Secrets of The Dead Sea Scrolls by Randall Price

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SECR.E1'S OP THE UEAD' SEA SCROLLS

Copyrlght It! 1996, by World of mil: Bible! M~ml§!trics, Inc~ :PuiMi~hed by HU!!"Ve~t HQI1~ Publishenl:

Elilgen.e, Oregon 9140~

PriOC'. Randall

Sccrets (Ifllle [lelld Sea SliJ'Qlb I Randi!.UPrice,

po,. em,.

~nc.I.'Ude..~ bib;liQgra(IJlJica] referetlce-s. iSBN ~=~6S:ffi!=4.54-8

L Dead Sea scroUs=-Criti.c;ism, l!lIkiip!'CW!tiOIl. ete, I. '['itk, ,B.M.4IU.PBS 1'996

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AU rights re:seil"VOO. N(lpo:rtlo~ of !hi" book: may Mreproducoo iii! any fonnwllhDul ![he Wrll.t:e;n ~p mis'sion ohhe Pubtishlli:l':

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(gntents

Foreword

Abbr,eviaUon:s: (SmOLA) fOF the Dead. Sea. SeroUs preface.

InltXod,]Jction

Part 1: The Discovery Heard. ,Aromnd the Wor~d

Chapter 1 The Drama of~he, Scrons . . ,. . . . .. . . .. ... .. . .. 11

Chapter 2 The StOIY of the ScroUs. . . . . . . . . . , .. . . . .. 29

Chapter 31be S candlal ,of the Scn)Us. . . . . . .. . . .. . . .,. .5 [

.Part U: Decipbering th.,e SeC:RU: of .Ages Past

A SUP-rey of the Scrolls .. .. . < • • • • •• , , • • • .,. 15

The S cribes of the SeroUs. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .., • 103

The Si,g~lfh;ance of the Scrolls , t2.3

, ' • , - - • • f , - - , , 143

The New ]e.sm:ament ,. , .. ."" ., . . . ., .",,' IpS

Part DE: What Do the Scrolls 17e3,ch?

The Doctrin ... ,o,f- the ;.S-; ..... r .... llm.,. ~ n,'l

L 'Llh •• L_·V¥_.I:lJlI'~~·'J .,.,.\;1' __ ""' .. V,~~~ ,~ " '!i!' " " ' .. ,~ .. ,~ " 'II' '!i!' !!' !to 1..,;1';;J

Propbecy and the S c:ro]ls,...., ..,. ..... .. :215

TbeTemp,le and the Scrolls .. .. .. .2J.s

'Chapl,er l2 'Chapter 13

Secrets of the Copper Seroll . . ., .., . , . . .. 265 The; Messiah ia ~he, SCl'IJnS , •••••••.•••. , •.•• 293

Chapter 1.4

Is. the: Christian Messlahin the Scrolls? . .... . . .3l1

Pad IV: A Can to Discernment

Jesus and the Qumran Commu.nUy 329

Sensationalism and ehe Scrolls. ... ,. .. , ,... . . • 343

Copyrighted material

Chapter ll.7 Cha.pter 118

Sensationalismand the Scholars . , .. ... .... .. . . 359 ,C- :-·-Ilt·s and th ··e Scr cll~- '3',···'·9'

.. ..u .~.. . ·n. . .. I... .. rO.ls • •.. .. .. .. • .. .. • . .. .. . .. .. . .. . . -.. ..

Part V:' Al..ook Ahead.

Panties and the, Scrolls 401

Chapter 20

N e -, Searches fo 'S-- -ll 41 ~ ~

:_I _ w_ ,~.-.",.~._""", .~'_ -:r _. cro._._s. • . . .,' ..•...• ,.. _. ~ =

Chapter!l

Lessons f"om,tbe Serolls . . .. .. . .., . ., . . . . . . 4-,3 m

Hist,odca~. Ov,ervwew of tbe Second Tem:p,le P'l!riod , .. . • . . . '. ., •...... , •• 444f A Cboomologic:al History . . , . . . . . . . . ..," , , . , . . .,' '" , " " , ..,' ., 441

G·~.oss:ary , . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . .. .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . .. . .. .. . .. 461

Elildnote:s . . . .... .. .. .. . ... . .". .. . . . .. . . .". .... . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . ·41.81:

.Autb:D[ IUl,dex .. .' - - - -. • ..... . . - . . . . .. . • . . . . . . . • . 52.8

.Ma.ps,. Charts, and. I11.wstrations

Location of ~be De·ad Sea SeroU Discoyeries ', ."" " " , ." , . , . 19'

Location. of tbe. 'Qum.r.an Caves. .. . . .. .. . .. . . . ' .. . . .. ".. ,.. .. ". " " ... , .. '2 ~

Reconstruction. of the Qumran CommunIty.. . . .. . . . , . , ., , , '79

Recon.stroctiull of t~e $cn.ptorhlm .. .. . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . 84

Qnrnr.arn M.anuscr:l.pu'50f the Old T~-s~ament .,.,' .,' , , , , .•.. 87-88

Mark 6:S2~.S3, and .7'25 .,., , , , , ~8(i

Prophe;ti.c Perspective; of Qumran CQtw1nu.mirt in History 2201

Esc:hato[ogy of ~heDeadSea SeroUs . .. • •.. .. .. • . . ., ., ., . . . . , • , ,. ,225 The Temple, Cb:y of the Temple Sem/'- .•.. .. .. .. .. .. .. • .. ....•.........•..•.. 254. The Te,m.ple .of the Te,mpie Scrol.l . . .. . •.... . . .. . • .. . .. ,. . . . . . . . •.. , .. 255 The Outer Co~rts of the 'Iemp~e ofnhe T.en-wle· Set-vII. .". , .. .. .. . •... 25,6,

,SlJgges~cd Locauions of the Copper Scroll C~ches , ,' 215·~,2j'7

niiffenmces JBfrlwee~nJ,esns: and tile Essenes 334

Qrulnran Geophysical S ,,]I'Ve,)!, LocatIon. ,M,ap .., •. , '. , . . . . . ... ... .... . . ,. . 4201 H~storIcal Overvi,e,w of ~he Soc~nd TemplePeidod .•..•................. 4144=44,5;

Copyrighled mataria'

Abbreviati,ons, (SfGlJ\)

tor t:he Dead Sea Scrolls Texts ,ci:ted

Numerical pr-efix .... number orfthe cave 1m which the document was found; numerical suffix .~' designated sequence; subscript ~. particular CIQPY of manu script; Q ::: Qumran; letter abbreviations foUowing numerical + Q easerfbed title (in English or Hebrew), p ~ Pesher (cemmentary)+ name ofbook, Columns and lines in. Scroll references are usuaUy separated by a colon, but. sometimes by a. 'comma (except where, several fra,gments, ofatext 'must be numbered separately, e.g, lQ2.7 1. .2 .25 = text ·2··,7···· 'iOO·,.·In' C r a yen. 1, fra gme ;'~' ': (. colem .... '2·· line '2,e)" Raised '],O,W"'- .... .,.C'A. ~........ .... ,I.! ... ". . ........ , t ,~.r · ... 1" , .... n~ , l' "" .. ,~,U ,., il,l. , .. Iu ..... J c' ,."1"'...... , ...... r...,_

letters attached to Scroll abbreviations .~ copy ofmsnuseript,

CD

.1.(220 l'QH

lQMllQ33

1 QpHab lQS

lQSY.IQ:28<l

lQS~ lQ7J,-72 JQ;15

Damascus Docf4,ne'IJ:tIRule (first or secondcopy (A-In from the Calm Genlzah [pr~m.ary copy]~ also called Dtl,mtlsc,us Covenant and ZaJokl.te Fragme.ntx Qum~an copies signi.fied as 4Q266~2.73~ jQ./2'~ 6QJ5)

Q'ene:sis Ap-ocryphon (in Aramate); also 1 QaplJen:

Thanksg.iving .Hy.m'IJs (or Ho,dnJ~o.t)

First or second cn:py of Grea: (or Large) Isaiah Scm.ll (pdmary copy] ~nthe;f copies 4Q55-(9)

War ScroU (,Me;ggiUal ha~Milkhamah) I[primary oopy].p<Js" siblelostaddincn-« 4Q,28.5 ~ also copies 4Q491~496 and possibly4Q4iJ; texts connected w~th War Scroll4Q2:l9, 4Q2.8S,. 4(1'471 •. JJQ14

PesherQ/t Habakkuk or Habald<u.k Comuumtar}'

Rules oJ/he Community or Manual o{.DiscipU,l1lr (Sen;!,k hayyalu;u:l); also copies 4Q255 .. 264 and possibly cop'y SQ1}

R.ule of./he Co.ng.~ga.t.ii{)n or .Messianic Rule

{Ap~ndb: A to lQS}

,Rule of,Benedicti.on or Blescsings (Appendbc, B to 1 QS;) Fmgmentary copies, of the book of Dantehalso copy 6Q 7

Capper Scroll

Tih.:L1!!!S One

4Qpltl 4Q394~399

4Q'IJ,2'2 4(151'

4QJ57 4(2169 4Q174 4Q'J7S 4QJZ7

4QJ8()·.1 !11 4Q243-.245 4Q246 4(2247 4Q252

4Q'285 4'Q286~287 4QJ85-388 4Q390

4Q394-398 4(2448 4Q485 4Q52 1 4Q525 4(2:534 4Q54J

Peshe» on lsai ah

(als:o'4QMM1}-Miq's~1 JUa ',aseh ,I:la~ Tomh: C'SomeRu]jngs Pertaining to theToraht~~also as ,flaJakll'ic ,Letter)

Copies of portions of Genesis and ClI".odmii Onpalaeo-HebreVli) Fragmentaryoopy of the book, or Samue~ (conside'red.o'ldest Qumran menuseript)

Levi,,[cUJ Targum, (Aramaic)

Pes,her Nahum (also, 4,(}pNah)

Fio.rilegJum, (or EscMtalogicol Midrash:im) [Me,y,s;anic] TesUrnonia

Catena A, (comm.entary employing esdla~o10,gical exegesis); alsosi gnifi,ed as 4QCatentf; second ,copy 4Q 18Z (4CJ.Cm:em()

,A,£s of Creation. (p,seudepig,mpbaJ text) Pseudo-Daniel b:xts

,Amlnale Apocalypse or Sono! God

.Apocalyp.se of Weeks (apQC~pbal Boob of E'n,och) P:eshercmGen:esis (alsoknown as Patriarchal Blessings [4QPBles.s]. and G.enes'i.s F.lor11egium)

Serekh Milhamoh (also known as Dying OF Pierced Mes~iah) The ChariotsojGtary

Pseudo·Ez,ekiei texts; possibly also 4Q'391

Ang,els ofMasuntoth and the Rule 0lBeliaJ Halakhic .1£1.te.r-popu ~ar.ly signl.fl.ed as 4QMMP'~'fi Pr-aye.r for .Kill! Jonathan

War Rule

Messfanic Apocalyp;re B'eatitudes

Elee,t of God (or MessianicArmnaic) 4QAaro,nA

I[Vision.oftheJ Four Kingdoms

Copyriphted materia'

4Q5S4-555

7Q3·19

l1Q'J JJQ4 11(212' l.1Q13 l1Q14 l1Q19

11Q'rgJoD

1[' ']

.' J

( )

TBIBTIb.

Tlf

,A,m, Wars

ed, LXX M'f

B,.C.EJC.E.

New Jerusalem: (Aramai,c)i,al:so copies lQ3Z. ,2(22'4; 4(1232,5(215" and JIQ18

UnclassIfied Greek fmgmems from Cave 7 (identified by some as portions of the New Testament)

Leviticus Scroll (in palaeo- Hebrew); also ,copy 1 Q3 Ezekiel Scro.ll (pard al Hebrew)

Copy of the apocl'Yphal Book of Jubilees

Melchlz,eoek (Esc~hato.~ogica] ,Midrash of Leviticus 28) Blessings

Ti!,mple Scroll (M'egU{lJ:t .han,t~.miqdaslt) primary copy :[a18.0 signified as ,1lQTempleG or 11Q1]; second ,c,opy llQ20 (J lQTempl'eb)

Targ.um to Job (in Arama~c)

OTHER AB,BREVIATIONS

square brackets Indicate leners suppUed fOF alacuna or broken rexr

parenthesis indicate words enclosed have been added to comp~et'e English translation

Babylonicm Til,lmwi {fOUowed by name of the lmct3,teref, erenced)

Jerusalem. TaJIH:ua (follow.ed by name of (he; tractate refereocc:ed)

Flavius Josephus, Antiquities 0/ the' Jews

Flavius Josephus; 'Wars Oll.he Jews or Jewish Wan trans~a~ed by (fonowed by name of traeslatcr) edited by (followed by name of ,editor)

Stpluagint (Greek trnns~ation of HeiDre,w Bible, c .. 250. B .. C.) Masoretic Text {Authorized VerS;LQiIQf the Hebrew .Bible,

C .• A.IJ,. 500)

jewish ,eq,ulvalent of the .ctni.slian reekonlng B.C.JA.U.


The title of this book-Secrs'ts of the Dead Sea ScroUs-was chosen for a specific purpose. An th.e worldlovesa myste,fYt and thereis some .. thingabout rhe announcement of a. secret (halt attracts instant attention. However, by use of the word secrets there is no intention to tease an audience into believing that the Dead Sea Scrolls arc mysterious doeuments.jhat they contain bidden. facts about Jud.alsm or Chr.i.sdanity ~ 'o'r tbatnbey have been suppressed and sequeste;ted by scholars·. 'There are books that promote these kinds ofusecrets1,t but this is not: one of memo TIu:~ term secrets was selected for tWQ reasons.

First, the idea. is prominent in the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves, In a. real sense it wastheir "secrets" that defined the Qumran community, who both producedand preserved the SeroUs .. They bel .. ieved thatthe prophecies of the Bible (for them, the Old Testament) were mysteries or secrets. They also believed thail these secrets wereto 'be understood uniquely by them through their divinely inspired 'Ieaeherof Righteou.sness .. Further, they believed that the fulfillment of these mysteries was to be <expected in their Own day. which they thought was atthe end. of the age .. In their doctrine. and theif dailylife, the Dead S en. Sect sought to. guard their secret understanding-s- an understanding which, since the discovery of the; Scrolls, is brg;ely ,a secret no more.

The, secone reason forthe term. secrets is a .. practical one .. F\ora:~most 50 years the Dead Sea Scrolls have been a part ofjhepublic vocabulary. Perhaps more books and articles have been wriuen about them than om .any other subject: touching: the Bible. Nevertheless" for mostpeople (and especlallymost Christians) the subject of tile: Scrollseemains amystery, or lfyou wUl~ a secret. My purpose in writing tbi:sbook isto help remove the popular mystique that has surrounded the Serofls and, in as nornechnical a w,ay as possible, reveal their significance flJr us today .. Jf this has been achieved, it win hopefuUy serve to awaken a. mew generation to Scro:U study and prepare them. for new discoveries andthe g;reate.r secretsthe Scrolls may reveal in days tocome,


INTRODUcr,ION

When. the Scrolls made their debut in America in 1955 (alm.ost :a decade after their discovery), The New Yorker was the first magazloe to publish a fun report.' No one, at 'The New-Yorke,. or any other publishing entity could have auticipatedthe response.that was to come. Thepublic demand for the anicle on the Scrolls was SQ great that with~n 31. few days every issue of the magazine had c"omple:~eb sold out! Still, America'simmediate love affair with the Scrolls was not to be quenched; when Q,xfaOOJ University Press soon afterward brought, out, the article in book form,? it. quickly made the bestsellers '~Ist and remained there for many months .. This ~oUowing continued to gain momentum through the yean by the announcement of new discoveries in the Judean desert, More books, both sc~llo.la[]jy and sensational t took their turns as bcstsellers.and unprecedented audiences tumed out for lectures on the Scro~ Is ,.

Then, as discoveries waned and the familiar story became old news; the Dead Sea Scrolls, once a. heuseholdterm, Wi:1!S abandoned to dlegerl.i1J1n. of wom-ourwords. For some time thereafter. interest in the; Scrolls remained ~.argely within scholastic circles.

That, however, changed in 1989, when the public was made privy to an. in-house co ntt-ov,e rsy among scholars over the delay Ill. Scroll publication. The news media exposed the fact that i.n over 40 years only a. small number of the Scrolls h.adaclll1a:l~y seen print, while hendredsmore had never been read by anyone other than the select coterie of .scholar.s to whom they had bee;n assigned. Anew generation of people, seasoned by Waterga:tes and savings and loan scandals, took. nonce alt once and cries of a cover-up (with Vadcan or Israeli connections) propelled. the: subject of the SeroUs agamto center stage. When the Huntington College Library released complete photograpbic sets of the, Scrolls the foUowing year, an instant audience: had been created to consume whatever revelatlons were forthcoming: .. The Scrolls were: back big: time! With increased Interest came renewed excavations and news that more, Scrolls wer-e out. there. As a result, a new wave: of books and. films about th.e~ Scrolls have been and. ceotinue T!O be released.eachin its own way seeking to reveel the secrets of the Scrolls.


12 SECRlIlS OF THE D.EAl> SEA SCROlJ..s

My Se'asons with the Scrolls

Iremember well my first. acquaintance with the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was 1979~and I was a. graduate student in Semitic languages and archaeology ,all the Hebrew Un~versit.y in Jerusalem .. But despite myprofessional ~i merest, 1 was nO't looking for Scro:n.s but for ajo b to. provide ·exU',a. i "coole,. My wife was expecting our second child.aed domestic obligatkms had to outweigh scnoladyambiHoFls or else the added expense would drain our savings and end U[y studies .a]nogethe,r.

'The needed job came through ,a. Yeminfte- Israelineighbor who, was working: in sales for the American-Israeli Television Association and wantedto let goof some hours. 'God often. has a way of both supplying our needs and satisfying our desires, and as itturned out, this job would pro vidle' both. It wou'ldl have m I e working ",t" '0' ·r- all 'p1Ia· ees.jh - c.S--'l..i~"!1 " .. sf

~'._.~ v_~_.,~" __ ._ ~._ __ ..., .. I\} .. .' .. g;IL·t .....• ~ J,.""~-..::t,. ue . .luUleo.

the Book~ls;rae[~s .Museum of the Dead. Sea Scroll s. ill was to rent to tourists Professor Yl gael Yadin's audio self-guide.forthe Dead Sea museum exhibitions and sen! slide sets about the Scrolls themselves.

So it was that I found myself positioned every day (and some nights) w.ithin the corridor of the Shri ne of the Book, surroundedby these ancient Scrolls, In thet job I not only had to learnallI could about the Scrolls, but I also had to listen to every teurguide in Israel give his version 'of their discovery and importance! In my position, 1 also was situated (at the only entrance to the museumtjjc meet m.any of the archaeologists and scholars involved with the, histeryand decipherment of the; Scrolls, And when the tourist se-ason slowed down, I had many quiet hours available; ro wander thr-ough the, museum and ponder the amazing treasures thalt bad become so famili ar a part of my working world.

In 1 '989 ] was again involved in graduate studies when the Scrolls returned topu blic prominence. In the summer of 1990 when the Scron controversy was at :ins height (andbefore there was any idea.miey would be released just three months later), [journeyed to Jerusalem to attend the Second Intemerional Congress on Biblical Archaeology. There, on an evening when the Scrolls session convened, most of the known. uni~ verse of Scroll scholarship was present, Many of my former professors at the: Hebrew Univer-sity were, now part of an Israeli contingent within the; formerly non-Israeli International Team of Scroll translatoes. At the end of the session, senior scholar Harry Orlinsky, whose own rote In 'the drama of the Scrolls, is legendary (seepp, 48-49), gavethe closing remarks and made a. statement about the Scrolls that I had not: expected, He said,


SE.CR/£TS OF THf: DEA.D SEA 'sCHOLLS 13

As I look back an. the three or four decades of research 'on the Serofls since; they began to be published, it is my judgment:

that, f,t is not only additional research that ]S needed , but basic

research, rhat.i s we need to. go back to the sources rather than

re,ly:ing 00 and repeatl ng wnan many,. if not most scholars: have been saying for years:~

His words surprisedme because, as I knew from my own research, entire volumes of bibliography on the Scrolls a] ready existed. How could more research be needed?Yetth.e research Professor Orlinsky admenlshee was of a. primary kind: going backto the original texts of the B ible and the extr:ablbUcalUterature (lneludlngthe Scrolls themselves) to chan a new course inde,pendent of established consensus.

So it was with this, encouragement dIal I. among other doctoral stu .. dents whose dissertationsrequieedthe newlyaccessible Cave 4 docu .. ments, sought access to these unpublished texts from the Huntington College .. Library and became part of the continuing drama of the SCI-OUS. In addition, my OW]]. work onthe subject of the J erusalem Temple has forcedme into closer contact with the world of'the Scrolls, These studies have not OD ly confinnedProfessor Odinsky 's judgment, but al so r-enewed my appreciation for these treasures of timet which began. almost tW() decades ago in Jerusalem when I worked as a. "salesman of the Scrolls,"

What. This Book. Is All A.bout

Whe:n the first. wav,e, of American emhusi asm for the Scrolls was e-videnced in the 1950s~ some individuals wondered why 8,0 many people we.re; so. interested in these ancient writings, Professor Minar Burrows ,of Yale Unive,rs.ity Divini~y School. who wr:O'~e and lecnrredextensively fcr 3. popularaudience, gave this answer:

... the chieffactor in this e;xtraordinaryptibli~c in~erest in Ule Scrolls was religious .. Peoplewanted to know what these documents would mean for nad.Etional. beliefs. Some were anxious lest. the foundaH.o:n.s of their fahh might be weakened; some wekomed what the:} thought mi.ght. justify their own rejection of the faith of their. fathers .. "

Burrows' insight reveals why the story of the Scrolls still. continues to enthrell readers beeause It touches upon that greatest story ofalkthe

Copyr"ghted rneleria'

14 .8ECRlITS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Bible, Secret» of t/~,e Dead Sea SeroUs joins a host of other hooks that have sought to tell thi s story in ~heir own w,ay. Howev,er."my purpose in telling the story anew is to offer pre,viously untold l,nfQrmation and addr-ess subjects of interestthat have often, been neglected, Also, as I write, ill have in mind evangelical readers whose concerns are onen different than the concerns of the, nonevang.el ieal or critical scholar. For evange'l ical S,~I ssues such as how this material helps supponthe,hisioricaI accuracy of the: Bil)le or ilhrminate the, bib]i'cal text ~IS paramount becausethey holdthe Bib1e to be divinely inspir-ed. Most nonevangeHcal scholars also share this concern, but for them. the integrity of the bjbUcal text as a.matter of ftdth is

<, 111 •

not an mtegrat .1 ssue,

Evangelicals are al so very much ,~ n~e:rested in B:ible; prophecy the

_' = -

defense of doctdmalposiUons against the teachings efthe cu~tsand New

- -

Age movement, and the work of schelarlyrevisionists whose biblscal inter ..

pretationschallenge what Christiansbave:tradidoin.alj~y bel ieved cencemiag Jesus and the Qrigi n of'Chrlsrianhy.Ia this book I have attempted to address these special. concerns as, they pertain to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

As has been. my practice In my other books.I have incladed much firsthand material taken frompersonal :Intc:rvl,ews with leading scholars in the field. I have also sought toprovi de information about the latestarchaeo .. logical excavationsand discoveries related to tile: Scrolls, In a fl.t:dd where a. limited number of scholars are wcrking withrestrictive budgets and even more resrricrive schedules, d1'e valuable Information theyare gleaning from their research and study m.ay have, to wai t many years to seepubjlcation elsewhere. The inclusion of my interviews with these scholarswill offer' anImmediate glimpse into their discoveries while hopefully increasing the demand for ~beir finished work.

Finally, myenceuragemem to you is the same as than offered by Professor O.rUn,sky:to go backto sources, to substantiate your beliefs .. If we become so:Ud smdents of the Scriptures we, will find a. valuable, ally in. the, Dead Sea Scrolls, whose secrets reveal that In both positive, and negative ways the Lord win look "to him who. is humble and contrue of spirit and whojrembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2).


PART I

• " am $ as _ut'

The Discover!) Heard

d- °hl J"d'

_". . . 0,11".0.", 0 . I

Aroun dthe War;.·,

I

001

I \


1

-. D·" - - --

"".-- '.- ' ··· ···F.-····

- ' - ' .' . '.1

HE:-RA,MA 0,

THE SCR.OLLS

From lhedisc.overies ,of arc,ooe%gy we have learned Inatcivi· Uzations a,,~d cultures never die or are JQligotl'en in: the strietes:

T.'h . _. ·}·h -- - - t. • " "I'"

sense. __ II mare we unean«; me more J-ve see t~owanmel1t c!VlIW-

lions' halle had a subtle /J,!'1t UJm,li~/alruble impre;ss and bear,ing llpon our tive« .today:.1

,-Dr: Paul ntoA

'Without a doubt., the Dead Sea Scrolls comprisethe greatest litenuy discovery of all time. Those who were the ancient keepers of the Scrolls hid their treasures withintent, trustingthat the God of whi.chthey spoke would guard them duoughout time. One writer described the actions of

t·.It-· - -, -~~ ~ -::- ~irs. , ;" n this way·,: u.ese ... eep~ ,_ L_.. _ ._

Theysi.mply insetted hundreds of ScroU~ooth sacred and mundane=mro clay .s~orage jars and cast the Ill. into fu.'tlJ.nty like messages in bottles Justhow far into flllturity those bottles

17

Copyr"ghted rneleria'

l8 SECRETS OF THE ,D,F.An SEA SC:ROUS

would sail, the; preservers of Qumran could scarcely have dreamed.:i

Indeed, some 2,000 years Into the future; above the shores of the southern 'end of the Dead Seth a. young Bedouin shepherd stumbled onto one of the caves containing these storage jars and brought. outthe "messages :i'u bottles," HIs excited shout of discovery has since been heard around the world, And today" some 50 yearslater .. ·they are still the talk of our times.

Yet. the years of research and study on the Scrolls nave, not yet. cladfled the most bask questions-Who sent these messages :into oartime, and how do they affect our traditional interpretation of their times? Atler a half century of work~ scholars now have even more theories than when they began .. Neve'[theless~ the seeress of the Scrolls are being revealed in our days, andi ntne yeats to come there is promise of even greater insigbt into days. gone by ..

The traditionnl approach taken by m.anyautnors is t.o begin with the story ofthe Scrolls and then describe the~r contents and explain their significance .. This t of'eourse, is a necessary path, and we shan walk it together. However, there are also Important questions about the ScroUsmaJt deserve robe explored, Therefore. two preliminary questions to focus: on are: Why were: these SeroUs found at such a. placeas the Dead Sea? And, why did tbey ,appear on the pre:se:nt scene when they did, after an absence, ofneady

2'· ,000" .. 'Ue"""C"'?

,-"",_:_ ~ '_ J '_ ~,!i_" l1li'

The ,answers 10 thosequestions 'introduce us to' the drama. of the Serolls-s-a drama that began in antiquhy but: has reached across the millennia to correspond with events In our days and capture the CUriOIllS minds ofa world seeking evidence of something greater than itself.

A Unique Regi:oll

When we lookara detailed map' of the Judean region" we can q lLIickly observe that thegeography of me area is unique .. Jerusaiem sits upon one ofa series of meentains ail a he~i,ght of some 2,600 feet above sea level, Twenty rnileste the southwest lies the Dead Sea at a. record 1,300 feet. below sealevel (a diver cOIll~d swim yet another 1,300 feet lathe bottom at the northernend of the" Dead Sea fOi,r a total of 2~600 feet below sea levef), So between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea there" is 8. drop of almost 4~OOO feet, with about 2~OOO fee:t, of tbalt descent occurring within a short dislance of less than one.milel


JEIRiCIfO 'Wct,1~ Alles;I~I~n AWl,tlC[II.Y]

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LOCAIIION OF

D.EAD SEA SCROLL IDIISCOVEIRIIES

sires \i\'iHI E RIEDEA.[) SEA. SCROLL'S li'!.iIE R E W'OIJ NID


2,0 SECRETS OF THE ,DEA.D 'sEA SCROUS

This topographical phenomenon serves as, an lmroduetion to what visitors testify is one of theplanet's most inhospitab~e spots. Coming down fromthe bleak, rugged limestone cliffs east ofJerusalem wequiekly meet. the; sun-parched desert .. Though this desertreceives less than two inches of rainfall, a year. during theral.ny seasontemble floods can occur without warning .. Even those wbo kJ10W the area well have been kined by such nauiral disasters.'

Whem we reach the Dead Sea. itself we find .a shimmenng body of water 4:5mHes long and nine miles wide. The dear blue water is deeeptivelyalluring, giving the appearance ofa freshwater lake, but the sea. is actually a. coacemrated chemical stew of 26per-cent solid matter in the form of dissolved salts .. The sea is so dense with. these minerals that objects placed in the water remain at the surface .. It is recorded that. when the Romans were in. the arealh,ey used to lease newcomers in their ranks by binding: and throwing them into the deepest. part of the, sea ... Instead of drowning as they~maSined. the: victfms woukl float on the surface as: if bymagiel

The hot, arid air around the Dead Sea is mixed with a tinge of salt and .sulfur~ and can sting the eyes or make a person nauseous. In fermertimes it is reported thatthickm,asses of black tar (bitumen) wouldfloat on the surface, thus giving the; w.alters one of t.he:ir many names: Lake.Asphaltitls (cf, Josephus, The Jewish War 4A8() •. Just being alongsidejhe Dead Sea can give apersonthe impr-ession. that he or she has reached the netherworld Itself ... No wonder a. Jordaniannightelub that once straddled the water'sedge advertlsed to travelets:~'The Last Place on Barth,"

AUboughthis body of water is never identifiedas tbe Dead Sea in the IHble, its designations asUthe SaIl Seat" "the Sea 'Of Sodom," and "the Sea ofthe Plain" give evidence of the part thi s regionplayed in. the spir:ituaI history of the; Bible.

