Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Psalms Scroll (11Q5), one of the 981 texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with a partial Hebrew transcription.
Material	Papyrus, parchment and bronze
Writing	Mostly Hebrew; Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean-Aramaic
Created	Est. 408 BCE to 318 CE
Discovered	1946/47–1956
Present location	Various

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The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts that were found in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert, near Ein Feshkha on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank; the last scrolls discovered were found in the Cave of Horror in Israel.^[1][2] The texts have great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the second-oldest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. Almost all of the scrolls are held by the state of Israel in the Shrine of the Book on the grounds of the Israel Museum, but ownership of the scrolls is disputed by Jordan and Palestine.^[3]

Many thousands of written fragments have been discovered in the Dead Sea area. They represent the remnants of larger manuscripts damaged by natural causes or through human interference, with the vast majority holding only small scraps of text. However, a small number of well-preserved, almost intact manuscripts have survived – fewer than a dozen among those from the Qumran Caves.^[4] Researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts – discovered in 1946/47 and in 1956 – from 11 caves.^[5] The 11 Qumran Caves lie in the immediate vicinity of the Hellenistic-period Jewish settlement at Khirbet Qumran in the eastern Judaean Desert, in the West Bank.^[6] The caves are located about one mile (1.6 kilometres) west of the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, whence they derive their name. Archaeologists have long associated the scrolls with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although some recent interpretations have challenged this connection and argue that priests in Jerusalem, or Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups wrote the scrolls.^[7][8]

Most of the texts use Hebrew, with some written in Aramaic (for example the Son of God text; in different regional dialects, including Nabataean), and a few in Greek.^[9] Discoveries from the Judaean Desert add Latin (from Masada) and Arabic (from Khirbet al-Mird) texts.^[10] Most of the texts are written on parchment, some on papyrus, and one on copper.^[11] Scholarly consensus dates the scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE,^[4][12] though manuscripts from associated Judaean Desert sites are dated as early as the 8th century BCE and as late as the 11th century CE.^[13] Scholarly consensus dates the Qumran Caves Scrolls from the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE.^[4] Bronze coins found at the same sites form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (in office 135–104 BCE) and continuing until the period of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), supporting the radiocarbon and paleographic dating of the scrolls.^[14] Two silver scroll-shaped amulets dated c. 600 BCE and containing portions of the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers were excavated in Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom; some scholars also include the controversial Shapira Scroll.

Owing to the poor condition of some of the scrolls, scholars have not identified all of their texts. The identified texts fall into three general groups:

1. About 40% are copies of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures.
2. Approximately another 30% are texts from the Second Temple Period which ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible, like the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Tobit, the Wisdom of Sirach, Psalms 152–155, etc.
3. The remainder (roughly 30%) are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group (sect) or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule, the War Scroll, the Pesher on Habakkuk, and The Rule of the Blessing.^{[15][need quotation to verify]}

Discovery

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a series of twelve caves around the site originally known as the "Ein Feshkha Caves" near the Dead Sea in the West Bank (then part of Jordan) between 1946 and 1956 by Bedouin shepherds and a team of archeologists.^[16] The practice of storing worn-out sacred manuscripts in earthenware vessels buried in the earth or within caves is related to the ancient Jewish custom of Genizah.

Initial discovery (1946–1947)

The initial discovery by Bedouin shepherd Muhammed edh-Dhib, his cousin Jum'a Muhammed, and Khalil Musa, took place between November 1946 and February 1947.^[17][18] The shepherds discovered seven scrolls (See Scrolls and fragments) housed in jars in a cave near what is now known as the Qumran site. John C. Trever reconstructed the story of the scrolls from several interviews with the Bedouin. Edh-Dhib's cousin noticed the caves, but edh-Dhib himself was the first to actually fall into one (the cave now called Cave 1). He retrieved a handful of scrolls, which Trever identifies as the Isaiah Scroll, Habakkuk Commentary, and the Community Rule, and took them back to the camp to show to his family. None of the scrolls were destroyed in this process.^[19] The Bedouin kept the scrolls hanging on a tent pole while they figured out what to do with them, periodically taking them out to show to their people. At some point during this time, the Community Rule was split in two. The Bedouin first took the scrolls to a dealer named Ibrahim 'Ijha in Bethlehem. 'Ijha returned them, saying they were worthless, after being warned that they might have been stolen from a synagogue. Undaunted, the Bedouin went to a nearby market, where a Syrian Christian offered to buy them. A sheikh joined their conversation and suggested they take the scrolls to Khalil Eskander Shahin, "Kando", a cobbler and part-time antiques dealer. The Bedouin and the dealers returned to the site, leaving one scroll with Kando and selling three others to a dealer for 7 Jordanian pounds (approximately $28, or $325 in 2020 dollars).^[19][20] The original scrolls continued to change hands after the Bedouin left them in the possession of a third party until a sale could be arranged. (See Ownership.)

In 1947 the original seven scrolls caught the attention of John C. Trever, of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), who compared the script in the scrolls to that of the Nash Papyrus, the oldest biblical manuscript then known, and found similarities between them. In March the 1948 Arab–Israeli War prompted the move of some of the scrolls to Beirut, Lebanon, for safekeeping. On 11 April 1948, Millar Burrows, head of the ASOR, announced the discovery of the scrolls in a general press release.

Search for the Qumran caves (1948–1949)

Early in September 1948, Metropolitan bishop Mar Samuel brought some additional scroll fragments that he had acquired to Professor Ovid R. Sellers, the new Director of ASOR. By the end of 1948, nearly two years after their discovery, scholars had yet to locate the original cave where the fragments had been found. With unrest in the country at that time, no large-scale search could be undertaken safely. Sellers tried to get the Syrians to assist in the search for the cave, but he was unable to pay their price. In early 1949, the government of Jordan gave permission to the Arab Legion to search the area where the original Qumran cave was thought to be. Consequently, Cave 1 was rediscovered on 28 January 1949, by Belgian United Nations observer Captain Phillipe Lippens and Arab Legion Captain Akkash el-Zebn.^[21]

Qumran caves rediscovery and new scroll discoveries (1949–1951)

The rediscovery of what became known as "Cave 1" at Qumran prompted the initial excavation of the site from 15 February to 5 March 1949 by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities led by Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux.^[22] The Cave 1 site yielded discoveries of additional Dead Sea Scroll fragments, linen cloth, jars, and other artifacts.^[23]

Excavations of Qumran and new cave discoveries (1951–1956, 2017, 2021)

In November 1951, Roland de Vaux and his team from the ASOR began a full excavation of Qumran.^[24] By February 1952, the Bedouin had discovered 30 fragments in what was to be designated Cave 2.^[25] The discovery of a second cave eventually yielded 300 fragments from 33 manuscripts, including fragments of Jubilees and the Wisdom of Sirach written in Hebrew.^[23][24] The following month, on 14 March 1952, the ASOR team discovered a third cave with fragments of Jubilees and the Copper Scroll.^[25] Between September and December 1952 the fragments and scrolls of Caves 4, 5, and 6 were subsequently discovered by the ASOR teams.^[24]

With the monetary value of the scrolls rising as their historical significance was made more public, the Bedouins and the ASOR archaeologists accelerated their search for the scrolls separately in the same general area of Qumran, which was over 1 kilometer in length. Between 1953 and 1956, Roland de Vaux led four more archaeological expeditions in the area to uncover scrolls and artifacts.^[23] Cave 11 was discovered in 1956 and yielded the last fragments to be found in the vicinity of Qumran.^[26]

Caves 4–10 are clustered in an area lying in relative proximity 160 yards (ca. 150 metres) from Khirbet Qumran, while caves 1, 2, 3 and 11 are located 1 mile (1–2 kilometres) North, with Cave 3 being the most remote.^[27][28]

In February 2017, Hebrew University archaeologists announced the discovery of a new, 12th cave.^[29] There was one blank parchment found in a jar; however, broken and empty scroll jars and pickaxes suggest that the cave was looted in the 1950s.^[30]

In March 2021, Israeli archaeologists announced the discovery of dozens of fragments bearing biblical text, written in Greek from the books of Zechariah and Nahum. This particular group of findings are believed to have been hidden in a cave between 132 and 136 CE during the Bar Kokhba revolt.^[31] However, a 10,500-year-old basket made of woven reeds was also discovered in the Muraba'at caves in the Nahal Darga Reserve. Other discoveries included the remains of a child wrapped in cloth dated to around 6,000 years ago, and a cache of coins from the days of the Bar Kochba revolt.^[32]

Scrolls and fragments

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2012)

