Dead Sea Scrolls: Evidence of Jesus Christ
The Dead Sea Scrolls point to the evidence of Jesus Christ. From Genesis 3:15 God gives us the promise of His Son, the Messiah. The prophets in the Old Testament wrote about the coming Messiah, Jesus. Isaiah chapter 53 is about the Suffering Servant which is to come who is the Messiah or Jesus. In the gospel of Luke 4:18–19, Jesus is in the synagogue reading Isaiah 61:1–2, which prophesied about His first coming. In Luke 4:21, Jesus told his listening fellow Jews; “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The Jews knew Jesus was saying that He was the promised Messiah God in the flesh. This irritated The Jews so much that they picked up stones to stone him for blasphemy. The Dead Sea Scrolls has the complete book of Isaiah and all other books from what we Christians call the Old Testament which point to Jesus. When we read the Old Testament, it points to Jesus. The Dead Sea Scrolls are the earliest Old Testament Hebrew manuscripts ever found. They date back as far as 300 B.C. 1
The Discovery2
You are about to read the most extraordinary and thrilling archaeological adventure of the 20th century. Our story starts once upon a time in the winter of 1946–47. The place is the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Palestine. Picture a lost goat running up a cliff and into a limestone cave. A young Arab Shepherd is close behind. The Shepherd throws a rock into the cave to get the goat’s attention. He misses the goat but hits something. Strange sounds come from the cave. In the stillness of the air, the Shepherd hears broken pottery. Jum’a Muhammed the young Bedouin Shepherd yells to his two cousins to join him to see what is in this cave.It is uncertain which cousin first noticed the cave. Muhammed Ahmed el-Hamed, known as “Muhammed the Wolf” claims he was the first to enter the cave. The third teenage cousin who accompanied the Bedouin was the oldest. His name was Khalil Musa.
These three Shepherd boys first removed three scrolls out of the cave. This cave would soon be known as Qumran Cave #1. These scrolls included the complete Isaiah scroll, the Manual of Discipline, and the Habakkuk Commentary. From this cave, the boys found four more scrolls. They now had seven scrolls of antiquity. What would they do with them?
The Bedouin Offer Scrolls for Sale3
In April 1947, the Shepherd boys Jum’a and Khalil, took these scrolls over to Bethlehem to show to various antiquity dealers. One of these dealers suggested the boys go to Khalil Iskander Shahin, a Syrian Orthodox Christian who owned a cobbler shop, and in the back was an antiquities shop. This cobbler was simply known as Kando. Kando offered the boys £5 for the scrolls. In the future Kando would act as a middleman for the Shepherd boys.
Another antiquities dealer, George Ishaya Shamoun, who saw the scrolls from the Shepherd boys partnered with Kando. George and Kando took the scroll which was known as the Manual of Discipline to Athanasius Yeshue Samuel of the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark’s in Jerusalem. Samuel confirmed that the scroll was written in Hebrew and that the scrolls were made of animal skins. He said that he would buy this scroll and any others like it.
The Metropolitan Samuel4
Kando took the Manual of Discipline back with him to check with the Shepherd boys for any more scrolls. Several weeks later Kando gives Samuel a call. By this time Samuel is quite excited to see the scrolls. However, this is not the best time to be roaming the streets of Jerusalem. There is all kinds of violence being agitated by Jews, Arabs, and Great Britain. On the first Saturday in July 1947, an appointment was made for Samuel to see the scrolls at the Metropolitan of St. Mark’s in Jerusalem from the Shepherd boys. The appointment was made sometime in the morning. Even by noon Samuel still did not hear from the boys. While eating lunch Samuel heard from one of the other monks mentioning that he turned away some Bedouin from the monastery door earlier. The monk talked about these filthy Hebrew scrolls that the Bedouin were holding; they were possibly old Torahs covered with pitch, and they stunk. The monk said he could not allow such filth within his monastery.
Apologies were made, but it was a couple of weeks before Kando could get back to Jerusalem with the scrolls. By this time Samuel had heard the news about the discovery of the scrolls. Finely Samuel got to see the scrolls. This time there were five scrolls in all. The church gave Kando £24 for the scrolls. Two-thirds went to the Shepherd boys. In the months ahead numerous incidents surfaced about the scrolls possibly being fake.