A Place ,of Spiritual Refinement

When we view me community of Qumran we encounter apeople Iiving

- - ."'" _'

an ,aesnhe;tlcaUy simple and austere Hfe;sty~e III extremely duncult environs

by the Dead Sea .. They survived onlybecause of a. nearby spring of water they were able to channel to their retreat, and. th.ey lived in this desolate region with utmost dedication to God .. What was it thatcaused some 200 men. along with their families, to leave the proteetien of the: city and eongregate In this desert reg:ion?


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22 ,sECRETS OF THEDflA.D SEA SCROUS

The desert has always played. a. major role in the :Bibl.e-notbecause it was ;a place of solitude, or escape, but, because by its barren nature: it served as an instrument to refine faitb. The New Teetament summarizes the hIstorical verdict of the Old Testament when it declares: "Without faith it is impossible to please Him. [God]" (Hebrews 11 :.6). Throughout blbUc,a[ h1smry~ whenever God sought to ref ne a man for His purposes, He led him into the wilde.rness. Such a, fierce and foreboding regionrobs a. person of his natural strengtb,thecreby stri,pping ,away the veneer of a, superficial fadth.With no place to hide in a. realm of absolute exposure, thehuman options ar-e reducedto trusting God or perishing infutile persistence, The harsh conditions of the desert reveal the natural barrenness of our lives: there is notllli.ng quite ~i,keex.pe;dendngthese cenditions, The desert is where God forcedmany of His chosen vessels to develop their faith.

So 11. is that we see some of the greatest spidtualexamples of Scripture- -Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua .. Samson, David, Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptizer, Jesus, and.Paul-aU spend the~r season of testing in the desert . .It is inreresnng how many of these same people 3J1e, in the hall ofhernes in Hebrews chapter 11. which offers the divine assessment of faith in relation to this region when it concludes with thesewords: "men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountainsandl caVes and. holes in theground, And all ihese, having gained approval dlrO!ltgh theirfaith , .. (Hebrews 11:38- .39,t emphasis added) ..

As one of' the; great deserts: of the Bible, and that closest to theBible's central city.-Jerusalem-the Judean desert has played its pan in the, biblical drama, During pa:ttli1ir-c~al. times" in Abraham's betrleagainsr the Mesopotamien kings, the kings, of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into tar pits that once were, plentiful in me, Dead Sea region (Genesis 14:10) .. At this same time, fine of thegreat ·~refiningn events of historytook place near the Dead Sea's southern shores, as the five cities of theplai.ns (in~cluding Sodem and Gcmorrah] were destroyed :tn a great heaven-sent conflagration (Genesis.19;2-4~:25). In the centuries that follnwed~ some ofthe aforementioned men (Joshua, David, EliJa.h~ Elisha, John, and Jesus) demonstratedtheie faith in tile region that, by New 'Iestamenr times, was called "tile wilderness of Judea"

Moving to the, time, of tbe Qumran seulement, we find that the Judean desert is mentioned in the literatute as a place to which the especially pious wereapr to nee. At the outset of the Antiochean perseeuuon (the


TH£DRAMA OF THE SCROllS 23

hellenizinginstitutions of the Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus Bpiphanes IV) in 1.67 B.C." some priestsphysic;ally wi~hdf'l;w to the Judean desert seeki ng ~'~rightoousJlle$s and justice" (1 Maccabees 2:29ff). Literary analysis has demonstrated that these priests cannot. be connected with the Bssenea (as some, have tried to do by equating them with one of the groups of the Has/dim described in 1 Maccabees 2:42). .. Rather, me;y were a group of the Hasmoneanmovement described in 1 Maccabees 2:3'9~48. These priests show the precedent set by those who viewed, {he, Judean desert ,as aplace spirituaUy suited to their ends.

Ch ,"' I'd" al S' ~

, _' .... oo~angan Ides . : "Ite

The community that selected the site of Qumran did so with a clear underseanding of its h~story and wereconvinced that they were inhabiting an ideal sine for those who had made; 3. renewed covenant as, the true; Israel (CD 6: 19~ 20: 12). The site of Qumranappears iutlle bibhcatrecord, going back to the Citv ofSalt.f]oshua 15:61-62).' one of'\~ watledeules

_ . l__ _ _... . _ ., _ . _.... . .., . " ' .. _ _ ~ _"_ _ _" Sl}li. ..e _ . 1 ,Ie

that together formed the district of (he ~'~w ildemess,"! A nether of these; cities, Secacah, has also been idendfi.ed. by some, people with Qumran;:! however, others contend that. its ruins Me Jocated about four miles tothe souiliwest6

'The site: has also been suggested as one of the locations for ·'th.e sons of prophets," orprephetie groups that served alongside theprophets :SHjah ' .. d 'E-l]·S~ .. 1'1· K.· .' ··.,('1··3·····5-·· "IK···-'· .,·3····)· Althou rh th ,...,.- -.. ,- ared .:. an_ .' J.na '\ .. Jng,s~v,-. ~ .,G •.... mgs, k •• ',_-_I,-_oug, .esegroupls appe ......•

t liveaseeticellv and ", '-("1:] .• ' .. .lusion ·,,·S;< .• d'··'·;-'l·.-.'Jl--~h·(2- -K"'--";o ~_ e ascenca __ Y ann in parna: secun __ on in mecesen at eric (}", .. lOgS,

2' '1'8·" .(j~ ,.~ - '"'!!:) there 'IS ., .... biblical •. vid ..... ce tlu 1 thev ,., "'·"1·, led I heereaar _,~ ... , ..•. t ..... 1 LJ~re ~., n.Q .·.1 _,I.leO:I e LC.TlCC, L.at L.e,y OCCIJPIC . tnearea ,a!t

Qumran. A more posslbleblbllcal refereneeto Qumran during the period

O,{· Isra e11'-, ,"0 -,a-r"c~'.~ is the- mention of Uzzlah's Ht«we;,s:~, the w·:~d.l. -,,,,

'" ~_ra_~_s m .. n_ .. ~!Y"_ _"_ . ". _ . ' .. "" .. _. _F. __ D __ h"eli

ness" (2 Chronicles 26:: 10).

Some people have also proposed, that Qumran is the site referred *0 in one of the Scrolls (the Copper Sera/I) by the name WadiHa Kippa. j They argue tha.t the name Qlmron (from kamoor, the Aramaic synonym for the Hebrew kip.Pll) must have been at least tll.e first-century designation for the: present Wad~ Qumran .. Because kippa indicates a "covering" (suc:has a hat), some people have. seen a connection to the natUJra] topography of the mad cliffs, especdaUy an. the end onhe Wadi, which resembles a dome (S6't photo ,steti,on) .. It app.ears1• chent thtu the Sectthat oecupied Qumran around the, second half of the second centurys.c, went toa site that had prior biblical significance,


24 'sECIUITS OF THE DEA.lJ SEA. SCROlLS

The New Exodus at Qumran

Although thesite.of Qumran had a bibli~cal hist.ory, the Dead Sea Sect chose it primarH.y fortheoiogical reasons. They thought of themselves as repeating the wilderness experience of theIsraelites who came out of Egypt during the exodus. They affirmed this ldentifieation by caning themselves "the exiles of the wilderness" (l QM 1:2 .. .3) .. This region was ideally suited, both in geographyand in connection with the generation that came out of'Egypt during the exodus to, Canaan. The. historic sojourn of Israel in the wUderness influenced their own decision to retreat to the desert as well as the proper time, to do so.

Using this model, the Qumran Sect determinedthat just as Israel had. to endure the: desert for 40 years, so also would theirtime of te;sHng at Qumran last for 40 years (generally the lifespan of one generation; CD 20: 13~ t5). The members of the Sect di.vided into tribes followingtbe arrangement Israel had In the desert (lQS 2:21-23; cf. Exodus 18:.25; Deuteronomy I: t5), Iiving In the same eamplike formaticn (CD 1:6; 10:2:; 14:3; 20::26; cf .. Numbers 2: l-S.:41) aid regulatea by the same biblical statutes {lQM 7:3~'7; cf. Numbers $:14). .. While the pattern. set, by the exodus m:a:y not be thesole key for understanding the Dead Seacommunity~ it, combined with the Sect's e;sc,hatologlca1view~may explain what ledjhem into the wUdemess.s

The eschatological (or, end times) view held by the Sect led. the, people to identify themselves with the spiritual call of'lsaiah 40:3-a call to withdraw tonne wiklernessand prepare for the D.ay of the Lord ,9 Thus, iathe Rtde of the C(mtm:.mity we read:

When these things sha:n. come to pass in me Communi~.y of Is:raet according to thesemtes, they shan withdraw from ~he,dt,y of the men of inIquity [i.e ..• Jerusalem)~ogo into tile wilderness to clear the way of the Lord as it is written: In the wilderness clear the way or the Lerd, make levelin the desen a highway for our God (lQ.S 8:12-16; cf.9.: 19).

Through thereu:e,at Into the wilderness, the Qum_ran community idemnified w:ithbiblkal Israel in its sin (CD 5:: 17-20'), It was in this place that. nhe nation had oncebefore been punished for disobedience because of unbelief (Numbers 14~27~37; ·cE. Psalm ~.06:7, 13-39).NliPor this r-eason theprophec Isa.iah saw the site, as aplaee of spiritual preparation", thefirst stage of which was repentance, Therefore the Sect referred to itseltas "the penitents of the wilderness" (4QpPs" 3: l: cf, John the Baptizer,


THEDRAM'A OF TIlE SCROLLS 25

Mattbew 3:'1.-3),. As a. second stage, during their stay in the desert, the group sawitselfpre~padng the way for the end metaphorically threugha s:(udy of the Law (4QSt;~ 1 QS 9;20). [nnbis eonnection, th.e Sect saw themselves as all eschatological fulfilfment ofUle historicalexodus, which had as its ultimate conquests Jerusalem and the land of Israel (Joshua 11 :: Ui-t2,: 24).

The desert community, then, awruledthe completion ofthe new exodus, which began in the Baby lonlan 'exile, was now In at transition pedod awaiting the end -time war! which would be.cjimaxed with the retaking ofthe land. as pm of th,e final redemption. ~ I, It was fromthe desert alongside the, Dead Sea, that the blessings expected from the redemption would :first be seen. The prophets predi ered that when restorationcame to Jerusalemend the new Temple of the Lord wasestablished, living waters would flow ~o the Dead Sea. C'wc;stcrn sea") from 'beneath the Temple's Holy ofHoUes and make the sea's waters fresh (Zechariah l4:8; cf Ezekiel 47: l·2t 12) ... Ezekiel may have had hI! mind the site of Qumran when he refersto a place 'called Eneglaim ('~the spring of 8gJJllm't) next to EinGedi, where the restor-ed Dead Sea will hcsts bounty of flshrlvaling the Mediterranean Sea hself (Ezekiel. 47: 10) . .No doubt the people at Qu,m:ran~ who saw themselvesas the vanguard for this new era, were aware of these prophecies eoncemlng the desert. and chose the Qumran site in tbe:oolief lhattihey were to enjoy thefulfillment of these bibncal predictions.

The Scrolls and the State of Israel

One of the theological distinctives of the Dead Sea Sect was their emphasis on predestination. They believed that from creation all people and events werepredesermiaed, and that there existed adivine order which was progressively unfolding in the h~s(ory of Israel. Those who wrote the Scrolls feU the:y had been chosen to live in. the: last days as thatremnanr of Israel who wOlldd inherit the: promised blessings of the coming age. They thought tnat their fidelity to the Torah and understanding ofthe di vine: order were evidence of God's preservation of a people who would. survive the tribulation of the: end time (see Daniel 12: 1-2) ..

It is an. interesting coincidence that me, Scrolls, as a. record of Israel 's hope ofrestoration, were found on the eve of brad's rebirth as a. nation ... This coincidence has not escaped the notice of Israel 's Scrollscholars, it was of particular significance, '~O Major GenernlYigael Yadin (whose st.ory


26

SECRETS OF THE DEAD SEA Scsous

_,', "_'.'_-' _' _-' '" ='-' _"--"_- _,'_-, _'_ '---'- -

we wil] tell shortly). who, as a scholar aad soldier, was intimately Cionnected w.ith Israel '5 politics. andfhepreservetion of the Scrolls, He, wrote:

I cannot. a.void nne feeling that there is something symbolic in the discovery ofthe Serollsandtheir acquisition at the moment of the (;reation of the State of Israel .. Iti s as if mese manuscripts had been waiting in caves for two thousand ye:a:J's,. ever since the destructicn of Israel's independence, until the people of Israel had returned to. thcoIr home andregained their freedom. 'This sym~ bolism is neigfnened by the, fact that the first three Serollswere bought by my fatnerfor Israel on 29thNov'embe,r~ 194'it the very day on which the Unli~ed naeions voted ~Qrthe re-creatienofure Jewish state in Israel after twetnousand ye'ars .. !!

We cannot minimize the importance of this historic symbolism for an Israeli. Able to read the ScroUs in a. Hebrew not: far removed from that which. he: mads in his newspaper, he is able to, eonnecr with bis ancestors iaa w.ay unparalleled by any other society, Consider this connecdon for a. moment. The: writers IQf the Scrolls thought of themselves as Israel's last. hope in a worldthet was set on the destruction of the" Jewish people. They embraced the messianicjiromises and were zealous for the Jews in the Diaspom (outside. the Land) toreturn to Israel and restore it to the independeetglory it had enjoyed during the biblical period. Tim Zionist movement, which in one sense began with the expulsion. of'Jews in Roman times.fou nd its earliest expression lnmessianic movements tha,t, stressed a return of .s.lI Jews to the "Land ofthe Parhers .. '· Itsmodem birth came as aresult of the many centuries ofattempts to force; Jews in the Diaspora [0 assimileteto the; prevailing culture, usu.ally through oppressive means .. The climax. of these auempts wasthe Holocaust: and the decimation of the Eurepean Jewish community by the loss, of six minion lives, In the: face of such worldwideami-Semidsm, a majority ofnat.ions in the: United N allons voted favorably for the formatlen ofthe Jewish state, In th.e Zionist speeches at tIle rime ofthls nadonal rebirth we can hear echoes of the; apocalypli.clanguage of those who wrote the Scrolls", FQr example, Israel's firstPrime M.inlst.e.r'" David Ben Gurion, declared:

In our silght and in our day:sthe" seaueredpeople is .tul'mimg from e:very corner of the globeand every poin(, of the, compass, out of all the nations among which it was cast away, aad Is

coursing over its land • .over Israel redeemed , Through g:e~Il"

eraUons Uinto~d we" and no other people believed mthe viskul


THE DRAMA OF THE SeROUS 27

of the last. days, ,. ,., Our first concern. must be to build up the Land.to fnste.r its economy. its securit.y and mternational status, Bu~ these are the whereby not Ute end. The end is a Stateml~ fUUng prophecy, bringing sa:lvaUolli, co be guide and exempla! to all men,H

W"lth such .3 continuity in history expected between Israel's past and present it is understandable the tmpactnhe discevery of the Scrolls would have 'O'D th 'e' · ... weraee Isra eli ProfesserYad inmav hev e summ 9+'i'., ..... d 'Ii-,';,~

: , '![. , ", ', __ g, " . '"""l.:'i'-- l,_: __ : _ _.._-,iI,~ ' __ ~ 11 ,..,~v. ,IJI~. ,~,I,~ . _ '. 4o\,J' 'L:i1i4 .'!'¥ _. - _. ,: J. J L J J~,IJ.(_ol¥, __ IUI,I~

connection best

They [the Scrolls] constitute a vital l!nk-Ioni lost: and now regained-e-betweenthose ancient times, so rich in clvilized thought,. and the present day. Andjust as a Cheistian reader must bemoved by the knowledge. that here he has a manuscdp~ of a. Sect wll0mnoe early Chri snans may ha.vee known and by w.hom they werelntluenced, so an Israeli and a Jew can find nanling more deeply moving than the study of manuscripts wrineu by the People of the Book in the land of the Book more than two thousand. years .agO .. 1.4

IntriguingParaUe.lS.

Some; people have observed details in the Scrolls that offerparallels between the Scrolls and themodern State oflsrael, For iastance.the Dead Sea SeC't e'xpected to wage a war to ]:iberal,e Israe~. from its occupying enemies .. TbeWar Scroll records tbat this war would be against "the company ofEdomand ofMoaban.d thee sons of Ammon and the com[pany of .. , . and of]PhHistia~ and againstthe companies of the Khtim of Ashur .... n (lQM 1: 1-2).Whern modern Israel foughtit:s War of Independence in 1948, some of these same ancient enemies were invol ved (Jordaniens, Syrians~Lebanese~ and indirectly, the: Europeans [Kjttim~omansn. Evenmosr ofthe archaeological finds in Cave 1 could be thought. torelate sym.boUca]Iy:: ilie./saiah Scroll (p.ropbesying thereblnh and restoration of Israel), the War Seml.l (predicti.n.g the war ofIsrael with her enemies) .. th ~ R· .. , .... [ 'e « ~i the ·C· --- ----. cc'·: . .ri·n(.d· escribine the ideal

~._._",~, ¥ .. ,h"", ....... .ue OJ~. e .. on.grega.J,.~v __ ". ,_~~ __ c_ 0.--- __ . _

Jewish community), and the Commentary OIl Habakkuk (revealing the Zionistic andmessianic aims) .. 'WhHe such an observaticn m.ay not impress 3. historical purist, we cannot help but detect :8. sense of!~sym.ool.ism,n as Yadin noted,


It is also noteworthy that one of the: moatimpcrtant SCfOnS for und erstanding the practice of Judaism. i.n the Second Temple period (522B.C.~A.D. 70)~ the: Temple ScroU~ was recovered by Israel on the very daythat Jerusalem wascaptured and reunited as Israel's capital (June 6, 1967). Here was a treasure that, when read, brulllghl to the :F'e~ig'ious Jew a. sense of continuity w.~th the writer, who had .actually seen the Temple and beheld its rituatM:oreovert with Jerusalem In Jewish hands for the first time since the destruction of the Temple 2,000 years ago, aspirations for the rebuilding. of me Temple were: awakened," Some orthodox Jews In the present-day Temp-lie movement In Israel believe that. the Temple Scroll'» emergence at this time is, a sign that the Temple win be r.ebuilt by this generation. Just as the Temple' Scroll may have serv-ed asa blueprint. for the Dead Sea Sect's conception ofafuture Temple, so also has it served the res earc hers and arcbitects todaywboh.ave, p.rc:pared their own blueprints for the expected Third Temple,

There are, t()o~modlem reUgious Isra.eUswho see the propherlc endtime aspirariens of the ancient Sect beingexperienced today .. Thcy,mm the: Dead Sea cemmenity, sense that theyare the last generation before '~Ib-- e c om .]' ng '0' f ·M·- - ·e5"S il"',lh - th e B',;, ttle o .·f- 'G- ·-0- g .... a n.d-i ·M· la. g- ·-0- .0' - · ... nd ·t:lf:.e·- ... ·d· vent ·0- ··f:

~ .-, '", " ,,,1,1.,. _." _, _,_" _ ~ _"I~_", ~ __ ,_, _" _-. ;Q~I',_, _ ".~, - '. 1-'-'-"-" ,~- ., , ',_.-',0" ~,u,_ ' ,_-II· _ ~ .,Y" ,' - '"_ ,

the Age; of Redemption .. Theyadopt the same eschatelogieal scenario proposed by the Sect, only their imerpretarioa would. How more [r-om th.e stream that connected the bib~ical prophc;ts with the rabbinic sages,

Clearly, then, for all Israeli. the Scrolls are much more thananother archaeolegical relic from their past. In one sense, (hey sre documents that bridge their pas·t witb their present, and in another sense.also the1rfutUlre. They arepriceless treasures, "~won"~in the midst. of wars.tc which are connected nm only their national pride but abo theirprophetic deseiny,

And, as in a drarna~ theaudienee is also apart" and so the Scrolls may in amystcrlouamamtor link us together wirh a history that has ever been moving a:cco:rding to 3Jl. often-unseen divine agenda. In the: next chapter we win begin to explore the: various scenes inthis drama that made the

_"" ""

m.ajor~ty of these Scrolls again a part ofhistory and Jsrael'sheritage,


2

"

Tt S~

_

HE~-TORYOF

T'H' :F='- S-C"'~"'DO'-~"'LLS

,: ~ -~,! L .•. ~' ..•.. ' _ J'J_: ~~ _c , .•• ~.~.~.

,I have discovered one: important fact: mud, less is ac luaUy kn:own abou: t:h'e ci,rc.umSlanc.es qfllle discovery oflhe mrious' c,aves arul Scrolls lhan Ihe publ'ished accountsw.Quld lead one to beUeve .. I

-Weston FleMs. Executive Director.

The Dead Sea. ScroiUs Fmlndatio.n

The s~ory of the Scrolls has been told and retold countless times.

HnW''''''''Dr~ ~ th ereis alw -'QlcyCIP' r 'oo m - ~ fo:r-~ 'Q notber retel ·~~n,g:~'if'fV!.c·'~ !":Ii'~'~ 'y. ·;if·~'~ in th O!

v. iIW''Y~"t,'L_,lIWj~ - I"_;O,',,LI:;)" __ ~_l---' .l,i; __ A.lliI.--_,.l.~!Wl iI,~\~.,.I.iI , __ ,~~at'"-!W_-:,.ilIQ~I,,_,,: ~1Ii. ""_"",_",,,,¥

telling one cam add something never {old 'before. In Ibjs chapter I want, to take you through the adventure of the first discovery aad Introduce you to the obscure characters who were made famous asthe SCI10tls gained international attention .. Along the way~ we~n take a. look beyond the old storyto new revelations that may help ualecksome of the; secrets of the, Scrolls,

29

Copyr"ghted rnaleria'

'The Discovery at the Dead Sea

The seven ancient Scrolls that the American Dean of Biblical Archaeology; William Foxwell Albright. hailed as ·~the greatest manuscript discovery of modem times' werefirst discover-ed by semi-nomadic shepherds ofthe Ta'amireh Bedouintribe .. The: Ta'amireh, who had settled between Bethlehem and. theDead Sea, had for generations kept their flocks and herds inthe Judean desert, which is honeycombed withatltie:n,t caves .. According to the well-told story, one of these sbepberds.a yet-unmarried man by the name ofMuhiammededh~Dhib C'Muham:med the wolf' because he ,ldi~ed wo1v\lI:s which a,uack.oo ru.e flocks ).1' wasresponsible for the original discovery of the Scrolls.,::! As he and friends Weire t,end~ng their gear herds, he left the gr-oup to ge 1.0 sear-ch of one: of his stray goats. After reaming far from his companions, he came upon a cave with a. small opening at. its wp.. Supposing the goal to nave fallen inside, he, threw stones into It he opening. Instead of hearing the :SOUAd of a. star .. tled goa .•• , he heard tile shutter ofbreakingpcttery .. Believing that treasure might beinside, he Iowesed himself into the caveand found anciem clay jars .. Inslde one jar was intact leather Scrolls, whic;f\ he hoped could be used fur sandal straps. Hetook these Scrolls back to share with his, friends, and then be hanged themin his tent Later he sold them t,Q a merchant in Bet!h~elt~em~ who in turn. sold them to those who 'made theirpresenee known to the wodd ..

When the Scrolls came tolight, a desperate search began for the Bedouin who found themand the cavejn which they werefound, Some of these searches included tactics found in the best of spy novels; In one case, the searchers even hired Ta'amireh Bedouin to covertly pry the; coveted information 'from~he:jr fellow trlbesmen. y.et despisethese at~empt~ at espionage, thesecret could. notbecracked.Not until 1.949, after B ritisfl archaeologist Lankester Harding compelled tll.e Jordanian. Arab Legion (an elite mUltary unit) to search various caves atthesuspected site! was rhe original cave found.Bven then, tbe story ofthe cave's discovery sdH remained somewhat of a mystery. As a result, over the years~ many dif~ ferent storieshave emerged Of were formulated about. the Scrolls' discovery, ranging from a fraudulent conspiracytheory flil the fort.i,esland a murderjn the late thirties+toa looted synagogue in the twenties.s Harding did attempt to get the real stnry,. which, was included in t.he fi.rst, of the Discoveries in the Judean Desert (DJD) series (n955)~ but his account still~ contalnsesrimaticns andassumptions, (1


~ if

THE STORY OF THE SCROLLS 3 ~

Most scholars who have dealt dire£t]y with rhe Dead Sea texts have never mel the, Bedouin and merchants origiaallyresponsible for securing the Scrolls they study .. ? Among the reasons for that are the ongoing tern .. sions in the Middle East; the significant social, .reHgimJJs, and political differences that pr-evail; and the proven dis:ttust that exists betweenarchaeolegists andthe Bedouin, who obtain part of their subsistence byillegally plunderingerehaeological sites. Thus the personal testimon ies of the rnaj Orr players in. the Dead Sea Scrolls deama have ['at'e:l:y ooc;nscHIJgil1t, gt.V'ing rise tothe m.any variations of me account.

An Ear.yInte"iew with :MubamDled edh .. Dhib

On October 23, 1956~a serious attempt 'was made tefind out the truth about the disoorve:ry of the Scrolls. This was done by setting up thefl:rs:t "official" interview with the; Bedouin discoverer Muhammededb-Dhib; The fn.teniew had been arranged by Mlchail Awad, an employee of the latin Patdarchate~ and took place in the company of two Arab Bethlehem businessmeniMr, N~jib S. Khoury and Hanna. Jackaman .. Mubammed edh-Dhib was asked togive his complete account ofthe Cave, I discovery and, after bearing his own storyplayed back, on a. tape recorder, the Interviewers had him swearon the Koran and asked him 'to sign an affidav.it verl.fyi.ng the truthfulness of his aecoun t8 This testimony was then published the following year in the prestigious }ournalo! Near Eastem Studies.'') Unfortunately, the testimony was still ;at variance:

Muhammed reported. the findlng oftcnjars in 1945 ...... rhreejars mor:eand two years Itts:sti:!lao was stated in the report, as it had been understood since 1948 bythese who. had first obtained the: Scrolls .. So few scholars trusted the interview as being any more reliable than the previous account,

The time difference between the two accounts (am. be explained by Muha:mmed'~s claim that he kept the Scrolls hanging in his tent for more than (WO years before. giving them to his unde, who showed them-to an antiquities dealer; However; .. Mubammed later gave even more jars and eariier dates (or the same event. In light of dd.s it is wen to keep in mind the words of a vetsran scholar of the modem Middle East: concerning the; Bedouin's aecuraey with numbe~rs:;

Anyone who is dealing with Arab boys kUQiWS. that they haven't the vaguest notion of how many years have passed, If yOIl! ask them how old tbey are, they say maybe 15, maybe 1'9=--


32 SECRETS oe THE DEAD SEA SCROLlS

I don't know reaUy. It :is hanJly likely thai. he [.Muha:mmedj would have any serious idea. of how many years ago .~t was .. ~ltI

If the Ioumal o/l·lear Eastern Studies interview did not. resolve all the questions surrounding the discovery, it at [east provoked another i nterview, This came in the fall of 1961 through the efforts. of Anton Kiraz with the. help of Bethlehem mayor "Ayu b Musallam .. ~ I. They conducted a lengthytape-recorded interview with Muhammed edh-Dhib and his cousin Jum'a Muhammed, who had shared in the discovery. The substance of the; interview was. 63 carefully worded questions to themen, As a resulr, the; date now given for the discovery was Novc:mberl.946, the location was, Qumran, the ennanee hole, to fhe cave was, from above, and the jars were tea in numbee-eall with three handles each. They also said they found "r-ed earth"! in some of the, jars. In addition, they reported that they hadn't gon.e back to investigate the cave until after three days, and then. they left the Scrolls and Jars In dle cave for eignt more days. These.and other s.l.gnUicant ,discrepancjes inthe account are so remarkable ti1althi,s. may rather be M:lJlhammed and Jum 'a's story of their la:~eJt discoveryer Cave 4 rather tha.n Muh.amm:ed"s e;ar~]er discovery at Cave l--a. fact unknown at the time of the interview .. L2

A N••···· - c---I·· ·.00-· - ... ~- _. ,- ---·it,h, M··, Ih· -I 1 1 - .• ed .00 ....• ·hi·,O· .·.'h·~b .... ew .0 .rv:I.ew WI - ... _ oamm. .. _ .... __ . ... .1

As one who had heard the story ofdte discovery of the Scrolls numerous times in the Shrine of'the Book, and had (old it. an equal number of'times on tours to QI!lJm.ran, I would never have dreamed thal orne day I would have the: opportunity to relive that drama with the most famous member of its origlnal cast!

l't happened one November evening (l99.5) in Jerusalem as, I sat and talked wHhDl. Weston Flelds t Executive Direct.o'r ofnhe Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation .. As we talked about, a. seron that was for sale and bad been offered to him~ he told methathe had met Muhammed edh-Dhib, This unexpected bit 'OJ Information hit me; like all exploding bombshell .. I responded wltha volley of questions: You mean he'sstill alive? Are you sure he's the real ooe?Wh.ere is he? Can Imeethi'm?~'Westom wasn't sure if it was possible, but he said he would take me that very night to meet the Old Ciny antiquities dealer who bad firs,. intr-oduced him 10 Muhammed two years earlier. So we made the journey to the Jewish Quarter tothe antiquities shop known as The Ancient CQI.n.


