qumran scrolls

qumran scrolls Latest

May 30 Blog

Josephus on the Essenes

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

Apr 27 Blog

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.

Aug 20 Blog

Masada Dig Reveals a Pleasure-Garden at King Herod’s Palace

By: Robin Ngo

Masada—the remote mountain-plateau in the Judean Desert, where Herod built a palace-fortress and where Jewish Zealots made their last stand against the Romans—is being excavated once again.

Jul 14 Blog

Ancient Scribe Links Qumran Scrolls to Masada

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Paleographer Ada Yardeni identified the handwriting of a single scribe on more than 50 Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran and Masada. What can this tell us about the scribal community at Qumran?

Jul 13 Blog

First Person: Was the Dead Sea Scroll Community Celibate?

By: Hershel Shanks

One of the many fascinating questions about the Dead Sea Scroll community living at Qumran is whether its members were celibate. Did they marry and have children or not?

Jul 10 Blog

Doyenne of Hebrew Paleography

By: André Lemaire

André Lemaire reflects on the legacy of Ada Yardeni, a world-renowned scholar in the field of Hebrew and Aramaic paleography.

Feb 21 Blog

Did Archaeologists Really Discover a New Dead Sea Scroll Cave?

By: Robert Cargill

Did archaeologists excavating a cave west of the Dead Sea settlement of Qumran find a new Dead Sea Scroll cave? Scholar Robert R. Cargill examines the evidence.

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?

Oct 6 Blog

The Cities That Built the Bible

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott reviews "The Cities That Built the Bible" by Robert R. Cargill.

Dec 11 Blog

Dead Sea Scrolls History: Looking Back on the Last 75 Years

By: Megan Sauter

In an exclusive Bible History Daily interview, Dead Sea Scroll scholars Peter Flint, Martin Abegg and Andrew Perrin—directors of North America’s only research center dedicated to Qumran studies—reflect on some major moments in recent Qumran scholarship and pressing issues that lie ahead.

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