My Redeemer > Bible Dictionary > Dead Sea Scrolls > Secrets From the Desert
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Secrets From the Desert
The Discovery at Qumran
They were the archaeological discovery of the century - A priceless trove of sacred writings that had lain hidden in the Judean desert for nearly two thousand years. Since their discovery in 1947 by Bedouin shepherds in caves near Khirbet Qumran, just ten miles east of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been the subject of intense study, speculation, and controversy. They have excited the imagination of biblical scholars and historians, offered new insights into the origins and veracity of the Bible, and provided tantalizing glimpses into the turbulent times that gave birth to Christianity and modern Judaism. And although a half-century has passed since their discovery, they continue to reveal their secrets. The intensely difficult task of translating and analyzing the ancient Jewish texts still is not complete. Bible scholars and paleographers who have been working for decades on the most indecipherable of the brittle fragments still are a year or two away from publishing the last of their findings. The often passionate and sometimes rancorous debates that have ensued over the meaning and the biblical significance of the writings from Qumran are certain to go on for many more years to come. What continues to make the Dead Sea Scrolls so momentous and so controversial is their absolute uniqueness, not only as an archaeological discovery but as an unmediated literary link to a profoundly important time and place in history. Suddenly (and for the first time), in the middle of the twentieth century, the modern world had at its disposal an entire religious library from first-century Palestine, from the days of Jesus and Paul and the years just preceding the destruction of Jerusalem - an event that forever changed the course of Judaism. The library's "catalog" is surprisingly extensive. The entire Qumran cache consists of 830 distinct documents salvaged from eleven different caves between 1947 and 1956. Most are written either in Hebrew or Aramaic, although a few Greek fragments also were found. The texts, most scholars believe, were composed or copied between about 250 B.C. and 65 A.D. - probably by members of an ascetic Jewish sect known as Essenes who are thought to have lived in the isolated village adjacent to the caves. Roughly one-fourth of the documents, 202 in all, are biblical texts, and these include at least a portion (generally in many fragments) of every Old Testaament book except Esther - the only book of the Bible that does not mention GOD. Also found were copies of familiar apocryphal literature - quasi-biblical books such as Enoch, Tobit, Sirach, and Jubilees. But the bulk of the Qumran writings were unknown to the modern world; in fact, many scholars believe that they were unique to the scroll community. These include sectarian commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures, psalm-like hymns and prayers, vivid apocalyptic prophecies, and intricate rules and instructions for religious and community life. Scholars have found these sectarian writings of special interest because of what they reveal about the pious people who wrote and fervently studied them and, by extension, about the broader religious climate in Palestine at this important moment in history. That the scrolls survived at all for two millennia is almost a miracle in itself. It was the custom in ancient Judaism to give worn-out biblical manuscripts a reverent burial so that the sacred pieces of parchment would return to the dust of the earth. That is why so few ancient Hebrew biblical texts exist today. But the scrolls at Qumran were not buried like that; they were sealed in clay jars, for the most part. Most scholars believe that they were hidden in the caves, probably during the Jewish Revolt of 66-73 A.D., not as a burial but as protection against Roman attack. And that was a wise move. The Roman legions burned and leveled Qumran in 68 A.D. How the long-forgotten scrolls eventually found their way out of their dark desert depository to be studied by a new generation of devoted readers is a fascinating story, and one that still deserves to be told. In its telling in the past, minor variations have arisen and certain details have been disputed. But here, in broad brush strokes, is the intriguing story that has emerged.1
Out of the CavesIt was early 1947, some say late 1946. Three Bedouin cousins - members of the Ta'armireh tribe - were tending their goats on the plateau below the rock cliffs of the Wadi qumran on the morthwest shore of the Dead Sea. One of the cousins, Jum'a Muhammad Khalil, was tossing stones at a nimble-footed goat that had wandered too far up into the rocks, when one of the stones skipped into a narrow hole in the side of the cliff and audibly shattered something inside. Jum'a climbed up to investigate. There in the cliff he found two small openings, but they were too narrow for him to enter through and it was too dark inside to see anything. He tossed another stone and again heard the sound of cracking pottery. Thinking that perhaps he had found a hidden treasure, he called to his cousins and told them what had happened. They listened attentively, but it was getting late and there wasn't time to explore the cave. So the three cousins