The 972 manuscripts found at Qumran were found primarily in two separate formats: as scrolls and as fragments of previous scrolls and texts. In the fourth cave the fragments were torn into up to 15,000 pieces. These small fragments created somewhat of a problem for scholars. G.L. Harding, director of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, began working on piecing the fragments together but did not finish this before his death in 1979.^[33]

Cave 1

The original seven scrolls from Cave 1 at Qumran are the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa^a), a second copy of Isaiah (1QIsa^b), the Community Rule Scroll (1QS), the Pesher Habakkuk (1QpHab), the War Scroll (1QM), the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH), and the Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen).^[34]

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 1
1QIsaa	Great Isaiah Scroll		Isaiah 1:1–31; 2:1–22; 3:1–5:30; 6:1–13; 7:1–25; 8:1–23; 9:1–20; 10:1–34; 11:1–45:25; 46:1–66:24	Hebrew	356–103 BCE/150–100 BCE	Contains all 66 chapters with occasional lacunae and some missing words at the bottom of some columns	[35][36]
1QIsab	Isaiah	cf. 1Q8	The Book of Isaiah	Hebrew	Hasmonean/Herodian	A second copy of portions of the Book of Isaiah	[37][38]
1QS	Serekh ha-Yahad or "Community Rule"			Hebrew		cf. 4QSa-j = 4Q255–64, 5Q11	[39]
1QpHab	Pesher on Habakkuk		Habakkuk 1 -2	Hebrew	Later half of the 1st century BC	Commentary on Habakkuk 1:2–17; 2:1–20	[40][41]
1QM	Milhamah or War Scroll			Hebrew		cf. 4Q491, 4Q493; 11Q14?
1QHa	Hodayot or Thanksgiving Hymns			Hebrew		Some parts are also preserved in 1QHb and 4QHa-f	[42]
1QapGen	Genesis Apocryphon		Genesis 12:18–15:4	Aramaic	25 BCE–50 CE		[43]
CTLevi	Cairo Geniza or Testament of Levi			Aramaic
1QGen	Genesis	1Q1	Genesis 1:18–21; 3:11–14; 22:13–15; 23:17–19; 24:22–24	Hebrew	Herodian		[44][45]
1QExod	Exodus	1Q2	Exodus 16:12–16; 19:24–20:2, 20:5–6; 20:25–21:1; 21:4–5	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][46]
1QpaleoLev	Leviticus – Numbers	1Q3	Leviticus 11:10–11; 19:30–34; 20:20–24; 21:24–22:6; 23:4–8 and Numbers 1:48–50	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman; Palaeo-Hebrew script		[44][47]
1QDeuta	Deuteronomy	1Q4	Deuteronomy 1:22–25; 4:47–49; 8:18–19; 9:27–28; 11:27–30; 13:1–6, 13–14; 14:21, 24–25; 16:4, 6–7	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][48][49]
1QDeutb		1Q5	Deuteronomy 1:9–13; 8:8–9; 9:10; 11:30–31; 15:14–15; 17:16; 21:8–9; 24:10–16; 25:13–18; 28:44–48; 29:9–20; 30:19–20; 31:1–10, 12–13; 32:17–29; 33:12–24	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][48][50]
1QJudg	Judges	1Q6	Judges 6:20–22; 8:1(?); 9:2–6, 28–31, 40–43, 48–49	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][51]
1QSam	Samuel	1Q7	2 Samuel 18:17–18; 2 Samuel 20:6–10; 21:16–18; 23:9–12	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][52]
1QIsab	Isaiah	Parts of 1QIsab as 1Q8	Isaiah 7:22–25; 8:1; 10:17–19; 12:3–6; 13:1–8, 16–19; 15:3–9; 16:1–2, 7–11; 19:7–17, 20–25; 20:1; 22:11–18, 24–25; 23:1–4; 24:18–23; 25:1–8; 26:1–5; 28:15–20; 29:1–8; 30:10–14, 21–26; 35:4–5; 37:8–12; 38:12–22; 39:1–8; 40:2–3; 41:3–23; 43:1–13, 23–27; 44:21–28; 45:1–13; 46:3–13; 47:1–14; 48:17–22; 49:1–15; 50:7–11; 51:1–10; 52:7–15; 53:1–12; 54:1–6; 55:2–13; 56:1–12; 57:1–4, 17–21; 58:1–14; 59:1–8, 20–21; 60:1–22; 61:1–2; 62:2–12; 63:1–19; 64:1, 6–8; 65:17–25; 66:1–24	Hebrew	Herodian		[37][44]
1QEzek	Ezekiel	Parts of 1QIsab as 1Q9	Ezekiel 4:16–17; 5:1	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][53]
1QPsa	Psalms	1Q10	Psalm 86:5–8; 92:12–14; 94:16; 95:11–96:2; 119:31–34, 43–48, 77–79	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][54]
1QPsb		1Q11	Psalm 126:6; 127:1–5; 128:3	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[44][55]
1QPsc		1Q12	Psalm 44:3–5, 7, 9, 23–25	Hebrew	Herodian		[44][56]
1QPhyl	Phylactery	1Q13	Deuteronomy 5:23–27; 11:8–11	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	58 fragments from a Phylactery	[48][57][58]
1QpMic	Pesher on Micah	1Q14		Hebrew	Herodian		[57][59]
1QpZeph	Pesher on Zephaniah	1Q15		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[57][60]
1QpPs	Pesher on Psalms	1Q16		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[57][61]
1QJuba	Jubilees	1Q17		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Jubilees	[57][62]
1QJubb		1Q18		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Jubilees	[57][63]
1QNoah	Book of Noah	1Q19		Hebrew	Herodian	Parts of the lost Book of Noah	[57][64]
1QapGen	Fragments of the "Genesis Apocryphon"	1Q20		Aramaic	Herodian		[65][66]
1QTLevi / 1QALD	Testament of Levi	1Q21		Aramaic	Hasmonean	Aramaic Levi Document	[67][68]
1QDM	"Dibrê Moshe" or "Words of Moses"	1Q22		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[67][69]
1QEnGiantsa	Book of Giants	1Q23		Aramaic	Hasmonean	Enoch	[70][71]
1QEnGiantsb	Book of Giants	1Q24		Aramaic	Hellenistic-Roman	Enoch	[70][72]
1Q Apocr.Prophecy	"Apocryphal Prophecy"	1Q25		Hebrew	Herodian		[73][74]
1Q Instruction	"Instruction"	1Q26		Hebrew	Hasmonean		[73][75]
1QMyst	"The Book of Mysteries"	1Q27		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[73][76]
1QS or 1QSa	"Rule of the Congregation"	1Q28 (1Q28a)		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragment from "Community Rule"	[73][77]
1QSb	"Rule of the Blessing" or "Rule of the Benedictions"	1Q28b		Hebrew	Hasmonean		[73][78]
1QapocrMoses B	Apocryphon of Moses	1Q29		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	"Liturgy of the Three Tongues of Fire"	[73][79]
1Q Liturgical Text(?) A	"Liturgical Text 1"	1Q30		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[73][80]
1Q Liturgical Text(?) B	"Liturgical Text 2"	1Q31		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[73][81]
1QNJ(?)	"New Jerusalem"	1Q32		Aramaic	Herodian	cf. 11Q18	[82][83]
1QM	Fragment of the 1QM or "War Scroll" or "Milhamah"	1Q33	Deuteronomy 20:2–5; Numbers 10:9, 24:17–19; Isaiah 31:8	Hebrew	30–1 BCE Early Herodian		[48][82]
1QPrFetes / 1QLitPr	"Liturgical Prayers" or "Festival Prayers"	1Q34		Hebrew	Herodian		[82][84]
1QHb	"Hodayot" or "Thanksgiving Hymns"	1Q35		Hebrew	Herodian		[82][85]
1Q Hymns	"Hymns"	1Q36		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[82][86]
1Q Hymnic Composition(?)	"Hymnic Composition"	1Q37		Hebrew	Herodian		[82][87]
1Q Hymnic Composition(?)	"Hymnic Composition"	1Q38		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[82][88]
1Q Hymnic Composition(?)	"Hymnic Composition"	1Q39		Hebrew	Herodian		[82][89]
1Q Hymnic Composition(?)	"Hymnic Composition"	1Q40		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[82][90]
1Q41–70		1Q41–70		Hebrew		Unclassified Fragments	[91]
1QDana	Daniel	1Q71	Daniel 1:10–17; 2:2–6	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[92]
1QDanb		1Q72	Daniel 3:22–30	Aramaic	Hellenistic-Roman		[93]

