Dead Sea Scrolls

Guide Note

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a compilation of about 900 ancient documents that comprise the oldest known texts of the Old Testament and contain various psalms and stories not previously included in the Old Testament. They were discovered in eleven different caves on the shores of the Dead Sea in the mid-20th Century.

The scrolls contain text from the Hebrew Bible, including the last words of Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, and Amram (the father of Moses) and are the only known evidence of late Second Temple Jerusalem.

Fast Facts

1. Discovered between 1947 and 1956
2. Believed to have been written between 200 B.C. and 68 C.E.
3. Written on animal skins, papyrus and copper
4. Written in Hebrew and Aramaic
5. Scholars have identified the remains of 825 to 870 separate scrolls
6. The Temple Scroll, found in Cave 11, is the longest scroll at 26.7 feet
7. Provide an evolutionary link between Christianity and Judaism

The scrolls are believed to have been contained in a Jewish library that was hidden in the caves when the Roman army advanced on the rebel Jews.

Prophecies of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel that are missing from the Bible have been rediscovered in the scrolls. Previously unknown Psalms devoted to King David and Joshua, stories featuring Noah, Enoch and Abraham, including an explanation as to why God asked him to sacrifice his son, are also depicted in the scrolls.