Samuel went to École Biblique, the Dominican monastery of St. Stephen which is also the location for the French Biblical and Archaeology School. Samuel talked to Father Marmardji about the scrolls. Father Marmardji along with Father J. Van der Ploeg decided to visit St. Mark’s to look at the scrolls. Father Van der Ploeg immediately recognizes the largest scroll as the book of Isaiah. Samuel went looking for other Biblical Scholars who could give him more information on these scrolls. He also attempted to learn Hebrew.
Archaeologist and Scholar E. L. Sukenik5
Finally, in late January 1948, these scrolls came to the attention of Eleazar L. Sukenik an archaeologist at the Hebrew University. The archaeologist viewed these scrolls in a neutral area, the YMCA. Sukenik had also acquired other scrolls from the Bedouin. He wanted these scrolls and made offers to Samuel and his colleague Anton Kiraz. Kiraz and Sukenik also knew each other. Sukenik had once excavated Kiraz’s property. One of Sukenik’s offers for the scrolls was as high as £1,000. Kiraz thought since Sukenik was so excited to get possession of these scrolls maybe these scrolls were worth more than £1,000. Kiraz decided to hold off on the sale and get a second opinion. Kiraz wrote back to Sukenik that he was not going to sell yet but would wait until the local situation would settle.
Photography and Dating of Scrolls6
It will take a while before Samuel tries to sell the scrolls again. Samuel shows the scrolls to various experts. Some of these experts believed they were worthless. However, Ibrahim Gabriel Sowmy, an expert in Aramaic culture, considered them to be very old and valuable. Sowmy telephones John Trever who is temporarily acting as director for the American Schools of Oriental Research. Sowmy asks Trever if he could help date some old manuscripts from the St. Marks library. Sowmy brings the scrolls the next day to the school.
From the school, Trever examines the scrolls along with other old Hebrew manuscripts. Trever tells Sowmy that the scrolls should be photographed. Besides being a Bible student, Trever was trained in photography. The next day Trever risks his life to go to Jerusalem at St. Marks to acquire and photograph the scrolls. Trever believed that the Isaiah scroll he was photographing was older than the Nash Papyrus that he was comparing to the scrolls. The finished photographs were sent to William Foxwell Albright, a famous archaeologist at the time who was also acting as a paleographer. A paleographer studies ancient writing.
Albright writes in a letter to the school the following: “There is no doubt in my mind that the script is more archaic than that of the Nash Papyrus.” He further stated he would date the scrolls around 100 B.C. He also points out that he does not have the slightest doubt that these scrolls are genuine.
Technical Photographer’s Note
I have been a photographer for most of my life and used the camera to copy written documents. In 1947 the camera of choice for this technical work would have been a large-format film view camera. Such cameras used held 4x5” to 8x10” sheets of film. Large sheets of film like this give a great deal of resolution, detail, and sharpness throughout the image. Many photographic hobbyists today who still shoot film still use these types of cameras that take large sheets of film. The quality of 35mm film in the late 40’s was very inferior to the 35mm film sold today. The image size of a 35mm negative is only 24x36mm. This size of an image would be too puny for photographic copy work, especially in 1947.
At first, I thought the photographers of the Dead Sea Scrolls would use copy film to photograph the scrolls. This type of film has a lower contrast than conventional films. However, my assumption was wrong. I have recently read in the book Dead Sea Scrolls by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., and Edward Cook7 that photographers used infrared film to copy the scrolls. I guess that makes sense since infrared film can detect information that the human eye cannot see. Where the writing may no longer be visible to the human eye infrared film can bring it into appearance.
Today digital imaging camera sensors that are sensitive only to the infrared spectrum are used to copy these ancient documents. The camera of today that is similar to the large format view camera used in the days of film photography is called a technical camera and has a large digital back. For this type of high detail work the sensor size is a medium format digital sensor which is as large as 4x5.4cm. The photographers also use various types of imaging software for editing the images.
The Dead Sea Scrolls in America
Increased violence in Israel threatens the Dead Sea Scrolls. Sowmy was killed by bomb fragments right in the courtyard at St Mark's.8 Samuel decided to store the scrolls in a safer place. He decided to store them in Beirut, Lebanon.9 At this time more word had gotten out about the scrolls. These scrolls became famous. Everybody wanted to see them. Samuel wanted to take the scrolls to the United States to display and perhaps sell them. Claims were made by both Israel and Jordan on ownership of the scrolls.