THE STORr OF'lHE' SCROlLS :33

When we; arrived, David Bar Levav, the shop owner and our contact, was busilyinspecting a batch of ancientclay votivefigunnes that he had Just purchased from one of his many clandestine Arabcontacts, David, an orthodox Jew, is one of Israel 's most knowledgeable dealers; speaking 1:21aoguages and capable of any level of discussion on the Bible, histery, ancient, languages.and more .. For many years he has knownM:uhammed edh-Dhib, who has brought him artifacts 'he has found in the desert and in Arabvillages, Aft.ertbe usual eourtesies, Davld said dun our timing was perfect!: Muhammed would 'be coming to his sbop at ~. :00 P.M.. the next day,. If I wanted to meet with him, he would mange h. I got home ~altethat nigllt and couldn't sleep because of theantieipatkm of the next day. Was] really goingto meet the man who so long ago had set in motion the: whole revolution broughtaboet by the Dead Sea. Scrolls?

The next daYt.Paul Strober (my photo grapncr and filmmaker) and :1 had morning meetings scheduled with Jerusalem 'smayor, Ehud Olmert~ and archaeologist, Hannan Eshel, who was about to begin ex.ca.vating four newly discovered eaves at Qumran (see chapter 20). As much as I enjoyed these meetings, I was anxious to meet with the famous Muhammed edh .. Dhib, Weamvcd 'early at David's shop, and there he was. si.tIli.ng :In the comer of the small shop looking' quite in place amid the cramped (:01- leetions of ancient artifacts, Risingto meet me, with outstretched hand" .1 saw that he was every inch a Bedouin, 'the epitome of a. son of tile desert. His skin was brown and weiuhe-r·ed from a :~~fetjme of eXpOS,l!1re to the sun. His small frame was covered by a. suitjacket overthe traditionaljalabia (robe), and. framing his head and face was a red-and-white checkered .ka/ieh (head covering) (see photo section). After exchangingthe c;uswmary formalities, I learned ti:Ulltt following ,a Bedouin custom, his, name had been changedafter the birth of his first son (David). In order to r-eflectlds new famny status, Muhammededh-Dhib (whose realname had been MubammedAhmed edh-Hamed) was now known. as AbuDahoud {"David.' s famer")." This name change bad taken place in l 960t and was perhaps one of the re~()ns why so few students of the Scrolls had ever me;n this Uvl .. ng legend .. W4 Yet I could not help bm ask myself:

Could this, really be: the, Bedouin shepherd who 'fi.fst found the Scrolls? (After:an investigation into his identity the next day~ I becameconvinced, even thoughthere were the expectedvariations in his temngand :re~e"IHllg 0:£ the story. ~,S that. this was in all probability the real Muhammed edh .. Dhib.16)

Copyr'ghted materia'

Arter an hour of qaesdonlng.Abu-Deheud (with David serving astransbuor) about unexplained details .afhis discovery, I decided. to present Ute: proposal tha.t had preoccupied. m:y mind. during: my r-estless night: "'Would you come with metothe Dead Sea. caves tomorrow and show me where and how you foundthe Scrolls?" It was a. business proposition.~.andAbu. Dahoud quictly acoepted~ adding an offe:r to bringme as many old on lamps as I wanted 10 buy!'

The nextmerning we met ea:dy and droveto the Dead Sea caves to do what, as far as we knew, had never before been done-to recreate on film the original events of the Scroll di seoveries .. 17 We drove first. to Kibbutz A~mo g, where an exhibit of replica. Scrolls andjars is onpermancat exhl bit. Here we wanted to sec how a.cquaint:edAbu-Daboudwas with the Scrolls, and if it waspossible for him to remember from viewing the replicas which Scrolls be had found. He could not identify any specific Scroll. but thought hls find. was like me "big ones" (the Isa.iah and Tempte Sc ralls). He also observed that Ms. Jars we;re Ukethe jlars. on display., only many werelarger,

We nexr drove; [0 the Wadi Jawfet Zaben and started out. with our equipmentteward Cave I. Wc;l~et Abu-Dahoud guide us, and it, became dear be wanted 10 take us to Cave 1 ~ ... We insisted on g:o..ing: straight to Cave I. When we got. near to Cav,e; I t be seemed. confused. and protested than we were not. going in the right direction .. He had also. made a similar protest to Dr, FIelds when they visited the region two years earlier, Nevertheless, when he stood in front of dle entrance to the cave he became, excited and started describing bow the, larger entrance was not there when he first came to the site (a correct fact.Tor archaeolegists bad widened the entrance) .. He mien began demonstrating: how he had thrown stones in the, smaller opening above to scare out his lost goat (see photo sectio.n). We wentIaside the cave, and he showed us how be had lowered himself into the cave: from the small opening, where he, had found the; jars,andrueir number and contents .. He; repeated SImilar demonstrations in Cave II and Cave 4, from which. he also claimed to have removed manuscripts.

OUt fUming complete, I decided to take, advantage of our return trip trornthe Dead Sea (0 Abu- Dahoud'shouse in Bethlehem by asking him additional questionsebcut his history with the SC[\Ons. Drawing upon thisinterview and .my previous one; in Jerusalem, I. have attempted to offer some newinformatien tothe well-told story. ] bavealsc ineorponUed some materiel from Dr. Field's unpublished notes" of his inter .. views with Abu-Dahoud .in order to balance the, account. Disregarding

Copyr·ghtcd rneleria'

THE Sroer or 111.1£ SCROUS 35

the discrepancies in dates and numbers of jars. if the new information is accurate, it may prove useful Inanswering some unresolved questions about the chronological history of the Dead Sea Scrcllsdiseoveries.

In his latest account; Muhammed edh-Dhib said. that when he lowe.red himself through the entrancehole and dropped intothe cave lite saw 47 jars. Because he was smoking a. pipe at the timet he: bad both matches and candles in his pccket and thus was able to investigate the jars .. The first of the jars were broken.,ilIild.puUi.:ng h.is hand into others he found. mostly debris-s-the remains of Scrolls destroyedby insects, He was joined that day by five· other shepherd friends: Juma"a Abu-Hashaba (his older ce usin) A-· 'hem" ed -M·I~~~a,ml em, ed -K··· haltl Mu S''Sl A'J'·]·<JI,n, 'M····.·IIU·i;f'J!m·" m .... d <U ... ·d,

-w- " .. ILI"'~I"""I-Jl.V. --.'.ulJ. I '''J",IIW''~I ... [,1" .. 11[1, "_,,_._,;g,, J.JLLHL.!U ,·, __ I~,u, . ~_" Q!ldl, __

Mahmou.d; 19 however, he alone was thefirst togo Into the cave. He them caned his friends to the cave and they began to go through the jars. As Abu-Dahoud tens the story, only one Jar contained intact Scrolls.and an five of them were somehow stuffed Into the j ar; There was in anotherj ar one Scroll that was so brittle it b.ro,ke into pieces as they pic ked it up. They tholllghtthe S croll was damaged and therefore worthless, so they simply threw U. outside the cave, All. the Scrolls were ~ealhe'rt and some, were wrapped inlinen cloth, The boys thought. thatthese rolls of leaiher might be good for sandal straps. so th.ey took them back to their tents. They agreed not to F{~mOV,e, the Jars. but left them in the cave for at least another month. Laler,Muhammed edh-Dhib returned to the cave with Bddsh archaeologist Lankestee Harding. He did not tell him about the Scrolls, and. Harding acted only mildly interested in the empty jars, Abu-Dahoud believes be took them to the Palestinian Archaeological Museum (whic;ht in 1967, was renamed the Rockefeller Museum). However, most oftbesc jars, are no longerpart of (hem eseummventorv, and It is now ~vld¢nt that some were sold or went. other places,"

For more than a year the Scrolls wereleft lying around his tent (A.ccordingto his 1957 reperthe said that "he took his share o:[the leather home and hung: it in a skin bag in a corner,") There the bag remained "for morethan two years," He; satd that because no one seemed interested in the ()~d leatherrolls, the kids in his tribe, played with one like a. wy untH

itbroke '1-····· - .• ~.;.~,. Some ofthe nieces were blown awav bv : .... wind It eroxe mro pieces, '. orne, Q rne preees . ~U.~ ,~O n nay .. y tue, me

and th erest thev ... ~h:~e[w ..... th e garbag ... e!

_n___ Fi_~'~ .. -,J " .. '."- lu .... " - g;. --~c -

The Scrolls were then. taken by his uncle W tile house of a friend in the ... d~~:a.ge of'Irtas, ncar Bethlehem, where. they remained for three months.

Copyr"ghted materia'

36 SECR~S OF THE DEAD SEA SCROUS

Next they went to' a. Dahoud Ans:a],am in Bethlehem for four months. FimiUy, tbey went to, two,.antiquides dealers in Betblehem; ,a cobbler who, doubled as an anliqui.tie,s dealer by the nameof JaUI Iskander Shahin Kando and anoiher man Darned Feidi Salahi (who received them only after another transaction went sour). Kande was the main operator; be: paid for the Scrolls and became the solerepresentative for the Bedouin in al] future dealings. According to Abu-Dahoud, Kanda paid only £ 16 (Jo:r(rnnian) for the flrstfour Scrolls ..

After the Serells were found to have brought a price, the whole Ta.tamireh tribe became excited about ~ookingt7ormore Scrolls. Abu .. Dahoud and his friends went back to Cave 1 to try and find the Seroll lh.ey :had thrown outside the cave emrance, but after two years of wind. and rainwa~er washing down the cliffs, it had oompletely disappeared. Then they began searching in other caves. Abu-Dahoud says that they found one Scrofl in. Cave 1 t ~ another in Cave 4at Khiribet Qum:ra.n.~ and another hl a cave; he eouldnot describe.2~ Although he elaims that the date for these discoveries was 1938, as our discussionprogressed, he sa.idthat he sold these Scrolls to Kando in 1948. He remembers this date clearly because they asked (andreceived) the price of $5.~500 afterhearing on the, radio a. news broadcast telUng about Bedouin finding very valuable ancient Scrolls (from Cave I) in the desert, Based. on this confirmation oftheit value the,y were; able; to demand a.higher price than. they received for the previous four' Scrolls,

- -

Abu-Dahoud sa.ys thalt his chief ocicupadon between 19'.35-1950 was

searching For and selling Scrolls, After his feUow trlbesmen learned of theamounr Kandomade on the 'first seven Scrolls, more than SO men in his tribe abo began h)()KI ngtor Scrolls, It IS amaner of fact that more Scrolls have been found by these Bedouin than by p,rofessiona1!archae .. ologists, Among these discoveries were finds of Scroflsandcoins at the

- -

high caves 'of Wadi edh-Daliyeh, These objects, according to Muhammed

edh-Dhib's memory. were simply [}II ng on the floor of the caves and required lime effort to remove, He says he. also foundan intact ScroU at Wadi Murabba'at in 1940~ which he sold to Kanda for J .. Dl,,500 (Jordaaian d:IIlm::s), and hundreds of Scroll fragments at Endera (near Bin-Gedi) in 1941,. which he: sold mostly to "a French priest named [Pere Roland) de Vaux" and someto Kando,"

An Uncertainty About Dales

I was startled by these dates, because the conventional dates for the discovery of the fttst Scrolls are between 1946 .. 4947, some, eight t.o nine


'THE Sn:JRY OF THE SCROUS 3'7

years later, If Abu- Dahoud was correct in his dates, then where were: the 8crons during those, '~mlssing years" afterthe Bedouin recovered them f«l:m the ca.ve:?Mor,e:impOrrtandy~ when were the. ScroUs ac'tlJJaUyfirst dis .. covered? The conventional dates of winter 1946 or sometime in 1947 were: based on when the existence of the Scrolls was, first made known throu~h the efforts of those trying to sell them or buyers tryin .. g to gain infonnation about the..-n ..

The conventional date of 1947 was apparently given by Muhammed edh-Dhib or his friends when they larer became known and were questioned, Yet even at d:1JaJt time there w~~ some confusion. because tbeal\uho:rHies at St. Mark's Monastery, who originally made the discovery known, attempted to conceal the date. For some time dle"y told their consultants, including the.American School of Oriental Research, n~at the; Scrolls had been in their monastery library for 40 years. Even when the schoollearned that: the Scrolls had beenpurchased during the previous year (1946) and lssllJed! a press release announcing, the discovery, the article in the papers reportedthe SC.rolls,~~had been preserved for centuries"in St. MMk~s'!.

Maners were: not clarified by later interviews with Muhammed edh ..

Dhib In 1957 he issued an effidavit revising the discovery date to 1945. I also found these ineonsi steneies ill dates ViI hen Ipressedbirn several times during, the two days wetalked .. Howevet~ we must keep in-mind tbat Bedouin do not keep truck: of time as we: do, butllkethe ancients, theykeep time in cOrtmection with other events .. By this form of reckoning Abu-Dahoud placedhis disoovery of the Scrolls "before Harding came to the ,cou:n(ry', and before :1 was married' (Bedouin do nOI continue to shepherd animals afte<fthey have taken a wife), British archaeologist G.. Lankesrer Harding was already exeavatingat Laehish In the early thirties and Abu-Dahoud said he married his first wife 57 years ago an age 20 (he is now 77). ThI8!t would pill. his marriage in 1938 .and set the dare for the Scroll discovery sometime, around t 936. As we discussed datesbased on these: events, he carne tcinsist rharhe visited Cave 1 in 1935 or 1936.

When I asked if Kando stiU tim! [he first four Scrolls in his possession at the; time; Abu-Dahoudand h ~s friends soldthe next three, 22 he recalled ask:l!ngKa:ndo what had happened to the first: four Scrolls shortly after their transaction with him, and he: was told that they had been sold .. This presents an int~resdng but irreconcilable piece to the Scroll chronology puzzle; .. AUbou.gh Kando served. as an agent for the seven Scrolls in 1948, they werethen sold to two differem buyers: [our to one groupand three to another .. If Abu-Dahcud is correct that the :flr:st. four Scrollsand next


three Scrolls were discovered and sold at different times, it could shed new light Qin these separatetransactions .. However. Abu-Dahoud still cannot account fOF the m.issing: years between his selling the first four Scrolls in 1938 and dle second three Scrolls in 1948. His latest account also raises anotherproblemi n has always beenthought that an seven Scrolls came from Cave ~. (j ust as it was originally assumed that all had been discovered at the same lime).lt would Icerta:~nly makee difference tomany scholars' theories regarding the provenance ofthe Serolls ifthese latter three Scrolls came from different caves as AbuftDallo!IJd claims.

Nevertheless" as Abu-Dahoud continued to talk. about his Sc.[oll discoveries and the: people to whom he sold Scrolls.Lbegan to think that if apersonaddedten years rornosr of his dales they would probab~y be more accurate. ] am not suggestlng {hat anyone revise the accepted dates based on AbUJ-n.ahoud'ls~estimonY'j' but since firsthand testimeny is becoming increasingly impossible to retrieve (both Kando and Metropolhan Samuel are now deceased), his statements should be eons ide red at least for hl:storical r-easons.

FromM.nhamm.ed tothe M,etropoUtan

As interesting as Abu-Dahoud's (Muhammed edh-Dhib) testimony may be, his story is only the beginmng .. Once Muhammed's uncle and fdends. decided to see if the. Scrolls would sell. jhey began looking for the right customer. The Bedouin settled ontaking their seven Scrolls '(0' an amlquitles dealer because they had been told the strange wri ling on the parchment. might be Syriae (a form of Aramaic and a cousin to Hebrew and Arabic) .. They knew Syri.ac was one of the hol.y languages used by the Christians, and they abo knew that nearby Bethlehem was an Arab Chdsti:annown where Sy.rian Chrisnaas lived. There they w(>lilld find those who knew the value of their finds and might. wish to buy them .. Perhaps rolncrease his chances on getting something for tbe SCFolls~ Muhammed's uncle sought out Kando, a local cobbler (and main supplier of goods to the tribe) who also dabbled in antiquities, He may have figured Uult iF the writing on the leather wasnot worth anytblng, perhaps he could. sell the. leather it.self for scrapsl Fortunately, Kando recognezed the writing was ancient and bought the Scrolls for their antiquity value 'rather than for shoe repair; We cannot be surehow much time lapsed Defore, Kandoconracted George Isha' ya, amember of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, but. be assisted him in resolving the Inys~ery of the Scroll's


THE STORY OF THE SCROlLS 39

script, We do know that w hen George took the Scrolls to his archbi shop atthe Monastery of St, Mark's, (he; Metropolitan M,ar Athenasius.Yeshue Samuel, the datewas Apr.~l of 1.9417.

A c~ c ~A", c.' te ' .... ~ ·~M~ stro - ~ '~I~an ,S-,m ,.' cion -:- c. h '.' reveal ... ,AI 't·'· c-, K nd .... ~;l., ,to, ccorsing 0 ULC "JiLOpO~~!L~~ ~~a~~~u -·~t, anee ,~J.~,~ e eaJ~ 0 _~a~~l,Jo ma

the Scrolls were written ,In Hebrew rather than his language of Syriact

~K"<'Iind' 1('1. tho , , .... t~gh~ he had 11.,.~,t,,, sale "T'h~lt m" -a· v' b .",. ,~~." reasonthe M·. -"";~"'o'p,oll'~1;""n

L ~ Q,i,IJ .. 'U , .. L v~'I,I~j~ J i'lir' ~,ll", _ ,lv~I'JI"' .'A'J'!ir'", L • JUII, .. ,.J, 'oJ .-.~ .:.~J,"r' ,y~V,l~ \IJ~, ."vu, _::" 1I,I,~,g' I

was able to obtain the Scrolls for a ratherpaltry sum. (the cqui:v,a]ent of

$.2,cIO:)·!:II~th.L'ou(fh· ·M·.·· .• o.r S"."TT'I.'~~ claim ed 11t. r·:n·p.·r ..... sented """\,'>I'>MJ' pe ,n,'n\l' .... f.·Il.,jls·

. ._., . L' ,I, "I~. J, ,v , _','='L JI, • J' J~ :_ d_IHIH~A,.;.;;.IIJ ",;, ,", Ji 'L J J~ .' _ ,., : J ¥'L ," J ""~~!I! ~u' ~ . ~~J,.; ,_ .. !I! ~.IJ:cIJJJ· v., Lt~',1-:

ham-earned s;a\dngs,2J Every manuscript expert and archaeologist that he consuhed-e-including a. representative from the Jordanian Department ofAnUquides-told him that the Scrolls were eirhcr medieval copies or clever forgeries .. NO' one. had ever found manuscripts as old as these were purported to be, and the;y were certain [hail no manuscripts so old could have survived in such perfectcondition. Conventiona] archaeological opinion was that th.e humid climate of the region. was unsuitable for' the preservation of organic manter; including rhe materia] used for manu-

,. '. . As Edws . ...J .C' , . ·k . id ... '~"Tl!...· A ... .' f fid'" . ..... . ... h '.. ' .......•.. "

scnpts, , ~ .s b· ~ waU.l1 . 001. S,fU ~ t ~ ~e ll!!'ea. o.~~ltiL'mg S U<L a manuscript

was just toogood to be tru:e~and therefore probably wasn 't.'~:24

Wh:~~ I' I' .. "",'( >~ -S~, Mark'sthestorv of the fan ousr Ii reh ','_- '!--;''- 'M,': .... ,

__ ien . vl;.~)]tel..!!t. ,~;V,il.ar., s tue story 0" L _ ,1.Lmou.~ p!iJ~_,"ase uy, ·_ar

Samue,1 was stil 1 fondly remembered. It was recounted to me by the Re",_ Shemun Can wtd~e, standing beside their venerated hand-written Syriac Bible inside, the :monaste.ry·sc.hape:l.25 He remembers besthow Mar Samuel almost lost the opportunjtyto pUle hase the Scrolls, As hetells It, Mar Samuel had asked for the Scrolls to be brought. to the monastery, where, after examination, he promised to bu.y them." Kanda: and George Isha'ya carne to the monastery one atternoon, bearing both the seven Scrol 1$ and the Bedouin, who were hoping ferfurther income '[-"oim'the sale. But upon then- arrival they got into afieree argument with tbe gatekeeper QiVei[ ad.mittanee, and we:re finally sentaway in a rude-manner .. When Mar Samuel learned about the Incident he immediately sent apologiesto Kanda and begged tha.t he might have another opportuni tyto buy the Scrolls, But a Bedouin's honor Is not to be trifled with, and by d:m time M,ar Samuel had reached Kanda. three, of the SCIOnS had already been sold to anotner Bethlehem antiquities dealer, Feidi Salahi?r5,

Lea n 'p"':,nfil'1111)' ·Y··· iden tifv .,.,".,,11,;- thefeelings of ·M .• ·!ll~ Samuel, I one e """".:1 !l

:~ _ ' ,_ L._'~, __ ,Il ..... I_,,_ c1,,_~, '''"''---- -r , J' nL ULIJ IIJ"l . 1'~,I~~u!,I_:- i - '.,_ '""' "". ~~ __ "'_ ~~,_~'1!.4, "I,,~ _. __ ,I,~ __ '_ . ,I,~,~,

sinli~ar encounter with a Ta'amireh Bedol!Jin\:~iho~e ho'nor I u~wiuing]y had violated, I had. employed him anda yo unger man to ass 1St: me in the Dead Sea area, and in separate negotiations made at different times, I had paid each fur their labors. Un fortunately I rnade the mistake of paying

Copyr'ghted material

40 SECRETS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

the youngerman more money than the older-a thing not to be done wjth Bedouin, After th.ey got together to discuss their respective payments,

_' .",.

reports came to me ofthe older B,etiol!lin's rage, supposedly the worst. his

friends had ever seen! It cost me a great deal more money to restore his honor and hope~uUy our relationship. Yet., Mar Samuel's loss actua.lly became a great gain.-for the state of Israel, This.nrrn of events introduces us to yet iUlotber ofthe famotls, play'ers in the Scroll d.rama: Professor Eleazar Sukenik. of the Hebrew University.

Some Scrolls Come Home

Just as Kandothrough George Isha'yahad sought out an expert in Mar Samuel to authenticate the Scrolls, so also did Fe.idl Salah} make arrangements to show his three newly acquired Sc:ro.ns to Ele;azarSukenik thr-ough an Armenian. friend, Anton Kiraz. This was not an ,easy matter atthe time. Jerusalem was still. under British control, but this control was rapidly crumbling In the: wake; of increasing Arab-Israel] confliet.Jt was t.he closing months of 1947~ and the British hadauemptedto secure, Jerusalem against attacks carried QU.t by Jewish underground resistance group:s by dividing the city and restricting movement between zones, When Sukenik met with Kintz it. was on the opposite sides 'of a barbedwire fence dividin,gQineof thesezones .. Kiraz had brought a. sample of one ofthe Scrolls, and at last the Scrolls were br-ought to the attendon of the one man in all the country who cQuldpQsitively authenticate them as agenuine treasure .. S ukeaik had been prepared for this moment from his excavation of Jewish ossuaries (burial boxes) and a study of their inseriphODS. As a paleographer Sukenik hadidentified Hebrew scripts on these ossuaries, which dated [rom tn.e late second. ,century .B.C •. to the firstcentury A.D .. When. he :saw his, first glimpse of a. Dead Sea Scroll to_rough. the barbed. wire, be knew the scrip:t was like those he had seen carved in. stoneand he wanted to see morel

Sukenik immediately made plnns to g:o to Bethlehem, view the other Scrolls, and, if he could, buy them for the university. But he had not andcipQ,ted theeventsabout to unfoldallaround him. On the: day he, planned to go to Bethlehem, then 1.11 Jordanian territory, the. United N adons was about to vote for the re-creation of the Jewish State. The fear and disorder in '{he dry had turned to panh:: andehaus because the people were certain that the Arabs would go to war againsr Israel immediately after the. VOW1 which would make it unsafe fora Jew to go there. Postponing


THE Sr:O'lU' OrmlS SCROUS 41

his trip but desperate fora. decision as to what. to do next, Sukenik went to his son Yigael Yadin, who was also an Mlcbaeo~ogis:tand the head of the IllndergroiJod anny" the Haganah, If anyone would under:stand the enormons value-of the; Scrolls and could advise him 'on his: chan<:(!:sofg,oing to. Bethlehem It was, his son. Yadin writes of the moment his father asked for his counsel:

What was I tote-U 1l~m?' As a . student of archae,ology myself, ] felt. than anoPPul[t.u[J,ity ofacquiring such priceless documeats could not be missed .. On the other hand, as Chief of Operations of Haganah, ] knew perfectly wen the dangers my father would be ri.sking in traveUng to Arab Bethlehem. And. as a son I was tom. between. both feeli[1g~l .. I tried to hedge, but before leaving, son and soldier won and I told him notto gO .. :!7

No doubt Sukenik thoughtlong and bardebout the advice of his son, which had. been previously asserted by his wife. Bat in the end, the role ofarchaeoiogi:st.and preserver of Israel's heritage won out. QV'c,r thar of fath~r and husband. Snkenik went to Beihlehesn on the very da.y 'the United Nadons resolutlonwas to be passed. But in the hours before the event, Sukenik was able to secure the Scrollsand return home safely. At, ·(h.e hour (ali~ne pastmidnighn 'When the" vote was announced on theradio, Sutenik was, engrossed ina study of the Scrolls, Later he said, "This great event in. Jewish history was thus, combined in. myheme in Jerusalem wjlb another event, no lesshistcric, the QnepQll~ical., the otherClldtural.'''\U! The war indeed broke out, but, fortunately Sukenik already had (he Scrolls .. He had earlierrisked his life to seethe~m,a:rnd then he had risked his ~financial future bymortgaging his OWl] home fora bank loan to buy them ..

A short time later. Sukenik learned about the Scrolls in tile possession. of the, Syrian Monastery and was given the. chance to examine thempersonally, Follewinge clandestine meeting with Klrazar the Y;M.C.A. library~a buUding used for meetings by Arab leaders, he returned with the additional Scrolls and even the prospect of purchasing them. Unfortu.n,atelYr cireumstances at the time did not permit this, .. He was refused an additional ~.oan"and by the timemonlles were finally approved by the; Jewish Agency, the Metropolitan had decided not to sell Sukenil died in 1953, believing that. the four Scrolls he had briefly handled wer-e lost, to theJewi sh people forever .. 'The reasons for his beHef~nd 'the ironic circumstances that were to fulfill his dream of acquiring them for Israelare the nextepisode In our drama.


42 SECRETS OF TH.fiDEAD SEA SCROl..LS

On to theVnited States

Aner the meeting with SukeFdk~ the MetFupoHta.n was convinced of his Scrolls' antiquity, He now wanted to get: more informatien about their contents and sought a means to obtain what he :felt was a. fair mar.kert value, Sukenik had offered $21.025 .. That wasmorethaa tbearcbblsho,p' had paid" but not what he felt they were worth on the open market, U is alsopossible, based Qim what we know about the arcbhishopts lateractions, that he was UJ1WUUng to sen his SCroUSEQ the Jewish State. Because, the pre .. sentturmoi] in 'the Middle, East bad cut. him off from themarketplace he, sought, he decided 1,0 goto the American School of Oriema] Research (A.S.O.R.), which is nowshe Albri,gbt Institute, to seek foreign advice. So on a cold day inmid .. February of 1948~Fathe;rB utrus Sowmy.~ an asso .. elate of the, Metropol han, contacted a. young scholar smdyingthe flora and fauna ofP,destine---J[)f~ John C. Trever, Trever was serving asinteri m

di .. ··~t·· -'r ofth.··. - .. seh 1 while DC, ,"r - c·t··'''·!,·M··· fUM' B.lttnw"" was aW3V In Ba'gh-:1,ad

ue ... o. e._CI~ , .. =_e _, Lec .... !T .. __ ~ ~ u=_~ .~ '.' ._, __ ,_" ~ " ~_l,L,_t

and made the decision 10 view the SerIOUs in. me: director's absence. Upon seeing the Scrolls, especially the Grea.t Isaiah Scml.l, be knew the script was comparable to the then-oldest-known Hebrew text, the Nash papyrus .. He made a bandwrittencopy of part of thetext, and discovered lster that evening that he had been reading a. portion of Isaiah chapter 65. Reflecting ~ateron the te~t he had copied, Trever W1'1)te·:.

EVen(s moved so rapldly after my first view of the: Scrolls th.at it was several montbs before I noneed tbe meaning of the whole passage whkJl led to Ule id.endficaUon ofthe Isaiah Scroll. Thumbing througba Gideon Bible. one e.vening ina :hQtelroo:m~ I turned to Isaiah 65: 1. and was, startled to read the ironic words: '·1 am. ;sought, of ~hem that asked net :for me; I am found of the~ that sOllg~ht me not ... !'~29

The next day Trillv~r' went to the mon,as.~ery and asked for permission 10 photographthe Scrolls in view of the uncertain conditions that were worsening daily In the city. At first he was refused, but finally be per .. suaded the Metropo'lhanthail photographing and publishlngthe Scrofls would increase, their market value I just as had been the case with the, famous New Testament menuscdpt, the Codex Siniaticus, recovered by Constantine Tischendorf .. ThUS't 10 the midstof a eeldrain, Trever carried the Scrolls back to A.S.O.R'1 3.ndl with both outdated film and inferior facilides, he; hurriedly bm. carefully photographed each section of the Scrolls. He sent a prInt of the Great /s,aia.h ScroU 1:0 the r,e,DownW.iU~am

Copyriphted rnmeria'

Foxwell Albright of John Hopkins University, who immediately confirmed the discovery as thegreasest of the century .. About this, same time Director MillarBurrows r-eturn,edand convinced the :Me"lropolimn to allow A.S.O.R. to. inform thepress about the discovery and to publish the photegraphsabroad.

n was now March of 19~8, and bombings and a:tnacks were killing hundreds; of'people throughout. the region. As the end of the British Mandate; approached, ,and Jewish iijdependence dawned (May t5), full~scalewar in Jerusalem was i mminenr. All Americanswere be,ing told to leave the; city, and 'the Scrolls.too, we-rein danger while they remained .. A.S.O.R. did 110t wantto lose accessto the Scrolls.and Burrows ~ own anfi-Zi,onlst position would not aU ow the Scrolls to be, claimed by Sukenik forthe Jewish Sta.te,.,~ Therefore, he and Trever successfully appealed to the Metropolitan to take the Scrollsto Ule United States, where agreater market would be available, am idea fOir which the Metr-opo]itan needed. lltrle convincing. On March 25, the Scrolls were taken by the .M,etropoUtan and Father Sowmy to Beirut, and from" there to the UI1I~ed States. With good reason ~ then, Sukenik could 'Write that .he thought. the Scrolls. were lost to Israel forever,

Yet, s~!Ortly after Sukenik's death, ironic circumstances were about to be played out which would lead to 'the Scrolls' return.

