Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient Judean texts
The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient Jewish manuscripts discovered between 1947 and 1956 in caves near the Dead Sea in Israel.
Dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE, they include the oldest known copies of Hebrew Bible texts and documents from a Jewish sect, likely the Essenes.
The scrolls transformed biblical scholarship and understanding of Second Temple Judaism.
Middle Eastern nomadic herder
- shepherdOne who tends flocks
- caveUnderground hollow in rock
- 1947Year after WWII ended
- fragmentsIncomplete broken pieces
excavation · archaeologists · dig · site · ruins · settlement · artifacts · pottery
Judaism's core scripture
- PsalmsBiblical book of songs
- IsaiahHebrew prophet, major book
- TanakhJewish scriptural canon
- ApocryphaScripturally disputed religious texts
Septuagint · Canon · Covenant · Enoch · sectarian · variants
Treated hide for manuscripts
- papyrusAncient plant-derived writing material
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- fragmentsIncomplete broken pieces
paleography · inscriptions · scribes · scriptorium · transcription · calligraphy · inkhorn · preservation
Breakaway religious faction
- communityCollective of connected people
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- ritual purityUndefiled state for worship
- celibacyAbstaining from intimate relations
communal · apocalyptic · mikveh · ascetic · eschatology · messianic · covenant · separatist
Converting between languages
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- controversyProlonged public disagreement
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- provenanceRecord of ownership
forgery · publication · academic · research · theology · concordance · facsimile · digitization
Ancient Semitic language
- SemiticOf Hebrew or Arabic peoples
- YHWHHebrew name of God
- scribalOf professional copyists
- orthographyStandard writing conventions
linguistic · vocalization · Second Temple · philology · translation
Bedouin
Middle Eastern nomadic herder
fragments · excavation · archaeologists · dig · site · ruins · settlement · artifacts · pottery · stratigraphy
Torah
Judaism's core scripture
Apocrypha · Septuagint · Canon · Covenant · Enoch · sectarian · variants
parchment
Treated hide for manuscripts
- papyrusAncient plant-derived writing material
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
- codexAncient bound manuscript
fragments · paleography · inscriptions · scribes · scriptorium · transcription · calligraphy · inkhorn · preservation · conservation
sect
Breakaway religious faction
- communityCollective of connected people
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- ritual purityUndefiled state for worship
celibacy · communal · apocalyptic · mikveh · ascetic · eschatology · messianic · covenant · separatist · piety
translation
Converting between languages
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- controversyProlonged public disagreement
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
provenance · forgery · publication · academic · research · theology · concordance · facsimile · digitization · scholarship
Aramaic
Ancient Semitic language
orthography · linguistic · vocalization · Second Temple · philology · translation
- Biblical TextsJudith, Susanna, Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, biblical translations
- historical documentsDeclaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, Emancipation Proclamation, Federalist Papers
- Ancient IsraelIsraelites, Jerusalem, Israel, twelve tribes, Judea
- antiquitiesancient coins, ancient relics, ancient artifacts, ancient pottery, ancient seals
- Hebrew BibleTanakh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
- Jewish HistoryHolocaust, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon
Dead Sea Scrollsforgeries
Fraudulent imitations of originals
facsimiles · printed editions · secondary sources · modern translations · palimpsests