khirbet qumran

khirbet qumran Latest

Sep 20 Blog

What Is the Oldest Hebrew Bible?

The oldest Hebrew Bible texts are the Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 B.C.E.–115 C.E.), but the most nearly complete copies of the Hebrew Bible are codices from a thousand years ago. What happened in the period between these two discoveries? The Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript fills the gap in our knowledge of this interim period.

A portion of the recently deciphered Dead Sea Scroll 4Q324d containing a 364-day calendar used by the Qumran community in the Judean Desert. Photo: Courtesy of the University of Haifa.

Jun 26 Blog

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.

Apr 24 Blog

Who Were the Essenes?

By: BAS Staff

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

Oct 11 Blog

Baffling Burials

By: Marek Dospěl

At Khirbet Qumran, the ancient settlement associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, excavations uncovered a seemingly illogical couple of graves. Among ordinary […]

Sep 20 Blog

Qumran’s True Purpose Discovered?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Archaeologists have long puzzled over the exact function of Khirbet Qumran—the famous site located next to the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found—since […]

Dec 30 Blog

Decayed Papyrus Hints that More Dead Sea Scrolls Remain

By: Jonathan Laden

The owner of the lid thought that it was contaminated by hardened bat dung. However, the residue was from papyrus. A jar probably fell, dislodging the lid; the papyrus Dead Sea Scrolls then decomposed over the intervening centuries before modern discovery.

Feb 20 Blog

Lawrence H. Schiffman on the Dead Sea Scrolls’ History

By: Robin Ngo

In the May/June 2015 issue of BAR, Lawrence H. Schiffman describes the Dead Sea Scrolls’ history, from their discovery in the Qumran caves to the state of present-day scroll research.

Jan 4 Blog

Where Were the Dead Sea Scrolls Found and Who Put Them There?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

For nearly 2,000 years, the Qumran caves protected the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Might the same caves also shed light on the mystery of who deposited the scrolls there in the first place?

Jun 12 Blog

The Dead Sea Scrolls—A Biography

By: Reviewed by Charlotte Hempel

Charlotte Hempel reviews "The Dead Sea Scrolls—A Biography" by John J. Collins.

Apr 16 Blog

Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

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