'The Rest of the Scrolls Come Home

For several years, the Scrollswent on tour with Mar Samuel. throughout the United States .. He. had to walk a political tightrope overfhe question of who owned the, Scrolls, because by this time, (1951) both the new state of Israel and the, Hashemlte Ki ngdom of Jordanclaimedrightste rhe Scrolls. The; Metropolitan 's rumored price of one minion dollars (ac:mally halfa million) had frightened off institutions and other investors, especially in light of continued assertions some in presngicus journals by recognized seholars-e-that the Sc~roUs were utter frauds. In addition, the pubUcation of the; Scrolls had in fact decreased, raeher than increased, their market value, since copies of the texts were now readHyavaila.ble

t ... · scholars and .. librarie ·S' 'F·'I,', .... hermore Mar Samuelcouldnorresumheme

to "'~lbJ'-I.I,'~ M~U~ . ,1.lL - - ",",~, .' ." L ul"ltIJ. :a,~,:lJ:lj' ,~"', j' .. , ~ii'Yll,l: .,~_ .. 'V~' ',_, .~~. - ~"'~I~_ ~_ =~V~_"",'IF

because tli\e J()nJaoj,an government had. branded him a smlllggle.r andrrailof. Even.Anton Kiraz.had reappeared, seeki ng his cut frOID. UU:' expected sale,

By 1954!~ M,ar Samuel, fru strated by these d:ifficlldti,csand desperate to secure" a buyer, decidedto take a gamble. On June 1 he advertised the

Copyriphted material

44 SECREJ'SO'FTHEDEAD SEA SCROUS

Scrolls in the ad section of Ute Wall Street Journal! There, next to other ads for steel tanks and summer rentals" theworld's.greatest historical treasure was I is ted, The ad simply read", ,jB:~bUca!lmanuscri pts dating back to at lean 200 B.C. are for sale, This wOiuldbe an jdealglnto an, edueadon al or religious instimtien by an individual or grol!1p.'f

It was at this point that, the; iIony-o,r what Yadin called de;stiny-now began, Ujust so happened thatYadln" Su,kenlkts son" was visiting in New ~orkon a lecture tour awut, the Dead Sea Scrolls. The day thatme,Jou:rnal' advertised the Scrolls, a fellow Israeli named Monty Jacobs who was, on ajoumalistic assignment in America alerted Yadin to the ad, Yadin knew exactly what was being offe:red, and in fact had alreadymade up his mind to try and purchase the Scrolls forthe Hebrew Univers:it.y if be cou'ld locateMar Samuet Yet be knew his, next steps wou~d.have to be teken carefully, Because ofthe conflict with. Jordan." not to mention the archbishop's ownantl-Semltie sentiments, Yadin realized he could not reveal Israelas the buyer .. From his work in ,anny in,telligence be knew that the only way [0' obtainthe Scrolls was to use: an intermediary loyal to his cause )fe~n convincing to the M:etropoHta.n.

Also.fhego-between had to Ilea scholar who would 11IOot arouse the arehhishop's suspioionsand who could positively confirm the authendeity of the documents for sale. To serve this purpose, Yadincalled 'the esteemed Masoretic expert and pr-ofessor at, Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio-Dr, Harry Odjnsky.,Asp'r,()vide~nce WQI)lId have it, the professorwas j ust gt'!;tt:~llig in his car toleave 'On vacation when he heard the phone ring, Yadin would not divulge to him the whole reason for ccOming: to New¥ork.; he only said that it was imperative that he come Em,mediately ... Uponaniving in New Yo(,k1Professor Orlinsky was briefed in much t~e samemasneras a sp'y being given a dlrecnve for an undercover tllisslon-which this was 1 Yadinlater called if!~a cloak-and-dagger 'Ii--,-I ... ·~e·-·s··"']l A,... 'D' ,-;- '0·· rlln ... I~v himself'explained .

1lJ1iJ.",I.I,1 s-. ,l'1.:l- , _ ,r. . .~ .. I """J .. l.. ,. ,~, ~, .""'.' "'I .•

J was to assume the llJameMr:. Green, an. expert on. be~ha~f of the dicfI:t I 'was fO take; a m,xl '~otheLe::dngton Ave,nrue entrance of theWaldorf~Astoria. Hotel" where: the Chemical Bank a.nd Trust. Co. had a branch .. I was to make sure that. I was not fol ... · lowed. A Mr:. Sydn.e,yM. Estridge would be waitinglhere; for me; we had not been told bow tQidenUfy one another; He would go wUh me downsta~IS to the vau:lt of 'he bank. There we, would find a r-e"presentadv,e of the Me~tropoUtan, with the SeroUs ready ~iJr examination, . .I wasto say as UtUe as possible, and 10 admat


THf STORr OF THE SCROUS 45

to ne identification beyond being Mr, Green ..... After lea.ving the. vault, I phoned an unlisted number and spoke; the word lechayim, m.eaning the SeroUs weregenuine .. 3!2

Over the days of negotiation and on the, day ofpurchase, Yadin had wired messages to Teddy Kollek.then director-general of the prime min .. ister's office in Jerusalem (and laterthe city"s first and.fot two decades, only mayor). These, inpart, read:

Anlll.nexpec~ed miracle bas happened, The four Dead Sea Sere lls, inc:luding Isaiah, brolllght to US by the Syrian Me1tropo111tan .... can be: bought: at once ..... expect. a positive reply.

'The reply came, and once: thepaymem, of $2.50~OOO wasr.eoei'ved by Mar Samuel, the Scrolls were in Yadin's possession, and he wired the fellow-up messag~:

Fo a, t:!i-a·d;' ffi,·',<"iltl r.~., that are now ·f·~a·· "';n·gc vou ·fi"i:"Idl '""0· '01"0-] i'i,_.

.. . ..r ,u'-' I.~ ... """"'ul .... ~ :U.~...,. ~. ~_)I ... L _J~ ~u. , ... ' ~ . .:1 •• Qi.-

tion! The treasures ofthepast are .flour hands as afUlis morning at 10:30.. Will send them to J erusalem next week,"

Yadi.n had DOW completed the c.ir·c le of what his famet had begun. The Scrolls again belonged to Israe] and were going home. The financing had come, In part, from New YorK philanthropist D.S. Gottesmanand his

- -

heirs later sponsored me consuucticn of apermanent home ·fo;r the Scrolls

known as Hechal }U1 .. S~fer (the Shrine of the Book) and locatedin Jerusalem's Israel MU5eum (seep.holo .sectionJ. Today the ScniUs,.a1ong other equally valuable treasures discovered in the Judean wildemess.are on display for allthe world to see,

After.math .of the Purchase

Once the news of the sale: in (he United States reached the Bedouin, tlley launched a full .. scale search throu.ghthe desert caves for additional manuscripts. They found more Scrolls as well. as large sections of Scrolls, and reasoned that they could get. more money by tearing them ltilto smaller pieces. The more pieces, the meremoney! In order to discourage this practice, a standard price for Scrollmaterial was worked out by Kando, Whatever th.e eondition of the Scronmal1eri.a]" the price was the, same: one Britishpoundper square. centimeterof parchment, Acco.rding to Professor Hamnut Stegemann, this calculation was, based upon. the size


46 SECR:t.1S,oF TH.E DEAD SEA SCROLLS

of the Great Isaiah SC.(()U t 1 Q1s,(tl') divided by one ... fQurtn of the purchase price of the four Scrolls pf'cvkmsly in. thcpossession of the Metropolitan Samuel, or $:250,000. During ID.y interview with Abu .. Oahoud~ he said that when be learned about the, sale ofihe St.Mark's Scrolls in America, ile went to Kando and demanded more, money. In the styleof Bedouin justice, he took outa knife and tried to cut Kando'sthroat, but Kando grabbed the knife and ended up only wi til an Injury to his band. A Jordanian officer interceded" and for a settlement of 250 Jordanian dinars, AbuDahoud released Rando of any furtber claim.

The Jordanian government: abo reactedto the sale, They protested and threatened to SUC, bun coeld not complete their threat. since t:o, do so would force them to' legallyacknowledge the State: of Israel-s-a move dlcy were; unwilling 10 take at that: time, Ironically; unknown to th.e Jcrdanians, there were more Serons inIordan, andlsrael was. again to haveprevidencesmile on. her desire 10 unne these ~{)ng:~I~ost bequests from herancesmrs.

One More Sc:roll

One of the mostiruriguing stories about discove:ring the Scrolls has nothIng to do w~th digging in Dead Sea caves but: rather with the human drama. surroending the marketlng of the Scrolls .. Whe~n Cave II was first discovered by the Bedouin, ·tbey removed some Scrolls and soldthem to Kando, These Scrolls were not immediately offered. by Kando for sale .. Bcwever.] ale .i n {he summer of 1960 the, existence of one of these Cave 11 Scrolls was surreprkiously revealed [0 Yadin by a man ~eFvin,g as Kando's intermediary.known then only as "·M_t. Z," (an IdeutityYadln !kept see-ret until tne: day of his death on June 28~ 1984).34 As it would turn out, this Scroll would be the: :~argest and, by m.any scholars' assessment, tile: most impeuant of all the Dead Sea Scrolls ever discovered, It carne lobe caned the, T:emple Scroll (11(11'9 or llQTi!mlp,l.lfl) because its contents included plans toconstruct a Third Temple in Jerusalem. The details of UtES Scrol] bav,e been highly significant fhr the study of Second Temple Judaism as wellas early Christiam~ty (see chap •. er 1 .~.)., Its connectinn with Cave 11 was ecnflrmed by the .findi.ng of an addulonal 38 fragments of another copy of thetext ,In Cave U (now known as 11(2.20 or 11 QTempieh ). 3.5

The, story of The Temple- Screllbegl ns with a V~~gi:nla minister's tour of the Holy Land." The minister was the Re-'Y'. Joseph Uhdg .• who in the early ~ 950.5, when televislon was stm comirtg of age, had 'One of the tint


THE Sro.R,Y OF THE SCROLLS 47

and most successful evangel istic broadcasts (later contineed by D[. Jetty Falwell as the Old Time; Gospel, Hour). During a 1955 trip to the lands of the Bible, Rev. Uhrig was given as 3l guide an Arab Christian by the name of Marcos Hazou. The next year Hazen wanted to Immigrate whh his family to (h.e United States and asked Rev. Uhrig: to sponsor him. The; minister agreed to do so and even rented Hazou a house, bought furniture for his family; and ga.ve him a job in h~8 min~s:try'l'smailfoom., One day in 1960, Hazou told Rev. Uhrig that his brother in Bethlehem had a friend named Kando, who had many ancient, manescnpts in his posses .. 5100. Using his connections through Hazoa, Rev., Uhrig, went to Beihlehem to meet Kando, was shown S croll fragments" and offered to find pr-oper buyers in Israe] (where" Uhrig believed they belonged), Thus, Rev. Ullrlg became the mysterious '"Mr .. Z .. lt

Returning to the United States, Uhrig contaetedYadinabout one pm .. ticnlarly large SeToU Kanda kept in hiding, Kanda's asKlriI.g price was one million dcllars, whidl both Uhrig and Yadin thought was absurd, Ya.djn~, of course, refused, countering that he, would make an offer o,nly in the price range established by the Metropoliten A{hanasius Samuel. Uhrig later said that Kando "had illusions thatthere wouM be somemul .. timlll ionaire in the United Sra tes [who wou~d eventually pay his price] .uJ,7 Abu-Dshond added the observation thar the reason Kando held on to these Scrolls de:sp,ite luerative 'Offers 'was because he had already become reason ably wealthy from prcNlous. deals and was not desperate for the. money_ He coaldeffordto wait, Abu-Dahoud said that while Kanda was a good man, he was a better businessman: "For something worth $1 t{)()O he would billY ilt for $2-.3!"~ BUl, the asking price was not Yadin's only concern. By thistime the Dead Sea ScrQ~I.s had become wellknown and fergeries abounded on the black market, Too, Yadincou1d! not bel certain ofUhrig's SOUfQe. He: needed more proof This proof was about to come in an unexpected way,

Uhrig made another tripto Bethlehem and thls time, was shown the 1 arge Scroll, w hieb was ti.ghtly wrapped and stored ina shoe, box .. He decided to buy from Kando the ftagmenr he had been shown on his ~fjrst trip (which later becameknown as the Psalm Scroll). Having had 'to bring him the news ofYadin 'srefusal, he: wantedto convince Kando he was a. serious buyer so lnm he could continue to negctiate for the large Screll.Whea he got:backhomc~ he: took the; Psalmfragment, wrapped it in a paper napkin, and maned it to Yadin in Israel Ina manila eavelepel


When Yadin saw the fragment he knew that it was a. missing piece; fFom a. Scroll the Rockefeller Museum had obtained from Kando,

Yad:in now decided to make an offer to' Kando o:f.$130,~$IO;OOO in a. cash deposit and $1201000 on deposit in the Chase ManhauanBank. Uhrig wentback to Kando with Yadin's $,10,000 in h~s sock and tried to. persuade Kandoto let him. take the large Scroll back to the States with him, Kando instead raised the asking priceto $200~OOO. Yadin again refused, with the result that he Femh~ed the fragment and Uhrig the: $ UJ,OOO deposit ThIS W·QS in ~.962, and sner one fimd communicanon with ~~Mr, Z"u Yadin lost contact. and the dream of Israel's owning another Scroll began no fade as the years moved forward. However, in the Middle East" siuiations often change quickly, andYadin was to finally get the: Scroll but in a way he never would have imagined.

Five yearshadpassed since Yadin last received a letter from Uhrig ..

~ -

He would from time to time check thelistings from Jordan to see if there

was any news about the S:er-uU havingbeen purchasedby their Antiquities Depanment, butno trace of It appeared. 11le'llt on June .)., 1967., Jordan, along: with other.Arab countries borde-ring Israel t declared war on Israel. I was ordy a srudent in Junior high school at. the time,.lilutEre;membe;r warchin g the co:'{,e'rage of the- baule each night on our black-and-white television. I knew that it was a crucial time- For Jsrae], butI had FlO idea. it was also 8. tumlngpoint ~~nthe stmg,g~e forlhe-Temple Scroll. The battle would not last long, and Us br-e-vity would be remembered In. history through its name-s-the Six;:OayWar. Yadin was atmis time serving as an. advisor to the pnmeminlster.Wben on June 7 the IsraeliDefense Forces captured the OM City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.Yadin thought that the Scroll might still be hidden at Kando's residence, SinceBethlehem was now withi n Israeli jurisdiction. andYadln bad the- power of command" he immediately instituted a search-and-seizure op-eradon.Yad:ln wen remembered the events that followed:

Whh the approval of the prime minister, the; General Staff plac .... ~ ·a· ].~AU·t ... · .. ant .. .n:~""I'I' ... 11 of'the ·'M'~-];t·a-·Ifv In t",:1111·:I·(I'"""",,40 a ,t· ·""""y·d·-;·",·-

I. ,~u' I JJ\oi!U,_~M,.-..tLk- ~--.vI'V,I,~~·~ ,~.I, ~~,_,¥ ,_,,-_,!k_)!k. _-~,./ , ,_~,,~,~~,~~'Il~~' _I'. 1!,lJoI,_, ,~!!!,~

posal. All ihe inFbrmaUon necessary to conduct a search fOf the Scroll was g·iven to him, including a description. of the; exact natu.re and shape of the fragment in my possession. The: deale;('

. . . -

was traced and, aft~~r brief lle,goUaU<>ns: ...• hetookthe crffice-r to

his home wltJere~ froma primitive cache under (he flooring: mes,. he unearthed a. DATA shoe box. wrapped ina paper .... Inside It wasrhe ScroU •. wrapped in a sheet of cellophane and a towel ...•.


THE STORY OF THE SCJWLLS 49'

He had.jn addidon, a cigar box with many damaged, c:ru:mb~ed and macerated ~r,agments that had become detached from the C' Ills

scrou.«

'The; next d,ay.~ as Israel's r-evered. first prime minister David Ben Gurion was being shown. the long-denied sights of the newly won TempteM(),un:t~ the Temple Sc,roU was o,n its way to Yadin, By 8:.00 P.M.. the Scroll was at last in. his hands. Shortly thereafter Kando produced additional fragments of the Scroll, which be: had hidden behind fa.mi~y pictures in his brother's home. Although the Scroll was lawfully confiscated by the militarygevemment in accordance with Jordan's own law of a,nt.iquities (Kanda had iUegaUy concealed the Scroll from the Jordanian authorities), the Israeli authorities eventually paid Kando $ U15,OOO .. If fOor no other reasont the payment was made to enccurage other dealers who might be holding Serollsto bring them, out of hiding.

The, Temple Scroll then joIned Its family ,at the Shrine of the Book.

Losti na time of war when Israel suffered defeat and Jerusalem fell, ill had now belen :found ag.ain in a time of war when by Israel's victory Jerusalem wasregalned, An.er a 2,:OOO~year separation, one more Scroll had come home.

Unsling: Heroes in the Story

Before: moving forward in our study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we should make sure we don't overlook the unsung heroics of those who acted to bring the Scrollsto tile; world. Mar Samuel and Rev. Joseph Uhrig have both been criticized for tlhejr part, in the selling or attempted sel Ung of the Scrolls. Nevertheless, .any seemingly negative actions ontheir part arc ,outwecigh.ed. by me pesitiveaction they took b) help preserve the Scrofls .. Mar Samuel took on agreat financial riskwhenhe purehasedthe four Scrolls from Kando .. He had been told by almost all the experts he con .. tacted ~hat they were medieval forgeries or someth ing, worse, yet against these learned judgments he gambled on their being geaaine. Had he not done so it is possible that Kando wight haveplied his cobbler tradeand turned me Scrolls into sandal straps 0,[ shoe linings I And had Mar Samuel not later sold the Scrolls in America for a highfigure, .it is unlikely thar the BedQuin would have been motiva~ed to comb the caves and retrieve the additional Scrolls and the hundreds offragments they alone produced,

Asfor Rev .. Uhrig, had he nor pursued an his own expense the rumor that Kando still bad some Scrells, the TempLe Scroll might never have


50 SECR:ETS' OF THE DEAD' SEA SCROUS

were motivated in part by his own needs to fund, his ministry and church" he nevertheless left Yadln with a description of tbe Scroll and its whereabouts.In the end, 'Uhrig's, informatica enabled the Israelisto secure the SCloltjjust as Uhrig had wished.

There are lesser heroes, too; such as Monty' Jacobs. who called Yadin to teU him, about 'the Wall St,reet Journal advertisement for the Scrolls, Had Momy not followed through on his convictions and purseed the mauer, Yadin may have we-n missed his destiny. We must also commend John Tre¥er" forduring times of cold and personal discomfort, often against, the urging of his friendsand amidst the dangerous day'S of 1.941-194:8" he pursued, his pasaion temake the Scrolls available to the world. His, ded'icauon in doing so stands in marked contrast to the next 40 years, duri:ng which 80 very few of the Scroll s were revealed to scholars (other than. those to, whom. they were assigned) and the public alike. Ultimately, alltbese men were driven by a desir-e to know the unknown, preserve me past, and ten the, story of the Scrolls, Thanks to them" thalt story has been. told.

Copyr'ghlcd materia

lsi •

TH~ S'CANDAL alF THE SCROLLS

There 'is virl:w.iJ'y u:nanilnQllsagreemem among all' t.he concerned p(l:rtics~part:. of c()u,rsc:.lront the lmerna'tional Team .lhemse.'lves and the Ecole lJibJiqU'e~l.ha1.lhe hls10ry a/De,ao Sea

S 1'·[' L. l' J:' '" ,',' .10' "I-i" o:.~ . era .sCnoanrmp uGes COl1st.rtuJ'e a 'scanuu;,. '

,-M~chael Ba,lg~nt. and R~chard U:J,gh

When ancienrartifactsl ike the Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered, the scholarly community as: well as tbe hdbnned public. eagerly await their publication. Dc publication of the first d,iscovered Scrolls from Cave I, as 'We·U as those from. caves 2-3,5:-10an.dWadi Murabba,',a,t, was in keeping with this expectation H(!Iwevler, amassiveasso:rtmenlQffra~ments~m(lsUy from Cave: 4~ remained unpublished and.generally Inaccessible to. scholars outside theImemanonal Team from 1952-1992.2 Even though this material represents only 20 percent of the; total texts, the fact thar it was he~~d

51


52 SECRETS OFrH.B D.EA.D SEA SeROUS

in privatedomain for 40 yean: opened :a Pandora's box of libelous aecusationsand charges of conspiracy ..

Although legitimate eoneerns were voiced by responsible publishers in the field (such as Hershel Shanks ofthe BibUoat Arehaeology Review), sensationalistic arl.~thon. were qlllJlck to capbaliz,e on the: controversy. Demonizing members of the Intemational Team, th.e;y claimed that Catholie sehelars were wodting under orders fremthe V81ticanto suppress Scroll secrets that would destroy tt:adldon,al Chrisdan:ity, or that Israeli scholars were hiding evidence that would confirm Christianity against treditional Judaism .. While photographs of all the unpublished material were released in 1992 and unofficial translations of selected texts have appeared recently, the bulk of this material still remains unpublished in the: official Discoveries in the Juae.an Desen (DIn) series, As aresult, the public continues to wonder if some rype of scandal is going on.

'Gettingtbe SeroUs PubliSh.ed

Strang,e as ifm.ay seem, tbe :first publicationeffort relatedtothe Dead.

Sea Scrolls came barely IWO centuries after they were hidden. away_ The early chureh father Origen found ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts injars in the region ofJericho, In proper scholarly fashion, he endeavored {a get these Scrolls published .. He did this by incorporating the Greek text of one of the SeroUs (Psalms) into his eritical edition of the BEbleJ which was finished about A.D. 24.5 and is known today as the"H exup,la.:3 This was the first. time in histDry that the information in. the, Dead Sea. Scrolls was made accessible to scholars in any fonn .. The original work of IS volumes (moreihan 6,SOOpages) was lost in the seventh-century fireth;at destroyed the, LibnvyatAlexanma;, however, incomplete copies were preserved.'

Tod.ay,mor,e;tha:n I, 100 years later, modern scholars have had the opponunity to fonow Orig~n'sexample. After the fi.rsl seven Scrolls came to light, the firstcomplete English edition of two ofthe Scrolls (Great Isaiah S crollA. Pesher Habakkuk) appeared in 1950~ just two years :afl:er they were obtained by~chol,ars .. Another (Manual ,qlDiscipline) followed the next vear with three mo.re (···O·-'ren,r ]-:-·a-·h· '. D nlr S··· era ·.··11 'r-r.-J • ., ~l:1:' '. C ___ "'-.J --~ . ---- ---- - - ---~-_' -~- _sal,. D .. rrGt _ C ... ,.~ .uJanI(.J8' .lng

Hymns) in 195:5~ and the rest (G'en.esJs Apocryphon~ Cave l fragments) by [956. While publication was in progress on the texts from Carve 1, caves 2- I 1 (with the eaception of Cave 4) and Wadi Murabba~ at were discovered (1952t 1955~56) and brouglu forth n.ew Scrolls .. M.ost of these


were also promptly published in 1960--621 wifh me Cave: 11 meterial belng published at various dates in the 1960s· and 197'05. Even Ole Cave .~.] 'Temple ScroU,.recovered in 1967, saw peblieatien in Hebrew by 1977 (the En.gHsh versicn was released in 1983)..There~fure;~ including the Temple' S,crollJ approximately 80 percent of all the Dead Sea. Scrolls have been available in English since 1983~ and one, popular iE:ng;,'lisb translaHon. has beenevailabte since 19$6 with new manuscript material added. to each subsequent ed:i(ion (1'964~ 1976) .. :S-

The: remaining 20 percent of the texts, which are still unpublished" came mostly from Cave 4. (whh afew items from Cave 11) and presented special problems for their decipherment, By contrast, the texts from. Cave 1 had been reJatively easy to translate and publish. The Scrolls had been in good condition, the text was legible, and most. of the material was or included 'biblical textst which, resembling the well .. lnownMasoretic Text, allowed. translation to proceed quickly, A~though 'the texts :ftorm the other locations were often fragmentary, they could sHU beassembled and read in reasonable time.

The eave 4 fragments, however, were a whoUy differentmatter, which we will ,coDsidetshortly.While tho Cave ~. docaments were all pub~ished by Americanand Israeli scholars who had no offlcialaffillatio« wilth one another as Scroll editors, the Cave 4 material demanded the organization

O~ ',Ii "C' .... I ...... ~ Scroll Team I 'Ii(-' '1':", this ~'~O!I'm an d th ,.'·s material t··I1·a·I"· h ias re .... eived

I, Q. ~ ,~,', '_. " , .. ,IJ~J IJ~"' ,~, L,', ,~, .. , "', , ~"""'P1- .. L ,L, ',. .,', •• .. L.L,' ,g~'Yl ,J",I, ,L I Ii- ',_ - , "_"'\;.r, .. ~,'~ "

the accusations of scandal. 6 However, .it shouldbe noted that severalteam members published preliminary transcriptions of their texts apart from t'heDJD serles, and team member John AUegro published all his Cave 4 assignments by 1965." We need to remember as well than no accusations of scandal arose prior to the discovery of the fragmentary texts. Certain factors affected the publication of these texts, and we UlI!JS(, consider them as we~ survey rhetheorles :for 'he long. delays ..

The Dead Sea ScroUs. Deception.'?

In 1991 a book was published in the Unl~ed States by sensadonalist journalists Michael Baigent and Richard Leig;h with the Ierthright title 'The Dead Sea Scrolls Deeeption. SensIng that a bestseller could come out of the then much-publicized eoatroversy over the delay in Scroll pill blieation, theseauthors, with assistance from "and as propagandists for)revisi.onist historian Robert: Bisenman (see chapter 17l~ produced a detective-type story of intrigue, conspiracy, and the ccQU apse of traditional


54 SECRETS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROll},

Christianity .. The authors were tight. hi, one respect: The book did become a bestseller (well. over a minion copies were :sold In the United Stares, half amillion were soldin Germany.andeountless more worldwide, The bookgamishedmedia attention and generated a. spate of academic and popular lectures and discussions enuniversity campuses and in churches and religious organizations of all denominations.

The book's basic premise was thail the Va dean, with help from the Scroll Team, wru;.be;hlnd a conspiracy toconceal unorthedox revelations i.n the Scrolls that threasenedto undermineihe foandatlons ofnbe Christian faith .. One chapter, entitled "The Dilemma for Christian Orthodoxy," focused especially on this accusation. Yet only four members of the mig .. in al Scroll Team Wen! Catholie, a predominance dictated by the rolet~1Jl the Dominican Cafholicinstimtion, the Bcole: B.jbHqule~ played inthe drama of the Scrolls, The, other four members were Protestant: Lutheran, Presbyterian, and anex-Methodist turned agnostic.

However. the Catholic ·C·~·111~oi"'h wasnot .,.110 ... '" ·l""·rl"ii""~ ~..:II .~ ..• ·d.1 . . t I" -t:', .-

= __ .. _ ._.,. _Co _ ._ ~___ ." .... _u .. u,~." _ .. ;:! nv", .""~. ,1II~""e,o;;;llCU lQr_c,S'II!ilC ,~ot:!",

In the conclusion of Baigent and. Leigh's book, it ist'Christiaa fundamentalism," not Catholicism, which the: audience is warned against . Here, a diatrlbeis made agaiust Chrisdan, Jewish, and Muslim fundamentalism without distinguishing their ObVl.OI!lS differences, Together the-yare labeled as being "chronically prone,'!'m ~,jbi,gotrYt Insolerance, and fanaticis:m."g In support of'this the authors claimed to "disclose' info'Rn,ution aboet these concealed texts and~~the: revofutionary" a:nd~~e.lp,lo:sive material that has been suppressed" and. what It reveals, "about the earliest Christians hi tberto unknown," One; oftheir sources for '~uncovedllt'lhese: secrets werethe papers ofthe late John Allegro, an agnostic member of the Scroll Team who embarrassed his fellow editors and himself by making: the unsuppnrtabje ,aUegI8tioo, that he saw statements in the unpublished Scrolls that refuted Christianity. He had to issue a retraction when the rest of Uttei scron Team publi:cly denied his claims,

Other sources used by the authors. in.eluded interviews with Dead Sea Scro~1 scholars but most of the input came from &0 bert Eisenman .. Despite their tamalizl ng promises, (he aethors revealed no newtexts. This was becausa.as they noted, the unpublished tC;K.tS, were so secret that they never saw theml In addition, they admitted that they could not. even persuade the scholars who had knowledge of the unpublished texts to divulge, it: in any form. This means the:), based their radical KNislon of the h~smry and theology of Cflri.sfianity on texts they had not seen and contents of whichthey could notlearnl They had claimed that these "unseen and


THE SCANDAL OF THE SCROUS .55

unknown" documents, represented "seventy-five percent of the around 800 manuscripts wriuenin Old Hebrew and Aramaic [that] are being witb~ heldfrom the public .. '·!9 Was there any truth!then~ te thdr amazing charges?

