Learning from the (non-biblical) Dead Sea Scrolls

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I. Meeting the Kandos
How much do you know about the Dead Sea Scrolls? If you’re like most people, you have heard of these ancient artifacts. Most people leave it at that. They don’t learn about the Scrolls—let alone examine them, visit the caves where they were found, or converse with scholars.

In 1997, during my second visit to Israel, my wife ran into the Kandos—the family who purchased the first DSS from the bedouins, middlemen to the academic community. She insisted I meet them, so at the first opportunity we went to Bethlehem and had tea with the historic family—the first of many visits. As antiquities dealers they sell all kinds of objects, including coins (usually my favourite). This connection certainly furthered my interest in the Scrolls.

Years later—and perhaps 25 years after graduating from Harvard (in the M.T.S. program)—I learned that my second-year Hebrew professor, F. M. Cross (1921-2012), was a prominent leader in the Dead Sea Scrolls Project, and is widely regarded as the founder of Qumran Studies. Qumran is the name of the ancient settlement where the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) were discovered. When I was his student—well, let’s just say I had other concerns. I was oblivious to the important research he was carrying out. Nor was I nearly as passionate about history and learning from the past as I am now.

I also recall, on one of my early flights to Israel, turning to greet the man in the seat next to me. He only offered his surname, assuring me that would be sufficient if I ever wanted to find him—everyone knew him. (He too has been a prominent figure in scroll research, I later learned, to my chagrin.) I’m still learning, but at least now recognize many of the principal figures involved in this ginormous project—scholars who toiled for decades to piece together the fragments and undertake the arduous work of translation.

I'm no archaeologist, and certainly no expert on the scrolls. In many ways, I'm only an amateur. Yet the more I’ve travelled to Israel (20+ times), especially leading groups interested in learning about the Scrolls, the more I’ve become convicted of the need to be informed about the facts and significance of the DSS. With that in mind, one of my academic goals has been to complete a study of all the non-biblical DSS. About 40% of the scrolls are actually copies of books in the Old Testament. My focus was the other 60%.

I recently completed my project (2018-2021). Many of the following facts were new to me, or matters I’d only heard of, but came to better understand through the past few years of study.

The (non-biblical) DSS are nicely published (2019) in two volumes (about 1350 pages), the original language(s) on each left page, the translation on the right. (The image is clickable.) I’d now like to share a few things I’ve learned, as the Scrolls shed considerable light on Judaism c.200 BC-AD 50, thereby illuminating the background of early Christianity.

II. The Discovery of Muhammed the Wolf
The find is credited to Muhammed edh-Dhib (born 1931), who as a teenager accidentally came across the first scrolls in the Qumran caves. The initial discoveries were made sometime between November 1946 and February 1947. Edh-Dhib (see L photo, R side) brought the finds to an antiquities middle-man, Iskander Kando (photo, R).

Further DSS scrolls were found 1949-1951, although it should be noted that the manuscript remains and other artifacts have been discovered in numerous other caves in the Dead Sea area, right up until our own time.

The scrolls had been hidden since 68 AD, when the Qumran community abandoned their settlement during the war with Rome (66-70 AD). The community’s manuscripts were secreted in 11 caves. Pictured below is Cave 4, where the majority were discovered. Other caves with manuscripts have since come to light—and new caves are being explored every year. But pride of place vis-a-vis the discovery still goes to Muhammed edh-Dhib (the Wolf).

III. Conspiracy?
Have “they” been hiding the truth from us? What embarrassing revelations are concealed in the DSS? Are ungodly academics pulling a fast one on us? Or maybe it’s a fundamentalist stratagem. Conspiracy theories are rife. Please forget them. They are without merit.

Sure, there were delays in translation, and there were many “cooks in the kitchen” (occasionally bumping into one another), as well as some sensitive political issues.

The biggest reason it took over four decades to complete the translation project was probably the difficulty of the task. And the fact that the principal (most experienced) scholars were (unsurprisingly) older men who didn’t all live to see their publication.

