Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls

Dec 14

Reading “Invisible” Dead Sea Scrolls

By: Christy Chapman and W. Brent Seales

Technology in the hands of scholars, conservators, and archaeologists alike has long been central to the successful preservation and analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls. […]

Sep 16

Israel Claims Rare Paleo-Hebrew Papyrus Recovered

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), an incredibly rare papyrus with Paleo-Hebrew text dating to the time of the First Temple has been recovered […]

what are the dead sea scrolls

Aug 29

What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer and Megan Sauter

The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many to be the most significant archaeological find of the 20th century. From 1947 to 1956, thousands of […]

Aug 3

Who Was Ezra?

By: John Gregory Drummond

Who was Ezra? Old Testament texts mention him, and a biblical book bears his name, but Erza remains a mysterious figure to most. While the […]

qumran-calendar-4q324d-sm

Jul 9

Newly Deciphered Dead Sea Scroll Reveals 364-Day Calendar

By: Robin Ngo

Researchers recently deciphered one of the last two remaining Dead Sea Scrolls. Written in code, the scroll describes a 364-day calendar used by the Qumran community that lived in the Judean Desert.

messianic-apocalypse-scroll

Jun 28

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament

By: Megan Sauter

What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say about Jesus? What do they say about the world in which Jesus lived? In BAR, James C. VanderKam examines the overlap between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament.

Jun 9

Josephus on the Essenes

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Josephus’s commentaries on the laws and characteristics of the Essene community have been invaluable to scholars studying ancient Jewish laws and customs.

Qumran, Aerial View

May 8

Who Were the Essenes?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

A recent study has sought to determine by sophisticated methods whether Khirbet Qumran was home to a community of sectarian Jews, the Essenes.

Copper Scroll

Apr 26

Dating the Copper Scroll

By: Megan Sauter

In 1952, archaeologists found the Copper Scroll in a cave at the site of Qumran near the Dead Sea. Made of copper, the scroll stood […]

Moses Shapira, the man behind the Shapira Fragments

Apr 21

The Shapira Fragments

By: Jonathan Klawans

Followers of this blog may have heard that the 19th-century Shapira Affair[1] has resurfaced again. In March, 2021, a biblical scholar at the University of […]