Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1)
The 1947 find that gave the world Hebrew Bibles a thousand years older than any known before
Found 1947 — Bedouin shepherds of the Ta'amireh tribe (Muhammed edh-Dhib and companions); scrolls then reached Bethlehem dealer Kando, Metropolitan Athanasius Samuel and E. L. Sukenik; Cave 1 excavated by G. Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux in 1949
Where Qumran, northwest shore of the Dead Sea (West Bank (Palestinian Territories))
Dates from c. 250 BCE – 68 CE · Hellenistic to early Roman · Late Second Temple; between Malachi and the Gospels
Now at Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (the seven Cave 1 scrolls); Israel Antiquities Authority (Cave 4 fragments); Jordan Museum, Amman (some, including the Copper Scroll)
How Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) was found
A shepherd searching for a lost animal threw a stone into a cave and heard pottery break. Seven scrolls in jars came out of Cave 1; Bedouin and archaeologists went on to find eleven caves by 1956, Cave 4 (1952) alone yielding fragments of about 600 manuscripts.
What it is
About 930 manuscripts, mostly parchment, some papyrus, in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, found in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran. Roughly a quarter are books of the Hebrew Bible (every book except Esther); the rest are commentaries, community rules, hymns, calendars and other Jewish writings.
Why it matters for the Bible
Before 1947 the oldest complete Hebrew Bible manuscripts dated to about 1000 CE. The scrolls pushed the manuscript evidence back a millennium and showed that the consonantal text behind our Bibles was copied with great care, while also revealing textual variety in books like Samuel and Jeremiah. They open a window onto Jewish belief in the two centuries before Yeshua (Jesus): messianic hope, the Torah calendar debates, purity, and the 'sons of light' against the 'sons of darkness'.
The Hebrew word: me-gee-LAH
מְגִלָּה
מְגִלָּה is pronounced me-gee-LAH and means scroll (Strong's H4039).
Places
- Salt Sea (Dead Sea) — יָם הַמֶּלַח (yahm hah-MEH-lach) — sea of salt
Events
Copying of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Second Temple period · Hiding of the scrolls before the Roman advance, 68 CE
Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) in Scripture
Genesis 14:3 First mention of Salt Sea in Scripture.
Isaiah 40:8 'The word of our God stands forever'; the scrolls show the text preserved across a thousand years.
Jeremiah 36:2 YHVH tells Jeremiah to take a scroll and write; the Qumran finds are the oldest surviving scrolls of the prophets.
Questions people ask
What is Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1)?
About 930 manuscripts, mostly parchment, some papyrus, in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, found in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran. Roughly a quarter are books of the Hebrew Bible (every book except Esther); the rest are commentaries, community rules, hymns, calendars and other Jewish writings.
When was Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) discovered?
It was found in 1947 by Bedouin shepherds of the Ta'amireh tribe (Muhammed edh-Dhib and companions); scrolls then reached Bethlehem dealer Kando, Metropolitan Athanasius Samuel and E. L. Sukenik; Cave 1 excavated by G. Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux in 1949, at Qumran, northwest shore of the Dead Sea.
Where is Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) today?
Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (the seven Cave 1 scrolls); Israel Antiquities Authority (Cave 4 fragments); Jordan Museum, Amman (some, including the Copper Scroll).
Which Bible verses does Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) relate to?
Genesis 14:3, Isaiah 40:8, Jeremiah 36:2.
Related discoveries
- מְעָרָהQumran Cave 12 (2017)A newly excavated scroll cave, looted in antiquity but proving the caves still hold secrets
- אֵל עֶלְיוֹןGenesis Apocryphon (1QapGen)An Aramaic retelling of Genesis with Lamech, Noah and Abraham speaking in their own voices
- כִּכָּרCopper Scroll (3Q15)A treasure list engraved on copper, the strangest of the Dead Sea Scrolls
- מִקְדָּשׁTemple Scroll (11QTa)The longest Dead Sea Scroll, a rewritten Torah describing an ideal Temple and its laws
- בְּנֵי אוֹרWar Scroll (1QM)The 'War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness', a battle plan for the end of days
- תְּהִלִּיםGreat Psalms Scroll (11QPsa) with Psalm 151A Cave 11 psalter in a different order, with Psalm 151 and other hymns unknown to the Hebrew Bible
Sources
Open Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Cave 1) in Hebrew Explorer →