Our family enjoys 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles—with the picture on box cover as guide, of course. Not all DSS remnants are fragmentary, but a large number are—100,000 papyri and parchments ranging from minuscule scraps to lengthy scrolls. Now imagine a 100,000-piece puzzle, many pieces in poor condition or missing entirely, with no pictures (only text), in multiple languages, and without the jigsaw box cover. How quickly would you or I complete such a gargantuan project? These scholars deserve respect, not suspicion or criticism.

Of course, the fascinating story is more complicated than I am implying, but please pardon me for oversimplifying. (I’d rather you be intrigued than scared off by the complexities.)

So... was there a Vatican cover-up? Did Christians try to suppress this amazing discovery? No way! The DSS were translated and published in English in the early 1990s — including the scraps that are essentially unidentifiable.

IV. The Dead Sea Community
The Qumran community was established in the late 1st century BC, near the NW shore of the Dead Sea. This monastic settlement included living quarters, a communal dining hall, numerous immersion pools, for ritual cleansing, and a scriptorium, where manuscripts were painstakingly copied.

It is widely agreed among scholars that the Qumran ruins are the material remains of a Jewish group called the Essenes. Disgusted with the Jerusalem temple bureaucracy, they removed themselves to the desert in order to build a purified people of God and prepare for the end-times battle.

V. Rejecting the System (the Jerusalem Temple)
The Qumran community claimed the Jerusalem high priest was corrupt. In contrast, their own “Teacher of Righteousness” (probably the leader of the community) was holy. He did not mislead God’s people, unlike the Jerusalem priests (like Annas and Caiaphas, who engineered the crucifixion of Christ), who were greedy, wealthy, and arrogant, considering themselves above the law (1QpHab VIII-IX; CD-A x.7-8). These unscrupulous men were not godly shepherds. Rather, they were fleecing the poor and widows (4Q266.19. vi.16). Jesus too spoke out vehemently against such ungodly religious leaders in his day (Mark 12:40).

In the spirit of Malachi 1:10, the Qumran community rejected the Temple and its sacrifices (CD-A [the Damascus Document], vi.12ff). No temple was preferable to a corrupt one, since Yahweh would never honour meaningless sacrifices.

VI. Hierarchy & Discipline
The Essene community was strictly hierarchical (1QS [Rule of the Community] v.23-25. There was an elaborate system for “moving up” in rank, besides a one-year probationary period before joining (1QS vi). And not just anybody could join (CD-A, xv.15-17). Those prohibited from the assembly included all stupid, deranged, feeble-minded, and insane persons. Nor were the lame, those who stumbled, the deaf, or underage boys welcome. Also excluded were those with weak eyes—presumably because accurately copying manuscripts required sharp vision.

There were periods of discipline were imposed for various infractions, like falling asleep in one of the meetings, speaking out of turn, etc (1QS, v-ix). These periods could last days, weeks, months, or years.

On joining the community, one surrendered everything he owned. These now common goods were placed into the treasury. No private property—and no member was allowed to have wives or children.

Incidentally, no one over 60 was to serve as a judge in the congregation (CD-A, x.7-8). They weren’t expelled, but were required to cede their place to younger members, who could still benefit from their wisdom.

How about you and me? Am I fed up with “the system,” longing for purity and structure, like the Essenes? Or do I defend the establishment, as did the Sadducees and the Herodians? Perhaps I’m a radical, like the Zealots, calling for desperate measures. Or maybe I’m more of a reformer, like the Pharisees. The first-century spectrum within Judaism was hardly homogeneous, but dynamic and varied.

VII. Deciphering Scroll Notations
Now, to the Scrolls themselves: the physical evidence, language, dating, and content. But first, let’s learn how to interpret the technical scroll designations. Let’s consider a fragment from the Temple Scroll (pictured R). This manuscript is officially 11QT^a.

• 11 = the cave number.
• Q = Qumran. All “official” DS caves are connected with the Qumran community.
• T = Temple
• a = the first manuscript, a opposed to b, c, d...
• There are multiple conventions for scroll identification, so don’t be surprised when you notice different designations for the same work.

Newcomers to the Bible have to learn a sort of shorthand. 2 Tim 3:16 refers to the second letter to Timothy, the third chapter, sixteenth verse—remember how alien this system felt at first, before you learned your way around the Bible? In the same way, there is a system that makes referring too specific DSS documents doable.

