The Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls
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in the mid-1950s, while attending the Seminary, the present writer heard
one of our leading evangelists tell how the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
Two small boys were out tending their sheep, but they had one sheep which
would not obey them. So one of the youths threw a stone to get it to go in
the right direction—and the stone went into a hole, and he heard
something shatter. Peering into the hole, they found the scrolls.
What
was found that day was later hailed by scholars throughout the world as
the greatest Bible manuscript discovery in history.
Gradually,
as a result of many interviews with everyone named in this account, the
full—and correct—story emerged. The finding of the Dead Sea scrolls is
a fascinating story.
(Throughout
this story, names which come up again are placed in bold print.)
About
800 years before Christ’s birth, Jehoshaphat or Uzziah had established a
military outpost (called ‘Ir Hammelach; “City of Salt”) on a
tableland overlooking the Dead Sea. It included a large, round cistern.
Two hundred years later, the outpost was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s
army (587 B.C.).
About
125 B.C., a religious community was founded on the site by, what is
generally believed to be, Essene Jews. It was called Qumran.
About 25 years later, Qumran was greatly enlarged, as more members moved
in.
Although
an earthquake destroyed much of Qumran about 35 B.C., it was rebuilt about
the year that Jesus was born (4 B.C.). Many manuscript scrolls were
prepared and stored in the buildings. But, when the Jewish War (A.D.
66-70) began, a number of the scrolls were cached in caves throughout the
area for safekeeping.
After
the destruction of Qumran by the Romans in A.D. 68, the Jews never
returned to recover the rolled-up manuscripts from those caves.
Slowly,
the centuries passed.
But,
at this point, we need to consider the layout of the land. In the
mid-1940s, a resort opened at Kallia, about six miles southwest of
Jericho. Many tourists went there to bathe in the mineral waters of the
Dead Sea.
From
Kallia a broad, barren plain stretches for two-and-a-half miles westward
to sheer cliffs which mark the eastern edge of the rugged Judean
wilderness. Six miles to the south, the rapidly-narrowing plain comes to a
sharp point where the cliffs drop down at Ras Feshkha. The
broad expanse of the Dead Sea is to the east of this entire area.
Less
than a mile north of Ras Feshkha, is ‘Ain Feshkha (Feshkha
Spring). This is a copious spring of warm water. Around it grows an
abundance of reeds and grasses. Shepherds come here to water their sheep.
From
‘Ain Feshkha, a well-worn path winds up the steep slopes on the broad
Buqei’a plateau of the eastern Judean wilderness. This area is thought
to be the ancient Valley of Achor (Joshua 7:24-26).
From
here the path continues to rise, as it winds westward through dry creeks (wadis),
and finally crosses the “Shepherd’s field” where, so many centuries
earlier, Shepherds heard the angels singing. The path ends at Bethlehem.
When
Naomi journeyed to Moab, and returned with Ruth, she took that path. David
later sent his parents to Moab along the same route. Amos lived in Tekoa,
not far from that path.
For
almost three centuries, this wilderness area, eastward of Bethlehem, has
been the home of the Ta’amireh, a tribe of Bedouin Arabs.
They have roamed that area, and have watered their sheep and goats at
‘Ain Feshkha.
In
November or December of 1946, three Ta’amireh Bedouins descended with
their flocks of sheep and goats toward ‘Ain Feshkha. They were searching
for forage for their animals, but one of the Arabs was also watching for
something else.
The
two older herdsmen were Khalil Musa and his younger cousin, Jum’a
Muhammed Khalil. They were in
the mid-twenties. The youngest of the three was their teenage cousin,
Muhammed Ahmed el-Hamed. His nickname was Edh-Dhib (“Son of the
Wolf”), because of the fierce nature of his father.
Jum’a
liked to explore caves, and believed that someday he might find gold
stashed in one of them from ancient times. Often, while tending the
flocks, he would explore the rocky crags nearby.
On
this day, looking up at the rocks, Jum’a noticed two holes in the cliff.
The lower hole, according to Jum’a, was barely big enough “for a cat
to enter.” But the upper one had an entrance that a small man could
crawl into.
Throwing
a rock into the lower hole, he heard something shatter! What could that
be? Gold, he hoped. Quickly, he called the other two herdsmen and showed
them the holes. But, by now, it was almost dark, and tomorrow they must
spend the day watering their flock at ‘Ain Feshkha. So it was agreed
that they would return to the hole two days later.
