What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Question

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Roughly 1,000 manuscripts found near Qumran from 1947 onward, including the oldest known copies of Hebrew Bible books.

Archaeological Evidence

How it is argued

  1. 1

    Sectarian library

    Most scholars associate the collection with a Second Temple Jewish community at Qumran.

  2. 2

    Jerusalem-library hypothesis

    A minority view sees the scrolls as texts removed from Jerusalem for safekeeping.

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