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In 1947, Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. “That initial discovery by the Bedouins yielded seven scrolls and began a search that lasted nearly a decade and eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. ... Nonetheless, when I was old enough to understand what the Dead Sea scrolls were all about, I was fascinated with their story. ... As I started to research the Dead Sea scrolls, I realized that there were three main questions I did not know the answer to. The first is what is in the history of the site and of the Caves? The second is what is the history of the scrolls themselves? Finally, are the Scrolls authentic? ...
Located on a barren terrace between the limestone cliffs of the Judean desert and the maritime bed along the Dead Sea, the Qumran site was excavated by Pere Roland de Vaux, a French Dominican. ... It is possible that all of the cloths found at Qumran are linked with the scrolls. ... Other cloths, found folded into pads, may have formed a packing for worn-out scrolls inside the scroll jars. ... The wrapped scrolls may have been concealed in the cave at a time of national panic or simply buried, as was a common practice, when they wore out. ... Reconstruction of weaving or plaiting techniques is possible because of the exceptional conditions inside the caves of the Dead Sea region. ... However, in times of need, baskets and mats also served for collecting and wrapping the bones and skulls of the dead. ... Charles Pfeifer, in The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Bible, states that:
the fully initiated member of the Qumran community intended to dedicate everything he possessed to the movement: “and all who have offered themselves for his truth shall bring all their mind, and strength and wealth into the community of God, to purify their minds by the truth of God’s statutes, and to control their strength according to the perfection of His ways and all their wealth according to his righteous counsel” (1:11-13). ... ”(Fritsch, 14) James VanderKam, in The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, explains that “De Vaux used the numismatic evidence to argue a number of points. ... ”(VanderKam, 23)
So, now we know a little bit about the history of the Qumran community, but what about the scrolls that were found nearby? As mentioned at the beginning of the paper, in 1947 two Bedouin shepherds accidentally came across a clay jar in a cave near Khirbet Qumran that contained seven parchment scrolls. The scrolls came into the hands of dealers in antiquities who offered them to scholars. ... The four other scrolls were smuggled to the United States, where three of them were published in 1950-51.
Approximate Word count = 2265
Approximate Pages = 9.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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