The Dead Sea Scrolls

There are so many different variations of the same text that the story cannot be aligned with assurance for some scholars. There are different perspectives regarding the same stories in history, therefore they have been separated into their own collections of literature; such as canonization and biblical text recognized by different sects. Not all of the Hebrew Bible was written in Hebrew, in fact, some of the scriptures were written in Aramaic. Scholars also run into the issue with sources by means of interpretation and preservation. Primary sources like the Dead Sea Scrolls are easier to extract information from rather than archeological artifacts that are likely to be open to interpretation.

John Oswalt, in his book The Bible Among the Myths, presents his position to the reader that the bible is different and separate from other writings of the Ancient Near East. He asserts the Bible is both historically accurate and theologically sound. He makes the defense the Bible was divinely inspired and revealed to humanity and unique from other Ancient Near East literature. There was a time when the Bible, and the Israelite religion was different from its neighboring societies. But as times have changed, many people now lump the bible with other Ancient Near East myths.

How the Old Testament is known today, it was composed of works from the first-century B.C.E. However, on the other hand the books themselves date back to later dates close to the eleventh centuries or even maybe earlier. [Source]

For many years scholars have worked very hard to try and discover who is responsible for the writing of the Bible. Many critics, biblical scholars, and later writers have argued and have tried to disprove the Bible’s authenticity and reliability. The story has been that Moses was considered the authorship of the first five books of the Old Testament. But throughout the research done many have come to a conclusion that Moses did not write the first five books of the Old Testament in fact it is claimed that at least four authors are responsible for the writings of these books. Scholars have proposed and have found strong evidence that J, E, D, and P identify the various authors that are responsible for the Pentateuch, which is known as the Documentary

Jewish history and its overall themes are expressed through The Book of Esther, which is in The Holy Bible. This sacred text takes place in 486 BC, when King Xerxes I ruled Persia. This story is an historical interpretation of the life of Queen Esther along with the lives of the Jewish people. Even though The Book of Esther is only ten chapters, it contains many rich themes. Also, the characters exercise many different traits such as: fortitude, empathy, and divine providence. The Book of Esther explores many themes, such as faith, manipulation, and courage in order to show the Jews, who are living in exile, that it is possible to gain success in the country of one’s exile without showing one’s true identity.

The story of Jonah is perhaps one of the most famous in scriptures. Even non-Christians typically know the story of “Jonah and the Whale”. However, there is much more to this story than can be taken at face value. Reading this story within the context of the Old Testament reveals characteristics of each setting that add more to the story. It is understandable why an Israelite would have avoided Nineveh; Nineveh was such an undesirable place to the devout follower of God that even the possibly dangerous and uncontrollable sea was more desirable.

The book of Genesis lays the groundwork for what transpires later in The Bible, while the book of Jonah jumps forwards generations with one man’s struggle with whether to follow God’s direction. In both books, the characters disobey the good lord, in Genesis Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of life, and in Jonah, Jonah ignores God’s directive to venture to Ninevah to save their people from their own wickedness. Furthermore, during both stories Adam and Jonah each decide to hide from God. On the surface, these actions may seem similar, but deep down they are actually quite different, and both of these choices are able to give the reader a deeper perspective on the nature of the relationship between God and humans.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been described by numerous scholars and biblical commentators as one of the most important finds in archeological history. (Top 10 Most Important Historical Finds) The find occurred in 1947 when a Bedouin shepherd came across sealed jars in a cave containing leather scrolls. The scrolls which were subsequently brought to an antiques dealer in Bethlehem were purchased by a Syrian Orthodox Archbishop named Mar (Athanasius) Samuel. ( HYPERLINK "http://bible.org/byauthor/2658/Patrick%20Zukeran" Zukeran) He recognized that the scrolls were in Hebrew and were possibly very ancient. These scrolls were then examined by a prominent Middle East archaeologist, Dr. William Albright, and were confirmed as originating between the first and second century B.C. ( HYPERLINK "http://bible.org/byauthor/2658/Patrick%20Zukeran" Zukeran)

This was arguably Professor Albright’s greatest achievement in verifying the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Professor Albright, “There is no doubt in my mind that the script is more archaic than that of the Nash papyrus (a very small portion of the Old Testament dated between the second century b.c. and first century a.d.)… I would prefer a date around 100 b.c.…” Inside the archaeological community and the general public, Albright received critical acclaim.

The prophet Jonah was an angry, hateful man who lived in eighth century B.C. During the reign of King Jeroboam II, he was commission by God to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent of their wicked ways. While it is not known, who wrote the book of Jonah is it widely believed to be have been penned by the prophet himself. The passage I have chosen takes place after the people of Nineveh repent and God has shown compassion for them. Jonah is stubbornly angry at God’s compassion and leaves Nineveh. The passage picks up with Jonah sulking on a hill overlooking the city.

Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that

The Dead Sea Scrolls were written in three languages of Scripture. According to an an online article written by Ed Stetzer titled, A Closer Look: The Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, of the 941 scrolls that were found in the Qumran caves, 240 are biblical scrolls and 701 are non-biblical scrolls. Of the 240 biblical scrolls, 235 are written in Hebrew, 5 in Greek and of the 701 non-biblical scrolls, 548 are written in Hebrew, 137 in Aramaic and 5 in Greek. Flint says, “this means that at least some Jews could speak Greek in late Second Temple Palestine, and reinforces the idea that Jesus and His followers knew Greek.” Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible was the Leningrad Codex. Stetzer highlights a point that “none of the Qumran scrolls was written by or for Christians, but several are relevant for understanding the historical context of Christian origins.” He goes on to say, “the three books most commonly found at Qumran are Psalms (36 scrolls), Deuteronomy (30), and Isaiah (21). This is hardly a coincidence, but speaks to similar messianic expectations and covenantal themes among the Qumranites and the early Christians.” Stetzer concludes his argument of the importance of The Dead Sea Scrolls by stating, “the Dead Sea Scrolls help scholars get closer to the original Old Testament texts where variants have entered the tradition, plus they help set the historical and cultural context for the Intertestamental and

The word of the LORD came to Jonah saying “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and

were made there has been found the ruins of a cemetery and a settlement which had been

According to chapter one, the Lord spoke to Jonah and instructed him to preach in the city of Nineveh. Jonah did not want to go Nineveh so he decided that he wanted to run away from God. While Jonah was on his way to Tarshish, God sent a great wind on the sea and it threatened the safety of the passengers on the ship. Out of desperation, the sailors on the ship cried out to their gods, and they threw the cargo off the ship in an effort to stop the ship from sinking. During all of this distress, Jonah had gone below the deck, and he fell asleep. When the captain discovered Jonah below the deck, he criticized Jonah for not calling on his god. In Jonah’s response, he stated that the Lord made the sea and the dry land. Jonah’s statement frightened the ship’s crew, and they realized that God created the storm to punish Jonah for disobeying him. The bible tells the readers that Jonah told the crew that