left to gather their herd for the night, agreeing that they would come back another day. In the morning they took their goats to a fresh-water spring about a mile to the south, and by the time they returned to the previous day's camp, it was again too late to explore the cave. But on the following day, Muhammad Ahmed el-Hamed, nicknamed "edh-Dhib ("the Wolf"), awoke early and climbed up to the cave alone. He squeezed through the opening and lowered himself feet first into the dark chamber. Inside, he found the floor littered with broken pottery and other debris. Against the wall were ten unbroken jars, each about two feet high and some with their lids still in place. Anxiously, he tore off the lid of the first jar and reached inside. It was empty. He went to the next. Nothing. To his dismay, jar after jar proved to be empty. He reached into the ninth jar and found it full of sand. Finally, he took the lid off the last jar and felt inside. His fingers closed around a cloth bundle. When he pulled it out, he saw that it was a leather scroll, carefully wrapped in linen. The jar yielded two more scrolls, one without a cloth wrapper. The three scrolls later would be identified as the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Manual of Discipline, and a commentary on the book of Habakkuk. Muhammad ehd-Dhib gathered up his treasure and left the cave. Once edh-Dhib's cousins overcame their initial disappointment that their "hidden treasure" had turned out to be nothing more than three brittle rolls of parchment, they decided they could probably sell them for a modest price to an antiquities dealer. They agreed that they would take the scrolls to the Ta'amireh market in Bethlehem. Before they did that, however, Jum'a returned to the cave - which scholars would come to refer to as Cave 1 - with some Bedouin tribesmen. They found and removed four additional scrolls that edh-Dhib apparently had overlooked. Those would turn out to be another partial copy of the book of Isaiah, a collection of hymns known as the Thanksgiving Hymn Scroll, a book of apocalyptic writings known as the War Scroll, and the Genesis Apocryphon, a fanciful amplification of stories found in the biblical book of Genesis. The Bedouin also removed two old jars that had encased the scrolls. These, too, they thought, might fetch a price on the antiquities market. Sometime in April 1947, Jum'a and his older cousin, Khalil Musa, stuffed the fragile scrolls into a bag and took them to Bethlehem. There they apparently divided the scrolls into two lots and began talking to antiquities dealers. One was Khalil Iskander Shahin, also known as Kando - a cobbler and a Syrian Orthodox Christian. Kando agreed to find a buyer for the four scrolls he was shown, in exchange for one-third of the sale price. He did not know yet what the scrolls contained or what they were worth, but thinking they might be written in the Syriac language, he and another church member, Isaiah George, arranged to show one of the scrolls to the Syrian Orthodox metropolitan of Jerusalem, Athanasius Yeshue Samuel. A week later at St. Mark's Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem, Metropolitan Samuel examined the scroll - it was the Manual of Discipline - and recognized that it was written in Hebrew, not Syriac. After Kando and George told him that it had come from the desert near the Dead Sea, he suspected that it must be old: the area had been uninhabited since early Christian times. The metropolitan agreed to buy the scroll and any others the Bedouin wished to sell from the same lot. A meeting was arranged that summer between the metropolitan and two of the Bedouin cousins at the monastery. This was a turbulent time in Jerusalem. The British Mandate was drawing to a close, and the United Nations was debating the partitioning of Palestine and the creation of a new Jewish state. The gradual withdrawal of the British had spawned deadly violence between Arab, Jew, and Briton. Travel in and out of the city was a dangerous venture. Kando had convinced the two Bedouin to take the scrolls themselves to St. Mark's to negotiate the terms of sale directly with the metropolitan. But when the tattered-looking cousins arrived at the monastery door carrying their dirty bundle, they were turned away by a monk who had not been told of the meeting. The cousins took their scrolls, boarded a bus, and returned to Bethlehem. When the metropolitan learned of this later in the day, he was horrified. Had the deal been blown? Immediately, he called Kando and apologized for the tragic snub. The cobbler understood what had happened and agreed to bring the scrolls to Jerusalem himself. At that meeting two weeks later, the metropolitan finally had the chance to closely examine what now were five scrolls - the one containing the Manual of Discipline had been broken in two. He listened intently to the story of the discovery in the cave at Qumran. Although he could not read Hebrew and still did not know exactly what he was holding in his hands, the metropolitan was now convinced that these indeed were ancient manuscripts, perhaps early Christian writings. The deal was quickly struck. The metropolitan paid Kando twenty-four pounds, about one hundred dollars at the time, for the five (four) scrolls. Two-thirds would go to the Bedouin cousins, Jum'a and Kahlil. The Dead Sea Scrolls now had a new home in St. Mark's Monastery. Almost