VIII. Materials
The manuscripts were written on a variety of materials

• About 100 are papyri (around 10% of the scrolls)
• 800 skins (nearly 90% of the scrolls are on vellum, or prepared animal skin—think parchment), from goats, calves, and antelope.
• Some, about 1%, are written on tin or copper, like 3Q15 (the Copper Scroll) at R.
• All together, the DSS comprise about 970 manuscripts. Most were written outside Qumran.
• Without the arid DS climate (~2-3” [5-8 cm] of rainfall a year) and protection in secluded caves, the DSS would have rotted away long ago. Instead, these amazing relics of the past—some would call their discovery the archaeological event of the (20th) century!—have survived for the better part of two millennia.

IX. Size

• Some DSS are tiny—others amazingly large, considering their antiquity. Sizes range from the fragmentary all the way up to whole books of the Bible.
• Representative minuscule fragments:
  • 4Q447: “… and to loathe… you instruct me… in order that…” (That’s all this fragment contains!)
  • 4Q452: “Have you now delayed…”
  • 11Q25: “… for then nations… and not your eye…”
• And some fragments contain only a single letter! At the other extreme, some DSS are over 7m long, like 1QIsa^a (the best and most complete of the many Isaiah copies), and the Temple Scroll, over 8m long.
• Sorting through, translating, and identifying everything is tedious work—but every fragment has been catalogued, photographed, and published—even those containing only a few letters!
• All have been available to anyone interested—for some 30 years.

X. Language
The DSS are mainly in Hebrew, though they reveal a different Hebrew text type than that from which the Greek LXX (Septuagint) was translated—at times superior to the Masoretic Text, on which most English Bibles are based.

The next most common language is Aramaic, a closely related language, in which 1% of the O.T. is written. Note: 99% of the O.T. is written in Hebrew. There are also a number of Greek DSS, like 7Q4, 8, 11-14 [= 7QpapEn gr = 7QEnoch], and even a few in Nabatean. The Nabatean Arab kingdom, capital Petra, is where Saul of Tarsus probably spent a few years (Gal 1:17). 

XI. Date Range
Most of the DSS date to well before the time of Christ. The typical date range is c.150 BC — the first half of the 1^st century AD.

Before the discovery of the DSS, the oldest known surviving Hebrew manuscripts were from around 1000 AD. This means that translators and other scholars were in a position to compare manuscripts to discern whatever differences (if any) there might be between the newly discovered works (the DSS) and the copies made approximately a millennium later (like the Aleppo Codex and Codex Leningradensis).

