Findings of Qumran caves 5-11

Temple Scroll

 

Cave No. 5

Cave 5 and 6 were discovered in 1952 contained around 25 manuscripts. These include Deuteronomy, kings, Isaiah, Amos, Psalms, Lamentations, the Damascus Document the Community Rule, New Jerusalem and a text containing curses. The scroll of New Jerusalem was in Hebrew and Aramaic and describes the construction of the New Jerusalem. It gives detail description about the city and its measurements.

 Cave No. 6
 Cave 6 contained fragments of about 31 manuscripts of biblical texts. The fragments in cave 6 include Genesis and Exodus in Palaeo-Hevrew, Deuteronomy, kings, Psalms, Song of songs, Daniel, the book of Giants, the Damascus Documents, blessings, Unknown Apocrypha and Calendrical materials.

 Caves 7-10

Caves 7, 8, 9 and 10 were discovered near the site of Qumran between February and April 1955. Cave 7 contained 4 jars and 12 scrolls written in Greek and seven small scraps of papyrus. Two of the scrolls were in Greek translation, of the Book of Exodus and the other was the letter of Jeremiah. Cave 8 contained fragments of Genesis and Psalms and liturgical texts. A collection of leather tabs were discovered in cave 8 which may have used to attach to the end of the scroll and used for opening up the scroll. Cave 9 contained only a papyrus fragment and cave 10 yielded only an inscribed potsherd.

 Cave No.11

Cave 11 the last discovery made by Bedouin in February 1956, contained Biblical and Apocryphal texts. The most notable manuscript discovered in this Cave was the Temple Scroll, the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls and apparently an additional book of the Torah. According to Israeli sources, the scroll was held by the antiquities dealer Kando for 7 years, and with the occupation of the West Bank by Israelis in 1967 the scrolls were seized by the Israeli government. The length of the scroll is about 28 feet, and said to be the longest scroll among the Qumran findings. In 1977 Israeli Archaeologist Yigael Yadin published a 3 volume edition of the scroll and a Hebrew and an English translation appeared in 1983. The Temple scrolls contains a series of commands to the people of Israel also it gives detailed instructions on the building and ritual maintenance of the temple itself.

As for the research process I did use the same books which  are  “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. As for web sites I used BibliaHebraica. Org and the Ancient Hebrew Research Center site.

Bibliography:

Davis, R Philip, Brooke, J George & Callaway, R Phillip 2002, The complete world of dead sea Scrolls, Thames & Hudson ltd, London, pp. 152-156.

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.

Dead Sea Scrolls2003, BibliaHebraica, viewed 17 October 2011, < http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/dead_sea_scrolls.htm>

The Temple ScrollExcerpted from Time.com 1999, Ancient Hebrew Research Center, viewed 17 October 2011, <http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/21_templescroll.html >

Israelarchaeology 2010, Temple Scroll, 24 October, viewed  October 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH6aJY8qRts>

Museumisrael 2011, Great Isaiah Scroll, 24 July,viewed 22 October 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YQNcbiM0oM&feature=player_embedded#!>