The Decepti.on in

The D,ead Sea Scro'lls Dec.eptinn

We haveal ready seen that ,at the time Baigent and Leighpublished their bonk that the percentage figures, for the published .and unpublished Scrolls were actually the reverse of what tney claim (80pe.r-ceult publ1shed~ 2:0 percent unpublished), Furthermore,. there was no conspiracy to suppressthe 80 percent that was prey] ously publisbed=material th,arJt was l.arg~ty controlled by (be Catholic scholar Roland de Vaux, whom Baigent and Leigh claim was at the lime under secret orders ofthe Vatican to suppress the SC·fOUS. 'The consensus concerning the 80 percent of published texts wasthat they wereno threat to the Christian faitb. However, if~ as. Baigent and Leigh arguet the. unpublished 20 percent wast then it can be countered that it was upon the 80 percent that Eisenman (whom tfuJeyfoUowed) developed his radical theories about Christia:n.ityat Qumran (since mostof the: unpublished texts were not accessibleto him) .. But even with the pu·blica~ion of the photographs of theremain ing 20. percentand their subsequent study by independent scholars. Baigentand Leigh's aecusationsof "sniritual dvnamitev that mieht "demolish the entire

aCClJsalons (L ._p ua._y __ a ~, m._g __ ._. __ ~ __ OIS .. e enuc

edifice of'Chri stianteaching and be lief" 1.0 have been. di sproven. None of the: photographs of the unpublished texts have revealed any of the kind of startlingrevelatlons elaimedby Eisenman. The supposed "coveruti' by scholars came as at resultof Eisenman's release to the; press o.:fhis eady interpretive translations of texts that purported to give evidence of a crucified and divine Messiah. These inte:rpIetadons.~ often headllned sensationally by the media, were; presented to the, public as"official trans, .. lations," Therefore, scholars who knew [quite. well that the texts in question were difflcult and that any reconstraction would be subject to disptlJte wereaccused of conspirimg to cover up the. factswhen theye,iiliecrdisag:reed or were reluetant to, comment on StLC,l\ Iran:slaUnns ..

In 1992 Eisenman andMiehael Wise produced a book with 5'0 translations of previously unpublished texts, entitled The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. In the, beok they offered ttle:ir interpre:tad.ons with me purpose of buttressing Eisenman's unorthodox histories] v:iews,.~!For this, reason, as wellas the charge of unprofessional documentation, tn.e late


56 SECRKlS OF THEDFiAD SEA SCROUS

Hebrew University professor a.nd 8(,1011. Team member JonasGreenfield slated that "decepdon is afoot throughout theibook;~t]2: Diminishing further the supposedly objectivenature of the book's schelarshipwas the dust jacket's enthusiastic endorsementby Baigent and Leigh. Since the release of The Dead Sea Seroiis Uncol'ered~a~most all the Scroll scholars have: criticized the hasty reconstruetlon and interpretation of texts by Eisenman andWjse.Wnat~5 ironic isthat had theseproved to' be aeeurate interpr-etati,ons, tll,ey would have been a boon, not a bust, for Christianity.

Contrary (0 Eisenman 's fanciful historical reconstructions, no text discovered amongthe Scrolls ever mentioned a singlefigure that could be related to early Christianity. Neither has there been any evidence to suggest a connection between the Qum_ran Sect and Christianity, Thus B aigent, Leigh, and Eisenman's whole hypothesIs falls apart completely, (or without such connections there wOllld be 110 reason for the Vatican to suppressthe m,ateri.al.

What do those who are closest 'to the Scrolls say about this matter?

Professor Emaeuel'Iov, the present head of the International Team of the Jl)ead Sea Scroll Comminee emphatically disavows any Vati.can 'comnection, When I posed the conspiracy questicnto him, be replied:

I would completely brush aside anyaccus:au!ons. of slllJpp:res:sing material. There isno evidence wharsoever eor this bavlngbeen done; by any CatnoUc source .. What they would gain by it? This is an nonsense. (Yet] thisaccusatien is to he beard unt:illooay. [even thougb] now al:lofthe :pnotogrnp,h:sare available andpeople can see tbat there is no fragmenewhichcould have even insti .. gated the Vati.can ro consider suci a. suppression. We [the Intern atl onal Team] don't really give any sedolllsthought to it.1 ~

Inlikemanner, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, a Carholic scholarand also a member of the Intemanona] Team.states:

---'_. _'_ - - - '_'= --'_ - '---' __ '_'_'_ -- -- - '_ - --- - - ----'-~ _' _'_- _'_ --

The wh.o:~e, idea of aVat]can conspiracy to suppress Ih.e SeroUs dlatit [Bmg~nt. and Leigh~s book] portrays is ludierous nonsense. The only involvement that the Vatl.c:an ever had with the Dead Sea Sc~rolls .... was not an e:.ffort to suppress U1.0 ScrQlls. '001[0 acquire them from the Bedolllin at a. UMe when forei.gn .funds

- -

were needed, The Vatican sOlllght: to acqufre some of the 'Cave 4.

fragments for its library.aperfeetly understandable move on its part, glvein the q1uaUty of its library and museum. I"


THE SCANDAL OF rue SeROUS .57

I asked long-time Scroll scholar andretired Unh,!l,ersity ofTtiblngeiD Professor Quo Betz~ who published, a book entitled Jesus~Q'uml!Wl and,tne Vatican,~ to summarizethe aUegedJ Vatican ccnnectien and counter the assertions of Baigcnl and Leigh;

The Va:ti,can had nothing to do with the publication of t,b,e Serons. The [first sevcm]18croUswe:re: published ~ythe:A:medcans and the Israelis. Afterwards the order that had to bepnbhshed was about 20~0QI) tragments from. Cave 4,. For this a. team was esrabllshed for which the most important figli:ues were (hie Dom~nicanSt ibm. there were also Protestant scholars on the team, fOflexample [C.laus-Bunno] Henzinger from Germany [Lut111tran] and [Fran_kJI Cross: from Amedca [Presbyte,rian]i. and also [the agnostic: John] AUe,g'fl) from England lex~Methodist]. The Vatican did not influence them in any of the publications of these fragments .. On the contrary the Vatkan wanted them to finish. it as, seonaspossible. That th.e Dominican [de Vaux] in this: committee was th,e most prominent. figure was only because: he Was the Oblate, in Jerusalem. to which these henses belonged [Ecole Biblique], and th.ey werethe most capable ones, for deciphering ,and briaging togemertbesemeny thousands of fragments and. publishing them .. So there can be; no doubt that the Vatican did not wantta influence the publicstlon of thesefragments because; it Was, afraid that it would do damage to theChristian faith. There was noexplosive material in these fragm.ents as was claimed byBlsenman-i-this is simply an invention of [Eisenman and] these journalists in order tomake tbe publication of the Scrolls: more exciting fort!hepublic ..

The Scandal of the Scrolls

Despite the fact t.fuI,aJ!t the claims of conspiracy and deception ar-e unibundedt tbebandHng of Ole Cave 4 Scrolls by the members of the original Scroll Team Me; stin tobe considered by many scholars as scandaleus, mil fact, the famous Oxford Qumran scholar Geza Venne,s mnked.it as ~'tbe academic scandal par excellence of the twentieth ,cenmry;"'W,5 According to German author Klaus Berger, Pr-ofessor of New Testam.em. at 'the U n.ivlersity of Heidelberg, the nature ofthis scandal can be understood ~.n


several ways .. 16 Firstthe arrogant ,attitude of the scholars entrusted with the, texts- texts they ,could ant hope to publish~n their entirety within their Utettmes~ons~ituted.a. scandal .. Despi(,e; their obvious qualiflcations, most 'Of these scholars were known. 10 havepersonal problemsand some had dearly abandoned the task for other duties without releasing their assignments to others .. Thus these scholarsappeared to be sitting upon theirprivileged information without regard to other scholars and the public, who were anxiously awaiting access .. As a result.the Scroll Team came to be viewed asan "inner circle," "keepers of the g;rail~nas 3i. Scroll "cartel," "coterie,' and "monopoly" 1.0 fact, their lack of disclosure Invited the fanciful theories ofsuppressi,onlnven~ed. by Baigent and Leigh ..

Second.members of the Scroll Team both teased scholars and exc:iled the public by c1.aiming~haltmany of the unpublished texts had parallels to Judaism and Christiani ty that were soimportant as to cause a major revision of history and the interpretation of it. This may have been more the case; for Christianhynhan for Judaism, yet claims of "crucified Messiah" texts cenah:d:y would affectboth groups! Yet in the lend 0:0. real information was ever released, and irnereist,edparties, were left with only the word of the: assi gned scholars,

Thirdtbecause of the lack of accurate informarioe, cults and sensationalists were able to use the Scrolls to underminethe fai·th of many people and instill doubts in others whomight have considered a faith position, Because c,o'rnpe~etl!t S(;h{}lars were, letl unable, to give answerstethese groups' errant. publications (because of'a lack of in,fonnadon), there was a weakening of both the synagogue and tbechurch.

Why did Ute; Scroll 'Team act In such an apparently unprofessional and irresponsible manner? If Baigent and Leigh are incorrect about their reasons, forthe delay in publicanon of the Scrolls, then whatare the real reasons'?

The Real Reasons Cur the Delay

The reasons for the delays in publ ishing the Scron fragments can be explained apart from any eolluslon on the pan of the team or some, unseen hierarchy that wants to conceal pubUcation of most of the unpublished texts, Theseexplanations are notmeant as excuses for what almost all scholars admit was excessive delay. Rather, they are given to help the ncnscholarly pub~ic understand what is involved intheprocess of publishingthe Scr-olls. The factors we'll look at include the oondition and


THE SCANDAL OF tus SCROLLS S9

accessibility aUhe Scroll fragments, the political situation, the scholastic responsibilities of the editors, the nature of the text assignments, and d11ie

f .. I d h blems i d b th di

II:"II'_::~I >"",.- 'II-'j-I,-,il' -';·-'I'_-~:I-"~ ~'-" ~-,:'-;",,:-,": "'_;,~:',""-':i ','

• manc[a ·an .' . um,an. p.roems Impose _0'1 ~ .. e e _ rtors,

Condition of the Texts

Even when Scroll fragments are e~ily legible for-someone with a good knowJedge of Hebrew and Aramaic, their int.crpreta,t.ion still demands uniquetraining and expertise, As we already know, many of the Cave 4 fragments were not clearly legible due to fragmentaryletters or unclear script, and some could not be read at all for decades until technology provided the means. Ev,e:n. the. fragments that could be read wereofren filled with lacunae (gaps or omissions), requiri ng. conjecruralreconsuuctions based on a vast knowledge of the languageand comparative texts, Developing the skills to. accomplish sueh a task takes y,ears of speeiallzed ;s,mdy .. Tb make. matters worse, most of the Cave 4 fragments were in exnemelyfragile condhion and in an advanced state of decay (a deterioration accelerated by being stored at the scrollery), Frank Cross described their condition upon arrivalat the museum as "briule, warped, crinkled, shrunken, encrusted with soil chemicals, and blackened by moisture and age:" Moreover, many thoesands of the fr,agments are noemueh larger than a thumbnail. Those who have attempted.to assemble a forrmdable jigsaw puzzle know the painstaking and frusjrating work involved in bringing the pieeestogether, But, imagine attempting such a project w1l11 puzzle pieces so delicate that tb.ey cannot 00 touched or even breathed upon~ and wriuen upon in ancient, languagesthat can barely be readl

Whil~e assembly of the many pieces accou nts for some of the delay, it cannot. accosnrforthe rnaj'odry 0(U1 since most of that work wascompleted in 1960, &evisiol1.5 in reconstruction and inll]JWvc:ments beingmade ~be;f-eafter were merely anexpected part of the ongoing process ofinterpreration, even after publieetion. However, it was the problem of intetpte!t3.t~on that, had a s~gnificatlt part (combined with the hum,an elements) in the delay .. To give an Idea of how d:iffituh.~t can be to interpret a text" e:veil after reconstruction and trans ];iliUOVJ, consider the: following example of just. two fragmencs combined. by E Gar'cla. Martinez. the editor of the recently published ~ext known as The New jerusalem: (1.1 Q,NJ):'

1. The grape when separated from the palm I[ . , .1 loosed yet for them, which is [ ... ]


60 SECRETS os tns DEAD SEA SCROUS

2. from the radiance in them, and the t1. [fth] crown ;[ ] and all

which have finished his seven [ ... ]1

3. interiorofthecov'fr, and the sixrhcrown [ ... ] his brothers entered in their place, fourhundred [ ..... and the}

4, seventh [crownl, according lathe radiance and the [ , ... l~ .... And

he said tOI me: to. the twe~n:ty six [ J

5. [and the High Priest was clothed [ ]

6. the holy of holies

7. [ ... they] entered I ... ]

To arriveat theabove translanon, (he editor may have combined two unrelated fragments which, in his opinion.could have been related in the intacttext.Remember that everything ill. brackets I .... 1 indicates words orhnes missing 'from Ihesurvlvingtex~,. and that transbllUon work :inc~uded withlnthe brackets is reconstruction based on theeditor's opinion. Despite the obvious lack of dar~ty.~ the editor must propose an interpre:tation of the text, If d1.H~ editor has incorrectly combined the twotextsand used words from oneto interpret the other, his entire interpretation may be fla wed. In the case of thisparticulae reconstrecuon, other scholars have challenged the combination oCtile two fragments and proposed alternate interpretations .. :1 1

The special aptitude and experience that IS necessary for tbis :kin.d of work is possessed by a, limited number of men in me; world. Althmlgn noday we have computers that can help in the job of assembly andreeonstructien, yet the task of interpretation is still all too hum;an.With so many fragments and so flew quallfled scholars" it. has taken along time to interpret the texts.

The original Scroll fragments, in. most.cru;es, remain withht the scmUe;ry at tbe Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and are not immediately accessible to the scholars assigned tothem. 'These: scholars, even in Jerusalem, mUSE work exelasively fro:m phoeographs, cutting and pasting together these captured images as if they were real texts. If the photographs are unclear, or aletter is disputed, they must wait until theycan return to the scrollery and make comparisons wirh the origlnaJ rex 1. Often this cannot take place until a summer recess from. school or a sabbatical, In addition, these sc;nolars ate ronstanHy hampered by inadequate resources, lack of assistance, and lack of necessary equipment .. Often they must

. _' = -


THE SCANDAL OF THE SCROUS 6~

depend on archives, libraries, or laboratoriesthat are at distant desnnations and r-equire a considerable walling period for access. Fo,rt;unately" theadvent ofcompueer scanning of textsand Internet access have greatly aided scholarly access to needed materials,

The Political Situation

When the original Scroll Team was assembled it was made up of a multinational and religiously diverse gruup of scholars. Hewever.as plurallstic and ecumenicel as the group may have seemed, there was one group excluded from representation: Jewish scholars, The condition of non .. Jewish involvement was stipulated by the Jordanians, who then controlled the scrollery and both officially denied the existence of the state of Israel and continued in ,a. stare of war with her, This polhieal cloud over the work. of the :Scrolls was unfortunate~ since it would have been natural to include Jewish and especially Israeli scholarship amongthe members" The heritage of the SC;fQUS belonged tothe Israelis. Because Hebrew is their nalive languag~ and they have long been .involvedin study of the biblical texts, they were best prepared for work with the Scrolls. Also, it was Israelis: who possessedthe larger collection of the Scrolls, all housed within the same city. And it was Israelis 'Who could most aifordabl,y access the fragments.Yet even though Jews were excluded~the Jewish philanthropist and financier John Nelson Rockefeller went ahead and spo ·n- ('l' ..... re -d: th e Sere - .1- '1- scho '1- ars ~ -D,' I th eir wo rk ar t:lf-'e- scrol lerv duri f'IIg-,' the

.. , . 1io7U- ... 'I', , __ ""'_' ·_,~ ,',_. __ I,~ iI,,_,_ '~ _ _:_"_ . ",_:!,Ik_,_ I_ ,_-II"_,,.;;II 1,'\,;11.1.,,-,.; , 1Ij.I-"II,iI".' ,_I~,'.:

1950s.

Imerestlngly, when the chy ofJ,erusa[em changedhands and the Israeli Department ofAnUqulties (as it was then called) took possession of the scrollery, Roland de Vaux, the head of the; Team, continued the former polic,y of ostmc:izing Jews fr-om the Scroll Team .. IS Professor 'Emanuel Tov explains:

When the political sitlliltion.changed in 1.967 and :Israel had CODtro~. ihe editorial situation was no(,'changed.This was a. re~ult of ccnversations between a. certain Qffidal 'person in Israel and the ed,i'IDr-in.-chiefof Ule International Team. Israel did not step in. at ~hat time and for man~ years thereatter in order to, ,avoid a situaUon. ] would sa-y pe'.r.sonally that :It was a right decision becausethere were enoughtroubles witb the Dead Sea SeroUs ~hat it would have been unwiseto mix the:sewitjh political issues. Israel w(nJ~d have been aecusedof man,' 'thin_g;s,Wh.en criU.c:fsm demanded that Israel step in .ilt was rallie:rlate~ around 19S9... 1.'990.


62 SfXRETS OF THE DEAl) SEA SCRo.l.LS

En retrospect it could have been done a Jittle earlier, a, few years earlier .. Howe"ver~ '~.967 would have been too early,"

Professor Toy speaks practically as a. scholar who accepts the reality of the-constantly changingpolitica I climate in the Middle East, Hispoiat about Israel being "accused of many t.h.ingsU is well taken. After Israel captured East Jerusalem and wit:hit. the Palestine Archaeological Museum, Jordan raised an internatienalprotest thatevery Israeli excavation thereafter was a Zionist. attempt. to steal Jor-danian antiquities, The Jordanian. protest secured UNESCO's condemnaeion of Israel for ProfessorMazar' sexeavarions at the southern end of t.he Temp le .MQunt (which be.gaoinI9(8).The, greatest protests. were voicedover Yigael Yadin's seizure of the Temple Scroll from Kanda's house in Bethlehem (formerly Jordanienterritory, thus supposedly a Jordanian arUfact~). Arab authorities have continued to complain whenever Israeli excavations have taken placein sensjtive areas ·of Jerusalem; 'in 19'951 these complaints provoked a year .. long European boycott of Jewish celebrauons t.tla[ had been planned for Jerusalem's 3,OOOt~. a~ni versary up to ten years previous.

Political affinities were also an impediment to scholarly progress on the Scrolls.Mesa members of the original Scroll Team (de Vaux, Skehan, Starc,ky~MUik, Allegro) had anri-Semitic sentiments and. openly aligned themselves with the; Arab cause evenafter the 1967 Six-Day Wa:r.20 Examples ofthisaori-Semitism include Patrick Skehan's r-efusal to puhlish his completed volume in the DJD series under Israeli auspices and Roland deVaux's decislonte discornt~nl!le his work at tbe ECJo~e Bibliqu~ In protest of~·.Israeli occupation." At the tlme these attitudes temporarily shut down work on the Sor-01l.8 .. Even rhough de Vaux later (1'971) did become involvedin archaeological excavation in Israel, he a]50 died in the same year, Later, John Strugnell, who succeeded Pere Benoit as editorin-chiefia 1987, was r-emoved fr-om. his post because. of his brazen antiSemitic statements to (he Israeli press ('l990).

'En my opinion, the Antiquities Autb.oril.y should have made an issue of the Scroll Team's anti-Semitism and used it. as justification for iaeluding balan ee on the Team by including Israeli scholars deisp~le the political sensitivities, Had Israelis been involved in the process, from thebeginn io;tl, it is possible that the Scrollmateria] would have; been publ ished much more quickly. WhUe the Aatiquities .AiUlhQrity did not Impose Jew; sll. schnlarscn de Vaul's learn, it: d.~d. requestthat the work be speeded up so


THE SCANDAL OF THE SCROLLS 6:3

that the world could seethe texrs .. Fortunately, now that the work is pro~ ceeding under Israeli directian, better progress is being made.

The Natur-e of·the' Text' As,sig,nments

From the very beginnIng of thetranslation process it was obvi,Qusthat too much mate,ntd had. been assigned. to too few scholars, It .may beargued mat the 'Ieamofseven 1,0 eight men were thebest that could be found, but tbe~y were stm not enough, Some 574 manuscripts had been identified by the 'Ieam fro.m the Cave 4: fragments, and the work involved in publishingjast one text fragment could occupy ,at fun year. 'rhus rue task ·ofpub.lishjn,g hundreds oif fragments was an . .impracticruas:signme!nf,for at group of thi s sire ..

Another problem was: that the allotments assigned to these editors were unevenly d~slf.ibmed. Flor Instance, all ofthebiblieal material, about one .. , thlrd or the whole collection t was divided. between Frank Cross and Patrick Skehan .. John Strugnel] was given over 100 texts" while Jcseph Milik received 1'97. Jean Starcky received a. mere 30~exts" DtJt managed to pub .. lish only one before his death in 1988 ..

Complleating this a.beady gargantuan task wasthe Team members' growing tendencyto abandon simpletranscriptions of the texts, withminimal notesand insreadwrite extensive commentaries. This imposed an even greater burden on the editors and made i mpessible any hope of meeting the publication schedule (which waslargely ignored anyway).. Eventually many of theeditors had to give up their assignments to .other scholars due to other responslbilities; health, or death. Further delays were incurred as these new editors started afresh with previously unseen texts that their predecessors bad already studied for years.

S'choiasWJ ResponS'ih'ililies

'Th"1 ',e~ Sere ·~l Team mem bers 41'0' ~r the most nl ·artl . h ... ,d- .<;II· ... ,.l~ PI[ .senrlv have

• • .•.. . • . ~... .l'!. '. ..• ... •• '1)'1;; .!. 11.1... ~ .• ",. '.' .' t" . ~. 'lot' . R.I.J IJi ....,11.', J ~.II" .....

full-time careers, usually in. the academic realm. So in addition to fulfilling their Scroll assignments, they also havemany other obligadons. As Dr. Weston Fields notes:

The scholars who have been assigned the translatioa duties are almesr withou[ exception aU unl vershy professors whohave other ~u~l-dme r-esponsibintie:sin teaching, departmenral and field research.joumel and otherwriting lin their respective areas

_' - '"

of specialization, :faculty committees, outside minisuies, and of

course=-apersonal litTe" :21.


64 SECRETS OF TH.E DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Professor Tov, who himself teaches at a university, understands this as perhaps the single most significant factor affecting the publication process:

The peQpl.e~nvolved in the pubUcailion ofthe Dead Sea Scrolls were and are university professors. They get no specific bdp [with 'their assignments] and must fulfill their [classroom] teaching [responsibilities]. Even though aperson may be a great schol a.r, he still needs time, That is, '[he sole reason for tile delay.,2l

Thisreason was con tinned by Uni.ve:rs:ity cf Micbigan.PrefessorDavid Noel Freedman, who was assigned rhe Leviticus Scroll and finally published it~n 1985, Although he; was not a member of the official Team.and he did not, deal with the eave 4 material, be still spoke asa Scroll editor when in 1977 he confessed.

I write as a gu~lty party, since 1 wasassigned respensibiliay for the LevUicus Scroll from Cave 11 about. r.,elll years ago" There have been some dlplomatic and ethercomplications, but ba:si~ c,aUy. the reason this document. has not been pub:~ished is that. I was overloaded with other obligations and cctnmitments which claimed. my time .... Many if not most scholars harbor optimistic delusions about w·h.a~ they can and will do in (be way of produciive writing, and even after observing many colleagues faU into the pit, I have followed the same primrose path.,23

As an author and editor who is also a pastor, professor, and president o.f a. Christian organization. I wen understand this problem .. I struggle constantly with the burden of having assumed more literary assignments than can be reasonably fulfilled, However. lam also bound by strict publishing schedules that 'force me to produce 'Or forfeit my assignment,

Until recently, the members of the Scroll Team 'Were not kept under pressure to produce." Yet oneproblem they continue to faceis that of finances. SO' even with increased pressure.there is still the meed to maintai n. some kind of income through other means.

Fina'n',c,ial,Pro,blems

Just, as, money was, a problem for the initial acquisition of the Scrolls, so it: has continued .1.01 be a problem for those 'who have attempted m work with them thereafter, Dr; 'West.on Fields s-ays 'nhat "the biggest single reason

Copyrghlcd materia

'THE SCANDAL OF THE SCROLLS 65

for the delay in publication of the remainder oillie SCliOUS, as wen as the slow pace of conservation, is insufficient fl!mdillg~.n2~

Since the funds used to support the WO:f1k of these scholars come through donanons, many of them must wait until there is suffic,~e[J,t. funding to continue or complete.theirwork. This was-made alltoo clear when, ,after six years of support, the Rock:efdler Foundation withdrew itsfinandng for work on the fragmeatsin thescrellery, Wheu. the money ran. tn.It" most of the, scholars simply packed upa:nd went home=causing more delays,

Human .Problems

Professor Tov gives human problems as one of the signific:a:nt: causes for the Scroll scandal;

Wby did it, f*e solong for our learn to reach this stage that volumes actually start relling frcm the press. and is there any truth to all those, rumors and accusations that there was an offt .. dal sUPPf[essing of'pnblications by us. or by the direclOr~ or by anybody on the; Jewish side? We believe that this is not tbe-case .. [In expl.anatJ.on of the d.elaYl I sometimes: use the word "looseness," because only hillman reasons determined the :s,~!Ow speed of publication of the; volumes,"

One of these "human reasons'tis the scholars' training and. professional expectance of doiag good work. Eve;ry scholar is judged by his colleagues and the entire academic community based on what. be publishes .. I'nsome cases, thereviews of his work may determine an advancementor a. standstill in hls academic career, For example, when Allegro'stexts were; publishedas Discoveries ln the Judean Desert V in 1.965, there was widespread criticism that he had worked too quickly to get, publlshedand as a result the editing had been done carelessly. One German New Testament scholar.Karlheina :M'iiHer~ wrote in his review of Allegro's work, "ln general, DJD Vis the worst and most unreliable Qumran.edition tobefoisted 011 the reader since the oC&:Jnning of the discoveries .. !"26 This, criticism no doubt [cautioned other scholars on the team. totake the necessary time to assure they would not: be similarly criticized.

This problem of "scholastic perfectionism" is, not limited to the realm of the SeroUs-it is prevalent in archaeological circles as welt The excavaeion work at Qumran, which was necessary for better understanding the Scrolls, was carried out, in five successive campaigns from 1951~ 19.56 by


66 SJi.'CRElS OF THE DEAD SfA SCRor 1S

Fr~ Roland de Vaux .. I have had the opportunity to view the original motebooks containing de Vaux's handwritten notes (which are in French), yet to this. day the r-eport ofhis work has not been published inEnglis~.27 Dr. Dan Bahat tbe EOl1Il.e,[ DistrictArchaeologist for Jerusalem, comments on this problem:

One o.fthc: most serious problems concemmg the .ar(:;hae()~ogy of Jerusalemls theproble;m of'publication, The Dead Seat Scrolls hav,e (he same problem. Scholars forget that the 'enemy of the good is the very good. If you trytoaceomplish thevery good you don't. do the@ood. And this is the case wIth thepublicaticn of excavations .. Everyone: believes [halt their way of exeavarien must be: (_in keepi~g with] a goodphUosophy or science ~f archaeolo.gy or whatever it Is1• [rntltertban]1 JUSlpubli.sh work they have found, [It is better] to do it as quicklyand conciselyas possible: wbat. w.as found and 'where it was found .and.the citeumstanees f;n,f!I'ln .fin·. d. ']I-I"~:':' w"~~ ·'~O·-· n· . lis' ~~. wh"'.~ the late ~,en'amin11 M·':ar-

[ ... _ ,-_t.::i __ .. '_ ud::l In u. .._ _.':i _ .... ~ . . _ !!,~ .. ~.. '.~ al; __

has done with his,puibUca,tion ·of plcmres and plans, whk:h I think is worth. m,Orethan waiting for the: more typi,cal ana:~YS'ls of pOE~ lery and ather dring,s. Z8

Another human problem is the scholarlyincentive topeblish based on the: expectation that. pro per recognition (and even financial remuneration) win '~:"''lIoi'' ~ .. - 00-- c' -d" auth ;-.- wh - ~-v-:, 11- b - r· ed &:.'~. r-e- ::--.-. . - n these diftlcllillt· .•

___ Ivc;:i Q..."..co_ JL AlL on . ..0 ua e JU 0_ e dJr y an;. 0__ _~ __ . .~_

texts. Thiseoncern wasexplained by Dr. Fr,ank Cross, one ofthe original Scroll Team members, as the reason for the exclusive cnsurolexerted by tbe Scroll edlsors:

II: is maten.al that people have pur tOto, 20 y'cars of their lives into and hence :simp~y don't want to give it away to other scholars to publish.and tak~~ tbe:oredit, fot. They're somewhatjealous of tbeir work." On. the one band, :1 would say that. the teamhas been slow. On the other hand, I think one mLlst understand the human desire ~o have some credit for 'work done. and tha:t is the situation here,.29

The human problems that have arisen can. sometimes be far too human, and tn,a( bas beenthe case fora number of the individuals. onthe original Scroll 'Team. The men who made up the Team were considered either exceptional leaders in their field or geniuses in the· specific (,aSKS set before them. Yet th.ey were also susceptible 10 the"normal:' pressures


THE. SCANDAL OF THE SCROLl-S 67

and predicaments of life. Two suffered as alcehelics, 0[1,6: had a nervous breakdown" and another renounced, his priestly vows and got married,

J oh n Allcgro~ the agnostic; spent th.e rest of hi s H fe lrylliilg to find ways to subvert the Christian faith, He lived out: his obsession; among his aetivities were the writing of a play based on his Christianity-in-the-Scrolls hypothesis, excavations in search of the treasures listed in the Copper Scroll, an ,attempted dig on the Temp,le.Mount that was thwarted by Jordanian soldiers, andfinally, the writing of books that: sought, to prove that Christianity was a mythand the, product of .a. sacred mushroom cult30

Bven though some of the: Scroll scholars 'we're inlribited by hum.an obstacleso ftheiro wn m ··a·ll.~ng'· _s·,;1111 thev accomnlishedan "''''''''1' azing feat in assem-

.,"\;.,0" ..... __ , __ ,_".,' .. ,'", .,,,,"11. :_." .UII,IUJ, '',}''_' ,/ULJ,I,~"Ii;i]!L_,t;U. '~'[IJill. ", ""l'l!.. •.. ,-.1,. ,~-",,-

_' _' ,,"' -

b liag the .C= ave 4: material Thei r pub rl' catio ns ; i'" the nc"n-' se ries h "'V''''' m ade

_''_:' __ '_.:_,: 'I,~,-_ ,_~iL.4Y - __ 1.,_U.._- __ ,_)~"'I~, __ ,_,_-_~,_, .,_.,.: ,1, _" _ _:~Ij_,,,11!1I __ ,HU! I~_,,_,_ ~.J'____:_. i!;;t!_., __ ,_~_,,_,Q,'~' _,~_IQ._:_I,~

ou:t:s:tandim.g,cQlntr.ibut,ionsto J:ual1Y fields of scholarship and study_ As Professor Toy observed, "The inilhd team was a grealt team. There were problems around it, buttho{ doesn't diminishtheie scholarly valoe, They

. .

h '111 ... ,.~'il

were great sc ojars. "'-

WHh the many problemswe've considered, wecan see why there were delays i(lgetting thefragmentary Scroll materialspublislred .. UU:im('lItcly. these delays inched protests that caned for ehangesto be made.

