were 30 copies of Deuteronomy), while in others, only one copy came to light (e.g., Ezra). Sometimes the text is almost identical to the Masoretic text, which received its final form about one thousand years later in medieval codices; and sometimes it resembles other versions of the Bible (such as the Samaritan Pentateuch or the Greek translation known as the Septuagint). Scrolls bearing the Septuagint Greek translation (Exodus, Leviticus) and an Aramaic translation (Leviticus, Job) have survived as well. The most outstanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls is undoubtedly the Isaiah Scroll – the only biblical scroll from Qumran that has been preserved in its entirety (it is 734 cm long). This scroll is also one of the oldest to have been preserved; scholars estimate that it was written around 100 BCE.”5

Tefillin from Qumran – note the four compartments and the scrolls

In addition to the Bible, there is correspondence between the Qumran sect and the Rabbis of Jerusalem, an apocalyptic text, “The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness,” mezuzahs, tefillin, prayers and calendars, and much more. Although the Qumran community do not appear to be “mainstream” Jews, but rather sectarians [a small breakaway group, who differed somewhat in practice and beliefs from the majority of Jews], they nevertheless clearly identified as Jews, both religiously and nationally. What are surprising are not the differences in text and practice6 but the similarities. The scrolls highlight disputes amongst the Jewish people during the Second Temple Era, however, they also indicate that all the various approaches, “with the exception of the extreme Hellenizers, demanded observance of the Torah’s commandments.”7

The story surrounding the discovery of the scrolls and their return to Israel is fascinating and historically significant. “The first seven Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by chance in 1947 by Bedouin, in a cave near Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Three of the scrolls were immediately purchased by archaeologist E. L. Sukenik on behalf of the Hebrew University; the others were bought by the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Church in East Jerusalem, Mar Athanasius Samuel. In 1948 Samuel smuggled the four scrolls in his possession to the United States; it was only in 1954 that Sukenik’s son, Yigael Yadin, also an archaeologist, was able to bring them back to this country.”8

Israeli archeologist Yigael Yadin, seen here with a papyrus document from the Cave of Letters
Yigael Yadin became famous for his excavation of the Masada fortress, near Qumran, that served as one of the last outposts of the Jewish struggle against Roman occupation following the destruction of the Second Temple.9 Yadin was not only an archaeologist, but was a general who was Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1949 until 1952. He published at least one book and five research papers on the Dead Sea Scrolls and was instrumental in bringing the archaeology of the land of Israel into the public consciousness.

In 1963, speaking to soldiers from the Armored Corps who had their swearing-in ceremony at the Masada excavation, Yadin said: “When Napoleon stood among his troops next to the pyramids of Egypt, he declared, ‘Four thousand years of history look down upon you.’ But what would he not have given to be able to say to his men: ‘four thousand years of your own history look down upon you.’10

Dead Sea Scrolls are Alive and Well
How do these “Dead” Sea Scrolls speak to living Jews in the 21st century? When we next hear the Torah being read in a synagogue, we can appreciate that the storage and transmission methods of our sacred texts have not changed in over 3,000 years. That is quite impressive, when we consider all the other changes that have taken place during that period. The scrolls of the Torah that we still use are islands of authenticity amid a world awash in artifice. There is a sense of solidity and security in knowing that certain aspects of life, like the Jewish text that is the bedrock of our faith, are constant.

These ancient scrolls of a community living in the Dead Sea region of Israel remind us that Israel is not new, but ancient. As the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, put it, “On the 14th of May, 1948 a new state was not founded ex nihilo. Rather, the crown was restored to its pristine splendor 1,813 years after the independence of Israel was destroyed, during the days of Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiba ...”11

The Caves of Qumran

Here are remnants and artifacts of a Jewish community living in the Israeli desert, near the Ein Gedi oasis, after the destruction of the Second Temple. Here were Jews clinging to their land under the boot of the Roman Empire and clinging to their traditions in a world of chaos and change. They put mezuzahs on their doorposts, as we do; the men wore tefillin every morning, as we do; they immersed in the mikveh, recited the Psalms of King David and read the prophecies of Isaiah. We, the Jewish people of the 21st century, are descendants of the Hebrew-speaking, Jewish, indigenous people of Israel, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The verse in Psalms12 states “Truth will spring from the ground…” and archaeology of the land of Israel is a fulfilment of this verse. The Dead Sea Scrolls bring home the idea that the Jewish people’s presence in Israel is not a recent phenomenon; it is a continuation of a broad and deep history of Jewish communities in Israel and that the ancient practices of the Jewish people still live among their descendants.

Photos courtesy the Israel Museum website - https://www.imj.org.il/ and from the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls website http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/

Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Israel Museum, Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Collection http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah
Biblical Archaeology Review – Summer 2022 Vol. 48 No. 2 p. 55 – Charlotte Hempel, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Birmingham, UK. Expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Doubleday, NY, 1994, Preface, p. xiii
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Dead Sea Discoveries, 2006. Vol. 13, No. 3, Pre-Maccabean Halakhah in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Biblical Tradition. Author: Lawrence H. Schiffman
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Introduction, p. XXV
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Shrine of the Book. https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand. New York: Random House, 196
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-06-28/ty-article/.premium/1984-israels-beloved-archaeologist-dies
David Ben-Gurion, Address To The Knesset On The Law Of Return, 1950, Knesset Hansards.
Psalms 85:12