But,
on that third day, just as the sun was rising and his friends were still
sleeping, Edh-Dhib, the teenager, quietly arose and went to that hole.
Carefully, he climbed up and eased himself down into the larger hole. As
his eyes became accustomed to the dimness, he saw about ten tall jars
standing by the walls of the cave. Several had covers. It seems that rocks
had fallen from the ceiling at some earlier time (probably caused by
earthquakes), which probably had produced the broken pottery on the floor.
The
Bedouins later claimed that all but two of the jars were empty. (Some of
their reports were conflicting, so it is always difficult to have
certainty). One pot had reddish dirt in it, and the other, with a cover,
contained three scrolls. Two were wrapped in nearly rotted cloth, and the
third, much larger, had no outer wrapping.
When
Edh-Dhib took the three scrolls from the cave that morning, and showed
them to his friends, they were angry and feared he might be hiding gold
which he had also found. From that time on, the two men distrusted
Edh-Dhib, and no longer does he appear to have played a part in the
scrolls.
When,
several days later, one of Jum’a’s five sons arrived to help with the
flock, Jum’a left and took the rolls to his home at the Ta’amireh
community, southeast of Bethlehem. For several weeks, the manuscripts hung
in a bag on a tent pole. Two jars were also brought back and set beside
the tent. Along about this time, the cover of the jar which had held the
scrolls was destroyed. It is also likely that one of the three scrolls was
broken in two parts at the same time.
Well,
that is how the scrolls were found, and we should stop here. But you
probably want to know what happened next.
It
is one thing to make the most important Bible manuscript discovery of
history (the largest of the three scrolls was the now-famous Isaiah
scroll), but it is quite another thing to find anyone interested in
purchasing it.
During
March, 1947, Jum’a and Khalil Musa took the three manuscripts and two
jars, and showed them to a carpenter in Bethlehem, by the name of Ibrahim ‘Ijha.
He told them he would see if they could be sold. So, when not busy making
axe and hoe handles from walnut branches, he showed the rolls to Faidi Salahi.
Upon seeing them, he told ‘Ijha they had probably been stolen from a
Jewish synagogue, and he had better have nothing to do with the Bedouins.
The manuscripts were in such excellent condition, Salahi could not believe
they were ancient.
The
next time Jum’a stopped by, ‘Ijha pushed the priceless scrolls into
his arms and told them to take them back; he wanted nothing to do with
them. But he was willing to keep the jars, and see if he could find a
buyer.
Carrying
the scrolls to the market- place in Bethlehem, Jum’a found another man
had earlier helped the Arabs sell ancient objects they found in the
desert. For a living, George Isha’ya Shamoun sold abayahs (cloaklike
outer garments) to the Bedouins. As they talked together about the
scrolls, a third man walked up and suggested they take them to Khalil
Eskander Shahin (nicknamed Kando). Kando was a shoemaker who worked
near Manger Square in Bethlehem.
It
was agreed that, if the scrolls could be sold, Kando and Isha’ya would
get one-third, and the Bedouins would receive two-thirds of any money
received. So the scrolls were left with Kando.
During
the week of April 7-13, 1947, Isha’ya contacted St. Mark’s Syrian
Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem and told them he had some old manuscript
scrolls. The Metropolitan Athanasius Y. Samuel, head of the
monastery, told them to bring the scrolls over. When he saw them, he
decided to buy them, but Isha’ya and Kando continued looking for buyers
who would offer more, but found none.
During
that time, Isha’ya persuaded the Bedouins, Jum’a and Khalil Musa, to
take him to the cave, which they did. Several weeks later, Jum’a met
Isha’ya and Khalil Musa in the Bethlehem market—and they were carrying
two more scrolls, which they told him they had found in the dirt of the
floor of that same cave. (They later told investigators that they had
found four scrolls, not two. Kando agreed that they brought four more
scrolls to him to sell.)
While
trying to find a buyer for the latest scroll find, a scroll dealer in
Jaffa said he would stop by and look at them—but he never appeared.
Finally, three of the four scrolls were sold to Faidi Salahi (who earlier
said he was afraid of them) for $28.35. He also bought the two jars for 80
cents each. About five months later, after many disappointments, those
scrolls were sold to Dr. E.L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University, on
November 29, 1947.
But
what had happened to the first three scrolls, which included the large
Isaiah scroll?