Cave 2

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 2
2QGen	Genesis	2Q1	Genesis 19:27–28; 36:6, 35–37	Hebrew	Herodian		[94][95]
2QExoda	Exodus	2Q2	Exodus 1:11–14; 7:1–4; 9:27–29; 11:3–7; 12:32–41; 21:18–20(?); 26:11–13; 30:21(?), 23–25; 32:32–34				[94][96]
2QExodb		2Q3	Exodus 4:31; 12:26–27(?); 18:21–22; 21:37–22:2, 15–19; 27:17–19; 31:16–17; 19:9; 34:10				[94][97]
2QExodc		2Q4	Exodus 5:3–5		Hellenistic-Roman		[94][98]
2QpaleoLev	Leviticus	2Q5	Leviticus 11:22-29		Hasmonean; Palaeo-Hebrew script		[94][99]
2QNuma	Numbers	2Q6	Numbers 3:38–41, 51– 4:3	Hebrew	Herodian		[94][100]
2QNumb		2Q7	Numbers 33:47–53				[94][101]
2QNumc		2Q8	Numbers 7:88				[94][102]
2QNumd?		2Q9	Numbers 18:8–9		Hellenistic-Roman	This fragment may belong to 2Q7; possibly = Leviticus 23:1–3	[94][103]
2QDeuta	Deuteronomy	2Q10	Deuteronomy 1:7–9	Hebrew	50–25 BCE Late Hasmonean or Early Herodian		[94][48]
2QDeutb		2Q11	Deuteronomy 17:12–15	Hebrew	30 BCE – 68 CE Herodian		[94][48]
2QDeutc		2Q12	Deuteronomy 10:8–12	Hebrew	1–68 CE Late Herodian		[94][48]
2QJer	Jeremiah	2Q13	Jeremiah 42:7–11, 14; 43:8–11; 44:1–3, 12–14; 46:27–47:7; 48:7, 25–39, 43–45; 49:10	Hebrew	Herodian	Doubtfully identified fragments: 13:22; 32:24–25; 48:2–4, 41–42	[104][105]
2QPs	Psalms	2Q14	Psalm 103:2–11; 104:6–11				[104][106]
2QJob	Job	2Q15	Job 33:28–30				[104][107]
2QRutha	Ruth	2Q16	Ruth 2:13–23; 3:1–8; 4:3–4	Hebrew	Herodian		[104][108]
2QRuthb		2Q17	Ruth 3:13–18		Hasmonean		[104][109]
2QSir	"Wisdom of Sirach" or "Ecclesiasticus"	2Q18	Sir 6:14–15 (or 1:19–20); 6:20–31	Hebrew	Herodian	Ben Sira	[104][110]
2QJuba	Book of Jubilees	2Q19	Genesis 25:7–9	Hebrew	Herodian	Jub 23:7–8	[104][111]
2QJubb	Book of Jubilees	2Q20	Exodus 1:7; Genesis 50:26, 22 (different order)			Jub 46:1–3	[112]
2QapMoses /2QapocrMoses(?)	"Apocryphon of Moses"	2Q21		Hebrew	Herodian	Apocryphal writing about Moses	[104][113]
2QapDavid /2QapocrDavid	"Apocryphon of David"	2Q22		Hebrew	Herodian	Apocryphal writing about David	[114][115]
2QapProph /2Qapocr.Prophecy	"Apocryphal Prophecy"	2Q23		Hebrew	Herodian	Apocryphal prophetic text in six tiny fragments.	[116][117]
2QNJ	"New Jerusalem"	2Q24		Aramaic	Herodian	Description of the New Jerusalem. cf. 1Q32 ar, 11Q18 ar	[116][118]
2Q Juridical Text	"Juridical Text"	2Q25		Hebrew	Herodian	A juridical text	[116][119]
2QEnGiants	"Book of Giants" from "Enoch"	2Q26		Aramaic	Herodian	Now known as part of the "Book of Giants". cf. 6Q8	[120]
2Q27 2Q28 2Q29 2Q30 2Q31 2Q32 2Q33		2Q27 2Q28 2Q29 2Q30 2Q31 2Q32 2Q33				Unidentified Texts	[91][116]
2QX1		2QX1				Debris in a box	[116]

Cave 3

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 3
3QEzek	Ezekiel	3Q1	Ezekiel 16:31–33	Hebrew	Herodian		[116][121]
3QPs	Psalms	3Q2	Psalm 2:6–7	Hebrew			[122][123]
3QLam	Lamentations	3Q3	Lamentations 1:10–12; 3:53–62	Hebrew			[122][124]
3QpIsa	Pesher on Isaiah	3Q4	Isaiah 1:1	Hebrew	Herodian		[122][125]
3QJub	Jubilees	3Q5		Hebrew	Herodian	Jubilees 23:6–7, 12–13, 23	[122][126]
3QHymn	Unidentified Hymn	3Q6		Hebrew	Herodian	Hymn of Praise	[122][127]
3QTJud(?)	Testament of Judah(?)	3Q7		Hebrew	Herodian	cf. 4Q484, 4Q538	[122][128]
3Q Text Mentioning Angel of Peace		3Q8		Hebrew	Herodian	Text about an Angel of Peace	[122][129]
3QSectarian text		3Q9		Hebrew	Herodian	Possible unidentified Sectarian text	[122][130]
3QUnc	Unidentified	3Q10 3Q11		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Unclassified fragments	[122]
3QUncA-B	Unclassified fragments	3Q12 3Q13		Aramaic	Hellenistic-Roman	Unclassified fragments	[131]
3QUncC	Unidentified	3Q14		Hebrew?	Hellenistic-Roman	21 unclassified fragments	[132][133]
3QCopScr	The Copper Scroll	3Q15		Hebrew	Roman	Copper plaque mentioning buried treasures	[132][134]

Caves 4a and 4b

Cave 4 was discovered in August 1952, and was excavated on 22–29 September 1952 by Gerald Lankester Harding, Roland de Vaux, and Józef Milik.^[25][135] Cave 4 is actually two hand-cut caves (4a and 4b), but since the fragments were mixed, they are labeled as 4Q. Cave 4 is the most famous of Qumran caves both because of its visibility from the Qumran plateau and its productivity. It is visible from the plateau to the south of the Qumran settlement. It is by far the most productive of all Qumran caves, producing ninety percent of the Dead Sea Scrolls and scroll fragments (approx. 15,000 fragments from 500 different texts), including 9–10 copies of Jubilees, along with 21 tefillin and 7 mezuzot.

showFragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 4
4QGen-Exoda	Genesis–Exodus	4Q1	Genesis 8:20–21; Exodus 1–4; 5:3–17; 6:4–21,25; 7:5–13,15–20; 8:20–22; 9:8; 22:14; 27:38–39,42–43; 34:17–21	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments from Genesis to Numbers	[132][136]
4QGenb	Genesis	4Q2	Genesis 1:1–27; 2:14–19; 4:2–4; 5:13	Hebrew	Roman	Fragment of Genesis	[132][137]
4QGenc		4Q3	Genesis 40–41	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Genesis	[132][138]
4QGend		4Q4	Genesis 1:18–27	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Genesis on the Beginning of Creation	[132][139]
4QGene		4Q5	Genesis 36–37; 40–43; 49	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Genesis	[132][140]
4QGenf		4Q6	Genesis 48:1–11	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Genesis	[132][141]
4QGeng		4Q7	Genesis 1:1–11,13–22; 2:6–7	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Genesis about Creation	[132][142]
4QGenh/4QGenh1		4Q8	Genesis 1:8–10	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Genesis about the beginning to early mankind.	[143][144]
4QGenh2		4Q8a	Genesis 2:17–18				[143][145]
4QGenh-para		4Q8b	Genesis 12:4–5			A paraphrase of Genesis	[143][146]
4QGenh-title		4Q8c	Genesis			The title of a Genesis manuscript	[143][147]
4QGenj		4Q9	Genesis 41–43; 45	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Genesis	[143][148]
4QGenk		4Q10	Genesis 1:9,14–16,27–28; 2:1–3; 3:1–2	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Genesis	[143][149]
4QpaleoGen-Exodl	Paleo-Genesis/Exodus	4Q11	Genesis 50:26; Exodus 1:1–5; 2:10,22–25; 3:1–4,17–21; 8:13–15, 19–21; 9:25–29, 33–35; 10:1–5; 11:4–10; 12:1–11, 42–46; 14:15–24; 16:2–7, 13–14,18–20,23–25,26–31,33–35; 17:1–3,5–11; 18:17–24; 19:24–25; 20:1–2; 22:23–24; 23:5–16; 25:7–20; 26:29–37; 27:1, 6–14; 28:33–35,40–42; 36:34–36	Hebrew	Hasmonean; Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragments of Genesis and Exodus	[143][150]
4QpaleoGenm	Paleo-Genesis	4Q12	Genesis 26:21–28; Exodus 6:25–30; 7:1–19,29; 8:1,5,12–26; 9:5–16,19–21,35; 10:1–12,19–28; 11:8–10; 12:1–2,6–8,13–15,17–22,31–32,34–39; 13:3–7,12–13; 14:3–5,8–9,25–26; 15:23–27; 16:1,4–5,7–8,31–35; 17:1–16; 18:1–27; 19:1,7–17,23–25; 20:1,18–19; 21:5–6, 13–14,22–32; 22:3–4,6–7,11–13,16–30; 23:15–16,19–31; 24:1–4,6–11; 25:11–12,20–29,31–34; 26:8,15,21–30; 27:1–3,9–14,18–19; 28:3–4,8–12,22–24,26–28,30–43; 29:1–5,20,22–25,31–41; 30:10,12–18,29–31,34–38; 31:1–8,13–15; 32:2–19,25–30; 33:12–23; 34:1–3,10–13,15–18,20–24,27–28; 35:1; 36:21–24; 37:9–16	Hebrew	Hasmonean; Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragment from Genesis	[143][151]
4QExodb	Exodus	4Q13	Exodus 1:1–6,16–12; 2:2–18; 3:13 – 4:8; 5:3–14	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Exodus about Slavery in Egypt	[143][152]
4QExodc		4Q14	Exodus 7:17–19,20–23; 7:26 – 8:1; 8:5–14,16–18,22; 9:10–11,15–20,22–25,27–35; 10:1–5,7–9,12–19,23–24; 11:9–10; 12:12–16,31–48; 13:18 – 14:3; 14:3–13; 17:1 – 18:12	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Exodus	[143][153]
4QExodd		4Q15	Exodus 13:15–16 followed directly by 15:1	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Exodus about the Passover and a Hymn	[143][154][155]
4QExode		4Q16	Exodus 13:3–5,15–16	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Exodus about the Passover and a Hymn	[143][156]
4QExod-Levf	Exodus–Leviticus	4Q17	Exodus 38:18–22; 39:3–19, 20–24; 40:8–27; Leviticus 1:13–15, 17–2:1	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic	Fragments of Exodus and Leviticus	[157][158]
4QExodg	Exodus	4Q18	Exodus 14:21–27	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Exodus	[157][159]
4QExodh		4Q19	Exodus 6:3–6	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Exodus	[157][160]
4QExodj		4Q20	Exodus 7:28–8:2	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Exodus	[157][161]
4QExodk		4Q21	Exodus 36:9–10	Hebrew	Roman	Fragments of Exodus	[157][162]
4QpaleoExodm (olim 4QExα)	Paleo-Exodus	4Q22	Exodus 6:25–7:19,29–8:1,[5],12–22; 9:5–16, 19–21, 35–10:12, 19–28; 11:8–12:2,6–8, 13–15, 17–22, 31–32, 34–39; 13:3–8, 12–13; ... 37:9–16	Hebrew	Hasmonean; Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragments of Exodus;	[163][157]
4QLev-Numa	Leviticus–Numbers	4Q23	Leviticus 13:32–33; 14:22–34, 40–54; 15:10–11, 19–24; 16:15–29;... 27:5–13;...35:4–5	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Leviticus	[157][164]
4QLevb	Leviticus	4Q24	Leviticus 1:11–17; 2:1–15; 3:1, 8–14; 21:17–20, 24; 22:1–33; 23:1–25, 40; 24:2–23; 25:28–29, 45–49, 51–52	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Leviticus	[165][166]
4QLevc		4Q25	Leviticus 1:1–7; 3:16–4:6, 12–14, 23–28; 5:12–13; 8:26–28	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments of Leviticus	[167][168]
4QLevd		4Q26	Leviticus 14:27–29, 33–36; 15:20–24; 17:2–11	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments of Leviticus	[167][169]
4QLeve		4Q26a	Leviticus 2:4–6, 11–18; 3:2–4,5–8; 19:34–37; 20:1–3, 27–21:4, 9–12, 21–24; 22:4–6, 11–17	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments of Leviticus	[91][167]
4QLevg		4Q26b	Leviticus 7:19–26	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments of Leviticus	[91][167]
4QNumb	Numbers	4Q27	Numbers 11:31–12:11; 13:7–24; 15:41–16:11, 14–16; 17:12–17; 18:25–19:6; 20:12–13,16–17,19–29; 21:1–2,12–13; 22:5–21, 31–34, 37–38, 41–23:6,13–15,21–22, 27–24:10; 25:4–8,16–18; 26:1–5,7–10,12,14–34,62–27:5,7–8,10,18–19,21–23; 28:13–17,28,30–31; 29:10–13,16–18,26–30; 30:1–3,5–9,15–16; 31:2–6, 21–25, 30–33,35–36,38,43–44,46–32:1,7–10,13–17,19,23–30,35,37–39,41; 33:1–4,23,25,28,31,45,47–48,50–52; 34:4–9,19–21,23; 35:3–5,12,14–15,18–25,27–28, 33–36:2,4–7	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Numbers. A few lines are written in red ink	[167][170]
4QDeuta	Deuteronomy	4Q28	Deuteronomy 23:26–24:8	Hebrew	175–150 BCE Transitional: Archaic to Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][167][171]
4QDeutb		4Q29	Deuteronomy 29:24–27; 30:3–14; 31:9–17,24–30, 32:1–3	Hebrew	150–100 BCE Early Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][167][172]
4QDeutc		4Q30	Deuteronomy 3:25–26; 4:13–17,31–32; 7:3–4; 8:1–5; 9:11–12, 17–19,29; 10:1–2,5–8; 11:2–4,9–13,18–19; 12:18–19,26,30–31; 13:5–7,11–12,16; 15:1–5,15–19; 16:2–3,5–11,20–17:7,15–18:1; 26:19— 27:2,24–28:14,18–20,22–25,29–30,48–50,61; 29:17–19; 31:16–19; 32:3	Hebrew	150–100 BCE Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][173]
4QDeutd		4Q31	Deuteronomy 2:24–33; 3:14–29; 4:1	Hebrew	124–75 BCE Middle Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeute		4Q32	Deuteronomy 3:24; 7:12–16,21–26; 8:1–16	Hebrew	50–25 BCE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeutf		4Q33	Deuteronomy 4:23–27; 7:22–26; 8:2–14; 9:6–7; 17:17–18; 18:6–10,18–22; 19:17–21; 20:1–6; 21:4–12; 22:12–19; 23:21–26; 24:2–7; 25:3–9; 26:18–27:10	Hebrew	75–50 BCE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeutg		4Q34	Deuteronomy 9:12–14; 23:18–20; 24:16–22; 25:1–5,14–19; 26:1–5; 28:21–25,27–29	Hebrew	1–25 CE Middle Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeuth		4Q35	Deuteronomy 1:1–17,22–23,29–41,43–2:6,28–30; 19:21; 31:9–11; 33:9–22	Hebrew	50–1 BCE Transitional: Hasmonean to Early Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeuti		4Q36	Deuteronomy 20:9–13; 21:23; 22:1–9; 23:6–8, 12–16, 22–26; 24:1	Hebrew	100–50 BCE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeutj		4Q37	Exodus 12:43–44, 46–51; 13:1–5; Deuteronomy 5:1–11, 13–15, 21–33; 6:1–3; 8:5–10; 11:6–10, 12–13; 30:17–18; 32:7–8	Hebrew	50 CE Late Herodian	Fragments of Exodus and Deuteronomy	[48][174]
4QDeutk1		4Q38	Deuteronomy 5:28–31; 11:6–13; 32:17–18, 22–23, 25–27	Hebrew	30–1 BCE Early Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174][175]
4QDeutk2		4Q38a	Deuteronomy 19: 8–16; 20: 6–19; 21:16; 23:22–26; 24:1–3; 25:19; 26:1–5, 18–19; 27:1	Hebrew	30–1 BCE Early Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][174][175]
