Dead Sea Scrolls Astonishing New Evidence

Where Did the Dead Sea Scrolls Come From?

The people of Qumran were frantic. The Roman army was on a rampage. Qumran located on the west bank of the Dead Sea was right in their path.

The city was terrified the Romans would destroy their cherished scriptures. They rushed to gather their sacred scrolls. All 850 of them, painstakingly written on papyrus, and animal skins or engraved on copper plates. The earliest text dated 300 BC (at the time almost 400 years old).

What could they do to save these precious books containing the Holy Words of God?

They decided to hide these treasured books in 11 caves in the nearby hills around the Dead Sea.

In 67 A.D. the people of Qumran experienced their worst nightmare. The Roman army descended on their city and destroyed it.

Their precious records remained hidden in the caves for almost 2000 years.

Hidden For Almost 2000 Years

In 1947 a goat strayed into a cave. The shepherd flung a stone into the cavern and heard it clink against a pot. When he investigated, he found the first of the scrolls hidden in the cliffs rising above the Dead Sea.

These scrolls offer astonishing new evidence about the authenticity of the Bible. No one doubts the legitimacy of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The texts include every book in the Old Testament except the book of Esther.

Many scholars are amazed by the similarity with our current Bible. But there are differences. Several books like Isaiah and Genesis are greatly expanded. One example is found in Genesis chapter 12 where the beauty of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is depicted in detail (her face, legs, and hair are described.)

Jesus is not mentioned specifically in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But a messianic figure is mentioned who is called “Son of God” and the “Son of the Most High”. These terms for Jesus appear in other early Christian writing.

Hills where dead sea scrolls found — Hills where the scrolls were found

dead scrolls fragments — What the scrolls look like

The Dead Sea Scrolls Are Sacred Treasures

Today most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are locked in private collections. A few like the book of Enoch have been published.

One disturbing issue is: over 300 books have been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not available in our current Bible. Meaning a far greater body of literature was available to early Christians then we possess today.

These sacred books saved from destruction over 2000 years ago could greatly enlighten our understanding.

The 66 books found in our present Bible are, in fact, only a minuscule part of the sacred records once available. If you think about it, it’s amazing how sparse our bible really is.

Both looters and archeologist continue to search the caves around the dead Sea for more manuscripts.

In Conclusion

I love the Bible. But I wonder what we could learn if we had more books to study. If we had more information, would we have fewer debates about how to interpret the scriptures.

Please share your thoughts. Come join the conversation.

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See my Post: Where Did Our Amazing Bible come From

Christian Searcher

To learn more about the Dead Sea Scrolls watch this
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLQB-Y97bxk