AT·,o1:X1: '"t ...... tresome wau

Wl~e;n~: returned '[0 graduate schoo~in .~ 98'9 the pr-otests over what had beeome a 40-ye:ar delay had been mountin,g for several years .. It had taken form .in 1985 with. Hershel Shanks, editor of the BiblicaIA .. rchaeoiogy Revielw~ who hadprovided through his magazine a popular forum for scholars who q uestioned the handl ing and public.a.tion schedule of the Cave 4 texts, While most scholars had. not liked the slow pace of progress, they had grown to accept ltand were contentto wah: out the inevitable .. However, there were some scholars who had become impatient in waiUng for the publ.lcaNon of du~setex,ts upon which their own research desperately depended ..

In 1985 this impatience was set to action when John Strugnell and Elisha. Qimron statedpubllcly that their unpublished. text known as Misqat Ma~ '~aseh Torah: (4QMMT) contained imponanrmfonnation for understanding the history and nature of the Qumran Sect After this, some of these anxious scholars made repeated yet unsuccessful appeals to their ,coUeagues who held these unpublished texts, Denied even limited access, they beganto go public with the-i"l complaints of a.·~Scronmonopoly.:!"

68 SECRElS OF THE .DEAD SEA SCROLLS

One of the scholars who had been b~nndyrefu sed access (in thiscase by John Snugnell) was Cahfernia State, University Long Beach Professor Robert Eisenman . Not, one; to be treated in such at cavaliermanner and

- __ ', - '. - _" '_. __ '. - - - - '_ ,_'_ - - ,_,-,_, ' __ ' '_' - ' ' __ "_ - '_= _. - _. = =_' '_' , , __ "'_L_

given to antiestablishment. crusades, he immediately launched an attack on the Scroll Team through the newsmedia,

By 19901 whenl attended themeetlng of'Seroll scholars andthe Scroll Teamat the, Secomd Congress, on Hi blieal Archaeology in Jerusalem, the; eriticisms in tnepress had. made most of me ''''inner circle" defensive rather tban. c:o:nciliatory. The Israeli Antiquiti.es Authmi~y announcedtheirdesire It) see the SeroUs move toward publication" btU according to their own timetable, not the demands 'of outsiders. Many of us.who were graduate students working on dissertations that would have benefited fromthe availability of thenew material, were disappointed by this news. One of my fellow students waswruing a dissertation on early .lzalaJchtJ in the Dead Sea Scrolls and needed prlvilegedaccess to 4QMMT.' Another was researching the 'pecuHarit~es of the paleo-Hebrew script of the Scrolls, which required access to the full spectrum. of texts containing this scribal custom .. [was worki ng on a dissertation on Tem.ple motifs, including those from the Second 'Iemplcpenod, andlikewise needed access to' several un published textsihat had been rumored to contain informatlon that could greatly affect my final conclusions .. Fortunately, help came the 'Very next 'tiI',",,'l ~ w~ th ,.·I!,.e· . II mexoected end of the .• Sc :ift'"'·II monop ·oly

.J1Iir.o'~ ." !liJ'!t,_., UJ~I, .. 'IlrI!I,_"" . ., 'r'¥. .. ¥,_ ~,U._, ... , IlL. _ ... I,V .... '_'J. L •••• ,_ ••• ,<,:",

Several clandestine events that werein competition with one another served as the: ,caro~ysts that helped to make the Scroll s become public, The first of these- began when Eisenman openlyaccused tbe Scroll scholars of being illcompetent"gn:ed·Y1. and unwiHi.ng to share the Scrolls with other scholars for the; benefh of mankind. The public responded, and by October 1989 ~ lJJDsoHdted.phmog;raphs of unpublished texts beganarrlving ~n his mailfrom a sympathizer in Jerusalem. By November of 1990 Eisenman had. 1,700photogra:phs of almost all of the unpublished textsl Securing the assistance of James Robisen, a Cahfornja scholar~and Michael Wise of the University of Chk;agoJthey began reading and editing the texts while Eisenman sought.financlal investors for tbeiepublication ..

Meanwhile". a secondgroup waspnvately preparing torelease the same informaaion by different means. Hebrew Union College Scrol] scholar Ben Zion Wuc:holder and his then-graduate student .Martin Abe.gg had


THE. SCANDAL 0'1" THE SCROUS 69

gained access to a restricted SeTOn TCalH concordance, which in the 19505 had been compiled Cor use by the scholars doing the translation work. This concordance listed aU the words (with sentence contexts) from each document from. Caves 2 .. 10. Supposedly Scroll Team members were the only ones who possessed the concordance, bu~ Wa,cboMer and Abe~Q' dis-· covered that StrngneUllad pennated copies [0 be distributed to the institutions wherethe scholars were workjng, and they fotllnd out tholto copy r-esided right at their own school ~ Abegg believed {b8lt:from this, concer .. dance he could, by computer, reconstitute the" ortglnalaanscriptlon or the texts, Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeology Review wUUngly committed 1.0 publishing the finished text.

Whlle this was. transpiring, Bisenmatr and Robison also turned to Shanks for heJp in publishIng their photographs. They had previously arranged for the scholarly Dutch publisher 1::.1 Brill (who bad published Eisenman's dissertation) to take on the project However, when The Qumrm~ Chnmidej, aPolish Journal. w.3stnre,at:ened with a lawsuit over pubiieatlon ofa bootleg copy of the 4QM'M:T text, B.1 Brin wi thdrew. Shanks mighthave done wen to back out as wen, but in the end he published Abci:lt.s comput,er-~enerated reeensaructions and was imm.ediatdy stapped with aJ. lawsuit by one of 4QMMTJs assigned scholars, Elisha Qimmn. In view oftheimpcnding case (which wasfinally decided .. against Shanks), (he court ordered Shanksto stop all sales of the; book.

Unknown toeeeryone fighting for access to the Scrolls, two complete microfilm sets of photographs of all the Scrolls were on deposit in two ~ocations in Southern Califomia,Ei:senman~s. home grounds! Philanthropist EUzabc:th Hays Bechtel had financed the photography project forthe AneientBiblicel Manuscript Center in Claremont, California. Howc;ve;t, foUowinga disagreement with the center, she had 3. complete set of die. photographs made forherself This she bequeathed to the Hundngton Library,k:nown for its rar-e books collection, before her death 10 1'987. When Shanks flrstanneunced throl,l.gi] fn.e press [he [orthc:oming publication oflhe computer texts, HannngtonLibrary d.lrector wnu.am Moffeu, decided tojoin the ranks and make public theirmicrofdm "in the spirit of intellectual freedom" and in ordervnotte impose furtber barriers to scholarship.~~.3~ SOt on September 22, 19'91, the: Huntington Library sur-

",.. ~ _'.

prised the world by announcing that it would release its photosto all inter-

ested. scholars .. The Israel Antiquities Authority initially gave a hostile response to this news (they threatened alawsuit), buteventuafjycarueto


accept what could not be ebanged and granted unrestricted access to id[ officialphctos of the, Scrells. At last, the monopoly was ended.

Moving Forward

Now ',' that ~''fre-', Sc rol 1 T'!i~MO- gra p hs ar e ..... ces sibl e : 'a- ndth e rateo if-' 'pu !foIl L

, .,' I~,[~, _' ~Il", ~ .', ,,,",_." r,I,J,VIL, _.. _!I,I_ .. :,"" _" __ -, _ Q"" _ ' ,,_,~ '_ I, _' . '_' ,,~, ~ ,- ,,_ ,.,!Q;~ _,:_ - .. ::" , ,t;U I,

cation has been, accelerated.the "Scroll scandal" isa matter efthe past, The revised SC,[oU 'Ieam has also gained a newrespectability, as explained by Team head Bmanael Tov:

The team had beenvery small from the beginning. It was by the organization of my predecessor, Professor Strugnell, t.bat the. team was somewhat expanded fr-om the original eight ornlae scholars to some twenty. which Is when .1 Joined the team. But that was not enough, and when 1 took over in 1'990-1991, we reorganized the team under the guid ance of the Ov,ersi.ght or Advisory Committee. [Then] under the, b'rae~. An.tlquides Authority the number rose to about sixty and theseare the same people today.~ except for a. few who, ate; completing their assignm(Hl1S. [Ou.r method o;f selection was to c:h.oose] the best in th,e fl.eld .regaooless of sex orreliglon orcolllnny. These, included born seni~)r scholars and younger scholars who had just completed thei r '" :;,.,~ .. -t''''''~'I· on- a: n:d'I""~ -ena few wh '0· .1r-''',~ 'I1lnt"ya-~· "0· . In''P leted ;t'1-1C'·1 r

_,_,_~u_ U,!lliI!!ll~,""LI~~ .... _:_ ~,_ I __ UJ~ ~'"~,,,~,~, '''':~ l\..r~,_, .".' ,u~u" I,_~I ',_. ~., ~ _. "~_'.~ J. h •• ,'Ij, ." _ Ik'", __ 'L J ....

dI8seir1itd'C~n.

The" work is proceeding well and, if I may say so, my team IS wen organized, We have improved staff both in Jerusalem and al: Notre Dame University. I think (his. Imethodl worked because in the meantime pubU.cadoll8 have been flowing steadily from the presses .. H

In me" past 4.0 years very few volemes were publlshed; however. in recent years the International Team hasgreatly advanced thetimetable :for publication and hasgreatlymultiplied the number of Scroll volumes available .. Aceordieg to Professor Toy. one: reason for this dramatic increase inproductivity IS, superior technology and its availability to the Scroll 'Ieam:

While in the pas( it: often took seven years for one volume to appear,. in me Ian calendar year (1,994) \V'e published no less than three volumes of the .DJDseries .. TIlls year, 19951 we have pubhshed two. and have several volumes in varying dra:~t stages: of preparation, Inthe next year (1996) we expect to have four or


five volumes to be c,()mp:lete~yread.y. Today we do this [more ql!dcikJy] by actually producing the camera-ready v,o~umes otJri- selves, We .have our own. laser printers here [at (he Jerusalem office] and in the United States .. These are presented to. Ute press" whose, main task is mainly to take care of the plates, tttephotegrsphs. 34,

Thereare stillabout 20 volumes that, must, be published to complete the DJD series, and the Team is confident that it win reach itsgoal by the year 2000. Professor 'Iov shares the reasons forlhis success:

Why did we, succeed? :FIFst1 Etfiink, we; have; a devoted number of celleagnes on several continents, You mjgbt say our tie am is equally di:vided.between the, United States, Burope~ and Israel .. Second, sehclars reaUz.e that l:hey have to g.e1t. It done .. It's now or neverl Thin:l1 we have agood prodactionteam in Jerusalem and in the United States (Notre Dame). And last, but not least, we have some money. [AHhough]llhe money cash f10w is low righ.t now, we hope; to, get some incomebeyond whst we have. However. the money we have takes care of the aemal produetien. Scholars who need assistance can get some mone from 'us to hire people to help them with preparation of theIr volumes. 'This kind 'of $st~tance was not as available in the past, bl!.lt~ now mates all.tibe; diHerence.3S

The D~ ead c." __ Sc 1"lA11:~-~' Founda .~ tion

,~ '_'~ '_', ICtCiI, ~"'.Ju~,m L "'u, __ I., '. '_",1"

To assure the continued publieadon of me Scrolls, a. foundation has beenestabdshed to raise the; needed finances fur scholars who are i.nvolvled in Scroltresearch, translation,. editing .• and publication. Executive Director

Dr· UTe' st ..... nPields """'v'" t:I'.;I(" about rhe · .... ;rO' ... "i'i"l·· .. ,ltion;

,., l"f' "_,,_'V,U,, I , ;i:J! ~~',JI'.;]I . Lllil~ Y.-.- y ... I,I~ V'~I~~I~,,", ~ .. __ ~_._

The; Dead Sea Scrolls .Fioundati~on was formed in 1990 by Dead Sea Scroll scholars to speed up the production of the official translation, transcriptlon, and pubIica.tion of the Dead Sea Scrolls from, Oxford University Press as Di.scQverie3 in the:

Iudean Desert (or DlD). All 'of the Scrolls wiU be published and made availaoleto the public throughthe effons of The Dead Sea SCfO,11 Foundation, which is now supporting these effons, The total set is envisioned now as lc;()mprising 305 volumes, and tihese 35 vQlu:mes mbdngproduced by aJbout65~holars around the world. The: Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation. helps to support


72 SECR,1iJlS OF THE DEAf) SEA, SCROU.S

these scholars and their asslsta;nts~ buys,eqwpiment, coordinates theactivities, and is ill a" lil!llique~ position to do thtsslnce the chairman of The: Dead Sea Scrolls Ftmndation is also theed:itori[J~h!ie:f ofthepu.blica:tionprojI6ct in Jerusalem, We have professors from around the wor~d-aU, oflhe: most wen-known Dead Sea ScooU scholars -- on our Boards ofAd:vlsors and Directors. Wealm help, to ooordinate van:ous projects, such as, the 'COnC(H'dance proj'ect, which win come out . on CI)..ROM~ and some of the new imaging projec.ts. as weU as the n.ew project to look for caves and. Scrolls on both sides of the Dead Sea.36

With the breaking of the Scrollmonopoly, the: reorganization of the Scroll 'Ieam, and the creation of the Dead Sea SC,fOUS. Foundation,. the future appears favorable; indeed fOI the Scrolls, Onthepositi¥e side,~the controversy overaccess to the unpublished Scrolls heightened public awareness and excitement. over the Scrolls and led to both increased funding for research and more rapid publicarion of the SeroUs ... Scholars am now using this ne,wiy released material in :slgnitl'cant studiesmat are making major contributions in their fields of study. And in the future" as excavations uncover more Scrolls, we can expect that the signiflcance of new finds will become-known to us much more qui.ckly than ever before;"

lit is time now to leave the hi.Slory ·of the Scrolls and consider the Scrolls themsel ves, In. the next chapter we; will begin to gain an understanding of these priceless treasures [brougha su.rvey of their characteristics and contents, Come join me for a trip, In 3t library like, none other you have visi ted befur-e-dlc libnuy of Qumran.


PART II

- - - $

_.if

,Decip· r · •• hering the Secrets

I -

of Ages Past


+

A SURVEY OF THE SC,ROLLS

1«£1' as a Ch.risriim: r(N..lller must be exci.ted bY' the manuscript of a SeC'/lv.ho may have known and influenced early Christians, so a Je,vfina's llOth.ing more deeply ,mov,ing than ",lan rlscrip,ts »itiUen by the Ptu)p,le of/he BOQ~ ~n the Land altha Book., more tltem 2.000 years ago.

-Yigael Yadin, purchaser of the Scrolls for Israel

As a, lover of rare books I have spent many hours searching through musty shopsin hopes of discovering some lost.Iiteraty treasure .. One of my mosr memorable adventures took. 'place when I was, invited to search theanic stereroom of an old seminary library; The feeling upon entering this room cloaked in perpetual twilight was, lite that of secreting into a sanctuary .. S hell upon shelf emerged from, the, darkness crammed wim books than I was ~old had escaped a fire over a cenu.uy ago. These volumes had :Iong: ago been removed to the upper reelms and then fergonen

75


76 SECR£l'S or THE DEAD SEA SCROfLS

as newer acquisirions multiplied. My exchementmounted as I perused leather-bound sets of Greek and Hebrew gram_maIS~ Bible dictionaries, seventeenth-century volumes of Josephus' works, and rows upon rows of theological commentaries. Even though the purpose of my visit wasta purchase books for a fledgling Bible college '~ibra_ry,~he sensation was as though I was pl I!lF1dedng one of the tombs of'the ancients, If we; can appre .. ciate the suspense and satisfaction of uncovering a century .. old Iibrary,

'h ik''''· L " L'~ di C:'

t 'en we can negjn ~o Imalme tne mcomparable dtscovery en an immense

"library" hidden away over 2fOOO years ago!

In this chapter we're goingto look at what this library contains, how and where it W,8JS wriue;n~ how U. was pr-eserved over tbe millennia.and where it was found. While we may not think of a triptoa library as an adventure, this, is different, for we're about to visit a, "library" that is like none other .. This "library," mow numbering in excess of 800 volumes (represented by intact Scrolls plus 100,,000 fragments), is known as the Dead Sea Scrolls,

What Are the Dead. Sea, ScroUs?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were written in Hebrew (predominately)..

Aramaic.end Greek. Most of the wrhingsare on leather parchment (made from goat or sheep skins) and plapyrus (an eady form of paper), but a Scroll written on pure copper has, also been unearthed, Some 2230(' more of the tota.~.manuscripts discovered are copies cfbiblical books .. So far a represensative Of every book of the Old Testamem has been found wi ththe exception of Esther, although. I.tis apparent that Esther was known

- "". =

to {he writers of the SCfOUS.:~ The remaining manuscripts include nOD-

biblical books (apocrypha and pseudepigrapha), sectarian documents, apocalyptic works, and to alesser degree, commercial documents, There are an additional 300 manuscriptportions either '00 obscure to ide:.ntifY 0.[ too fragmentary to translate.

It may not be ,entirely proper to refer to the Scrolls as ai·libraryt1 because there is no mdication mal these writings were collected for that purpose or that any kind of classification. or catalogingprocedure was ever perfonned.2 However, mJlny Scroll scholars. have pointed OIJt that a variety of sectarian texts were: found with the ScroUs-tex[s (hat did not originate within the Qumran community. These "imported texts," though colleered by the Sect, do notreflect.thelrbeHefs, or practices, but represent the common herItage of Second 'Temple Judaism.'


A 8WrVEY OF THE: SCROllS 77

In addition, we need to understand that a great many other finds called "Dead Seamaterials" were discovered in areas no~ near the Dead Sea (such as caves near Jericho and (he fortress of Masada) .. Yet becausethe majority of the Scrolls wer-e foundin caves close to the Dead Seat for generalpurposes, the entire body of ancient manuscripts have been designated as the Dead. Sea Scrolls ..

The manusenpts that comprise the Dead Sea Scrolls have survived mostly infrag:m.c~ntary form, Theinhial discoveries from Cave 'I 'Were intact Scrolls, and Cave l 1 also yielded intact Scrolla.Neverthcless, the majority of materials-have come from Cave 4" whereno Scrolla.as such, wer-e recovered, WhUe oll1Jer designations such as·'Dead Sea Literature," "QumranMaauscripta'tend "Texts fr-om the Judeau Desert' have been used, the: popular usage of!~Dc:ad Sea Scrolls" has made jt.theprcferred designa.tIon.

The Dead Sea. SC,fOUS were both the property and the products oft-hose who were part of tn.e Jewish community that lived atthe site of Kbirbet (Arable for "ruins") Qumran during the Second Temple period .. When peopkjolned. this commonity they brought whh themtheir own personal copies of the Scriptures and other tre a Sill red writings. These Scrolls, which would have had their 'Own antiquity and provenance, became a part of the community's common literary resources and in time were accompanied by copies made by the community as weflas other kinds of original documents.

When the Scrolls were first revealed, Pr-ofessor Eleaaar Sukenik of the Hebrew Uni:ver.sity calh:,:,d them MegUlot ha-Genezo: (Hebrew for "Hidden Scrolls"), This descrlptiorr reflected his beU~efthat the Scrolls bad been depositedin a geniza-a. storage area for sacred writings that have become worn out or damaged. WhUe that may have been tree for the SeroUs in Cave 4 at Qum.ran,. whichconralned 1.5,000 fragments that made lip' more than :500 OOOKS, it does not explain the apparently delib .. erate concealment of certain SC[oUS in Caves I,. 2~ 3, . and il J which are a. mile anda half to the north of the Qumran communityar the site of the WadI Jawfet Zaben,

Where Were the SeroUs Found?

As of this writin,g;~ the Dead Sea Scrolls have come from 11 eaves in the "EinFeshkha and Khirbet Qumran regions and also from add.ltional caves in Jeriche, Bin-Gedi, Masada, Ml!1rabba~at,Naha~ Hever, Nahal


78 SECRf:lS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROUS

Se' elim, NabalMishmar, and KhirbetMird (the places and dates of most of the discoveries arc; Usted in the Dead Sea Scrolls Cllronology at tbe end of thisbook), These caves have been assigned a numberrhatseveals the order of their di sc overy.,

The Qumran caves that yielded intact Scrolls were limestone caves located, in high ridges above the desert floor. Some of these limestone caves (es.pecia~ly those, south of Qumran) cam be reached only by lowering rope ladders hundreds of feet down the cliff'walls, Other such caves have collapsed from tile earthquakes that frequent the areaand have had to be comp'hi!;ttely excavated before entrance was even possible.

M'o-~.,~, of the fr <i'g'·'ml,'e"~f'~,ru finds c am e .from Caves 11-1'.0: 'W', ,Ib- ich o:'i,~~ 'ii'V""'"

, ,~~ " li., '" Q_: ' , ,!I:I~J "_'_ , __ ,_, ,",_' ,_,_'V,,, ' __ QY _"~ ~ ._," _J'_J~II. _"-J. ~.Y .t"W!II"

ofthemarl terrace formation at the W3i;1i Qumran .. The caves inthtsloose, chalky lhnestone eroded easilyand were not as suitable for the storage of Scrolls as the 1imestone cliff caves .. Scr-o~~s found in these.chalky limestone eaves were often buried beneath laye,n:, of erosionand large accumulations of bat guana. In some cases, SCiJ:iO Us 'were even found buried beneath the rOo~p3.thinfron{~ of the cave, where they had been swept out at some, point by previous inhabitants (see chapter 2.0).. Only Qumran Caves land 11 contained intact jars with scrolls or scroll remains, .. However, evidence of broken jars was found in some of tn.c other caves. The Copper ScroU', the most. unique of the Scrolls (if:it can be; classified asa scroll) WaS found on, an incised stone shelf 111 Cave 3 (see chapter 12). Unfon'1!lnatiely,in most, cases we cannot: know for certainthe origIna] arrangement ofthe finds because the Bedoufn reached the caves fir:st. Oftendmes when archaeologists finaHy arrived at t~e caves they were met with scanr Scroll remains but fine; collections ofcigarette butts! Ccnseqeently, me majority of'the Scrolls were obtained through the antiq .. uities market or by direct purchases from the Bedouin. Y:e~ in more recent years, since Israel extended .its jurisdiction (:0 dl,e Qumran region, the Bedouin's activities have been curtailed and archaeologists have made, significant discoveries of their own (see 'chapter 20),.

When We:relbe Scrolls Fou.nd?

Scrolls have been found in t.he Dead Sea region siace ancient times ..

About A.D. 217 the Christian scholar Origen discover-ed jars c(mtaining scrolls writtenia both Hebrew and Greek in caves somewherenear Jericho. He provides no record of the contents of the Hebrew manuscripts" but among the Greek manuscripts he found a version of the book of Psahns,


I

'\

,

\

'\

j

\

,/ ; "
f
.'
,.. -' /
"
/ ...

CIl'M.:.· •... ".',,··."., .. lI: .... '

\ct

.... ':z


80 SECRETS OF THE DEAD SEA Scsous

(This. book of Psalms differed from. what appeared in the Septuagint, til popular pre-Christian version of the Jewish Scripmres.) Origen meorporated th~s "Dead Sell Scroll" Into his critical edition of the Bible known as theH e:xapla.

Moving ahead ill history, we have: Mn.ts from the: early eighth through thetenth centuries that Scrolls were: discovered by both Christians and Karaites (a Jewish sect that elevated theWrltten Toran and rejected tne Ora] Torah of therabbis), Around .A.D. 800 a. chance discovery of Hebrew Scrolls containing copies of Old Testament books and other Hebrew writings was reported in a letter by Timotheus, Patriarch of the" Nestorian Christians, to Se':rgi.us~Metropohtan Bishop of E~nm. In A .. D' •. 9.37~ AI. Kirqisani the Karaite mentioned manuscripts that were found in caves in the Judean desert, but he identified these as: belongingto the literature of the Magharians~ a. pre-Christianseer, In his account ofJewlsb sects he: references earlierwriters:stJch as David Ibn-Merwan and Al-Biruni (sevc'l1uh through ninth centuries), who in turn cited even earlier writers concerning the "Cave Sect" Kirqisani appears to date this sect in the em between the Sadducees (second century B,C.) and the 'foUowers of Christ Olfst oentury A. D .. ). The wrlter Shahrasten I. (1'\ ,D. ] 090) r-ecords that the "Cave S ect" flourished 400 yearsbefore the A!exandri.anpresbywr Arius (who d:ied. in A,D. 336)~ which would place the, sect. in tho firstcentnry ~B,C.

Wben Were the Scrolls WriUen.?

The study of the Dead Sea Scrolls is ~OJ1ig pastthe earlier controversies that questioned their antiquity.Por some time a:6te,rnfule initial modernday discoveries, Dr, Solomon Zeitlin of Dropsie College in Philadelphia and like-minded scholars contended that the Scrolls were simply medieval wddngs of a. heretical Jewish sect known as the Karaites. Others, depe:nding on their particular theory of who wrote the Scrolls, dated them to the late first century. If the Scrolls were; ime:rpr-et,ed as Zealor documents, then they wereascribed to the time of the :first Jewish revolt (A •. n, 66-70) .. If the Scr-olls we:n~; believed to be early Jewish-Christian writings,. then me accepted.dares assigned (0 them ranged from the middle to the end of the first century, Howeveras the Scrolls wereconsidered paleographically (dated by the styl.e of their script) and they endtheir wrappings were subjected to scienufic methods, 'Of dating, (such as carbon 14).! older dates began to appear .. In addition. datable artifacts found in


A SURVEY oems SCROll~ g, 1

the caves or at the settlement of Qumran (such as coins and oil lamps) supported the dates arrived at through paleography and scientiflc testing,

Ill, dating the: Scrolls. we must dist.in~,tljsh between the Scrolls from the Qumran regionand those found .i ncaves .i nother places, 'The Scrolls from Qumran have yielded. dates from 225 B.C. to A. D. 6:8. Most scholars believe they werecomposedduring the Hasmoneauperiod (152=,63 D,.C.) or the Early Roman period (63 B.C .. -A.D. 68)~ althoegh they recognize that some, Scrolls were older manuscripts brought in from outside the community. The finds from. other cavies are either much older (Wadi el-Daliyeb, 3$2 B.,C.) or much ~ate;r(Wadi Murabba'at, A.I). 6'9-136 and KhirbetMird, A.ID.M).

An l'mponant Bra

We 'can benerappreeiate the Dead Sea. Scrons when we understand the post-exilic (post~Babyloni,an capdvity) or Sec'ond Temple period, since .it was during this tirnethat the, Qumran community de:veloped.F'oUQwing is a brief overview ofthe highlights of thiseracombined whh the major events connected with the Qumran Sect This overview reveals rue religious and poUtlcal condidons that contributed to the: development: ofthe Qumran gr-oup as well as other sects .. (for a. historical .survey of the Qumran commllnity~ see chapter 9.uThe Hisloricai Origin of the Sect" on pages 19i-202~and thehtsterical overview of the Second 'Ie:mp~e period onpag~'s44 4 445.)

The His.tory of.the Second Te.mple Period

The oldest Qfthe ScrQ~1 s (those; from Wadie~ -Daliyehjare datedabout 352 D.C. Itispossible, based on new evidence" going back ro the Persian period (see cnapte'F 20), that apriestly Jewishgroup, as precursors of the Dead Sea Sect, settled at Qumran, Less~han20 years later Alexanderthe Great began hiscampaigns inAsia Eventually Greek rule spread to ISrael and Gr-ee;K culture (Hellenism) was imposed om the Jewish people. In 250 B.C., because the Greek languagewas so widespread. Jewi.sh scholars in Alexandria, Egyptl· decided to translate me Old. Testament inro Greek (this work became known as the Se:ptl!Jagint~ de8,igna~edas LXX) ..

Half a. century later (about 19r7 .... 196 B.C..), Judea became a province of the Seleucid Emp'keood the Jewish Yahad (as the Dead Sea Sect is known in the SeroUs) began their initialperiod of settlement; Over the next 30 years religious and poHtic:alUlpheavals occurred in J erusalem, The Zadoklte high priest 00100 DI was replaced by a. hellenized Jew; then muedered. Afterjhar, forced h.eUenlzation took place, eulminatlng it} thephmdedng an~.PDlk!Jdng of the Temple by Antlochus rv Epiphanes (circa 169 B . c.),


82 SECR.1i7S OF THE .D:£..\D .sEA. SCN!OUS

Within three years a Jewish resistance movement (the Maccalbean Revolt) retook Jerusalem" cleansed the Temple, and appointed anew high priest .. hood.