at once, Metropolitan Samuel set out to learn what he could about the age and content of the manuscripts now in his possession. But it would take six months before he learned anything definitive. He consulted with a number of antiquities experts, but because of the perilous conditions in the city and the reluctance of some authorities to be party to what might be a hoax, he had difficulty getting anyone to actually examine the manuscripts. One who was willing - he was eager, in fact - was Professor Eleazer Sukenik of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Sukenik was a highly respected archaeologist who always kept a watchful eye on the antiquities market in Palestine. (His son, Yigael Yadin, then a commander in the underground army, would later become a famous Israeli archaeologist and a distinguished scroll scholar.) Unknown to almost everyone at the time, Sukenik already had in his possession the other three scrolls from Cave 1 at Qumran - the Thanksgiving Hymn Scroll, the War Scroll, and the partial Isaiah scroll. He had bought them from a Bethlehem antiquities dealer on November 29, 1947 - the very day that the United Nations approved the partitioning of Palestine. Years later, Yadin would write of the extraordinary symbolism in the confluence of those two dramatic events:
Sukenik had first heard about the scrolls at St. Mark's in December from a Hebrew University librarian who had gone to the monastery some months earlier to look at the manuscripts. The librarian told Sukenik that he had judged the scrolls to be Samaritan and probably not very old. But Sukenik suspected otherwise. He felt sure they were companions of the scrolls that he now had. He tried to reach Metropolitan Samuel, but to no avail. A month later, in January 1948, Sukenik heard from an acquaintance by the name of Anton Kiraz, who was a parishioner at St. Mark's and who offered to show him some scrolls that were for sale at the monastery. Sukenik was thrilled at his good fortune. Kiraz arranged for Sukenik to view the manuscripts at the local YMCA - a neutral site in the fractured city. As soon as he saw the scrolls, Sukenik knew they indeed were part of the same collection, and expressed an interest in buying them. Kiraz permitted Sukenik to take one of the manuscripts - the Great Isaiah Scroll - back to the university for a few days. When he returned it, Sukenik proposed that the Metropolitan Samuel and the president of Hebrew University meet to personally negotiate a selling price. Kiraz took the scrolls back to the monastery. A few days later, he called and told Sukenik that the metropolitan did not wish to sell at the moment; he wanted to wait until hostilities died down so that he could better test the market. Sukenik would never see the scrolls again. By then, Metropolitan Samuel had learned that one of his scrolls was an ancient copy of the book of Isaiah. But he still was not sure just how old it was. Sukenik, on the other hand, had a strong hunch that the scrolls were from some time around the turn of the era. Perhaps they were to be associated with the Essenes, a first-century Jewish sect known from ancient sources to have lived near En Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea. Sukenik knew that there had been reports in the early Christian centuries of scrolls having been found in jars near Jericho, just to the north of the Dead Sea. But he did not share his knowledge of history or his hunch with the Syrian priest. Still seeking answers, the metropolitan contacted the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. John Trever, a recent Ph.D. recipient and an accomplished photographer who was on duty there at the time, arranged to have the four scrolls brought to the school and photographed. Trever's pictures would turn out to be an invaluable record over the years, as the manuscripts continued to deteriorate. As Trever exmined the scrolls, he was amazed at the antiquated style of the Hebrew text. He guessed that they could be as old as the Nash Papyrus - a second-century BC fragment that contained the oldest biblical Hebrew writing then known. He sent a photographic sample on to the founder of the American School, the famous biblical archaeologist and epigrapher William F. Albright, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Albright wrote back a few weeks later and confirmed Trevor's theory:
It was only then, more than a year after Bedouine herdsmen had lugged the first scrolls down the rocky hillside at Qumran, that news of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls - then known only to a small circle of scholars, clergy, and antiquities dealers in Palestine - was announced to the world. On April 11, 1948, the New Haven, Connecticut, office of the American School of Oriental REsearch issued a press release that was carried by the Times of London the following day, announcing "the discovery in Palestine of the earliest known manuscript of the Book of Isaiah" along with "three other ancient Hebrew scrolls" dating to "about the first century BC." The newspaper reported incorrectly, however, that the scrolls had been found at St. Mark's, an error that American School officials said was not a part of their original press release.4 A few days later, Sukenik issued his own announcement, leaking the news of his discovery not only to the public but to the scholars of the American School, who until then