Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a young shepherd of the Ta’amireh tribe was looking for a lost sheep when he came upon a cave in Qumran near the Dead Sea. What he would find inside of this cave would change the way scholars look at Judaism and early Christianity forever. An unusual finding, he saw clay jars containing old scrolls inside of the cave. The shepherd did not know the true value of these scrolls until much later, but he gathered the seven scrolls up and sold them to antiques dealers in Bethlehem. This accidental discovery is now called “the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century” (McGregor-Woods). After changing hands, and much debate about who their true owner was, the scrolls were eventually reunited at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem …show more content…
Eventually the multiple sects of Judaism were united under canon law that developed later on, but Christianity was an exception to this. The Dead Sea Scrolls give the world a glimpse into the scriptures, beliefs, and way of life from thousands of years ago during the formation of the largest religion in our world today. The biblical portion of the scrolls consists of about two hundred and thirty pieces and contains every book from the Hebrew Bible, except the book of Esther that may have been lost over time. The Israel Antiquities Authority states that, “the Qumran Scrolls are over a thousand years older than previously identified biblical manuscripts,” which is significant because it can give scholars an idea of the similarity between scripture that would be around in the time of Jesus and what is around now. Knowing that the Old Testament of Jesus’s time is consistent with the one read today is helpful in determining how genuine the modern Bible is. It is also important for understanding the writings of the early Christians since they could be modeled from scripture available to them. In addition, the scrolls are important for understanding the ancient views of God, the apocalypse, and prophecy. According to experts from the IAA, the contents of the Apocryphon of Daniel refer to a coming “Son of God,” meaning that New Testament writers and early believers in Jesus could have been influenced by the same prophecy described in the scroll and therefore ascribed that title to Jesus (Israel). Experts like James VanderKam believe that the New Testament writers may have never had any contact with the information written in the earlier scrolls, but both sets of writers may have had a common outlook on writing regarding religion, which could account for the similarities (Sauter). Although the Dead Sea