Once kept under lock and key, portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are now on display at Washington, D.C.’s Museum of the Bible, removing all obscurity and opening these ancient texts for all to see.
Visitors are invited to take a journey to the past, to the shores of Qumran — land of the Essenes and home to one of mankind’s greatest discoveries containing the oldest copies of Biblical texts in existence.
“Some will try to say King Tut’s treasures were a greater archeological discovery, and they truly are stunning. But the Dead Sea Scrolls still impact the way people read Scripture today,” said Dr. Bobby Duke of the Museum of the Bible.
History of the Scrolls
Spread across 11 caves in ancient Judea, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered one of the greatest archaeological finds in history, revealing a glimpse into the foundation of early Christianity.
The discovery was pure happenstance.
“In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd was out. The story has taken over legendary qualities over the years, but according to some of the early accounts, he was looking for a lost sheep through some rocks into a cave, heard a crack, and then realized, I need to come back and figure out what was in that cave,” Duke explained.
From there, an archaeological race to uncover the next treasure began, with each cave unveiling something more.
Keepers of the Treasure
“When they were initially discovered, the first scholars working on the scrolls, who did amazing work in piecing together this puzzle, actually caused a lot of additional damage to the scrolls unknowingly,” said Dr. Joe Uziel of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Uziel leads the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, which has served as steward of the scrolls since the early 1990s.
Today, the scrolls are conserved in a climate-controlled facility designed to match the conditions of the Judean caves. The exhibition at the Museum of the Bible follows similar strict protocols — down to the lighting inside the display.
“They’re placed on exhibition here for only three months. Every three months, we come in and we switch the scrolls with a new set of scrolls. Because, in order to conserve the scrolls, we can display them for three months that they’re exposed to light, and then they have to rest for five years in our safe room,” Uziel said.
What the Scrolls Reveal About Scripture
The ancient texts, dating back to 300 B.C., were transcribed by the Essenes, a monastery-like community. They include portions of 38 of the 39 books of the Old Testament, along with other writings such as the Book of Enoch.
“There’s even one called the War Scroll that talks about this cosmic end times battle between their community and a group called the Kittim, which most scholars think is the Romans, because I think they saw in their community as they would rise up against the Roman Empire and eventually, kind of usher in a messianic age,” Duke said.
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The scrolls also offer insight into the people of Qumran – contemporaries of Jesus and the apostles.
“To think that we’re looking at things that were in existence and being read by a community at the same time Jesus and the disciples were visiting Jerusalem or going the Sea of Galilee…kind of gives you goosebumps to think about that,” Duke reflected.
“The scrolls help us understand issues that are going on in Jesus’s life, in his ministry. What people are talking about,” said Dr. Craig Evans of The Bible Seminary.
Scholars like Evans, who have studied the scrolls for decades, say the fact that these texts are nearly identical to the Bible we read today should offer assurance to Christians.
Particularly, in a time when more people question the Bible’s credibility.
“The Dead Sea Scrolls don’t contradict anything. In other words, the Dead Sea Scrolls don’t embarrass Bible believers. The Dead Sea Scrolls don’t show that there’s some kind of mistake in Scripture,” Evans said.
“It does make you sit there and say that 2,000 years ago, a community was reading the book of Psalms, was getting inspiration from Psalm 23, just like I would read it today. And it just shows you the timelessness of the Biblical story,” Duke said.
From the caves of Judea to Washington, D.C. …a Word that will stand forever.
