Findings of Qumran caves 1- 4

Cave No. 1 

The initial seven scrolls discovered in 1947 by the Bedouin were in 10 jars in cave 1 and they were the Manual of Discipline, War of Sons of Light, and Thanksgiving Scroll, two copies of the book of Isaiah, Genesis Apocryphon and Habakkuk Commentary. The manual of Discipline or Community Rule manuscript contains information about the religious community at Qumran. The document clearly states the rules relating to personal piety where every member of the community needs to practice throughout their life. The war scroll describes a war between the forces of good and evil and it is said to extend over forty years. The scrolls also include information, of the Israel army in detail and also include prayers and hymns as well. Thanksgiving scrolls a collection of devotional “psalms”. The scroll contains at least 24 hymns and it is called as the Thanksgiving Hymns because of the frequent repetition of the phrase “I thank thee, O Lord.”

The two Isaiah scrolls found in cave1 1QIsaa was the largest of the two and 1QIsab which is the smallest is known as the St Mark’s Isaiah because it was initially owned by the St Mark’s Monastery. The Isaiah scrolls which is the largest and oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, is the same as that of the traditional Book of Isaiah in the Bible. The genesis Apocryphon which consists of 4 sheets of leather with the beginning and end damaged, describes the story of Noah, Lamech and Abraham. The Habakkuk scrolls reveal the prophecies in relation to the people of Qumran in the last days.

Cave No. 2

In February 1952 archaeologists who had been excavating the site of Qumran, came across the cave no 2. It contained fragments of many Biblical books, including all five Books of Moses( the Book of Leviticus is written in old Hebrew script), Jeremiah, Psalms and the apocryphal book of Enoch

Cave No. 3

Cave 3 excavated in March 1952. It contained fragments of Ezekiel, Psalms, Lamentations and a commentary on Isaiah, but the most unusual finding  was the Copper Scroll, which gives details of 64 sites where treasures of gold, silver and precious religious vessels, hidden around Jerusalem and Qumran itself. The copper scrolls were rolled into separate two scrolls which were heavily oxidized after almost two-thousand years in the cave. Scholars and experts had to cut the scroll in half in order to open it so that it could be read.

Cave No 4

Discovered in September 1952, more than 15,000 fragments from over 200 books were found in this cave including fragments of every Old Testament book except Esther. The manuscripts were greatly in a deteriorated state and most of the readable fragments were very small. As for the contents following are some of the well known manuscript fragments  found in cave 4.The Commentaries on Genesis which relates to the biblical story of Noah’s ark and the floods and the two manuscripts of Apocryphon of Joshua, which  just over 41 fragments closely relates to the biblical book of Joshua.

As for the research process  I did use the book of “The complete world of The Dead Sea Scrolls written by Philip R. Davies, George J. Brooke and Phillip R Callaway and the book of “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” by James Vanderkam  and Peter  flint which both were  borrowed from my local library. I also searched via Google on caves and found some interesting sites such as the museum of Unnatural mystery site and Bible Places which I found information on Qumran caves 1 to 4.

Bibliography:

Davis, R Philip, Brooke, J George & Callaway, R Phillip 2002, The complete world of dead sea Scrolls, Thames & Hudson ltd, London, pp. 82-150.

Vanderkam, James, & Flint, Peter 2002, The meaning of the dead sea scrolls: their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity, 1st edn, Harper Collins Publishers Inc., NY.

The Mysterious Treasure of the Copper Scroll 1999, The Museum of Unnatural Mystery, viewed 17 October 2011, < http://www.unmuseum.org/copper.htm> 

Qumran Caves2011, Bible Places, viewed 17 October 2011,< http://www.bibleplaces.com/qumrancaves.htm>

Israelarchaeology 2010, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Copper Scroll, 29 March, viewed 4 October 2011, < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW7rnucQafs> 

Israelarchaeology 2010, The greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century: The official Dead Sea Scrolls movie, viewed 17 October 2011,< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF3z4FcZegA&feature=relmfu >