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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 21:06:12 +0800
Subject: Who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls?
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From: jaybee
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Dear Friends,
Here is an interesting item - for your perusal.
Regards
JayBee
------------------Forwarded-----------
Who Discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls
If goats had not strayed up a Jordanian cliff in 1947,
the Dead Sea Scrolls might still be hidden in Middle Eastern
caves, and scholars might know far less about Jewish and early
Christian history.
The young man who went after the goats--one
of three cousins tending the flock--tossed a stone into a small
cave opening and heard it break pottery. When the cousins
explored the cave, they found jars filled with ancient scrolls
and document fragments. It was not the treasure they'd hoped
for (they sold three of the larger scrolls for five British pounds),
but the Dead Sea Scrolls have been a treasure trove for
historians and theologians.
Between 1947 and 1956, nearly 800 manuscripts
turned up in 11 caves near Qumran (an area at the northern
end of the Dead Sea, which was Jordanian and is now in the
Israeli Occupied Territories). Most of the scrolls are written
in Hebrew, but some are in Aramaic or Greek--the Bible's
original languages. Many of the documents are on parchment
(animal skins); some are on papyrus (made from an African grass).
The scrolls include biblical and non-biblical texts,
probably written sometime between the 3rd century BC and
AD 68.
The biblical texts include fragments of every
Old Testament chapter except the Book of Esther--as well
as psalms and prophecies that don't appear in the modern
Bible. The non-biblical texts address rules, rituals and other
aspects of life in the community that produced the scrolls.
Among other things, the Jews in that community were
expecting the arrival of a Messiah, and scholars believe
their views could have contributed to the emergence of
Christianity.
In that way, the accidental discovery of three goat
herders has transformed thinking about two important religions.
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