During this same period, the Jewish Yahad le;ft Q.l(lmr.a.Fl~ found its Teacher of Righteousness, and again returned .. Shortly thereafter, the Samaritan. temple on Mount Gerazim was destroyed by the Jewish hi gh priest John Hyrcanus (128 B,C.).. During his reign the sects, known asthe Sadducees and. Pharisees became prominent. Over the :n.e:-xt50 yearsthese sects we-re coatinually tn odds with each other, and it is, possible that a group of the Pharisees (whO' were not priests) joinedthe priestly membership of the; Qumran. community, WithIn the next 50 years Jewishindependence ended with the. Roman invasion led by Pompey (63 B.C.). The Jewish high priest was executed, and Herod me Great began his rule over Judea (circa 37 B.C.). Around the same lime~either an invasion by the Panhians (410 B .. C.) oraneanhqsake (31. B.C.) caused the Dead Sea Sect to leave Qummn fora brief'perlod. W~thin another 65 years, Jesus was bom (4-5 B,C.) and had carried out His earthly ministry (A.D. 27-30) .. Then over the following 40 years, significant changes took place in the Jewish nation. Paul's missionary outreach to the Gentiles read:1J.ed many cities in the, Roman world, much of'tbe New Testament was wrlnen, the first Jewish r-ebellion against Rome was crushed. the Scrolls were hidden" the settlement at, Oumran wasdestroyed (A.D. oS)! the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed {A.D. 70)t and (he final Jewish resistance at Masada was quenched (A..D., 73).

During the span of time we just reviewed, many major events took place: (see the historical overview of the Second Temple period on. pages 444445.) This helps us to see that a Jewish sect inthat era would i nevitabb have; undergone significantchanges, Though we cannot be sure about the time period that the Dead Sea seetactuallyexisted in one form or another, we can be certain that this g,mup changed w~~h time .. The Scrolls themselves reflect such changes to some degree,

The liIe.r:atur-e o/the Second Temple Period

Inpast generations it was not easyto su:rvey the literature of rhis era ..

Todaty.~ however, more than In any previous century since the- time of'Christ, we, have an increasingly abundant supply of documents attesting tothis period avai~albic for our smdy. Too often these pdmary-source mateeials about the Second Temple period nave been neglected by evangelical


A SURVEY 0'1' THE SCROLLS 83

Christians. The; reasons fOF this neglect range from simple; unconcern, or unfamiliarity with the centent to prejudice against UiB! USe oflilon~Cal1()n~ 1'0.1 writings.torhe fear ofbeing aligned with criticslscholars who have usedthese dQcuments to' buttress their attacks against evangelical doetrines.

However, when we r~il to 'consider the Qriginal historical :and cultural context 'of the text, ourexegesls is susceptibleto eisegesis-s- lbalt~s, interpretation according to our own historical and cultural context or COI1l~ trolled (even unmtentionally) by our own subjective concerns, relational goals, or philcsophicalpresuppesitiens. By disregarding these extrabibllcaljexts that p erm it: US to properly view the context in which the authors lived! evartgelicals may modernize the hibljealtext ina way not dissimilar to critical interpreters who reject the d LV ine Intent

Where Were the ScrollsW rittem?

The; tmd,itiotllalvie,w has been thata significant majority of the Scrolls were written at Khirbe't Qumran. There, archaeologists excavated a twostory bulMJng wIth plaster and odd pieces of furniture that resembled tables (161 long x L3' wide x 1.6! h~gh)., These were reconstructed as workbenches for scribal actlvity, Also .~n this room were found several inkwells, Thecenclusion was that thi S was dle eommunity'a Scriptorium-« the room where the: Qumran scribes copied or composed the; Dead Sea. Scrolls. While it Is true l~at rhejars in which the: Scrolls were, stored were made at Qurnt.an (analysis of the clay links it with the: settlement's pettery shop)". there is no, I.onger ascho]arly consensus that all, or even some, of the Scrolls were 'produced there, Thls posit:iol:lJ~:s put furth by none other than Dr. Emanuel. 'IOiV. editer-jn-ehief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Translation and Publication Team:

It is misleading to sa.y that a~.1 of the Scrolls were written by the Qumrangroup~, i.e.itheBssenes .. We now believe that many, maybe mOSE, of the Scrolls found ~n Qumran were actuaUy not. wriuen by the people who dwelt .at QU1'mnm. Some scholarseven believe that aJ11 of the Scrolls were: written, out:sid~ of Qumran without any connection to the Qumran eoramunity. We; are, not [presently] able to pinpoiat whieh Scrolls were writtenin.side Qr outside of the community; however. I myself have developed a h~()the,si:s whereby Ibelieveihat in certain cases I can. pinpohtt where the text was written."


Copyrighled material

A. SURVEY OF TfiE SCROllS 85

While theidentification ora. Scriptorhnn is now controversial, we must keep in mind that the Qumran area was occupied for a span of threecent~de~s.·s In such a time span biblicalmanuscnpts would have worn out and needed to be replaced, Even If most of the original Scrolls had been brought from outside the community {and some are represented in the present collectionj.there would still have been aneeo to produce new copies, Given the special script insisted upon by tJhe Sect, these, cepies

- - '=

could have been most easily produced w~th ~n the community .. AI sO,as in

any Jewish community (e .. g.,the Bar Kokhba letters), persenalcorrespondenee, commercial documeats.marriage contracts, and (he llke were also produced. These weuld require seme place, for their composuion, Finally, we must nOL fo.rge[ how many changes can take place within a community during this span of time, which. in part, could account. for some ofthe variety in scribal styles (and locations) observed by Dr. 'Iov,

Another objection scholars have raised is that scribes in the: ancient world wrote in asquatting pcsuien with their Scrolls in their laps, not working artables, Accepting lhis,the workbenches could have been. used for laying out the Scroll sections to dry and for stitching the:,mtogedler (see Illustration). For these: reasons, iris sHU quite possible that a type of

- - ~ =

Scriptorium exi sted at Qumran,

By thei'r desjgn .oJ.1:1d deposition wHhi n cavies. the Scrolls were intended to be preserved. against the ravagesof time .. This preservation was attained

"" '_ '_ ""

by acombination of fac tors," First and foremosais the hot and arid climate

of the Dead Sea region, The temperature often reaches 125 Fahxenheit, and there: is almost no humidit.y (less than two to four inches of :rninfaU per year) .. Such conditions arc ideal for material preservatioo,.ascN.idenced by the si.mil,ar "miraculous preservations" of normally perishable objects and papyrii In the tombs at Luxor, Egypt. The dry climate and stable temperature range in the Dead Sea region prevented the growth of bacteria that. would have decomposed the Scrolls, Under these conditions the Scrolls gradually dehydrated until they reached a. perfect state of equiljbrium with t~e" environment, which surrounded and protected them.

Another factor was the manner in which the SeroUs w,ere stored. 'The clay jars in whieh uh.e Scrolls were stored provided a secondberrier of protection, keeping out the damaging rays of the SI!Hl and sometimes insecta.Inaddinon, caves in which the jars and Scrolls were hidden have


86 SECRETS 0'1' THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

almost no air flow. Aha, the parchment on which the Scrolls were written was untanned sheepskin (tanning materials, often contribute to the deterioration of parchment over long periods of time). And. the choice of ink used for most of the Scrolls was a. carbon ink made from. sootor lamp-

ble -~h with "I~- ,,-~~:; addedas .', stabiliz -,'- 'U··,·l'·lk··',-: ' .. mod .. -. ,-. inks ~,acl\., WL~ gum aramea lue-u as a SUIi _ I rzer, n L e many mo ern in S

that. fade; after a. relatively short t~m.e, lamp black. is an inertandextremely durable substance, and. as the: ScroUs reveal, can last for more than 2~ClOO years. Unfortunately, once the SCIQUS were removed from these Ideal conditions, (hey began to de~edora,terapid'ly.7 For this reason the Greas Isaiah Scrol.l was removed from its center case underthe rotunda in the, Shrine ofthe Book and areplica put in its place, The ScroU fragments In the Scro~le'[y of the RockefellerMuseum today are in an advanced state of deterioration .. When these fragments were first collectedand assembled. they were sandwiched between plates of glass fur protection fr-om dust and dle oil of human skin, These glass-covered ftagrnents were then

Iaid outo' Iaree tables in ~'-,:" sunliehr for smdv The sunllehtshlnlne

IIU :. out on iarge tal nes In uu-ect sunug t lor sm .'1. "., ,¢ sun ~g.t s_ ,Uuog

thr-ough the; glass: created a greenhouse effect and eccelereted jhe decay

P'r-'I');",gs'" bv ·c-"'r~ ... 't-'::'n· 0' a th ,e'·' ·rm··· ~ 1 laye r be- '('W" "'ee-n' th .. , pl a~ tes of g ~g,s-s- '-Thl 'hi (' ~ n

'; .V~~1_~ 1-./ '_~ !I;!.?-Q,_.l-',Q a ,-,' _ "I;ll ,11:;1".'" ' __ ,_'." '_,,-, ,II ..... ,,""" _.",._ ' __ "_:JIJR-.~.,~, lJ ... ,.;i)', ii"

turn.allowed moisture and baceeria to reach lh.epMChme:nts. which are now stored in drawers under controlled condhions.

What Do the Scrons Contain?

It win not be possible within this chapterto survey themore than 8100 menusenptsrepecseated 'by the Scrolls, there are m anymore" technieal worksavailable for dun purpose .. For usit should be sufficient to consider a samphng of the texts that have been studied for the last 40 years, including most of the: older works on which the Scrolls were based and the recently pubHsh.e-d texts from Cave 4 .. Thesetexts can be groupedin categories: bi blieal texts, biblical commeatari es, sec:ta:r,~antexts,apo¢ryphal and pseudepigraphical texts, apocalyptic texts, and mystical ()r rituaUsUctexts.

Copies, of books of the Bible comprise some of the greatest finds.emong the· Dead Sea. SeroUs. Between :223-23.3 copies of bib Heal. manuscripts .have been found, afigure representing a't'Jout one .. fourth of the total" manuscript coUect:km. The following list shows the; boots of the Bible tltat were, discoveredand how many multiple copies (if any) were represented.


Qum,.lllJMalJuscripts olB'ooksof theO!d Xestument

'Canonical DJv1ifiii:on (Aocordln!g to tne Hebrew Bible)

,Old Testament Book ,(AccQrdhng to 'OI1d:er in Hebrew IEI,ible)

NUll ber m QUluan Manusori,pts (1';:poeaible!DgmeMj

Pentateuoh (loraJh}

Genesis Exodus Levi:tiicus Numbers Deuteronomy

18+3? 18

17

12 311+31

'I Prophets I (Nevi'!lim)'

, ' ,

.Former Prophets

,Jos:hlJla Judges

1-2, Samuet 1-2IKings,

2 3 4 3

2'2

6

7 10+17

La,tter Prophets

Isa:iah Jle:remiah IEzekiel1

Twelv9 (Minon P',ropnets

39+,2? :2

4

4-

4

-4

3

0'-

8+1? 11

11

iotal ,223 (233) • paralEll, m;pt'essiOfllS illil other Dead sea :SCrollS rndlCal& :SeC!'slarniliari1y with Esther

Ti1, F' "S·,,-, 'oll ' ",9 , Ive ,cro"s

--------------------------------------------------------

I I

F.'.l.T-n'Th'.' ," ". 'b' , 'f"~,' ""',""',,-t.,n.·'"i'-'''':''' "', '~'~"n,"""'ibl'-·''',''ni,ml1i'-''r

, ft....... " ,enum er 0 V" manuscnptsa , ""!; ... mran lS more '!'!'~ilI __ ~(lu~e "~e .. lL~'~~ I

(If Cii[iCCJk.p~pyri of tile New Tt!'Stamcnt. (96) and these, manucscri.ptsa:re I X100yean 'I Qlder~antbe Hebrew Bible moo!Uscriptsexm[lllbefort; their discovery,

W,rl~tings (K:etu'bim)

Psa:lms Proverbs Job

Song of Song IS Au~h LamentaltiQr1I!$

Ecclesiastes E:sther

Dali1.ie~ Ezra-INehemilah 11,-2 Chronicles


8.8 SECRETS' OF TH.E DEAD' SEA SCROUS

IDistribuUDn 0'1 tlhe Bibnc'a~ !Manuscripts in '~he Qumran Caves

AU,gnment of Bi!bnealll Manu.scri,pts F'oulild at Qumran 'with O,ther Biblical ¥ers'lo:ns

Cave 1 Cave :2 CaveS Gave 4 Cave 5 Ca,ve 6 Cave 1 Gave: ,8 Cave, '9 Cave 10 Cave 11

17 1,8

J.

137 7 '7

1 2 o o

110

Proto ... Masoretic Texts 180'0/0

Q umll'an..;Styl~e Texts 20%

NOI1-AUgned Texts 10%

SeptlUl8Jg in'tal-Type Iexts 5 %

Proto-Samaritan

flPentateuch) Texts. 5%

F rom. the list we can see that certain books were more freque;ntly represented than ethers. This impfies that these were themost frequently used. books of the communiry, and they fit our expectations, for a strictly legalistic and apecalyptic group: 'Psalms (39)" Deuteronomy (31)t Isaiah (22.), Exodus (18,). Genesis (15). and Leviticus (13). These books. however, were, also works that the Jewish: community at large considered foundationa1 for understanding Ged's program for Israel and the coming, of the Messiah. For these same reasons the thrlee books at the top of this llst (psalms, Deuteronomy" Isaiah) were also the ones. most frequently q ueted by the New Testament, auth ors "

It should be noted that the book of Nehemiah does not appear by itself Jon the list .. It is assumed that Nehemiah was included as one book with EZI'a. which: is listed .. The 'book of Es,ther was, not found either. but does appear in citations 'or allusions in the sectarian. documents and one apocryphal Aramaic work re[ated to it, entitled Proto-Esther. Most likely its absenceis simply because it has not yet been found. After all, only one copy of a fragmentof Ezra - Nehemiah and the Chronicles were discevered . Also of lmerest is the Psalm Scroll' from Cave lI, which included a number of apocrypha] psalms not found in the Bible.!

In addition to actual copies of books of' the Bible, the Scrolls also con .. tained samples of the biblical text in other forms, Three of these arc the Targums~ teftllm, and mezazot, The Targums are trensladons of the Hebrew Bible :~ntoAramaic. Their purpose was to give an understanding of the ongina] text to contemporary readers who were no longer familiar with the; older

Copyrghlcd materia

A .sURVEY Or' TilE SCROLLS 89

bibllcm Hebrew. Inmuch the same way that the, Roman Cat!hoU~c Church came to' abandon. the use of Ladn during mass because; fe,,,, parishioners

could understand the, services, so also did, Jew:s in the synag:ogue orrany translareme Hebrew text into the common vernacular of Aramaic,

The Targ![]mim (plural for Targum) wereborn when these ora~transla,~ tiens were written downandcollected as manuscript documents. Among me Scrolls are, me Targ.ums of Levincus and Job. fr.agments of both have 00eC:(J, found in Cave, 4!,Dut from Cave llcame a. complete Targum qfJob,; In, fact, it was one of the best-preserved texts of all the Scrolls, The dates for'tb.e.se works range from the, second ciennury to the last half of the first century B.C. Their discovery and date have proved that, the TarglLlJm~m were not late. pmductions, as some scholars formerly thoug;ht~bl!Jt were wellestablished in Jadaisticcircles before the rise of Christi,anlty,.

T~fi··I'lItit:"' 'a' nd mezuzotare sm ... .111· tishtlv rolled Sere .~]. e, that contain bib-

.~',,",_~ __ '!!U .. n ~_._ ."" ... ,_,v~.~.., ''''~ __ 'W_'J Leo~~L,I' _ .. L .• .~.lt.", L .... · .... v·_ .1;iY!_, .....

Heal. passages from Exodus and Deuteronomy," The teflllin (or phyl.acneri.es) were placed in boxes tied to the head or left arm .. Themezuzot wer-e placed i"n ornamentalcases that were attached to (he doorposr ofe no use. 'The tefillinand rsezuzor were intended to ~uH1U (ina mystic,ai manner) the biblical command in[)euteronomy~ uYOI!l shall bind them [God's commandmentslas a. sign o~ your hand and they shall be as frontals [emblems] on your forehead. And you shall write them on the, dcorposts of your bouse and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:.8 .. 9) ..

Some of these documents (from Cave $) were r'Olled sotightly thalt they have never been able to be opened. 'Those that could (2~, documents from Cave 4- and one from Cave 1) revealed a Hebrew tex.t t~at departed from the Masoret:ic Text and sometimes agreed with other ancientversions of the Old 'Testament The writing on these is so minute thatinmost cases they must be read under 3. magnifying glass. Thusthey are unique testimonies to themasterful skill of the Jewish scribes ..

Biblical ComllU!.nta'riBs

The Dead Sea Scrolls brought to light for the first: timea special kind ofcernmentary on the biblicCal textcalled pesher e~c~ommentary"t). ~°Prior to the discovery of the Scrolls our evidence of how Jewish commentstors handled the biblicalteoct was based on the rabbinlc writings of the Mishnah~ the; Talmud.and the midrashim, However, these comments were not the rabbis' own interpretations of the biblical text, but of an oral tradition that had been passed down from sage b) sage .. The great difference in 'the Qumran pes.i1a,rin:1 (p:ll!1ral for peshe r) is that theyrepresent an actual


90

SECRUS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROUS

_"-"--' '_-- ~'- ""---',--'---_- _'_-"_ - ,-,--,_-'---

exegesis of the Old Testament itself, The method was toquote tbe Old Testament verse by verse, then. provide, commentary .. The wnters' comments were separated fromtheir citations by a word or phrase such as "theInterpretation of It [or 'the wo:rd'']is about ... ;~'U What made the; eommentary unique" was the way the interpretation was made .. Rather than simply give the; ~i~era1 meaning of thetext, the writers related the,te.x.t '0 their ownhi.st.orical situation and theological viewpoint.

These commentatorsbelleved that [he glfl of prophecy had been continued in their ~·~TeacherofRishteou:sn.ess,~~ who was divinely insp'lredto discern the proper intcrplr,etaJtlon of prophetic passages. While none of the, Scrolls directly crednibe 'Ieaeher as auther.moss scholars believe that his commentary is directly or indirectly preserved in documents likethe Pesher Habakkuk. As ;3: result, these biblical expositions are specific to the QumrancommlllnU,yand provide u~s with an unusua.Uyvivid presentation of fheit sectarian th.ool:ogy. Yet. University of Haifa professerand Scroll apocalypdc expert Deverah Dimant. observes tha,t·'Qu.mranic pesner Is not a un lque phenomenon, but mustbe placed within the wIder framework of Jewish exegesis of the Second TempIeperiod.t1l':2 In addition .• because these commentaries contain. excerpts of biblical text. they serve as a source of better understanding the transmission of the ScriPIUf.ll:cS.

These commenraries are of several forms, Beach. sharing a common structure (whh :sHghn modlfleatiens): a biblical quotation. followed by an ,eJt.polsJtlonintrm:lu.ced by the t,ermpe.si1e'.r .. These forms ]ncJlllJde: I) Contl.nuous .Pe;sharim-rurmh~g commentaries th,al go through single books of the Bible section by section and verse by verse. They aU referenee in similar ways the community, its hi.stcn:y, and its leadership and opponents. 2) Thematic Pes.harim e.xpositl!ons made up of verses collected from various passages in differentoo6lics (or separate, parts of the same book) that. relate loa. cemrnentheme or themes, These; are similar to (he two kinds. ofsermeas typicaUy presented by preachers today; ,expos,. itory and topical, 3) /S'oICl:ted Pesha.rim----eLx'positions of'one or two verses wi.thin worksthat wer-e, D!Ot intended primarily as commentary (e.g., Cairo Damascus Doeumet«, COlnnmnity Rule). Theseexpositions function as "proof-texts" for the community) shisrorical events and doctrinal tenets, and are prophetic in nature (e.g .• Isaiah 40:3 in IQS 8d3 .. 16;cf. 9:2.0; Isaiah 24: 17 in CD 4~ 13-1.5).

AmoR~ the· Continuous Pesharim, the four commentaries that are the mostpsominem are those; on Habakkuk, Nahum, Isaiah (see ehapter 11)1 and. the Psalms. Let's briefly survey some of these important. documents ..


A SUR'VE'Y OF rss SCROUS 9]

The CommeTltary on Haoakkzlk

The longest. bes; preserved, and. first pesher to be: published was the Pesher Habakkuk (lQH'(lb)!,. This commentary expounds the first: two chapters otHabakkukverse by verse, reading contemporary events into the prophecies and making reference to three main figures in the Sect's history. These figures are described only by their e;pitbets as "the Teacher ofRi.,ghtfollls.n!esst:! (based.on Hosea 10.: l2; Joel 2:.23h the prophetic leader of the community (lQpHab 2;7~·10;, 5!]ll~·l2~ 7:4~S)" "the Man, of Lies" (based on Micah 2: II). a renegade student of the Teacher who formed his owngroup (po8sjb~y Pharisaieal.cf 4QpNah 34 j i 2) in opposltlon to the Sect (lQpHab 2:1~3~ S:9-14~ lO:9-13).! and the "Wicked Priest," a pdesUy and political adversary of the Teacher (J QpHabl : ], 2~ 15~ ll:4-- 8) who corrupted his office (8: 8- ~. 3; 9: 8-,12.; 1 .~ : 12-16; 12: 1 O)~ de,'Hled the Temple (~. 2 :2- IO), and persecuted the Teacher (] 1 :$,1) ,. The events surrounding the 'Ieacher were taken to pre;sagc; the eschatological era and the, End of Days (1 QpHab 7': 7- l 4). Tile commentary reveals thalt the Sect believed that the wicked followers of~"theM,an of Lies" and UtheWicked Priest" would be jmminenUy judged and their own members duly rewarded (lQp.Hab 8:2~ I.O:3~12;:l4~ 13:3), In. their present-day l.nte.rpreration of tile mdlle.ss Babylonian invaders of Habakkuk 1 :6-l O~ who were sent by Ood. as: a punishment for Israel's departure from the Torah, they appa:r .. ently sa.w the Roman army as the final rod of God's wrath against their enemies ( 1 "JpRab 6,: 1- ~. 2.; cf, 4QpNah 3-4 1 . ..3) .. These, whom they called. the Kittim, like their counterparts in Habakkuk, would also be destroyed for theirarrogance against God's people (Habakkuk ~.: 11).

The Commentary o.n Nahum

The Pesher Nahum (4Qp:Nah) isa commentary on the biblical. book of Nahum .. It takes N'aJmm '5 oracle against the; Assyrian capital of Nine-veh as ,its basis for directing its own vindictives against agreup (based on Isaiah 30: UJ) that is cryptically and literally referred [0 as, "the seekers of smooth things?' 1(4QpNah 3-4 1.7} .. '1'I1:i5 group bas boon thought to be identified with the.Pharisees, whom the Qumran Sect regarded as traitors to thenue Israel by "leading Ephraim asU'ayw:ith false teaching' (4QpNah 34 2.8). This eommentaryalso has the distinction of beiagthe first to recoed historical names such as, "De:melrilils King of Greece" (that. is:~me Seteuctd

rule r 1"\ • .., -- t~ - I' ]JlI"Ei-' k ::'-,-1-,'" ~4- -'Q_ ·-H-:a:., "3-4 '1· '"I.') wh .. , r ._ - i ted +~" ds

~ie~ ueme'U.,IUS' ,II. ,. u ems - " p, au. _._ .. ..:;~ ~,,;O ~ecru_·,"e, 'luOUsallu_

of Jews, (especially Pharisees) against. the Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus in Jerusalem. Like the Pesher Habukkuk~il31su mentions, the:


92 SECRETS OF THBDEAD SEA SCROUS

Kiuim. who arc setin a hi storical context foUowing Demetrius. Antlochus IV Epiphanesand 1JJe: kings ofGr~t)e.(4Qp.Nah 3·-4,1.1·-4:)., This supplies additional veriflcation that the Qumranites identified the Kittim as the Romans, since the Roman Empire followedthe Seleucid Empire in the~~r domination of Jerusalem and Israel.

TAe' Commentarv an: the Psalms

'Fir

This commentary is designated as the Psalms Pesher (4QpPS'l,' also 4(2'171.173) because the fragments that, comprise it deal especially (thou.~n not exclusively) with Psshn 3,7 .. IIl thoPsalms.jhe general themes of the righteous versus the wicked were taken as code: wor-ds and given ,a, peshtr iaterpretation as "the Teacher ofRi.gh~eol!Jsness'· (here caned "the Priest") and ~be, Qumran commanlty versus their o:pponents::~~tbe 'Wlcked Priest," "the Man ofLI~estandtheir followers (4QpP s~ 1-1 (J l .. 26~2';ii 1.8; 3.15;. 4.:8). The cnmmentary supplies details about the sharp division between the Teacher and the Wkked Priest. a corurast that is ultimately seen as panof'the greater cosmic banle between the forces of good (God and His Messiah) and evil (8 elialand hi s wicked. spirits) {4Qp.Ps~ I ~·l 0 2.7 ~ ] 1 ).

Alongside (he ,e·. 'ontim .. C·. sPesha --,."-- .. 'a· re ..... lse th ~ Th:e"t<I'I":tl~ Pe.~~hari'~.

__ , ~ ~'.'~ ~ .. __ ~~~()n, _ .. 'lQUS' .• ,es. ~.rl,n ..... iI.4~~V~~"" = .• ~, . "'" ~ _ ~ .". _ .• L

These areall apocalypue jn natureand include Tbe Flori.legium, The Melch~i:zedek Text, The Co.nuuemaryolJ! Oenes:.l~·. and Messianic Testimonia (see chapter 12). Let's look attbe first thr-ee of these documents,

The Flo.riJegium

This pesh,er is comprised ofeschatological midrashim (designated 4Q 174) and is organized around passages quoted from. various biblical texts (Exodus t:5~ 17-18; '2 Samuel 7~ 10-14; 1 Chronicles, 17:9-l3;Psalm I : ~.;. 2: ~ ; Esaiafui 8.: 11;. [Eze-ti.el 37::23; Amos 9 :.11). The prim,aty texts in this cellecdenare 2: Samuel 7~ which concerns the D.a.vidlc Covenam, and Psalms I and 2! wh.ich deal with the contrast between theri,gbteous and the: Messianic War at the; ead of days. The Exodus 15: 17-1.8 passage, is used by the Qumrame commentator to clarify the ambiguous statement in 2 Samuel i: to that God would establisha place for Hispeople to dwell securely, This place ~s the Jerusalem Temple, which t~e~text describes in three separate histodcalphases (see chapter l I) .. Tile primary focus, however, IS, the eschatological last days, during which a permanent and undefiled sanctuary will be rebuilt under a restored Davidie dynasty (4Q174 L. ~ ... L3). The text also provides details about the eschatological enemies of Israel (BeHa~ and company), and the Inrerprerer of the Law


who Wfililld accompany another leader of the; cowm,unity (ptobab~y the;

D'!II~.,·jid' ·t"".. ··M·· · ...... ,rl:',jl'.li,'h· C. 'D'·· ·6·' ·'·7···· '7"~ 0)

'1.11,",',Ii, ~ I "'_', 1-.;I-..;J.;Ji,~G , .. , ' ~,- _' '_ 'i' ',', .' 'i,.il .0', .. ,'.

The Melc:h:izedtk Text

This pesher (designated IJQMetch> was apparently orIginaHy designed to commenr all ten j ubilees (1 Bnoch 9:3: 1-10; 90: 12-1 7); the only surviving section of this maauscnptralksabeut a tenth and esehatological jubilee. As with otherthematic pesharim", this textcombines many Bibb; passag:,esaround the m.yste;r.i.ous biblicat figure of Me~chjzedek, King of Salem, who blessed Abram. af~erthe Ba:td.e of the Kings (Genesis 14~ r7~20) and who figures preminensly in an eschatological] udgment ps,a:lm (Psalm 11 O~' .. Melchi~ede.llt ,is here pictured as, a supemamralbeing who win be present etthe final judgment. asa Uber~ ator (i.e., one who win forgive the sins) of the Sons of Light, as, a. judge: of the Hhdi,y ones of God" (probably "angels") according to Psalm 82: I,. and as an agent ofOod's judgments, who. with the elect angels wJU anend to the destruction ofSauln ('1 lQMelch 2.4"' 14). From this text we can see that Melehizedek held a prominent place, in their interpI1lltation of the: end time, That may implythatMelchizedek 'Was considered a central .fIgure in '0' t·l.,·-, er Jew rish clrcles.Th is rev ea ls thatthe N"'ol!w·· .... Testament autho 'r 0- ;f'

.I, Il~· :.' -~ _"", ~ , I ,', JI ' ,"!;i\i:lI;,- l J • J. ,;i,'] ! -~ 1Iir"' 1.-.1 'i .;RIL, ~,. H J!\r' J' ~" ,. ,iIJ,~~"7JiI"_ .. 'I I", ,_, !ll.l!1Il. --, _', - '._ ,' ..