Metropolitan
Samuel wanted those scrolls badly, but tried to hide his interest so he
would not have to pay very much. He told the Arabs to come to the
monastery on Saturday, July 5, 1947. But, when the three Arabs (Isha’ya,
Jum’a, and Khalil) arrived at the monastery door, a priest named Blos
Gilf refused to let them in. Surely, he thought, the metropolitan did not
want to see these Arabs with their dirty bag with foul-smelling scrolls
inside! The Arabs pleaded with him, but he refused to let them in.
The
Metropolitan Samuel did not hear about it for hours, and when he did, he
immediately telephoned Kando in Bethlehem. Kando told him that, while the
three Arabs were leaving Jerusalem, they met a Jewish antiquities dealer
who, when he saw the scrolls, offered to buy them if they would follow him
to their shop.
But
Isha’ya warned the two Bedouins that they should not go with the man,
since it was probably a trick to turn them over to government authorities,
who would arrest and jail them. So they all fled to Bethlehem.
Immediately,
on the phone, Samuel told Kando to pay them “a good price” for the
scrolls; which he did the next time they stopped by (on July 19, 1947).
The three scrolls were sold to the Metropolitan Samuel for $97.20, of
which $64.80 was paid to the two Bedouins. (All amounts were paid in
Palestinian pounds, but are here quoted in what that amounted to in
American dollars at the time.)
So
Jum’a, who had been searching for gold for years, and was responsible
for finding the first scrolls, received $32.40 for his trouble. Those
scrolls are today worth millions.
Well,
that is the story of how the manuscripts, found in that Dead Seas cave,
were sold. But what happened next?
The
rest of the story is just as interesting. Very briefly, here is what
happened:
As
soon as he owned them, Metropolitan Samuel, the head of the Syrian
community in Jerusalem, wanted to get as much money for himself as
possible out of the sale of those manuscripts. He felt certain they must
be very ancient.
Samuel
contacted one of his church members, an Arabist who could not read Hebrew,
who looked over the scrolls and told the metropolitan they were “not
worth a shilling.”
Samuel
then contacted an Arabic teacher at the Dominican Ecole Biblique in
Jerusalem, who also did not read Hebrew. Glancing over the scrolls, he
said there were only a few centuries old and worth little.
Samuel
then showed them to a well-known Old Testament scholar, J. van der Ploeg,
who said the largest one contained the book of Isaiah, but laughed at the
suggestion that they might be ancient. That same evening, van der Ploeg
told another famed Bible scholar, L.H. Vincent, about them, and he
launched into a lecture on the dangers of forgeries, which left van der
Ploeg shaken and determined to have nothing more to do with Samuel’s
scrolls.
Among
the buildings which the monastery owned, was a clinic rented by a Jewish
physician, Dr. Brown. So Samuel showed the scrolls to him. He said he
would have to consult an expert. But Brown waited two weeks, and by that
time Samuel was away on a trip. Brown also contacted a Jewish antiquities
dealer (a Mr. Sassun) who later told Samuel to cut off some pieces
from the scrolls and send them to the universities in America to examine;
then he would find what they were worth. But Samuel would not do that.
The
wealthiest man in Metropolitan Samuel’s Jerusalem congregation, Anton Kiraz,
was a close friend. Kiraz owned a used car lot and a fleet of taxis. Kiraz
had consistently been a faithful friend to Samuel, when other members of
his congregation had forsaken the metropolitan because of certain
financial dealings he had been involved in.
Late
in August, Samuel confided in Kiraz about some of his personal financial
problems. When Kiraz mentioned that he was about to leave for a vacation
trip to Lebanon and Syria, Samuel asked him to wait until after the Feast
of St. Mary on August 28, so he could accompany him on the trip. Samuel
hoped that, up north, he might learn more about the value of his scrolls
or find a wealthy buyer.
Taking
the scrolls with him, the two headed north. In Homs, Syria, Samuel
counseled with several friends, including Aphram I, Patriarch of Antioch.
But, not thinking they were more than three hundred years old, Aphram
counseled Samuel to talk to the professor of Hebrew at the American
University in Beirut. On September 22, he went there, but found that the
professor was on vacation. So Samuel returned to Jerusalem on the 26th.
About
October 1, Samuel phoned Kiraz and said he needed to see him urgently. On
arrival, Kiraz learned that Samuel’s finances were at a crisis point, so
Kiraz offered to give him some money and become “partners” with him in
the ownership of the scrolls. Samuel accepted the money. It was agreed
they would split the profits, when the scrolls were eventually sold. The
next day, the metropolitan called him in again, and begged for more money,
which he gave him. He assured Samuel he would solve the metropolitan’s
problem, even if he had to mortgage his home to do it. Gradually, in the
coming months, he poured more money into Samuel’s pocket.