XII. Content
While there are scrolls of biblical books, most concern other matters, as we shall see.

• Biblical manuscripts
  • 225 out of nearly 1000 manuscript finds.
  • Many come from the Torah (Law of Moses), the Psalms, and Isaiah.
  • The most commonly found O.T. books, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah, are the same three O.T. books most cited in the N.T.
  • Every book of the O.T. is represented except for Esther—although I did come across Proto-Esther (4Q550, ar.1-7).
  • Note: No N.T. documents were found among the DSS, which is hardly surprising, since the first N.T. documents, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of Mark, were penned in the final years of the Qumran community.
• Commentaries on biblical books, with numerous intriguing facts and opinions.
  • For example, David is exonerated for having more than one wife, since he hadn’t read the book of the Law—which lay in the Ark, which had remained unopened since the death of Eleazar, the son of Aaron (4Q 266, v.2-3).
  • On an ancient geographical note, a branch of the Sea of Reeds issues from the Red Sea (1QapGen xxi.17).
• Even older than the DSS:
  • KH1 and KH2 are miniature silver scrolls rolled up to form an amulet. KH2 contains the priestly blessing of Num 6:24-26. These are the oldest manuscripts yet discovered (1979).
  • They date to the century or two before 587 BC, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. (The photo shows KH1, 27 x 97mm [the other is 11 x 39mm] unrolled and flattened out.)
• Apocryphal works. Some interesting things:
  • The daughters of Adam – who has at least 10 children (11Q12 [11QJub or 11QJubilees]).
  • Amzara is Noah’s wife (1QapGen [Genesis Apocryphon], ar vi.7).
  • Abram and Sarai live with Pharaoh for two years (1QapGen ar ix-20). Pharaoh is attracted to the beautiful Sarai, who is about 65 (see Gen 12:4; 17:17)—for the lovely shape of her face, her hair, her fair skin, nice feet and palms, long and supple fingers, and her wisdom. Ancient canons of beauty differed from modern preferences.
  • In the DSS the giants, or nephilim (1 Enoch, from Gen 6:4) were 4500’ (~1370m) tall (4Q180.7-8).
  • David penned 4050 Psalms and other songs, spoken through the spirit of prophecy. These included apocryphal works like Ps 154 (11Q5 [11QPsa] = 11QPsalms^a – e.g. col xviii; 11Q4 col. xxvii.4-11).
• Rules for the community
  • No wearing dirty clothes on the Sabbath. Many other Sabbath regulations, too (4Q265, 7.i.3).
  • No bathing on Yom Kippur (4Q265, 7.ii.4).
  • No bigamy—which is fornication (4Q266 [6Q15] iv.19-21).
  • The latrine must be placed at least 1000 cubits (1500’ or 460m) outside the town, or away from the congregation; this seems to be referring to defecation, not urination (CDA x.121 [also 11Q19, col xlvi.21-16]).
  • It’s a sin to slaughter an animal carrying a live foetus (6Q15 [Damascus Document] = 4Q270, 2.ii frag 5.2).
  • Disciplinary matters: see section V, above.
• Other religious writings include the War Scroll, New Jerusalem, and the Book of Mysteries (1QM; 1QNJ, 2QNJ; 1Q Myst). There is even a list of 64 buried treasures (3Q15). 

