Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd was looking for a lost goat, and went into a cave at Qumran, just outside of Jerusalem, and found some old, sealed jars containing leather bound rolls. Inside were old scrolls. One jar he sold to his friend the cobbler for a pair of sandals! When others heard they contained ancient texts, they went searching and found 400 more rolls hidden in caves nearby. Until the discovery of these 2000 year Old Testament scrolls, the oldest texts were 1000 years more recent. They show that the text remained true to the more ancient versions. 


These scrolls were written by the religious community at Qumran on the edge of the Dead Sea.  As the Romans marched into the area in 68AD, these precious texts were hidden for safe keeping. These are the oldest written works of the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible, especially of interest is the oldest known 10 Commandments. They were written during the period from the third century BC to one hundred years AD. Written on Aramaic, Hebrew and Ancient Greek, they are religious scripts on parchment and secular writing on papyrus. 

They describe the community's early revolutionary leader, the Teacher of Righteousness and the community members were called 'Sons of Light'. Those who opposed his teaching were called the 'Sons of Darkness'. The contrast between good and evil was clear. 

The rolls were collectively described as the Dead Sea Scrolls and for decades, they were kept in secret by the Roman Catholic Church. One of the scrolls is engraved on copper and describes 60 locations of hidden treasure in the area around the Jordanian desert. Now the Vatican has released the material and it is available to view at the Israel Antiquities Department. Are there more to be found?

Article: Wendy Stokes  https://wendystokes.co.uk