From
then on, Kiraz worked earnestly to interest others in the scrolls, and he
would mention that he had to consult his “partner” before he could
sell them.
But
Samuel later said that no such partnership arrangement had ever existed.
At
about the same time, Sassun offered him $405 for the scrolls, but Samuel
turned him down. He wanted much more money than that for them.
Samuel
then borrowed some Hebrew grammar books from Hanna Stephen at the
Palestine Archeological Museum, so he could try to figure out how much the
scrolls were worth. Not knowing anything about Hebrew, he accomplished
little. But this aroused Mr. Stephen’s interest, and several days later
he brought over an expert in Jewish antiquities, Tovia Wechsler. After
examining them, he decided they appeared in too good a condition to be
ancient. When Samuel said he was sure they were very ancient, Wechsler,
who had some acquaintance with ancient manuscripts, laughingly said
something which made a very deep impression on Samuel:
“If
that table were a box and you filled it full of pound notes, you
couldn’t even then measure the value of these scrolls if they were two
thousand years old, as you say.”
At
about the same time (November 1947), Dr. E.L. Sukenik, Professor of
Archeology at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, was able to purchase
several other scrolls from Kando. They were invaluable, but none were the
equal of Samuel’s large Isaiah scroll.
Sukenik
was the first of the many “experts” who had examined those ancient
scrolls to recognize something very special about them: They were all
written in a style of Hebrew which was very strange.
Quite
by accident one day in early December, Sukenik mentioned the scrolls to
one of his librarians. That librarian had earlier stopped in at the Syrian
monastery and had been shown Samuel’s scrolls. So he mentioned it to
Sukenik, who immediately tried to make contact with Samuel. But, by
December, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Jews to contact Arabs
or Syrian Christians.
You
see, all of Palestine was on the verge of civil war! The British mandate
(governorship) of Palestine was to end on May 15, 1947, and both the Arabs
and the Jews were getting ready for a fierce battle for the control of
Jerusalem and surrounding territory.
In
January, 1948, Kiraz suggested that he, Kiraz, try to get Dr. Sukenik of
the Hebrew University to evaluate their importance. Taking the scrolls
home, he wrote a letter to Sukenik, which took three days to reach his
office, a mile to the west.
Upon
receiving it, Sukenik immediately responded, and it was agreed they would
meet at the YMCA in neutral territory in Jerusalem on February 4, 1948.
Fearful
of his safety, Sukenik was relieved to arrive there safely.
Upon looking at them, he quickly recognized that these scrolls had
the same ancient script pattern, as the few he had already purchased at a
low price from Kando. Sukenik was consistently the first to recognize the
antiquity of the Dead Sea scrolls.
After
a two-day delay, to give Kiraz time to discuss Sukenik’s offers with his
“partner,” the two met again on the 6th and Sukenik offered him $2,025
(500 Palestinian pounds) for the three scrolls. He also confidentially
offered Kiraz another 500 pounds, if he, Kiraz, would talk his partner
into accepting it. (If Kiraz could have foreseen the future, he would have
gotten Samuel to sell them.)
Returning,
Kiraz told Samuel all that happened, who then counseled with his leading
advisor, Butrus Sowmy, a monk at the monastery. Sowmy, who had just
returned from a trip, was deeply upset and told Samuel the Jews were not
to be trusted. So Samuel had no more dealings with Sukenik, and refused to
return his phone calls, made throughout March and April.
At
this point, Sowmy phoned the bishop of St. George’s Christian Cathedral,
and was told about the ASOR (American Schools of Oriental Research)
office just north of Jerusalem.
On
February 18, Sowmy phoned the ASOR, inquiring if someone there might be
able to help them learn the value of their scrolls.
Dr.
John C. Trever, a young scholar studying at the ASOR that year,
answered the phone and events began to change in two ways.
First,
Trever was an expert photographer, who had used that hobby to help pay his
way through school.
He
was quick to ask Samuel to let him photograph the scrolls, so the
scholarly world would learn about them. He said that would increase their
value. Samuel liked that idea!
Immediately,
he set to work to photograph the scrolls with color film. This was a
difficult task, as well as all his contacts with the monastery, since,
throughout the area, sniper fire and bombing kept increasing.
Second,
Trever and his co-worker, Dr. W.H. Brownlee, immediately set to work to
figure out the dating of the scrolls by the style of their lettering (paleography).