4QDeutk3		4Q38b	Deuteronomy 30: 16–18	Hebrew	50 CE Late Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[176][175]
4QDeutl		4Q39	Deuteronomy 10:1,14–15; 28:67–68; 29:2–5; 31:12; 33:1–2; 34:4–6,8	Hebrew	50 CE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy about choosing Life or Death	[48][176]
4QDeutm		4Q40	Deuteronomy 3:18–22; 4:32–33; 7:18–22	Hebrew	50–1 BCE Transitional: Hasmonean to Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][176]
4QDeutn	All Souls Deuteronomy	4Q41	Deuteronomy 5:1–33; 6:1; 8:5–10	Hebrew	30–1 BCE Early Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][176]
4QDeuto	Deuteronomy	4Q42	Deuteronomy 2:8; 4:30–34; 5:1–5, 8–9; 28:15–18, 33–36, 47–52, 58–62; 29:22–25	Hebrew	75–50 BCE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][176]
4QDeutp		4Q43	Deuteronomy 6:4–11	Hebrew	75–50 BCE Late Hasmonean	Fragments of Deuteronomy about Loving God	[48][176]
4QDeutq		4Q44	Deuteronomy 32:9–10, 37–43	Hebrew	50 BCE–25 CE Late Hasmonean or Early Herodian	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][176]
4QpaleoDeutr	Paleo-Deuteronomy	4Q45	Deuteronomy 7:2–7, 16–25; 11:28,30–12:1,11–12; 13:19; 14:19–22, 26–29; 15:5–6, 8–10; 19:2–3; 21:8–9; 22:3–6,12–15; 28:15–18, 20; 30:7–8; 32:2–8,10–11,13–14, 33–35; 33:2–8, 29; 34:1–2	Hebrew	100–25 BCE Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][176]
4QpaleoDeuts		4Q46	Deuteronomy 26:14–15	Hebrew	250–200 BCE Archaic Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragments of Deuteronomy about giving Tithes	[48][176]
4QJosha	Joshua	4Q47	Joshua 8:34–35; 5:?,2–7; 6:5–10; 7:12–17; 8:3–14, 18?; 10:2–5, 8–11.	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Joshua	[176][177]
4QJoshb		4Q48	Joshua 2:11–12; 3:15–16; 4:1–3; 17:11–15				[178][179]
4QJudga	Judges	4Q49	Judges 6:2–6, 11–13	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Judges	[180][181]
4QJudgb		4Q50	Judges 19:5–7; 21:12–25				[180][182]
4QSama	Samuel	4Q51	1 Samuel 1:9, 11–13, 17–18, 22–26, 28; 2:1–10,16–36; 3:1–4,18–21; 4:9–12; 5:8–12; 6:1–7,12–13,16–18,20–21; 7:1; 8:9–20; 9:6–8,11–12,16–24; 10:3–18,25–27; 11:1,7–12; 12:7–8,14–19; 14:24–25,28–34,47–51; 15:24–32; 17:3–6; 24:4–5,8–9,14–23; 25:3–12,20–21,25–26,39–40; 26:10–12,21–23; 27:8–12; 28:1–2,22–25; 30:28–30; 31:2–4; 2 Samuel 2:5–16,25–27,29–32; 3:1–8,23–39; 4:1–4,9–12; 5:1–3,6–16; 6:2–9,12–18; 7:23–29; 8:2–8; 10:4–7,18–19; 11:2–12,16–20; 12:4–5,8–9,13–20,30–31; 13:1–6,13–34,36–39; 14:1–3,18–19; 15:1–6,27–31; 16:1–2,11–13,17–18,21–23; 18:2–7,9–11; 19:7–12; 20:2–3,9–14,23–26; 21:1–2,4–6,15–17; 22:30–51; 23:1–6; 24:16–20	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel	[180][183]
4QSamb		4Q52	1 Samuel 16:1–11; 19:10–17; 20:27–42; 21:1–10; 23:9–17	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic	Fragments of 1 Samuel	[180][184]
4QSamc		4Q53	1 Samuel 25:30–32; 2 Samuel 14:7–33; 15:1–15	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel	[180][185]
4QKgs	Kings	4Q54	1 Kings 7:31–41; 8:1–9,16–18	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of 1 Kings	[180][186]
4QIsaa	Isaiah	4Q55	Isaiah 1:1–3; 2:7–10; 4:5–6; 6:4–7; 11:12–15; 12:4–6; 13:4–6; 17:9–14; 19:9–14; 20:1–6; 21:1–2,4–16; 22:13–25; 23:1–12	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Isaiah	[187][188]
4QIsab		4Q56	Isaiah 1:1–6; 2:3–16; 3:14–22; 5:15–28; 9:10–11; 11:7–9; 12:2; 13:3–18; 17:8–14; 18:1,5–7; 19:1–25; 20:1–4; 21:11–14; 22:24–25; 24:2; 26:1–5,7–19; 35:9–10; 36:1–2; 37:2932; 39:1–8; 40:1–4,22–26; 41:8–11; 43:12–15; 44:19–28; 45:20–25; 46:1–3; 49:21–23; 51:14–16; 52:2,7; 53:11–12; 61:1–3; 64:5–11; 65:1; 66:24	Hebrew	Herodian		[187][189]
4QIsac		4Q57	Isaiah 9:3–12; 10:23–32; 11:4–11,15–16; 12:1; 14:1–5,13; 22:10–14; 23:8–18; 24:1–15,19–23; 25:1–2,8–12; 30:8–17; 33:2–8,16–23; 45:1–4,6–13; 48:10–13,17–19; 50:7–11; 51:1–16; 52:10–15; 53:1–3,6–8; 54:3–17; 55:1–6; 66:20–24	Hebrew			[187][190]
4QIsad		4Q58	Isaiah 46:10–13; 47:1–6,8–9; 48:8–22; 49:1–15; 52:4–7; 53:8–12; 54:1–11; 57:9–21; 58:1–3,5–7	Hebrew			[187][191]
4QIsae		4Q59	Isaiah 2:1–4; 7:17–20; 8:2–14; 9:17–20; 10:1–10; 11:14–15; 12:1–6; 13:1–4; 14:1–13,20–24; 59:15–16	Hebrew			[187][192]
4QIsaf		4Q60	Isaiah 1:10–16,18–31; 2:1–3; 5:13–14, 25; 6:3–8,10–13; 7:16–18,23–25; 8:1,4–11; 20:4–6; 22:14–22,25; 24:1–3; 27:1,5–6,8–12; 28:6–9,16–18,22,24; 29:8	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[187][193]
4QIsag		4Q61	Isaiah 42:14–25; 43:1–4,17–24	Hebrew	Herodian		[187][194]
4QIsah		4Q61	Isaiah 42:4–11	Hebrew	Herodian		[187]
4QIsai		4Q62	Isaiah 56:7–8; 57:5–8	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[195][196]
4QIsaj		4Q63	Isaiah 1:1–6	Hebrew	Herodian		[195][197]
4QIsak		4Q64	Isaiah 28:26–29:9	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[195][198]
4QIsal		4Q65	Isaiah 7:14–15; 8:11–14	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[195][199]
4QIsam		4Q66	Isaiah 60:20–61:1,3–6	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[195][200]
4QIsan	Isaiah	4Q67	Isaiah 58:13–14	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Isaiah, including elements on punishment (4Q67) and God's blessings for his people (4Q67, 4Q69a).	[195][201]
4QIsao		4Q68	Isaiah 14:28–15:2				[195][202]
4QIsap		4Q69	Isaiah 5:28–30	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[195][203][204]
4QIsaq		4Q69a	Isaiah 54:10–13				[195][204]
4QIsar		4Q69b	Isaiah 30:23				[195][204]
4QJera	Jeremiah	4Q70	Jeremiah 6:30?, 7:1–2, 15–19, 28–9:2, 7–15; 10:9–14, 23; 11:3–6, 19–20; 12:3–7, 13–16, 17; 13:1–7, 22–23? [or 22:3], 27; 14:4–7; 15:1–2; 17:8–26; 18:15–23; 19:1; 20:14–18; 21:1?; 22:3–16; 26:10?	Hebrew	200 BCE – 1 BCE	Fragments of Jeremiah	[195][205][206]
4QJerb		4Q71	Jeremiah 9:22–25; 10:1–21				[205][206][207]
4QJerc		4Q72	Jeremiah 4:5, 13–16; 8:1–3, 21–23; 9:1–5; 10:12–13; 19:8–9; 20:2–5, 7–9, 13–15; 21:7–10; 22:4–6, 10–28; 25:7–8,15–17, 24–26; 26:10–13; 27:1–3, 13–15; 30:6–9, [10–17], 17–24; 31:1–14, 19–26; 33:?, 16–20				[205][206][207]
4QJerd (olim 4QJerb)		4Q72a	Jeremiah 43:2–10				[205][206][207]
4QJere (olim 4QJerb)		4Q72b	Jeremiah 50:4–6				[205][206][207]
4QEzea	Ezekiel	4Q73	Ezekiel 10:5–16, 17–22; 11:1–11; 23:14–15, 17–18, 44–47; 41:3–6	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Ezekiel	[207][208]
4QEzeb		4Q74	Ezekiel 1:10–13, 16–17, 19–24				[207][209][210]
4QEzec		4Q75	Ezekiel 24:2–3				[207][211]
4QXIIa	The Twelve Minor Prophets	4Q76	Zechariah 14:18; Malachi 2:10–3:24; Jonah 1:1–5, 7–2:1, 7; 3:2	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of the Twelve Minor Prophets	[207][212]
4QXIIb		4Q77	Zephaniah 1:1–2; 2:13–15; 3:19–20; Haggai 1:1–2; 2:2–4				[207][213]
4QXIIc		4Q78	Hosea 2:13–15; 3:2–4; 4:1–19; 5:1; 7:12–13; 13:3–10, 15; 14:1–6; Joel 1:10–20; 2:1, 8–23; 4:6–21; Amos 1:1?; 2:11–16; 3:1–15; 4:1–2; 6:13–14; 7:1–16; Zephaniah 2:15; 3:1–2; Malachi 3:6–7?				[207][214]
4QXIId		4Q79	Hosea 1:6–2:5				[215][216]
4QXIIe		4Q80	Haggai 2:18–19, 20–21; Zechariah 1:4–6, 8–10, 13–15; 2:10–14; 3:2–10; 4:1–4; 5:8–6:5; 8:2–4, 6–7, 12:7–12				[215][217]
4QXIIf		4Q81	Jonah 1:6–8, 10–16; Micah 5:1–2				[215][218]
4QXIIg		4Q82	Hosea 2:1–5,14–19, 22–25; 3:1–5; 4:1, 10–11, 13–14; 6:3–4, 8–11; 7:1, 12–13, 13–16; 8:1; 9:1–4, 9–17; 10:1–14; 11:2–5, 6–11; 12:1–15; 13:1, 6–8?, 11–13; 14:9–10; Joel 1:12–14; 2:2–13 4:4–9, 11–14, 17, 19–20; Amos 1:3–15; 2:1, 7–9, 15–16; 3:1–2; 4:4–9; 5:1–2, 9–18; 6:1–4, 6–14; 7:1, 7–12, 14–17; 8:1–5, 11–14; 9:1, 5–6, 14–15; Obadiah 1–5, 8–12, 14–15; Jonah 1:1–9; 2:3–11; 3:1–3; 4:5–11; Micah 1:7, 12–15; 2:3–4; 3:12; 4:1–2; 5:6–7 (7–8); 7:2–3, 20; Nahum 1:7–9; 2:9–11; 3:1–3, 17; Habakkuk 2:4?; Zephaniah 3:3–5; Zechariah 10:11–12; 11:1–2; 12:1–3				[215][219]
4QPsa	Psalms	4Q83	Psalm 5:9–13; 6:1–4; 25:15; 31:24–25; 33:1–12; 35:2,14–20,26–28; 36:1–9; 38:2–12,16–23; 47:2; 53:4–7; 54:1–6; 56:4; 62:13; 63:2–4; 66:16–20; 67:1–7; 69:1–19; 71:1–14	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Psalms.	[215][220]
4QPsb		4Q84	Psalm 91:5–8,12–15; 92:4–8,13–15; 93:5; 94:1–4,8–14,17–18,21–22; 96:2; 98:4; 99:5–6; 100:1–2; 102:5,10–29; 103:1–6,9–14,20–21; 112:4–5; 113:1; 115:2–3; 116:17–19; 118:1–3,6–11,18–20,23–26,29	Hebrew	Herodian		[215][221]