Hebrews was compatible with the Jewishthinking of his time when he used Melehizedek as an illustration of an eternal priestly order to whi!c,b Chrisn belonged (Hebrews 7:1-8: 13; cf Psalm 110:4),

The Commentary on Genesis

Inthis recently published text, variously termed Pesheron Genesis, the .Patriarchal Blessings, and th,e Genesis Flaril'egium (designated 4'Q2:52J~ the author cites passages exchisively ffomGene.sis~ moving from. a I!engthy description of the .F.~ood (Genesis 6-8).. to (he·pumisbment of Ham's son Canaan (Genesis 9':2,O~29')" the early days of Abraham (Genesis I ~,-11). Sodaro and Gomerrah (GtHle~IS 18-'19)~ Reuben's offense (GenesIs 37), and Jacob's blessing of his l2 sons (Genesis 49). The composition does not follow the establlshedthemaric pesher pattern ofcoflected texts with commentary until it comes to the final section dealing with Jacob's blessing, which is interpreted in pesher style, This last section contalns some mteresting and explieij messianic statements connecting the "~Mesl:!'lah' of Rig'·~·ht'~o· usness" ·"(t·h· t ....... ID. avidie .~·yil'l'1S[y .•. · .(,utb. e Bran ... ' .... of

_ "_"_~ .. , __ .. ~., v"~ =_,~, __ :'" ~-I, .. , ,ILL'iV. ,_,.,,1, I, ,13'Wi , ... 1u",1IWi Y_, ~~«!'__"_~.' ,I, 1_ ... __ ~'!Ii.I __ Ii,''''\~'~ v""

David") and especially the mysterious [enn"'ShllQhH~oul11d in Genesis 4'9: 10 (fur more enthis, see chapter 13", .. '~4

Copyr'ghted rneleria'

94 SECRETS OF THE D.EAD SF.A SCRo.lJS

Ap'ocrypllal Texts

Works from the Apocrypha (i.e., thecolleetioa of books considered non-inspired, hence non-canonical by orthodox Jews and. Protestant Christians) have also been fOllJndamong the Dead Sea Scrolls, Their presence and variety has suggested to scholars that 'the; QIIJID_.ran [community may not haveaccepted the norlon of 3. fixed canon of Scripture, That some of these parabiblical books. seem to have also been consideredauthorite .. live has led some scholars to further conclude tha~ the Scrolls may represen ta. tran si tional stage of eanonieity. Dr. Shemary ahu Talmon explains ~

The possi.bUitynhat otherbooks [apQc;ty:pnalj had a. simj~a(i' standing [with thebiblical c-ocpus 1 should be we,igbe.d very carefuny. There is not Que DlbUcal beokjhat is~mal1y Aramaic, SOl [ would be rather retk~nt, in beJh~vin.g Enoch [in Aramaic] was considered [authori.tative], Jubilees is different because It is in Hebrew .. HIs put ah:nost on an equal rank with the book of Moses because; its calendarwas de,c,isiv,e [for rhe community]. There is another book that may havehad similar autilorin.y and tnaJt is the: book quo~ed as Seie.rha·Hage .. They ai.fached. tremendous importance t.oil. and .It must have been one their found!ation documents .. There is [therefore] tbep05sibility that. the collection of what. we; 'caU Ule books of the: Hebrew B~b],e wer-e not yet finaliz.ed. This also explains the [laeer] necessityof the rabbis to decide whalt. belongs and whal, doesn't belong. Qu.mram was sort of on the borderline."

Three of'theapecryphal texts have been identified as Tobit, Ben Sira (Ecic~,esias:ticus)~, and Baruch (only chapter 6:!~ The Letter of Jeremiah'). S ince these worksh ave .8. known history, we wH 1 not eomm eat on their conrents. Hi However •. one addiaonal apocryphal work was found, a psalm included within t he P satms Scroll ( J .l'QP;s: (jJ Since it appears. at theconelusion of the Qumran Psalter .i~, Is referred to as Psalm 151. AU of these apocryphal works (in,eluding the.extra psalm) were part of the Septuagint, which! as a pop'l/,dar version of tile Bible (especially during rhe hellenized Second Temple period), would have; been apart of the QllJmranite (:011 ection,


The Pseudepigrapha is a collecticn of texts in which the authorship is ascrIbed to 50m,e impOirtant: figureo.f hist:ory Of Ihera!t.u:re who did not write them. but who may appear as afigure in the work or whose name simply secures areadersbip. Thepseudepigrapha of the Dead Sea Scrolls isrepresented by severa] texts wen-known fr-om their versions in. other languagesand other texts that were previously unknown. Thefirsng;roup contains the Book a/Jubilees (4 (2'1 "'0, .2J 6, 219-22.1, .1 I Q 12J 3Q5!. 1 (2.18, 2Q2())~ the,BookoIEn()ch(4Q20J~2'(Jl2~ 204~207, 2J2), and the Testament of the Twelye Patriarchs (4Q2J3-2IS, 53~7-S48, 3QZ, I Q.2 J) . .A second group of previously unknown texts include the Words qfMo.ses (lQ22)~ Pseudo- Mos,es (1 Q29;· 4Q'374,,3]'6,' 4O,387 .. 39l)). Pseudo .. 'samuel (4Q160: 6Q9)~ P.seudo\~Jeumiah. (4Q'385&:. 38?')'t Pseudo-Ezekiel {4Q385 J. PseudoDaniel (4Q2:43,,245)', the Prayero/.Nabo.nidus (4Q2 4.2). Pseudo-Jubdees (4Q227), A.pocryph:on o/Joseph: l4Q3:72-373 ).,. Apocryph(m of David' (2Q22J~ The Book. QfOiants (4Q532J. the Testament o/Amrcmz; {4Q534~ 545 .. 548)J the Testament o/.Kohath f4Q542') .. the- Testament o/Nap.htuli (4Q215)~Ap'ocryph(),n of Joshua: (4 Q522)~ Hur andM.in;am (4 Q549" The Book af Noah (1 Q.l.9}J The Birth a/Noah: .(4Q534-.536),. and the Book oj.Mysteries (1 Q'27; 4Q299-3(1) .. These strange titles by famillar names are iodicaltive of the keen interest in and study of bibllcal texts duringrhe early part of tile Second Temple period, which was when these compositions were created, Theyreflecrjhe messianic. andeschatclogical developments of Judai sm(s) at thistime, and those selected by the Qumran communitymay ass ist us in understanding lhelr own. viewsmore precisely. Several of the texts, in each group require more extensive conslderatien because of their influence on. the Sect eruniquenessin content.

TJu! Book ofJubile.es

The Book olJlloilees (alsoknown as The LiUl,e Geml's.is) presents itself as an accouneto Moses during tbe 4() days spent 0'.1:1. Mount Sinai. H comes as a revelation from God mediated through the An.gel of the Presence. A total. of 16 copies of th.e book were found in several differeneceves (Caves 2.~ 3~ ~.1)~ but mostly in Ca.ve4f. Compared with Ole number of biblical manoscdpts discovered, it ranks as: one of (he most popular books of (he; Sect; its, popularity within the Qumran community is seen in its citadon as alegal authority in the Damascus Documen: .. It had a unique influence on the Sect th_ro~gh its promotion of a solar calendar and its exhortations,


96 SECRETS OF THE DRA.D SEll. SCROlLS

based on the lives of the patriarchs, for a disciplined lifestyle andproper ritual practice,

As a book wllha.:pocalyptic content (similar to thebiblical book of Daniel and pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch), the Book of Jubilee« also inflaenced the eschatological beliefs of the; community, Its speeia~ division oftime into jubilees andtheir weeks is reflected in the Sect's chronological and eschatological reekoning, Of gr-eat lmponanee to' scholars in this field was the. fact that all of these: copies were in Hebrew. It had been conjectured that. the original version of JubUees was in Hebrew, based upon the 1.896 discovery of the Cairo Damascus Documen: (o:£. CD 16.24). However, up untit the Hme that, the Scrolls were discovered, on~y copies in: Greek, Syriac, Latin, and. Ethiopic were known to have survived,

The' Book of Enoch.

Enoch was ofgreatinterest torhe Qumran Sectbecause be, like Mclchiz.cdek. earried an aifofrnystery and was a man so holy he was taken to heaven without dying (Genesis. 5:241). Lik-e the Book ()fJltbilees~the Book ojEnoch was :rcpre;sented by a. slgnfflcant number of copies (11) ttl Qumran (again, in Cave 41).. However, unlike Jubilees, which was wrinen in Hebrew, these Enoch fl"ag~nents were .in Aramaic. The completetext of Enoch is comprised offive separate div~si()ns~ or books, with a total of ·~08Icbapters,. but this text ispreserved on~y~n the Etniopic version, Mos.t of ~e; texts found at Qumran are merely of parts of three of these divisions (chapters, 83~l(7). and several others are: of pans ofa di vision called The Astronomical Book (cha:pters 7:2~82).Mlssing endr,ely (r-om this 001- lection of Enoch fragments is a.lily trace of a division known as the Similitudes of Enoch (chapters 37-'il).~ which describe a supernatural figurecalled • 'the senofman" who would panlcipase in the last: judgment. Critical New Testament scholars had long believed that the Gospel writers borrowed their concept for Jesus as the!'~son of man" from the Similitudes . . BIn th~svie;w was seriomdy challengedby theabsence of thismeterial in Qumran Enoch {while all. the other parts were pre senr), The implication is thar tbe Similitudes was a. later composuion, beyond the time of the Gospel writers, and therefore, not an influence for them (unless t as some scholarscounter, it came from a different strand of Judaism til an Qumran),

What Is equa11y significant jin Qumran Bnoch is that another division entitled The' BookofGi'anrs. a work wldeiyread in the Roman EmpIre and netpresent in other versions of Enoch, had a special influence on the Sect The contents of tful.~S work. focused on the account in Genesis 6 of the-


A SUR'vE:r OF'fIiE SCROLl.S 97

union of fallen angels (c.aned·~Nephihm'! and '~Watcil'-'rs~') with human

l·~·'" d·.· '. h . ·f: E~"··· .,,\~ , e , '. . h .... .] - ~.:II· . '. . f'

women \ line iaugmers 0 , l_:. ve: y-=-a uruon that mSU~I~ In a. race OJ gumts.,

In addition, I Enoch also advocates a so~ar calendar and has significant apocalyptic materlal,

Testament of the Twelve Ratria,rclis

The dneoftJds work istaken from its account of the ~.2 SOI1lS ofJacob~ who, liketheir father (Genesis 49) blessed each of their sons on their deathbed. While the complete, work appears in Greek, Armenian, Slavonic, Aramaic, and Hebrew, only SOUrDe document fragments havebeen fOlUnd at Qumran, These are claimed as the: Testament of Naphlali ,(40.215). the Testament a/Judah (3Q7; 4Q484. 538). the: Testament ,of Joseph (4Q539,t and the Testamem of Levi ( }'Q21; 4'Q213- J 4J If these sources contained much of the same material as the completed work~the~y bear witness to bothan ethical/legal and cosmelogieal/eschatolegical influence on the, Sect. BothLevi and Judah werecentral figures in 'the esehatology of the: Testaments, with Judah as kingand Levi asanolnted priest and Judah's superior. The rebuilding ofthe Temple in the end times is also a theme of these books, with t-he agent, of redemption cuming from both "Levi" and "Judah," These books also stressed obedience to the Law, butrm,e,ly did sowith reference to legal statutes from the Torah. The Testament ()!NQphtaU~ too, had a strong cosmological emphasis, stressiog that the natural order (law) was eqJui valent to the Law of Goo.

'The presence of these books of the Testament, even in source fonn~ atte-st to. the ex istence of this work as ,es5e~llt:ially Jewish .. 'The reason I say "essentially" is becausefora long time scholars had beHov~ that many of the passages in Ul.e Testatnent appeared to be Christian :in origin. The supposition was that the work was a Jewish .. Christian one, or that it had been amended (added to) by Christians, The QIJ:m:r.an disoovery,. however. has revealed ma,t the sources for the work are cle,ar~y pre-Christian (third cemury B.C.).

'sectarian DocumentS'

While .many 01 most of the, works considered upto this point, were not original products of the Qumran Sect, other primary or foundational doc .. , uments have been found that are thought, in manycases, to be unique, to the Sect, The bestknown of these works include ]ega~~ex.ts: The Damascus Document~ The CommunUy Rut'e (or Manual o/Disci'pUlle),Miqs(J1MaiaJeh

1.:.. "T' ... 1:' ('.S· . ,'. ''11' k·· ·f'· h . 'T' ... 'ah"') .' . . h ". ..... H'· ;1-

na-toran .... oome '¥Yord; or tneIora __ "~ poetic won, IIp texts: noaavo:


98 SECRETS OF THE DEAD SEA SCROUS

C"Thardlt:sgiving Hymns"), and eschatological texts such as The War Scroll. Among this latter groupare alsomeluded the Temple S,crolt and the Copper Scroll, since one or both may have been preducts of the Sect, as 'we 'U soon see. Let 'sfirstcensiderseveral of the foundational documents,

The' Damascus Documem

The Damascus Document (designated CD': Cairo Damascus, for the Cairo copy.~and by the sigla 4Q266~273,. SQI2, 6Q15 for the, Qumran copies), is also referred to as, the Damascus Covenant andthe Zadakile Fragmetus. 'The firstcopy of this text did not come f:rom the caves at Qumran, but from an old room of the Ezra Synagogue, where discarded manuscripts were stored in Cairo, Egypt The diseovery was wen befose any nerJou~n ente~redaca'le=-189'6 -- - and the discoverer of me docament was a Jewish scholar, Dr. Solomon Schechter (hiller president of the Jewish Theological Seminary).

No one knewexaesly where this text origina1ted • .a.hhougl~. many scholars suspected a Karaite source. The Damascus Dacumentl[self seems (0 imply that it may have been written for the Sect before it arrived ,at Qumran, when it was Uvingin towns ,and vHlas~swhere~hey would encounter nOI1- Jews. The mention of Damascus in the doeumeru, if taken lile.raJ[y~ may mean the document wasintendedforthe Sect when it went into exile In this Syrian dty. or if taken figurarively, of the ,eixile to Qumran. While some of the, legal statements made in tful.e document are at variance witli other sectarian legal texts, it is evident that it wasa primary source of ~egal guidance, especially inlawsgoverniag the Sabbath (the largest section), the purity of priests, entry into the communlty~and communal organization (in these last twoareas thereare significant variants),

The Manual o/Discipline

Tne'Manualo/Di:s:cipline I~Of Comnmnlty R.tde), designated IQS~ I:S consideredperhaps the most important of the foundational documents On a sense, a constitudonal document) for an understand.ing of the communal practices of the Qumran Sect. As one of the first seven Serolls found in Cave 1, it was published early and has had a long history of interpretadon .. Many scholars believe tbat the Teacher of'Righteousness was responsible for the: teaching recorded. in. 'the text, which primarily involves entrance into the community and regulations for community life and assembly (including penalties for violations) .. Two additional composttions found at Qumran serve asappendiees 1.0 me; complete text f lQS)


.A SURVEY OF THE SCROUS 99

and are distinguished asTI1,e Rule of the Cangr;egatlou (lQStJ) and The Rlileo/ B less.ing:s (J Q'S:' } .. 'These provideinsuuctions for the,"'Laner nays?'~ and the great "Messianic Banquet" scheduled for that period as wen as blessings upon the Sect's leadership.

Some Works of the Law

This work: is most commcnly referredto by its early siglum 4Q.,MMT (for the Hebrew ,Misqr:Jt'Ma 'aseh ha-Tbrah.! but il is also called the; HalakJJ:ic Letter and IS now designated 4Q39'4-399' (for Us SIX copies), A lot of speeulationarose in the: scholarly world because of its de1a:Y inpublication and the controversy engendered by lawsuits over privately published copies (see chapter 4). Since its fun publication by Professor Blisha Qimren, it has, continued to cause excitement among scholars.especially those with r,abbi·n,lc:a.ll~eg:a~ 'training, such as Dn Lawrenee Schiffman. Because the; text deals with the Iegal (religious) differences between the Sect and its opponents, Including "the Wk~led Priest," it may provide new

" . htsi h ,. in and k fh Q. . S· Al d' th

msrgnts Into the ongm an .. makeup 0_" LJe; 'umran '.:c, ect, __ ~rea_y~ on. ;- ie

basis, of this text, Dr, Schiffman has proposed. tha;~, tbe Sect representsa Sadducean mo vem ne nt (see c hapte r 'C:)

, ,', ' U·IId\r.i " ,', ,,' _ ' , . ""'" ,_ ' .', I,' I '_ ~"""" ' ,- I ,:" " ,J J'i

TheWa'r Scroll

Another 'Of (he original seven Scroll s from Cave 1 was the War Scroll (1 Q'M)~ and an additional :til x copies have, been recovered from Cave .4 (4Q491~497)..R is aneschatclogical textthat deals, as the name implies,

'.1..1:.. 4·0 b th ·8' I Li ht' d h _'S f

witn tue· .. 9. 'W'_'-~: - .. ..• ".- •..... I < ", .... .. •• • ••• " --'

-.I-I~-yel'r .. ar :e,twce,n t,l~; . om; o~ 19".t an L,e . _ons 0 '

Darkness:' Most. of what. is popularly known about th.e eschatology of the Sect has been drawn from a study of this document, which is rich in eschatological figures, ·BJ. theological survey ofthe cosmic war between good ("'Sons of Light") and ,evl] ("'Sons of Darkness") throughoilll human h~swryt and victorious hymns of praise. 'We win team more aboutthis Scroll in chapters '9 and 10.

Temple-Related Teas

Severed sectarian documents deal directly or ind irectly with the Temple.

Whllethese texts w:i~1 be, described in detail later (chapters ] 1-~,2), (hey

wIn be I']' sted here as part of 0' tr s "fve_-y. These ~."'V~S ·1' n clude th '7t.· .... ··1-

.. ' "., .. ~ ,~~ R., .PL., _1I! ..• ,Ii.L", _ ... ". ,~ .... , ... ~., .... , __ y,_""_ ~e"'p_e

Scroll (1 1 Q.l9J. the largest of an the SeroUs. which contains a aescriptiion ofa future Templeto be built in Jerusalem; th.e Copper,scroU (3Q1Sj~ made


100

SE· '''''R·Pl"C' ·O.'F···· c'7Tl';r:" D rAf) .. S'!:"'A S·C·R'O·· ."1,,"'

___:'_'~'_""~.I~ '~' _ In,,;;,, _,- C/1,,~, , __ ~ 1-'.,1 _ ~ .' ' ,LL,.,l'

up of copper sheets that list [Temple] treasures buried in various places, and. The New Jerusalem (4(2554-555; 5(215), a recently published apocalyptic text based on Ezekiel's vision of the Temple of the last days (Bzelbel 40--48). There are addidonaltexts related to lfiJ.e Temple, such as The WW,$ a/the Red Heifer(4Q276~277J~ The MessianicLeader(4Q28S)"TheAngels: ofMastemozh and rite Rule of Belial (4Q290),and the Joshua Apocryphon (4Q522). which include scattered statements 01[' allusions ~othe Temple.

Among the sectarian Scrolls there are numerous fragments that mention a messianic figure and are fherefere referred to as messianic texts (see chapters 10 and II)., Olderpublished documents such as the Community Rule (McJlmal of Discipline)t the War Scroll, the, Pesher Habakkuk~ Mel,chi4edek~andothe:rs contain messianic" references.and have served es principal sources forreeenstructingthe messianic concepts of the community. The: newlyreleasedtexts of Cave 4 have yielded a. signlflcant number of'messlanic texts, a. listiag of which would Include: The Messianic Apoca.lypse ,(4(2.521). The SOft a/God (4Q246}t Serekh MUhamah ('~The Rule of War') or TheMessianicl..eader (4Q285 J. The Se11!antsofDark.nesJ (4Q47l). The Birth oJNoah (41Q534~536J. Th:eWords of M,ichad (4Q529)'~Tlie .Nelr Jerusal,em (4Q554}t.A Genesis Ftoriltgium (4Q'252), and The Tree ,ofEv.ll (4Q458)..

Calendrical Texts"

One of the most unique features ofthe Dead Sea Scroll Sect was their use of a. calendar different from what was used by the; rest of Judaism. Among the Scrolls are fragmentary calendrical texts that describe the intricate method of the Sect's ri.tua'~ calculations.The foremost expert on th D ....... Iendrical text is.Dr SC·h··· em a 'l"'Vgllb·~·'1 Ta ]. men ·W· hodeserib ""tI!. the ~o!>rr~''ii':n

J. J¥' ~I" •• "". ' . '" ,.1, '. , ..... ,nJ .. ila' I .,', ';to • - I iIir', IIlla,,/ ~ IL ,Y Ii I, I ,!VI "1i ' .",', :~-~"., J,-_'IW'i;]! .I~w IJ~"~'.r.I!hl"""

and importance of these special texts:

We have now remnants of at least, ten or more calendrical documents .. This in itself is important because in compartsoa with the number of copies we have of other books, this repre .. senrs 3. signifieant usage by thecom.munit y. itshow,$ immediately that we are deaUng with an impenanrissuc.When we consider any of nne foundation Scrolls, such as the: Zadokite Fra:gmentst the Rule a/tile Con.gregadoll." the. Temple S:crol'l~ and


so on,cvery sh'lsie one, will deal with 'the c~dendM'. [The Qumraa calendar] has tremendous advantages compared with the Jewish calendar of .364 days, [This is because in the, Jewish calendar] the 364 days are divided. equaUy into four quarters of 91 days .. Each one divides easily Into 13 weeks, Therefore.jhe first day of the firstt fuurtb, se.v,enlh,an.d t.enth monthsall fa.n within 'the same day of the week. [By contrast] in their ct'd.endar (of354! days] the first of lJhe year is always a, Wedne:sday~ the fourth day of the week. This is very clever because on that: day God created thetwo . lumina 'r;'<'l.~Wil~'t·OIO·l' them ~"h" ere's 1[1 .... ['d":·'l,v' and nigh ~.

11'-'" ~ '.' '_' .. I.J .... 1,,",,.:1,.. .~in,. __ , ,'J. _,I,U, II,"J' "" __ i') ~~v .'-~,.1 '-' __ ",,=,_>,_II;,t

th'~,--; -:..f' tenol cal -f;11- - A .---:.. :--:".c, is comnleted .tb- ,e net vear

_ .:eFet,oreUQjI _ .he,[lyaT •. ' d$ one year L ,_mp~_ Ii __ .,. _ , __ x.' y_ "f

begins again on a Wednesday. Every qaarter begins on a .. Wednesday of the next year. If tnati s the case;. then ,eve~ry fif~ teenth oftbe month is a.Wed.nesday .. Now majorJewl.sh festivals are on lhefifteenth of the month. For this reason they are all on a Wednesday and t11.ey don't have the [s,amelpfOb~em. Jewshave today with having to figun;~ out onwhtch day of the week Passover wUl fall, Because they had no problem with this. a good deal of the bibli~call.ltic;lfature deal i ng with calendrical queo.;~th)ns~ as wen ;QS Jewish concerns, such as the observatlon of the new moon.are obsolete fOIf them .• ,'

'The most rece:nt~y published calendrical texts include. 1,8. fragments (4Q319 .. 330, 337)1. Some of the more fragmentary and complex texts from Cave 4- arepresently being assembled and prepared for translation and publication by Professor Talmen (seephoto section).

This survey has given us an idea of t~eex tensive namreaed variely of the Dead Sea. Scrolls. Such an awareness prepares us toappreciate the demands on the scholars w:ho have labored andarelaboring to make these texts available to the, world,

Having SliJfVICYOO these dceuments from rhe Dead Sea region, some reeders may wonder whether they have any relevance IQ their more familiar world of the Bible. In the next two chapters, wet n see if these=unknown" textsrelate 10 the well-knowntextof Scripture, And before we do SO~ we'll look at the orip'. 1m ofth !-:.. ... -:..: writin .',-. -,0, and c - nslder th edeba t.-::. th '-1 h 'a-'-:" -ru. ,1[lI·,o;od· •

.. ' .... , ,_,' ~~'~ ... _~J:~",e ¥'!'u ngs an, _ CO"~ ~l.1Ie,~ __ e ueu ., I.e __ a._s e . '.t"~,-

overtheirauth1orship.


5

::_£& -&aut

11 5·,

_

',. ,-:::_ _ .. ~.- •• " -, - _ '! ~- '., .' ~ - • '-, •. -- ••.• - -, ---'.,

_ HE ,~~~ CRI5ES OF

TH-F S- - -c- _~ D'lO- "L' ·LSi c:

: _ L, ---...' J'-!'_' _-___'

We are workJng 1:00 oft-en wUh misleading viewscmd I hope. and I trust. that in thie years tocome we will refine our criteria at all l:ev,-els in order to be able to come closer to the truth wl1tlz fega:rd 10 I,he .background ojthese texts. I

Emanue-] ToV', Edhar-in-'Ch~e-f~ Dead Sea. Scrolls ,Ed~tQrial Team

The story of the Dead Sea SC:fOUS often reads like a.mystery, and now that we've bad the opponl22unUy to survey the Scrolls, we may fee] thery ave mose mysterious than we ever expected, And the mystery only deepens when, we; attempt: tofindout who wrote these texts, As, Professor Shemaryahu Talmon C)bserve:s~'~After 45 years of research, and in s:pi~e of tne tremendous, new discoverles, the basic problems haven't changed and the bask answers haven't cbanged.;"~~

While theanswers have nOlchanged,tbeyhave pronfe;ratoo~, and today we are" faced with more conflicting: theories than ever before. We might

103

Copyr·ghted materia'

104 SECRETS OF tns ,DEAD SEA SCROUS

ask, H.If the scholars can't figare out or agree on who wrote: them, why should I bother?" 'Yet we face the same problem when we come to an dec: .. tion year, Cand idates who vie for the semepolitical position all speak with conflicting opinions, aboul the most basic issues. We listen to' their arguments, whiehareoften moderated by political analysts or constitutiona] scholars who have just as many contrary views. 11\1, the end we ,may shake our head and saYt ~~Why bother?" as semepeople, unfortunate~y, choose to do, Bur if we're eagerto do what is best, despite ourlack of certainty or understanding of a candidate and his position on the issues" we will go out and vote. Ofcourse, when we discuss the authorship ofthe serons there; is no need to cast a. vote, but merely 'to study fhe candidates (the; various theones), In doing 80 we will have educated ourselves on me Issues and w illat least be in a posaionto appreciate the dehase, Before we move on, however, there, are two preliminary questions that we must address, First. what Scrolls are under debate? And second. wharare sects, one of which is said. to have beenresponsible for w.riti.ng: the" Scrolls?

The Debate Over Au.thorsbip

The Dead Sea Scrolls represent several types ofjexts: those: that were copies 'of the Old Testament.those that were copies ofpreviou.sly known extrabihlical books (apocryphal and pseudepigr.aphal),. and those that were; previously unknown books .. It is this last. ca:tego.ry of texts tbat are III the debate over authorship, While the Old Testamc;nt andpreviously known extrabiblical texts may have been copied by the scribes at Qumran, thelr origin lies outside the community end iamany cases these texta were most likely imported to it. By contrast, the prev[ous[y unknown extrablblk;~:d texts are, for the most part, texts thatare believed~o have been produced within the communityand by the Sect. That's why they are known as "sectariaa'ttexts, Since this term wHI be used to refer to both the Dea.d Sea. community and other religious; groups ofthal day, let's take a moment, to understand Its meaning and usage,

The Dead Sea Sect

As we consider the authorship of the Scrolls we win be referring 'to

- -

various groups as ~'secls}~We have already used thi s wordIn reference

to the Qumran or Dead Sea Sect, but it Isa term.equaUy applicable to any and all of the groups that existed in tnat time period, Religious soeiolcgists have; often found it difficult to give a. definitive definition of a sect


THE SCR'IB'ES OF THE SCROllS lOS:

because the dissidence of a. group, cotdd also classify it as amovement, a school, a, party, at ,a, fact:ion., However, certain separatist grnups do have aeharacteristic that can helpusto identifythem uniquelyesavsecs," Accerding to Second Temple period historian Joseph Blenkinsopp th.i:s is a minority statesthat nm only opposesthe norms acceptedbytheparentbody but also exdusively claims its status or position. In addition, most sects nave, at some point in their formative development, the entrance of

- -

a charismatic leader (usually at a time ofpolnical, cultural, or soda] d,ls-

odentadon) who. wields a directional influence all: an opportune moment;3 In religious studies the term sect can have negative connotations when used to speak of a group that has left a mainstream religion. For many Christians t.he term is used interchangeably with ctdt. However, in historical st'lildies~ and particularly studies of the Second Templeperiod, an groups or parties, regardless of size or importance, are referred tiD as, sects (including: Christians). This is, because (as we"]! see in chapter 6) there was no normative, but only a. transitional" Judaism during this period.

The .1issen,eThe,o,ry'

The majorIty theory today~, generally accepted as pwv'en fact by most scholars since the pubHmnion of the Cave 1 Scrolls <.] 9155". is the Essene Theory. Dr; Magen Broshi exernplijiesmost Qumran scholars when he emphatically states as his convictions:

There is hanUy an.ything in the 800 manuscripts whichagrees with their rivals or enemies of theperiod. Nothing Pharisee. Absolutely nothing .. N'otbing Sadducee, Absolute.ly nothing. I[,On the other hand] there is nothin.g that does :not agree with the spirit

of the Bssenes,' .

So nrm~.yeiltlienched is this theory in most modern discussions of tbe Scrolls that for many writers the Sect is automaticalfy spoken of asthe "Qumran Bssenes" and the Scrolls as "Essenicliterarure,"

Aocording to the classical writers Josephusand Pliny, and perhaps Philo~' the Essenes were a group that exh~bit,ed unique piety and a dis~ tinetive theologicalperspective, However, despite the fac,t that scholarly conseasus identifies the Qum..ranit:es as the Essenes, we do not know who the Bssenes were .. The meaning of their Greek name Bsseno! Qf Bssaioii« still uncertain, although a recent. thoo,£), argues that tn.ey betrowed their name from a sect in Asia M:irnor that was devoted to the cul~ of Artemis and whose appearanceand practices were 81m nat to theh own ..Philo.

Copyr·ghted materia'

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﻿Scriphrure qlJot@!tiQilits tn this bOQk are taken from the New Amerj~an Standrud Bihle, 01960. ~962,.

1963, 1'968" l'Stn,.1972. 1'913,.~97:5!i9r77 by The Locl~anaHFol,]fl!datioT! .. Used by pc'rmission.

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Scriphrure qlJot@!tiQilits tn this bOQk are taken from the New Amerj~an Standrud Bihle, 01960. ~962,.