This was what should have been done all along. They were startled to
discover that the Isaiah scroll matched the Hebrew letters in the Nash
papyrus, a fragment which dated from 200 B.C.! Only containing the Ten
Commandments and Deuteronomy 6:4, it appeared to be the oldest Hebrew
manuscript in existence. On February 26, Trever wrote a note to William
Albright, the world’s leading Old Testament scholar, and included
photographs of several pages of the Isaiah Scroll.
On
March 15, they received his reply that it was, indeed, the greatest
manuscript discovery in history.
But,
fearful that Samuel would not let them complete their photography of the
scrolls, Trever did not disclose this fact to the metropolitan until March
18, 1948. At that time, because the war was intensifying, Trever warned
Samuel to hide the scrolls in a safe place. On March 25, Sowmy took them
to Beirut.
Events
occurred quickly after that. On April 5, Trever flew out of Palestine,
just before the war began in earnest. On April 11, the first news release
about the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls appeared in the world’s
press. On May 15, the British mandate ended. England wanted the city
internationalized, but the Israelis and Jews fought fiercely for control.
In the ensuing battles, the Syrian monastery was
seriously damaged, and Sowmy was killed. Only two days before,
Kiraz drove to Syria. He had lost all his possessions, except the one car
he drove.
During
the brief truce in August, the Bedouins went back to the cave and
recovered more manuscripts. Still more were found in November.
On
January 29, 1949, the Metropolitan Samuel arrived in New York City, and
placed the scrolls in a bank vault. He immediately began searching for a
buyer with deep pockets.
On
February 18 through March 5, Cave 1 (that first cave) was excavated by
Westerners. Fragments of about 70 scrolls were found in it, along with
pieces of 50 different pottery jars and covers.
From
November 24 to December 12, 1951, the first season of excavation at
Khirbet Qumran began. Located close to Cave 1, it was the Essene center
where the scrolls had been made.
Soon
the Bedouins were finding more caves, and, in the dark of the night,
emptying them of most of their scrolls. Then Westerners located the
pilfered caves. Eventually, eleven caves were found.
In
Cave 3, the “Copper Scroll” was found, but no one knew how to unroll
it. In Cave 4, 40,000 fragments of about 100 manuscripts were recovered,
including parts of 400
different manuscripts, over 100 of which were Biblical.
Back
in the United States, Metropolitan Samuel was a hard man to deal with. He
refused permission to copy more of his scrolls, and wanted top prices for
them all. But everyone was hesitant to purchase them, since the State of
Israel was attempting to block their sale, stating that it was their
property. Finally on July 1, 1954, through a third person (Yigael Yadin,
son of the late Sukenik), the State of Israel bought his
scrolls—including the Isaiah Scroll—for $250,000. They are now housed
in a special building in Jerusalem.
But
Kiraz received none of the quarter of a million dollars, although,
impoverished by the Palestine War, and forsaken by Samuel, he lay sick in
Beirut.
On
June 1, 1956, the contents of the Copper Scroll were announced: They
consisted of a list of locations where fabulous gold and silver treasures
were located throughout Palestine! But no one was ever able to find them.
(You will find the list, and John Allegro’s attempt to locate the
treasure, in his book, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll.)
So
that, in brief, is the story of the finding of the Dead Sea scrolls. The
reason they are so important is that, before they were found, nearly all
the oldest Old Testament manuscripts we had dated were from about A.D.
700. But the Dead Sea scrolls take us back to about 150-200 B.C. In
addition, none had ever been found in Palestine from before the tenth
century, A.D. Critics scornfully suggested that no one could really know
what the Old Testament books was like, since they were written so long
ago, before our oldest manuscripts. But the finding of the Dead Sea
Scrolls put all that to rest. It was discovered that the same information
in your and my Old Testament, is what is to be found in the Dead Sea
copies of those books.
Among
the total Dead Sea scrolls and fragments, were more than 125 Old Testament
manuscripts, including parts of every book except Esther, have been found.
They range in date from about 250 B.C. to about A.D. 68. Some are,
therefore, more than a thousand years older than previously known
documents in Biblical Hebrew. Non-Biblical materials spanned from 375 B.C.
to A.D. 135. More than 500 different script types have been identified.
The
Dead Sea Scrolls have provided a powerful vindication of the truth of the
Old Testament Scriptures.
There are so many, many indications
that we live in the last days. This great flood of manuscript discoveries
constitutes yet another one.
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