4QPsc		4Q85	Psalm 16:7–9; 18:3–14,16–18,33–41; 27:12–14; 28:1–2,4; 35:27–28; 37:18–19; 45:8–11; 49:1–17; 50:14–23; 51:1–5; 52:6–11; 53:1	Hebrew	Herodian		[215][222]
4QPsd		4Q86	Psalm 146:10; 147:1–3,13–17,20; 104:1–5,8–11,14–15,22–25,33–35	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[223][224]
4QPse		4Q87	Psalm 76:10–12; 77:1; 78:6–7,31–33; 81:2–3; 86:10–11; 88:1–4; 89:44–46,50–53; 104:1–3,20–21; 105:22–24,36–45; 109:13; 115:15–18; 116:1–3; 120:6; 125:2–5; 126:1–5; 129:8; 130:1–3	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][225]
4QPsf		4Q88	Psalm 22:14–17; 107:2–4,8–11,13–15,18–19,22–30,35; 109:4–6, 25–28; Apostrophe to Zion; Apostrophe to Judah; Eschatological Hymn	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[223][226]
4QPsg		4Q89	Psalm 119:37–43,44–46,49–50,73,81–83,90	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][227]
4QPsh		4Q90	Psalm 119:10–21	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][228]
4QPsj		4Q91	Psalm 48:1–7; 49:6,9–12,15,17	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][229]
4QPsk		4Q92	Psalm 26:7–12; 27:1; 30:9–13; 135:7–16;	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[223][230]
4QPsl		4Q93	Psalm 104:3–5,11–12	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][231]
4QPsm		4Q94	Psalm 93:3–5; 95:3–6; 97:6–9; 98:4–8	Hebrew	Herodian		[223][232]
4QPsn		4Q95	Psalm 135:6–9,11–12; 136:23–24	Hebrew	Herodian		[233][234]
4QPso		4Q96	Psalm 114:7; 115:1–2,4; 116:3, 5, 7–10	Hebrew	Herodian		[234][235]
4QPsp (olim 4Q237)		4Q97	Psalm 143:2–4, 6–8	Hebrew	Herodian		[234][236]
4QPsq	Psalms	4Q98	Psalm 31:24–25; 33:1–18; 35:4–20	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Psalms, including elements on putting one's hope in God (4Q98d), the earth shaking at the presence of God (4Q98e), the blessings of God's Children and the struggle of the wicked (4Q98f).	[234]
4QPsr		4Q98a	Psalm 26:7–12; 27:1; 30:9–13				[234][237]
4QPss		4Q98b	Psalm 5:8–13; 6:1				[234]
4QPst		4Q98c	Psalm 88:15–17				[234]
4QPsu		4Q98d	Psalm 42:5				[234]
4QPsv (olim 4QPsu frg. 2)		4Q98e	Psalm 99:1				[234]
4QPsw		4Q98f	Psalm 112:1–9				[234]
4QPsx (olim 4Q236)		4Q98g	Psalm 89:20–22, 26, 23, 27–28, 31				[234]
4QJoba	Job	4Q99	Job 31:14–19; 32:3–4; 33:10–11, 24–26, 28–30; 35:16; 36:7–11, 13–27, 32–33; 37:1–5, 14–15	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Job	[238] [239]
4QJobb		4Q100	Job 8:15–17; 9:27; 13:4; 14:4–6; 31:20–21		Herodian		[239][240]
4QpaleoJobc	Paleo-Job	4Q101	Job 13:18–20, 23–27; 14:13–18	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic; Paleo-Hebrew script	Fragment of Job	[239][241]
4QProva	Proverbs	4Q102	Proverbs 1:27–33; 2:1	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Proverbs	[239][242]
4QProvb		4Q103	Proverbs 13:6–9; 14:5–10, 12–13, 31–35; 15:1–8, 19–31; 7:9, 11?	Hebrew	Herodian		[239][243]
4QRutha	Ruth	4Q104	Ruth 1:1–12	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Ruth	[239][244]
4QRuthb		4Q105	Ruth 1:1–6, 12–15	Hebrew	Herodian		[239][245]
4QCanta	Canticles (Song of Songs)	4Q106	Song of Songs 3:4–5, 7–11; 4:1–7; 6:11?–12; 7:1–7	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Pesher on Song of Songs/Canticles, including an introduction (4Q106).	[239][246]
4QCantb		4Q107	Song of Songs 2:9–17; 3:1–2, 5, 9–11; 4:1–3, 8–11, 14–16; 5:1	Hebrew	Herodian		[239][247]
4QCantc		4Q108	Song of Songs 3:7–8	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[239][248]
4QQoha	Ecclesiastes	4Q109	Ecclesiastes 5:13–17; 6:1?,3–8,12; 7:1–10,19–20	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Ecclesiastes	[249][250]
4QQohb		4Q110	Ecclesiastes 1:10–15	Hebrew	Herodian		[249][251]
4QLam	Lamentations	4Q111	Lamentations 1:1–15, 17, 16, 18; 2:5	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of Lamentations	[249][252]
4QDana	Daniel	4Q112	Daniel 1:16–20; 2:9–11, 19–49; 3:1–2; 4:29–30; 5:5–7, 12–14, 16–19; 7:5–7, 25–28; 8:1–5; 10:16–20; 11:13–16	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Daniel	[249][253]
4QDanb		4Q113	Daniel 5:10–12, 14–16, 19–22; 6:8–22, 27–29; 7:1–6, 11?, 26–28; 8:1–8, 13–16	Hebrew	Herodian		[249][254]
4QDanc		4Q114	Daniel 10:5–9, 11–16, 21; 11:1–2, 13–17, 25–29	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[249][255]
4QDand		4Q115	Daniel 3:8–10?, 23–25; 4:5–9, 12–16; 7:15–23	Hebrew	Herodian		[249][256]
4QDane		4Q116	Daniel 9:12–17	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[249][257]
4QEzra	Ezra	4Q117	Ezra 4:2–6, 9–11; 5:17; 6:1–5	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Ezra-Nehemiah	[249][258]
4QChr/4QChron	Chronicles	4Q118	2 Chronicles 28:27; 29:1–3	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments of 2 Chronicles	[249][259]
4QLXXLeva gr	Septuagint Leviticus	4Q119	Leviticus 26:2–16	Greek	Hasmonean	Fragments of Leviticus	[260][261]
4QpapLXXLevb/ pap4QLXXLevb gr		4Q120	Leviticus 1:11; 2:3–5, 7–8?; 3:4, 7, 9–14; 4:3–4, 6–8, 10–11, 18–19, 26–28, 30; 5:6, 8–10, 16–24; [6:1–5]	Greek	Hasmonean	97 fragments of Leviticus. Contains ΙΑΩ for the tetragrammaton	[260][262]
4QLXXNumb gr	Septuagint Numbers	4Q121	Numbers 3:40–43,50–51?; 4:1?,5–9,11–16; 3:39?	Greek	Herodian	Fragments of Numbers	[260][263]
4QLXXDeut gr	Septuagint Deuteronomy	4Q122	Deuteronomy 11:4	Greek	Early Hellenistic	Fragments of Deuteronomy	[48][260][264]
4QpaleoparaJosh	Paraphrase on Joshua	4Q123	Joshua	Hebrew	Paleo-Hebrew script	"Rewritten Joshua"	[260][265]
4Qpap paraExod / pap4QParaExod gr	Paraphrase on Exodus	4Q127	Exodus	Greek	Herodian	"Rewritten Exodus"	[260][266]
4Qphyla	Phylactery Scrolls	4Q128	Deuteronomy 5:1–14,27–6:3; 10:12–11:21; Exodus 12:43–13:7	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments of Deuteronomy and Exodus.	[48][267][268]
4Qphylb		4Q129	Exodus 13:9–16	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][270]
4Qphylc		4Q130	Exodus 13:13–16; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 11:13–21	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][271]
4Qphyld		4Q131	Deuteronomy 11:13–21	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][272]
4Qphyle		4Q132	Exodus 13:1–10	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[269][273]
4Qphylf		4Q133	Exodus 13:11–16	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[269][274]
4Qphylg		4Q134	Deuteronomy 5:1–21; Exodus 13:11–12	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][275]
4Qphylh		4Q135	Deuteronomy 5:22–6:5; Exodus 13:14–16	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][276]
4Qphyli		4Q136	Deuteronomy 6:6–7; 11:13–21; Exodus 12:43–13:10	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][269][277]
4Qphylj (olim 4Qphyla)		4Q137	Deuteronomy 5:24–32; 6:2–3	Hebrew			[48][269]
4Qphylk		4Q138	Deuteronomy 10:12–11:17	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][279]
4Qphyll		4Q139	Deuteronomy 5:7–24	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][280]
4Qphylm		4Q140	Exodus 12:44–13:10; Deuteronomy 5:33–6:5	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][281]
4Qphyln		4Q141	Deuteronomy 32:14–20, 32–33	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][282]
4Qphylo		4Q142	Deuteronomy 5:1–16, 6:7–9	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][283]
4Qphylp		4Q143	Deuteronomy 10:22–11:3,18–21	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][284]
4Qphylq		4Q144	Exodus 13:4–9; Deuteronomy 11:4–18	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][285]
4Qphylr		4Q145	Exodus 13:1–10	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[278][286]
4QPhyls		4Q146	Deuteronomy 11:19–21	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[48][278][287]
4Qphylt		4Q147		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Could not be deciphered	[278][288]
4Qphylu		4Q148		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[278][289]
4QMeza	Mezuzah Scrolls	4Q149		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Exodus and Deuteronomy	[290][291]
