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The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period. They were discovered over a period of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons, along with extra-biblical and deuterocanonical manuscripts from late Second Temple Judaism. At the same time, they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism. Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum, located in the city of Jerusalem. The Israeli government's custody of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on territorial, legal, and humanitarian grounds—they were mostly discovered following the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank and were acquired by Israel after Jordan lost the 1967 Arab–Israeli War—whilst Israel's claims are primarily based on historical and religious grounds, given their significance in Jewish history and in the heritage of Judaism.
Emanuel Tov is a Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist, emeritus J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible Studies in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has been intimately involved with the Dead Sea Scrolls for many decades, and from 1991, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project.
The Community Rule, which is designated 1QS and was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline, is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near the ruins of Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Rule of the Community is a crucial sectarian document and is seen as definitive for classifying other compositions as sectarian or non-sectarian. Among the nearly 350 documents discovered, roughly 30% of the scrolls are classified as "sectarian."
4Q107 (4QCantb) is a fragment of the Song of Songs in Hebrew found in Cave 4 at Qumran in the Judean Desert in Israel and which comprises part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The script on the fragment has been identified as early-Herodian. The scribe responsible for 4Q107 did not write 4Q108 as there are differences in writing style. Also, the lacuna in the second column of 4Q107 does not provide enough space to accommodate 4Q108. The fragments which make up the Song of Songs found at Qumran are numbered 4Q106, 4Q107, 4Q108, and 6Q6. The scroll 4Q240 is possibly a commentary on the Song of Songs.
4Q106 is one large and three small fragments from three columns of a scroll containing portions of the Song of Songs in Hebrew. It is one of three scrolls found in Cave 4 at Qumran that have been reconstructed as copies of the Song of Songs. These, and 6Q6 from Cave 6, comprise the total witness to the Song from the Dead Sea Scrolls, known so far.
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (DJD) is the official 40-volume publication that serves as the editio princeps for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is published by Oxford University Press.
The Enoch Seminar is an academic group of international specialists in Second Temple Judaism and the origins of Christianity who share information about their work in the field and biennially meet to discuss topics of common interest. The group is supported by the Department of Near Eastern Studies of the University of Michigan and the Michigan Center for Early Christian Studies, the group gathers about 200 university professors from more than fifteen countries.
Florentino García Martínez is a former Catholic priest, now married and for many years professor of religion and theology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is a leading expert on messianic ideas in the Dead Sea scrolls.
James E. Bowley is Chair and Professor of Religious Studies at Millsaps College. He received his Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (1992). Bowley is a noted editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls concordance project, along with Martin Abegg, Jr., Edward Cook. In addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Bowley's research and publishing focus on the Jewish literature of the Greco-Roman World and the cultural interactions among Jews, Greeks, and later Christians, and the use of written and oral traditions in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic communities. Bowley has also written a column for The Clarion-Ledger on religious issues of the day, and is a frequent speaker for community and scholarly events.
4Q448, often called the "Hymn to King Jonathan," is a piece of parchment from among the Dead Sea Scrolls, found in Cave 4, containing two separate short works, part of Psalm 154 and a prayer mentioning a King Jonathan (Yəhōnatan).
4QInstruction,, also known as Sapiential Work A or Secret of the Way Things Are, is a Hebrew text among the Dead Sea Scrolls classified as wisdom literature. It is authored by a spiritual expert, directed towards a beginner. The author addresses how to deal with business and money issues in a godly manner, public affairs, leadership, marriage, children, and family, and how to live life righteously among secular society. There is some consensus that it dates to the third century BCE.
Jean-Baptiste Humbert is a French archaeologist who has excavated in Jordan, Palestine, Iran and Israel. He is of the order of the Dominicans and is director of the Archaeology Laboratory of the École Biblique in Jerusalem. He was responsible for publishing the notes and materials from the excavations of Qumran, which were under the direction of Roland de Vaux.
4Q510–511, also given the title Songs of the Sage or Songs of the Maskil, is a fragmentary Hebrew-language manuscript of a Jewish magical text of incantation and exorcism in the Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically for protection against a list of demons. It is notable for containing the first clear usage of the Hebrew term lilith in relation to a supernatural creature. It is comparable to Aramaic incantation 4Q560 and also 11Q11.
Carol Ann Newsom is an American biblical scholar, historian of ancient Judaism, and literary critic. She is the Charles Howard Candler Professor Emerita of Old Testament at the Candler School of Theology and a former senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. She is a leading expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Wisdom literature, and the Book of Daniel.
Eileen Marie Schuller is a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Schuller is an official editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls. She teaches undergraduate and graduate studies in the Biblical field. Over a span of 30 years, her involvement in the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls has led to numerous contributions in authenticating the discoveries found in the caves near the Ancient Qumran settlement.
4Q121 is a Septuagint manuscript written on parchment, dated to the 1st century BCE or CE. The scroll contains fragments of the biblical Book of Numbers 3:40-43; 4:5-16. It was found in Qumran in Cave 4. This fragment is also numbered 803 in the list of manuscripts of the Septuagint by Alfred Rahlfs. The manuscript has been assigned palaeographically between 30 BCE and 68 CE.
Charlotte Hempel is a scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
The Dibrê Moshe, also known as the Dires de Moïse or Words of Moses, is a Hellenistic-Roman era manuscript fragment found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran Cave 1.
