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Biblical Scrolls

GENESISGENESIS4Q GenesisDate: 100–1 bce, Late Hasmonean Period Language: Hebrew

Among the oldest known copies of Genesis, thefragment of the Scroll shown here contains thedescription of the first three days of the creation ofthe world.

“In the beginning God created theheavens and the earth. And the earth wasformless and void; and darkness was uponthe face of the deep; And the spirit of Godmoved upon the face of the waters.”

— G E N E S I S 1 : 1 – 2

THE TENTHE TENCOMMANDMENTSCOMMANDMENTS4Q Deuteronomy

The discovery of the first Dead Sea Scrolls in a remote Judean Desert cave in 1947 is widelyconsidered the greatest archaeological event of the twentieth century. Bedouin treasurehunters and archaeologists ultimately found the remains of hundreds of ancient scrolls. Thesefragile pieces of parchment and papyrus, including the oldest existing copies of the HebrewBible, were preserved for two thousand years by the hot, dry desert climate and the darknessof the caves where they were placed. The scrolls provide an unprecedented picture of thediverse religious beliefs of ancient Judaism, and of daily life during the turbulent SecondTemple period when Jesus lived and preached.

Fragments of every book of the Hebrew Bible (except the Book ofEsther) were found in the Qumran caves, the most famous of theDead Sea Scrolls sites. Remarkably, some of these ancient copiesare identical to the traditional text of the Hebrew Bible that is

used today. Other copies preserve differences in the text, which was in the process ofstandardisation.

Featured Scrolls

genesis

the tencommandments

psalms

paleoleviticus

tefillin

minor prophets

community rule

enoch

apocryphon of daniel

the book of war

legal papyrus

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“I am the Lord your God who took you out of the Land of Egyptout of the house of bondage. You are to have no other gods butme.”

— D E U T E R O N O M Y 5 : 6 - 7

Date: 30–1 bce,Herodian Period Language: Hebrew

This small scroll preservesone of the earliest knowncopies of the “TenCommandments” (theDecalogue), a central dogmain Judaism and Christianity,and the majestic descriptionof their divine revelation atMount Sinai.

PSALMS SCROLLPSALMS SCROLL11Q PsalmsDate: 1–68 ce, Herodian Period Language: Hebrew

“How good andpleasant it is whenGod’s people livetogether in unity”— PSALMS 133:1

This book of Psalms is one ofthe best preserved biblicalscrolls, containing 48 psalms,including 7 that are not foundin the standard Masoreticversion of the Bible. Anadditional prose passageprovides one of the mostancient references to KingDavid as the composer of thebook of Psalms: “and David,the son of Jesse, was wise, anda light like the light of thesun... And he wrote 3,600psalms.” Psalm 133, shownhere, praises peace andtogetherness.

PALEOLEVITICUSPALEOLEVITICUS11Q paleoLeviticusDate: 1–50 ce, Herodian PeriodLanguage: Hebrew

This copy of the book of Leviticus is written in theancient Hebrew script used in First Temple times.The fragment shown here deals with theprohibition against the ancient cultic practice ofsacrificing children to the Semitic god Molech, andthe punishments for violating this ban.

TEFILLINTEFILLIN4Q Phylactery HDate: 200 bce – 50 ce,

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Hellenistic-Roman PeriodLanguage: Hebrew

The tefillin (“phylacteries”)found in the Qumran cavesare the earliest knownexamples of these ritualobjects—leather capsulescontaining scrolls withexcerpts of biblical texts.Modern versions of theseartifacts are still producedand used today.

Right: Tefillin capsules fromQumran Cave 4. Dimensions: ~ 1×2 cmPhoto by: Clara Amit

MINOR PROPHETS SCROLLMINOR PROPHETS SCROLL8Hev Twelve Minor ProphetsDate: 50–1 bce, Herodian PeriodLanguage: Greek

The “Twelve Minor Prophets” scrolls from the Judean Desertoffer early evidence for the compilation of these shortprophetic books into a single literary work. This particularfragment, from a Greek translation of the Minor Prophetsdiscovered in the Cave of Horror at Nahal Hever, contains aprophecy of Micah about the End of Days and the rise of aruler out of Bethlehem.