had not been aware that there were other scrolls. The New York Times carried a story on April 25 reporting that scrolls had been found "some time ago in a hillside cave near En-Geddi, halfway down the shore of the Dead Sea."5 The word was finally out. Fearing for the safety of his scrolls and still hoping to score a big sale, Metropolitan Samuel moved his manuscripts from the monastery in Jerusalem to Beirut, and eventually to the United States. There, with help from officials at the American School, he arranged to have them put on display at the Library of Congress and at a number of prestigious museums and galleries. Americans were intensely curious and flocked to see the scrolls from the Dead Sea. But still no big-time buyer emerged. Major institutions appeared reluctant to bid on antiquities whose ownership was in dispute. The Jordanian government by then was claiming title to the scrolls, since they had been found in territory under its control. The legality of removing antiquities from Palestine to Lebanon was in serious doubt. Finally, in desperation, Metropolitan Samuel, who by then was living in New Jersey, took out a now-famous ad in the Wall Street Journal on June 1, 1954:
Biblical Manuscripts dating to at least 200 BC, are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group. Box F 206, The Wall Street Journal The advertisement seemed to do the trick. On July 1, after careful negotiations, the metropolitan brought the scrolls to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York to a meeting with the purchaser, a man by the name of Sidney Etheridge. The agreed-upon price for the lot was $250,000. The metropolitan had arranged to have the proceeds go into a trust fund that would provide assistance to Syrian Orthodox churches. The deal was consummated, and the scrolls were passed to Etheridge. It appeared that the Dead Sea Scrolls would end up in a private American collection. But a few months later, in February 1955, the prime minister of Israel made the surprise announcement that the four scrolls were back in Israel. The mysterious Mr. Etheridge, it turned out, had been a middleman working for Yigael Yadin and the Israel government. Yadin had seen the newspaper ad and been determined to secure the scrolls that his father, who had passed away the year before, had wanted so much for his country. Now the four wandering scrolls from St. Mark's Monastery would be reunited with Sukenik's three and reside at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. For Metropolitan Sameul, there would be one more disappointment. Despite his careful preparations, the bill of sale had not been properly drawn up. The Internal Revenue Service declared that the proceeds of the sale counted as personal income, so most of his profit went to the United States government as taxes. AS dramatic as it had been, the biggest archaeological story of the twentieth century was only beginning to unfold. Back in Palestine, archaeologists and Bedouin relic hunters had been combing the cliffs and hillsides near Qumran in search of more scrolls. Their labors had been fruitful beyond expectation. Between 1948 and 156 they would find ten more caves and hundreds more manuscripts - biblical books and other religious writings all from the same era and, presumably, the same ancient source. The Dead Sea Scrolls, as Albright had proclaimed years earlier, indeed had proven to be the "greatest manuscript discovery of modern times." Most of the newly discovered material, however, was found to be in much worse condition than the original seven scrolls from Cave 1. Many of the manuscripts were badly decomposed and barely legible fragments. It would take painstaking effort to assemble, identify, and analyze this huge cache of ancient writings. The pieces were gathered up and deposited at the Rockefeller Museum, then known as the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem. It was left to the president of the museum, Father Roland de Vaux of the Ecole Biblique, a French Dominican school in Jerusalem, to assemble a team of scholars to conduct the arduous work. De Vaux picked seven men, all highly credentialed European and American scholars - but no Israelis - and installed himself as head of the team. As they set about their task in the early 1950s, the team of scholars had no way of knowing just how rigorous, time-consuming, and controversial their historic project would turn out to be. Over the next five decades, the scrolls from Qumran would excite and enlighten the world of biblical scholarship. But they would provoke rancorous debate and arouse seething academic jealousy. Before it was finished, the momentous and difficult task of deciphering the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls - the greatest archaeological discovery of modern times - would be called the "scandal par excellence of the twentieth century".
1. This account is a synthesis of four versions of the story contained in the following works: John C. Trever, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965); James C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994); Jarry Thomas Frank, "Discovering the Scrolls," Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Hershel Shanks (New York: Random House, 1992); and Hershel Shanks, The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Random House, 1994).
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