2000 years old, more than 80 Dead Sea scroll fragments containing biblical texts have just been found by Israeli researchers (fig. 1). They will help understand better early Christian life and ancient humankind, and improve knowledge of the history of Judaism. “It was probably some sort of family heirloom and a rather valuable scroll”, said archaeologist Oren Ableman in a press release.
The very small fragments have been the first to be found in the Judean Desert in about 60 years. They contain the earliest text written on parchment and papyrus from all the books of the Hebrew Bible, except the Book of Esther. The oldest intact basket ever found has also been unearthed (fig. 2), as well as a 6,000-year-old child mummy and a cache of rare coins from the Jewish revolt period.
The fragments contain verses from Zechariah 8:16-17, and verses from Nahum 1:5-6, from the Twelve Minor Prophets book. Experts managed to obtain 11 lines of text from Zechariah, including : “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate — declares the Lord.”
The scroll fragments also contained verses from Nahum 1:5-6: “The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before His wrath? Who can resist His fury? His anger pours out like fire, and rocks are shattered because of Him.”
Most of the text is written in Greek, however the name of God appears in ancient Hebrew from the times of the First Temple in Jerusalem.
The archeologists went down 80 meters into the cave in Qumran, and dug the fragments from more than 100 km of cliffs and caves, which were surveyed with drones. The Judean Desert provided a dry environment perfect for the natural preservation of organic artifacts.
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References:
Holmes, O. “Dead Sea scroll fragments and world’s oldest basket found in desert cave”. 16 March. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/16/israeli-archeologists-find-new-dead-sea-scroll-fragments
Sanz, Juan Carlos. “New Fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls Found for the First Time in 60 Years.” EL PAÍS, 19 Mar. 2021, english.elpais.com/usa/2021-03-19/new-fragments-of-dead-sea-scrolls-found-for-the-first-time-in-60-years.html
Kershner, Isabel. “Israel Reveals Newly Discovered Fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/world/middleeast/dead-sea-scrolls-israel.html