Scrolls
from the Judean Desert
June 29–December 31
San Diego Natural History Museum
Introduction
►
DSS provide vital information:
● Judaism (300 B.C.–A.D. 135)
● Text of the Old Testament
Discovered 1947-48
► Publication of finds took
over 50 years.
►
Muhammad ed Dhib
(“The Wolf”)
Scrolls & Fragments
►
3 Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek
Scrolls & Fragments
3 Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek
► 9 Sites: Qumran, Masada, Nahial Hiever,
►
Wadi Murabba‘at
Ancient scrolls in
jars near Jericho
(3rd and 8th
centuries A.D.)
Essene community;
11 nearby caves
Jewish suicide pact
in the face of the
Roman army
Sites of
Manuscript
Discoveries
around the
Dead Sea
214+
Copper (Treasure) Scroll
Psalms Scroll and
Temple Scroll
Amos, Damascus
Document
Isaiah Scrolls,
Habakkuk Commentary,
“Rules” Scroll, War
Scroll, Thanksgiving
Hymns
Qumran
Caves
Song of Songs
Greek Texts Only
140 Biblical Scrolls
Scrolls & Fragments
3 Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek
► 9 Sites: Qumran, Masada, Nahial
Hiever, Wadi Murabba‘at
►
►
900 different texts
Secular
Sectarian
Biblical
Scrolls & Fragments
3 Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic,
Greek
► 9 Sites: Qumran, Masada, Nahial
Hiever, Wadi Murabba‘at
►
►
900 different texts
►
Thousands of fragments
1Q22 (1QDM) The Words of Moses
Qumran Scrolls
•
•
•
•
•
•
Psalms
Deuteronomy
Isaiah
Genesis
Esther absent
Nehemiah?
36
30
21
19
Qumran Pentateuch Scrolls
•
•
•
•
•
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
19
17
13
7
30
Hebrew Scripts
►
Paleo-Hebrew Script = Phoenician
►
Jewish Script = Square Script = Aramaic
hwhy
h w h y
1QpHab
rvp
“The interpretation of the passage is that God will not
destroy his people by the hand of the nations, but into
the hand of his chosen ones God will give the judgment
of all the nations. …”
Habakkuk Commentary from Qumran Cave 1
Verse by Verse Commentary
Habakkuk 1-2
Great Isaiah Scroll
Longest of the DSS scrolls
► Full text of Isaiah
►
col. liv col. liii
1QIsa
Qumran
manuscripts spell
daom. as: dam,
^yl,[' = hkyl[
`dao)m. Hb;Þg"w> aF'²nIw> ~Wrôy" yDI_b.[;
1QIsa col. xliv
hdam, dwam,
hdawm, and hdwm
1st Isaiah
scroll found
in Qumran
Cave 1
St. Mark’s
Monastery
Isaiah Scroll
Isaiah
52:13-54:4
hb'v.n"å hw"ßhy> x:Wrï yKi² #yciê lbe(n"å
‘rycix' vbeÛy"
#yci_ lbe(n"å ryciÞx' vbeîy" `~['(h' ryciÞx'
a (Isaiah
AB+40:6-20)
s `~l'(A[l. ~Wqïy" WnyheÞl{a/1QIs!kEïa'
rb;d>W
Types of Differences Between
1QIsb and Codex Leningrad B19A
Orthography
Addition of conjunctive waw
Lack of conjunctive waw
Article (addition/omission)
Differences in consonants
Missing letters
Differences in number
Differences in pronouns
Different grammatical forms
Different prepositions
Different words
Omission of words
Addition of words
Different sequence
107
16
13
4
10
5
14
6
24
9
11
5
6
4
Examples of Differences
►
Isaiah 6:3
● MT: “holy, holy, holy”; Q: “holy, holy”
►
Isaiah 12:4
● MT: “you (pl.) will say”; Q: “you (sing.) …”
►
Isaiah 37:25
● MT: “waters”; Q: “strange waters” (2 Kgs
19:24)
►
Isaiah 53:11
● MT: “he shall see”; Q: “he shall see light”
4QpaleoLev
larfy
wynb
rva
wy
7:34
7:35
7:36
ynb
Paleo-Hebrew Manuscript of Leviticus
from Qumran Cave 4
11QPsa
1st Psalms scroll found in Qumran Cave 11
xviii
xvii
xvi
xv
154:3-19
145:13-21+
136:26; 118:1,
15-16, 8-9, 29;
135:17-21;
145:1-7
136:1-16
Psalms 93-150 + 8 Noncanonical Psalms
No Poetic Format
Different Order
Textual Status of the 210+
Biblical Texts from Qumran
Written in Qumran Practice
20%
May have used proto-Masoretic texts.
Proto-Masoretic Texts [60%]
35%
Pre-Samaritan Texts
5%
Septuagintal Affinity Texts
5%
Non-aligned Texts [15%]
Sometimes agree significantly
with Masoretic Text.
35%
Qumran’s 210+ Biblical Texts
Qumran
NonPractice Aligned
MT Samaritan LXX
35% Pentateuch 5%
HILLS of MOAB
QUMRAN
DEAD SEA
CAVE 4
Khirbet
Qumran
Archaeological
Debate
Scriptorium?
Inkwells
DSS & New Testament
►
All fragments in Cave 7 are Greek.
► Some: Book of Enoch.
7Q5 “Mark”
Fragment?
Zechariah
scroll
fragment
found in
Nahal Hiever
8HievXIIgr
Cave
Zechariah scroll
fragment found in Nahal
cave
as Hamath alsoHever
[which
borders on i]t, Tyre and
Si[don, though th]ey
are very wise
Zech 9:2
MASADA
Herod’s Palace
on the North
End of Masada
OT Textual Evidence
ORIGINAL
HEBREW TEXT
SAMARITAN
PENTATEUCH
Before 1947,
1250-Year
Gap between
Hebrew Texts
DEAD SEA SCROLLS
SEPTUAGINT
Before 400 B.C.
400-100 B.C.
300 B.C.-A.D. 50
250-150 B.C.
SYRIAC PESHITTA
A.D.
125-400
HEXAPLA
A.D.
230
LATIN VULGATE
OLDEST HEBREW
MANUSCRIPT
A.D.
390-404
A.D.
850
Publications