4QMezb		4Q150	Deuteronomy 6:5–6; 10:14–11:2	Hebrew	Herodian		[292][293]
4QMezc		4Q151	Deuteronomy 5:27–6:9; 10:12–20	Hebrew	Herodian		[292][294]
4QMezd		4Q152	Deuteronomy 6:5–7	Hebrew	Herodian		[292][295]
4QMeze		4Q153	Deuteronomy 11:17–18	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[292][296]
4QMezf		4Q154	Deuteronomy 13:1–4	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[292][297]
4QMezg		4Q155		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[292][298]
4QtgLev	Targum of Leviticus	4Q156	Leviticus 16:12–15,18–21	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Fragments of Leviticus	[299][300]
4QtgJob	Targum of Job	4Q157	Job 3:5–6; 4:17–5:4	Aramaic	Herodian	Fragments of Job	[299][301][302]
4QRPa	Reworked Pentateuch A	4Q158	Genesis 32:25–30; 32:31 ?; Exodus 3:12; 4:27–28; 19:17–23; 24:4–6; 20:12–17,19–21 (Samaritan), 22–26; 21:15–25, 32–37; 22:1–13; 30:32.34; Deuteronomy 5:30–31; 21:1–10	Hebrew	Herodian	Reworked Pentateuch	[48][303][304][305]
4QOrdinancesa	Ordinances A	4Q159		Hebrew	Herodian	Non-biblical composition	[305][306]
4QVisSam	Vision of Samuel	4Q160		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Non-biblical composition	[305][307]
4QpIsaiaha	Pesher on Isaiah	4Q161		Hebrew	Herodian	Non-biblical composition	[308]
4QpIsaiahb		4Q162		Hebrew	Herodian	Non-biblical composition	[309]
4QpHosA	Pesher on Hosea A	4Q166		Hebrew	Herodian	Hosea Commentary Scroll	[310][311][312]
4QpHosB	Pesher on Hosea B	4Q167		Hebrew	Herodian		[311][313]
4QpMic(?)	Pesher on Micah?	4Q168		Hebrew	Herodian	Micah Commentary?	[311][314]
4QpNah	Pesher on Nahum	4Q169	Nahum 1:3–6; 2:12–14; 3:1–5, 6–9, 10–12, 14	Hebrew	Herodian	Containing the term "The Seekers after Smooth Things"	[311][315]
4Q Eschatological Commentary A	Florilegium or Midrash on the Last Days	4Q174	2 Samuel 7:10–14 (1 Chronicles 17:9–13); Exodus 15:17–18; Amos 9:11; Psalm 1:1; Isaiah 8:11; Ezekiel 37:23?; Psalm 2:1; Daniel 12:10; 11:32; Deuteronomy 33:8–11, 12, 19–21	Hebrew	Herodian	Quotations from biblical passages with midrashic commentary	[316][317]
4QTest	Testimonia	4Q175	Deuteronomy 5:28–29; 18:18–19; 33:8–11 Numbers 24:15–17 Joshua 6:26, quoted in Psalms of Joshua (4Q379, frag. 22)	Hebrew	Herodian; Hasmonean script	A list of quotations; Messianic Anthology or Testimonia	[48][316][318]
4QapocrLamA	Apocryphal Lamentations A	4Q179	Lamentations	Hebrew	Herodian	cf. 4Q501	[319]
4Q Horoscope	Physiognomies/Horoscopes	4Q186		Hebrew	Herodian		[320]
4QpapTobita	Tobit	4Q196	Tobit	Aramaic	Hasmonean	On Papyrus. cf. 4Q501	[321]
4QTobitb	Tobit	4Q197	Tobit	Aramaic	Herodian	cf. 4Q501	[322]
4QTobitc	Tobit	4Q198	Tobit	Aramaic	Hasmonean	cf. 4Q501	[323]
4QTobitd	Tobit	4Q199	Tobit	Aramaic	Hasmonean	cf. 4Q501	[324]
4QTobite	Tobit	4Q200	Tobit	Hebrew	Herodian	cf. 4Q501	[325]
4QEna	The Enoch Scroll	4Q201a		Aramaic	Hasmonean		[310][326]
4QALD / 4QLevia-f ar	The Aramaic Levi Document (ALD)	4Q213 4Q213a 4Q213b 4Q214 4Q214a 4Q214b		Aramaic	Hasmonean	Multiple compositions	[327]
4QTNaph	Testament of Naphtali	4Q215		Hebrew	Herodian		[328][329]
4QCanta(?)	Pesher on Canticles/Song of Songs	4Q240	Song of Songs	Hebrew	Herodian	Included in Milik's original list, but this fragment has never been located	[330]
4QapocrDan	Aramaic Apocalypse or The Son of God Text	4Q246		Aramaic	Herodian		[331]
4QCommentary on Gen A /4QCommGenA	Commentary/Pesher on Genesis	4Q252	Genesis 6:3; 7:10–8:18; 9:24–27; 11:31; 15:9, 17, 17:20?; 18:31–32 (with Deuteronomy 13:16, 17; 20:11, 14); 22:10–12; 28:3–4; 36:12; 49:3–4, 10 (with Jeremiah 33:17), 20–21	Hebrew	Herodian	Fragments/ commentary of Genesis.	[332][333]
4QCommentary on Gen B /4QCommGenB		4Q253	Genesis	Hebrew	Herodian		[332][334]
4QCommentary on Gen C /4QCommGenC		4Q254	Genesis 9:24–25; 22:5?, 17?	Hebrew	Herodian		[332][335]
4QCommentary on Gen D (olim 4QpGenc)		4Q254a–820	Genesis 6:15	Hebrew	Herodian		[332][336]
4QSd	Serekh ha-Yahad or Community Rule	4Q258		Hebrew	Herodian		cf. 1QSd	[337]
4QD	The Damascus Document	4Q265–273		Hebrew	Hasmonean	cf. 4QDa/g = 4Q266/272, 4QDa/e = 4Q266/270, 5Q12, 6Q15, 4Q265–73	[91]
4Q Sefer ha-Milhamah	Rule of War	4Q285		Hebrew	Herodian	cf. 11Q14	[338]
4QMysta	The Book of Mysteries The Book of Secrets	4Q299		Hebrew	Herodian		[339]
4QMystb		4Q300		Hebrew	Herodian		[340]
4QMystc	The Book of Mysteries The Book of Secrets	4Q301		Hebrew	Herodian		[341]
4QRPb	Reworked Pentateuch	4Q364	Genesis 25:18–21; 26:7–8; 27:39; 28:6; 29:32–33; 30:8–14,26–36; 31:47–53; 32:18–20,26–30; 34:2; 35:28; 37:7–8; 38:14–21; 44:30–34; 45:1,21–27; 48:14–15; Exodus 21:14–22; 19:17; 24:12–14,18; 25:1–2; 26:1,33–35; Numbers 14:16–20; 33:31–49; 20:17–18; Deuteronomy 2:8–14, 30–37; 3:2,18–23; 9:6–7,12–18, 21–25,27–29; 10:1–4, 6–7, 10–13,22; 11:1–2,6–9,23–24; 14:24–26	Hebrew	Late Hasmonean or Herodian	Reworked Pentateuch	[48][303][342][343]
4QRPc		4Q365	Exodus 8:13–19; 9:9–12; 10:19–20; 14:10,12–21; 15:6-[21],22–26; 17:3–5; 18:13–16; 26:34–36; 28:16–20; 29:20–22; 30:27–38; 31:1–2; 35:[2]–5; 36:32–38; 37:29; 38:1–7; 39:1–19; Leviticus 11:1[3],17-[25],32-[33],[39]-[46]; 13:6–8,15-[19],51–52; 16:6–7; 18:[25]-[29]; 23:42–44; 24:1–2; 25:7–9; 26:17–32; 27:34; Numbers 1:1–5; 3:26–30; 4:47–49; 7:1,78–80; 8:11–12; 9:15–23; 10:1-[4]; 13:[11]–25,[28]–30; 15:26-[29]; 17:20–24; 27:11; 36:1–2; Deuteronomy 2:24; 19:20–21; 20:1	Hebrew	Late Hasmonean/ Early Herodian		[48][303][344][345]
4QRPd		4Q366	Exodus 21;35–37; 22:1–5; Leviticus 24:20–22; 25:39–43; Numbers 29:14-[25], 32–39; 30:1; Deuteronomy 16:13–14; 14:[13]–21	Hebrew	Herodian		[48][303][344][346]
4QRPe		4Q367	Leviticus 11:47; 12:1–8; 13:1; 15:14–15; 19:1–4,9–15; 20:13; 27:30–34	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[303][344][347]
4QapocrJosha	Apocryphon of Joshua	4Q378		Hebrew	Herodian	Texts drawing on the content of Joshua, Exodus and Numbers.	[348]
4QapocrJoshb		4Q379		Hebrew	Hasmonean		[349]
4QpsEzek	Pseudo-Ezekiel	4Q385 4Q385b 4Q385c 4Q386 4Q388 4Q391		Hebrew	Herodian		[350]
4QMMT /4Q Cal.Doc.D	Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah or Some Precepts of the Law or the Halakhic Letter	4Q394–399		Hebrew	Herodian		[351]
4Q Non-Canonical Psalms A	Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice or the Angelic Liturgy	4Q400–407		Hebrew	Hasmonean	cf. 11Q5–6	[352]
4QInstruction	Sapiential Work A	4Q415–418		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
4QParaphrase	Paraphrase of Genesis and Exodus			Hebrew
4Q Barkhi Nafshia	Barkhi Nafshi – Apocryphal Psalms	4Q434		Hebrew	Herodian	15 fragments: likely hymns of thanksgiving praising God for his power and expressing thanks	[353]
4Q Apocr. Psalm and Prayer	Hymn to King Jonathan or The Prayer For King Jonathan Scroll	4Q448	Psalms 154	Hebrew	Hasmonean	In addition to parts of Psalms 154 it contains a prayer mentioning "King Jonathan".	[91]
4QpapGen or papJub	pap-Genesis or pap-Jubilees	4Q483	Genesis 1:28–29, or Book of Jubilees	Hebrew	Herodian		[354]
4QShira-b	Songs of the Sage or Songs of the Maskil	4Q510–511		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
4Q Messianic Apocalypse	Messianic Apocalypse	4Q521		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Made up of two fragments	[355]
4Q Jonathan		4Q523		Hebrew	Hasmonean	MeKleine Fragmente, z.T. gesetzlichen Inhalts; Fragment is legal in content. PAM number, 41.944	[356][357]
4QTempleScrollb	Temple Scroll	4Q524		Hebrew	Hasmonean		[91][358]
4QBeatitudes		4Q525	Matthew 5:3 –12 (Beatitudes)	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
4Q TJoseph	Testament of Joseph	4Q539		Aramaic	Hasmonean		[359]
4QapocrLevi(?)b	Testament of Levid	4Q541		Aramaic	Hasmonean	Aramaic frag. also called "4QApocryphon of Levib ar"	[360]
4QTKohath (4QTQahat)	Testament of Qahat	4Q542		Aramaic	Hasmonean		[361]
4QNJc	New Jerusalem	4Q555		Aramaic	Herodian	cf. 1Q32, 2Q24, 5Q15, 11Q18	[362]
4QGenn	Genesis	4Q576	Genesis 34:7–10; 50:3	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[91]
Unnumbered				Hebrew		Nine unopened fragments recently rediscovered in storage	[363]