XIII. New Testament Background

• As already noted, the Essenes of Qumran responded negatively to “the system.” They viewed themselves as the true Israel (Songs of the Sabbath; War Scroll [1QM]), and did not hesitate to proclaim that without holiness no one would see the Lord.
• They were willing to head in a new direction. Although their community and theology did not survive—the Pharisees and the Christians were the only sects within 1st-century Judaism still existing after the war with Rome (66-70 AD)—we can still learn from them.
• The Essenes practiced frequent baptisms. These daily immersions were for ritual cleansing, and were self-administered. That’s different from the NT, where baptism is a once-for-all act, and the subject is passive—he or she does (and earns) nothing, trusting rather in God’s power to cleanse (Col 2:12). Yet not only the Essenes, but most Jews in the time of Jesus were accustomed to immersion, the stricter Jews on a daily basis, but all undergoing mandatory ablutions when they approached the Temple, as the archaeological evidence of scores of baptismal pools attests. The Jewish world was well familiar with immersion.
• With their common meals (see part 1), the sense of community was strengthened. Correct, this was an exclusive community, and it is doubtful they invited outsiders to sit at table with them. Still, community is good (see Acts 2:42-47; 4:30-32).
• Dozens of phylacteries (small leather boxes containing biblical passages—reminders to keep Torah) have been found at Qumran. See Matt 23:5. The community had a high regard for Scripture, devoting countless hours to study and copying them in their scriptorium.
• The Essenes wrote about angels, demons, heaven, hell, the end-times, the Messiah, and much more. In many ways they shared the same theological world as the early Christians. Of course there are important differences. The Essenes waited for the new age to come in connection with an apocalyptic (and literal) battle, whereas the Christians taught that the age to come had already dawned in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.
• The DSS illuminate the common genre of apocalyptic literature—that which we find in books like Daniel and Revelation, or the apocryphal 1 Enoch. For example, New Jerusalem^a contains measurements and descriptions like those found in Rev 21:15 (4Q554, or 4Q; see also 5Q15 frag l, col 1-ii). For the doctrine of a new creation after the Last Judgment (2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1), see 1QS, iv.25-26.
• The DSS helps us to envisage the Temple complex, for example the Courtyard of the women and foreigners (11Q19 [11QT^a = 11QTemple^a], col xl.5-6).
• Whereas 4QMMT holds that we are justified by works of the law (Torah), the apostle Paul, though formerly a Pharisee, vigorously opposes this view (Gal 1-6).
• If your donkey or ox falls into the water on the Sabbath, you must not rescue it (4Q265 fr.7.6-8). On the other hand, if a fellow human falls into a ditch or into a well on the Sabbath, rescue is permitted—but you must not use any implement (like a rope or ladder)! You may, however, use your garment (CD XI.13-14).
• Essenes disagreed with the Pharisees, who permitted polygamy (CD 4.20-5.6; 6Q15; 4Q 226-273). Jesus too taught against polygamy. (His teachings on marriage were truly revolutionary.)
• Josephus tells us that the Essenes taught one another to “hate evildoers and help the just.” I did find one passage about not repaying aggression with evil (1QS, x.10.17-18). Certainly there are not many passages like this in the DSS. This helps us to appreciate Jesus’s teaching on enemies all the more (Matt 5:38-48)!
• Here is an interesting parallel to Gal 5:16-21: Two spirits have been placed within us, truth and deceit: “… To the spirit of deceit belong greed, sluggishness in the service of justice, wickedness, falsehood, pride, haughtiness of heart, dishonesty, trickery, cruelty, much insincerity, impatience, much foolishness, impudent enthusiasm for appalling acts performed in lustful passion, filthy paths in the service of impurity, blasphemous tongue, blindness of eyes, hardness of hearing, stiffness of neck, hardness of heart in order to walk in all the paths of darkness and evil cunning” (1QS [Rule of Community] iii.17-18; iv.23).
• Consider the Qumran doctrine of hell: “And the visitation of all those who walk in it will be for an abundance of afflictions at the hands of all the angels of destruction, for eternal damnation by the scorching wrath of the God of revenges, for permanent terror and shame without end with the humiliation of destruction by the fire of the dark regions. And all the ages of their generations (they shall spend) in bitter weeping and harsh evils in the abysses of darkness until their destruction, without there being a remnant or survivor for them…” (1QS iv.9-14).
  • Notice the language: “eternal damnation” and “permanent terror and shame without end”—yet also the phrase “until their destruction.” The word “eternal” doesn’t mean nonstop torture for all time (the teaching among many churches today).
  • In fact, in none of the extrabiblical DSS could I find the later doctrine of infinite torment. (Please correct me if you find a counterexample.)
• Crucifixion until death for traitors and other criminals—a novel adaptation (11QTem64.7-13a [4Q524 = Temple Scroll], frag 14, 1-4; 11Q19, lxiv). Before this time (in the Roman period), crucifying or hanging people up was done only after they had died (see Deut 21:22). It was not a means of execution.
• We have considered barely a dozen ways in which the DSS illuminate the NT. The best is yet to come—as we now turn our attention to Essene messianic theology.

XIV. Expectations about the Messiah
The Qumran community were a Messianic group. Their expectations—according to their own writings—at times converge with the Christian concept of the Messiah, yet at other times diverge widely. For them, the Christ appears to be the Essene community leader, although some scholars read the DSS as referring to two Messiahs. Here are some highlights:

