DiscoverScroll article

The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), in the narrow sense identical with the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish biblical manuscripts from the Second Temple period.

They were discovered over a period of ten years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the various Jewish and Christian biblical canons, including deuterocanonical manuscripts from late Second Temple Judaism, as well as extrabiblical books. In the wider sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls also include similar findings from elsewhere in the Judaean Desert, and are sometimes called Judaean Desert scrolls. Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area – most have been published, together with the details of their discovery, in the 40-volume Discoveries in the Judaean Desert. The caves are located about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) west of the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, whence the scrolls derive their name. Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect known as the Essenes, although some recent interpretations have challenged this connection and argue that priests in Jerusalem or other unknown Jewish groups wrote the scrolls. Though scholarly consensus dates the Dead Sea Scrolls to between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, there are Arabic manuscripts from associated Judaean Desert sites that are dated between the 8th and 10th century CE.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a series of 12 caves around the site originally known as Ein Feshkha near the Dead Sea in the West Bank (then controlled by Jordan) between 1946 and 1956 by Bedouin shepherds and a team of archaeologists.

The cave eventually yielded 300 fragments from 33 manuscripts of Dead Sea Scrolls, including fragments of Jubilees and the Wisdom of Sirach written in Hebrew.

Wadi Qumran Cave 11 was discovered in 1956 and yielded 21 texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which were quite lengthy.

There has been much debate about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were written on parchment made of processed animal hide known as vellum (approximately 85.5–90.5% of the scrolls), papyrus (estimated at 8–13% of the scrolls), and sheets of bronze composed of about 99% copper and 1% tin (approximately 1.5% of the scrolls).

The Dead Sea Scrolls that were found were originally preserved by the arid conditions present within the Qumran area adjoining the Dead Sea.

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Hebrew-language manuscripts of the Bible were Masoretic texts dating to the 10th century CE, such as the Aleppo Codex. The Hebrew biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls push that date back more than a millennium, to the 2nd century BCE. According to The Dead Sea Scrolls by Hebrew scholar Millar Burrows

Listed below are the most represented books, along with the Jewish deuterocanonicals, of the Hebrew Bible found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the number of translatable Dead Sea texts that represent a copy of scripture from each biblical book:

Shanks was brought before the Israeli District court by scholar Elisha Qimron against Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeology Society for violations of United States copyright law regarding his publishing of reconstructions of Dead Sea Scroll texts done by Qimron in A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were included without his permission.

Israel Museum, Jerusalem: Shrine of the Book – Dead Sea Scrolls

Quick Facts

• In the wider sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls also include similar findings from elsewhere in the Judaean Desert, and are sometimes called Judaean Desert scrolls.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls that were found were originally preserved by the arid conditions present within the Qumran area adjoining the Dead Sea.
• Though scholarly consensus dates the Dead Sea Scrolls to between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, there are Arabic manuscripts from associated Judaean Desert sites that are dated between the 8th and 10th century CE.
• Listed below are the most represented books, along with the Jewish deuterocanonicals, of the Hebrew Bible found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the number of translatable Dead Sea texts that represent a copy of scripture from each biblical book:
• Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area – most have been published, together with the details of their discovery, in the 40-volume Discoveries in the Judaean Desert.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Dead Sea Scrolls". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.