Non-Biblical Scrolls

COMMUNITY RULECOMMUNITY RULE4Q Serekh ha-YahadDate: 50–25 bce, Herodian PeriodLanguage: Hebrew

The Community Rule contains laws and rules meant formembers of a group termed the “Yahad”, or “Community.”The regulations offer insights into the religious and sociallives of this group, which some scholars have identified withthe Essenes, a Jewish sect at the time of the Second Temple.This selected text describes the structure of leadership

Non-biblical texts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls offer usa tantalizing glimpse of life during the Second Temple period andthe opportunity to understand the attitudes, desires andaspirations of the people of that time. Most of the scrolls from the

Qumran caves are religious writings from the Second Temple period. Some of these reflect thelife and philosophy of a distinctive group that called itself the “Yahad” (“Community”). At othersites, the major finds were administrative and personal documents dating from thecatastrophic Judean revolt against Rome in 132–135 ce.

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within this hierarchical, priestly society.

ENOCHENOCH4Q EnochDate: 150–50 bce,Hasmonean PeriodLanguage: Aramaic

The book of Enoch was notincluded in the canon of theHebrew Bible. It tells ofEnoch, the great-grandfatherof Noah, who lived for 365years and “walked with God”.The displayed fragmentdescribes the heavenly revoltof the fallen angels, and theirdescent to earth to cohabitwith the daughters of men andto reveal secret knowledge tomankind, a story hinted at inGen. 6:1-4.

APOCRYPHON OF DANIELAPOCRYPHON OF DANIEL4Q Apocryphon of DanielDate: 50–1 bce, Herodian PeriodLanguage: Aramaic

The Dead Sea Scrolls contain extensive apocalypticliterature relating to the final messianic battle atthe End of Days. The Aramaic Apocryphon ofDaniel describes either a messianic figure or aboastful ruler that will arise as “Son of God” or“Son of the Most High”, like the apocalypticredeemer in the biblical book of Daniel. The textcalls to mind the New Testament proclamation ofthe angel Gabriel concerning the new-born Jesus:“He will be great, and will be called the Son of theMost High… ” (Luke 1:32)

THE BOOK OF WARTHE BOOK OF WAR11Q Sefer ha-MilhamahDate: 20–50 ce, Herodian PeriodLanguage: Hebrew

The Book of War details an apocalyptic 40-yearbattle between the forces of good and evil. Thisfragment preserves a blessing to be recited by theleader of the surviving community upon theirvictory in the final battle, at the end of time: “God

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Most High will bless you and shine his face uponyou, and he will open for you his rich storehouse inthe heavens.” God and his holy angels will bestowabundance and fertility upon the holycongregation, and protect them from plagues andwild animals.

LEGAL PAPYRUSLEGAL PAPYRUSP. Yadin 44Date: Autumn 134 ceRoman PeriodLanguage: Hebrew

70 years after the destruction ofthe Second Temple in Jerusalem, acharismatic leader known asShimon Bar Kokhba arose to lead aband of rebels intent on regainingJewish autonomy. Documents fromthe Bar Kokhba caves are evidenceof this tumultuous revolt in 132-135ce. They consist of administrative,legal, and personal records, such asthe papyrus shown here, as well assome religious texts, that tellstories of the daily lives of soldiersand of refugees seeking havenduring the turmoil.

Top: Silver tetradrachm from theTe'omim Cave, 134–135 ceInscription on Rev. “For theFreedom of Jerusalem”.

Left: A leather sandal from the Caveof Letters, Nahal Hever, Romanperiod.

The ArchiveAs part of the conservation efforts to preserve the Scrolls forfuture generations, the IAA has initiated the Leon Levy Dead SeaScrolls digitization project. Using the most advanced andinnovative imaging technology, each Scroll fragment is imaged in

various wavelengths and in the highest resolution possible then uploaded to the DigitalLibrary. For the first time ever, the Dead Sea Scrolls archive is becoming available to the publiconline.

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