• A political, military Messiah
  • Num 24:17 applied to coming royal messiah (CD 7:18-8:1 = 4Q266 fr.3, 3.20-30; 4Q269 fr.5 ll.3-4): “The sceptre shall [no]t depart from the tribe of Judah. While Israel has the dominion, there [will not] be cut off someone who sits on the throne of David. For the staff is the covenant of royalty, [and the thou]sands of Israel are the standards. Until the messiah of righteousness comes, the branch of David. For to him and his descendants has been given the covenant of kingship for his people for everlasting generations…” (4Q 252 v.1-4 on Gen 49:10; 4Q266, 20-21).
  • The Essenes anticipated an apocalyptic end-times battle, in which they would participate. Their military Messiah would lead them to victory. In contrast, although a sword comes out of the mouth of the Messiah in Rev 19:15, 21, the so-called “battle of Armageddon” features no actual warfare. Moreover, Christ’s people do not kill their enemies (Matt 5:28-48).
  • According to the Qumran interpretation of Isaiah 61, his enemies are to be destroyed. This explains the response to Jesus at Nazareth in Luke 4 (11Q13). Yet oddly enough, Psalm 110 (the most cited OT passage in the NT) LXX was not interpreted as applying to the Messiah, but to Melchizedek. (LXX refers to the Greek OT, not the Hebrew.)
• The community may have anticipated two Messiahs, one priestly and one royal (Davidic).
  • See 1QS 9:10-11; CD 7:18-20; 12.23; 1QSa 211-12; 4Q161, 3:22–29; 4Q174, 3:7–13; 4Q252 5:1–7; 4Q266 f2i:11; f10; i:12; 4Q285, f7:1–6; 4Q479, f1:4; 11Q14 f1i:5–15; CD 12:23–13:1; 14:19; 19:10–11; 20:1.
  • It seems the second Messiah was the Qumran community leader himself.
  • Jesus, however, did not lead his followers into the desert, awaiting the end-times battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness (1QM; 4Q491-497). Rather, he equipped them to go out into the world, teaching and leavening and discipling all nations—not killing them (Matt 5:13; 28:19-20).
• Physical appearance (4Q561, frag 1-2, 6)
  • The Messiah’s eyes are between pale and dark, his nose long and handsome, his teeth well aligned, his hair abundant, his beard thin but not too scraggly, his limbs smooth and with sufficient fat.
  • The text on his “nails… height….feet…” is incomplete.
  • In contrast, the N.T. displays no interest in the physical appearance of Christ, who in all likelihood looked like the average Jewish male of his day. See the extensive notes under References in the Jesus character study.
• In some manuscripts, the Messiah is referred to as Son of God and Son of the Most High (4Q246). Such terms were not “invented” by Christ’s followers; they were already in circulation in the time of Jesus.
• 1QIsa^a, the most complete and best preserved of 20 or so Isaiah manuscripts, is the crown jewel of the collection, containing all the important Messianic passages, like Isa 52:13-53:12. (Note: this article is based nearly completely on extrabiblical texts, not the biblical ones, yet still I feel some comment on the biblical texts is in order.)
  • In fact, this manuscript is the centrepiece of the DSS collection in the climate-conditioned, subterranean Jerusalem museum, the Shrine of the Book.
  • The museum is shaped like the top of a scroll jar, with the complete Isaiah manuscript wrapped around the scroll axis. Visit Israel and see for yourself!
  • When Messiah comes, heaven and earth obey him; the dead are raised; the sick are healed; the oppressed are rescued (4Q521).

XV. Overall Significance of the Scrolls
What do the DSS teach us? What are the key points that inform and bolster our Christian faith—and which we can share with our friends?

SCRIPTURE

• The ancient Jews were serious about careful copying of scripture. We can have confidence about accuracy of the Old Testament.
• Since 1947, the oldest extant (surviving) OT manuscripts date from the centuries before the time of Christ. The Roman legions were closing in, promoting the Essenes to abandon their settlement and secrete the scrolls in difficult-to-access caves. This action led to their preservation for the nearly nineteen centuries, up to the time of their discovery. (The Romans indirectly did us all a huge favour!) Now, instead of having to rely only on medieval scrolls, scholars have access to works 1000 years older!
• The minor differences between the biblical DSS and the medieval OT manuscripts (c.1000 AD) do not undermine doctrine or otherwise obscure the biblical message. This message is robust; it shines through and is intelligible to those willing to receive it.
• Sometimes the DSS clarify difficult passages in the Hebrew, esp. as many seem to be based on Hebrew manuscripts older than those translated for the standard OT (Masoretic) text. When this happens, modern Bibles usually offer a footnote. Thus the DSS frequently serve to enhance our knowledge of the Old Testament.
• The DSS reveal much about the thinking and culture of 1st-century AD Jews, thus providing helpful background information about the New Testament world.

CHRIST

• The non-biblical DSS illustrate the kind of Messiah expected—in the time of Christ. Several of Jesus’s attributes are found explicitly in the DSS.
• That means that the early Christians didn’t concoct the notion of a miraculous, divine Messiah. Such a notion of the Messiah was already present.
• Furthermore, in the biblical DSS, like 1QIsa^a, the prophetic material pointing to Jesus Christ is present, well before the time Jesus lived. That means it wasn't added in or fudged by the early church. Jesus Christ is indeed the one the Scriptures prophesied.