The Dead Sea Scrolls

3 Pages 741 Words

The History of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Known to be the most important archeological discovery of the twentieth century, the Dead Sea Scrolls have not only become a window through which we can explore ancient civilization, but most importantly, a foundational source we can use to see a glimpse of an ancient religious people. Composed of over 800 manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, when discovered, astonished all and brought a panic among many. Possibly threatening both the Jewish and Christian fundaments, the scrolls had scholars hoping to find answers to questions left unreciprocated since the days of Moses. The following takes readers on a journey exploring how the scrolls came to be, how they were discovered, and most crucially, what they contain.
After the destruction of the first Temple and the rebuilding of the second, the Jews of Judea still deemed the holy place as their center of devotion. Because the Romans had now conquered Judea, many priests felt the Greek way of life, known as Hellenism, had empowered the Jewish way of life. A group of priests known as the Essenes, meaning the “purified ones” fled to the scorching days of the desert around 150BCE. As they pondered through the hot sun, tired and confused they brought with them writings and rituals of what they believed would one day open the way to a renewal of Israel, and a planning of a new and uncorrupted temple.
The Essenes settled on a plateau in the desert where cliffs lied to the west and the Dead Sea to the east. As they built the community and village, which are now known as Qumran, they fabricated extraordinary architectural designs, including water canals through the village in which they would submerge themselves for “cleansing” and “purifying” purposes. The Essenes lived a very, very strict way of life, with numerous daily prayers being the focus of their existence. They studied vigorously the teachings and writings of the Hebrew Bible...