The scrolls went to the United States and were displayed in several locations. The publicity of the scrolls brought their awareness to the average person and increased their value. For security, these scrolls did not find a home in a museum but found safety in the home of a Syrian Orthodox Christian in Worcester, Massachusetts. This house had a specially designed safe to keep the scrolls safe.10
The authenticity of the scrolls was still being debated by scholars. Some said they were a hoax. Samuel was declared an outlaw in the country of Jordan. A frustrated Samuel decides to sell the scrolls in America. He put a newspaper want-ad in the Wall Street Journal. On June 1, 1954, an ad was placed in the Wall Street Journal under the caption, “Miscellaneous for Sale.” The ad read: “The Four Dead Sea Scrolls Biblical Manuscripts dating back to at least 200 B.C. are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group.”
The Sale of the Dead Sea Scrolls11
The archaeologist and scholar, Eleazar L. Sukenik wanted to purchase the scrolls from Samuel. Professor Yigael Yadin a scholar and son of Sukenik went over to visit America. In America, he came across the Wall Street Journal ad. He knew both he and his father wanted the scrolls. Yadin was determined to buy the scrolls for Israel. He knew the difficulty that his father ran into dealing with Samuel so Yadin found someone who would act on his behalf along with the government of Israel to purchase the scrolls. The man who would purchase the scrolls for Yadin and Israel was Sidney Esteridge. On July 1, 1954, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York Samuel meets Sidney Esteridge with lawyers and others to close a sale on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The sale was for $250,000.
The Shrine of the Book12
Thanks to Yadin all the Dead Sea Scrolls found by the Bedouin shepherds were now in the hands of Israel. A new museum was constructed in Jerusalem. This museum goes by the name “Shrine of the Book.” This building was specifically built to house the Dead Sea Scrolls. This building is a fine piece of architecture that protects the scrolls. Since Israel has many enemies there is an underground safe room that acts as a bomb shelter. The steel walls underground are 1.5 feet thick. In 1991 during the Scud missile attacks by Iraq during the Gulf War the scrolls were safe. Inside the museum, we can see the 23.5-foot-long Isaiah Scroll which is mounted so one can walk completely around in a circle to see the entire scroll. On the top of this Isaiah scroll is built a large Torah scroll holder.
This building is beautiful to look at. A black slab contrasts with the white dome. The white dome of the building is shaped like the lid of the jars that held the scrolls. The black slab together with the white dome symbolizes the wars of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness which is a topic of one of the scrolls.
Hershel Shanks Freed the Dead Sea Scrolls
A very popular magazine known as the Biblical Archaeology Review was started by a Jewish lawyer who became interested in archaeology from a trip to Israel. Out of his love for archaeology in March 1975, he started the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review. The magazine would publish feature articles on the latest discoveries in biblical archaeology. Hershel Shanks is best known for freeing the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls. For decades nothing was published about the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scholars who held rights to these scrolls claimed they were not ready to publish for the public. Finally, Hershel Shanks had enough; he wanted the public to see these scrolls. Without permission, he illegally published a sample of the writings in the Biblical Archaeology Review. Although Hershal Shanks was sued for infringement, he lost the case and had to pay a large fine, but we the public benefit from the action of Hershel Shanks. Nowadays you can even view these scrolls online. Thank you, Hershel Shanks. You can read his autobiography, Freeing the Dead Sea Scrolls13 which you can find in bookstores or online. I have read this book, and it is in my library. You can also subscribe to the magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review. I have a subscription.
Dead Sea Scrolls: Evidence of Jesus Christ: End Notes
J. Randall Price, Ph.D., Dead Sea Scrolls, The Discovery Heard Around the World, Pamphlet, Rose Publishing, World of the Bible Ministries, Torrance, CA 90503, (2005).
Biblical Archaeology Society and Society of Biblical Literature. The Dead Sea Scrolls.
Washington, DC 20016, ©2007 pp 7–9.
Ibid. pp 10–11.
Ibid. pp 11–14.
Ibid. pp 14–15.
Ibid. pp 15–17.
Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., Edward Cook. Dead Sea Scrolls; Harper Collins Publishers; New York, NY 10022 (1996); p 40.
Ibid. Biblical Archaeology Society and Society of Biblical Literature. The Dead Sea Scrolls; p 17.
Ibid. p17.
Ibid. p 17.
Ibid. p 18.
Ibid. pp 15–16.
Hershel Shanks, Freeing the Dead Sea Scrolls, Continuum International Publishing Group; New York, NY 10038 (2010).