Cave 5

Cave 5 was discovered alongside Cave 6 in 1952, shortly after the discovery of Cave 4. Cave 5 produced approximately 25 manuscripts.^[25]

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 5
5QDeut	Deuteronomy	5Q1	Deuteronomy 7:15–24; 8:5–9:2	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic		[48][364][365]
5QKgs	Kings	5Q2	1 Kings 1:1,16–17,27–37	Hebrew	Hasmonean		[366][367]
5QIsa	Isaiah	5Q3	Isaiah 40:16,18–19	Hebrew	Herodian		[366][368]
5QAmos	Amos	5Q4	Amos 1:2–5	Hebrew			[366]
5QPs	Psalms	5Q5	Psalm 119:99–101,104,113–20,138–42	Hebrew	Herodian		[366][369]
5QLama	Lamentations	5Q6	Lamentations 4:5–8,11–16,19–22; 5:1–13,16–17	Hebrew	Herodian		[366][370]
5QLamb		5Q7	Lamentations 4:17–20	Hebrew	Herodian		[366][371]
5QPhyl	Phylactery	5Q8		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Phylactery in its unopened case	[366][372]
5QapocrJosh or 5QToponyms	Toponyms	5Q9		Hebrew	Herodian	Seven fragments with names of places	[366][373]
5QapocrMal	Apocryphon of Malachi	5Q10		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Apocryphon of Malachi	[366][374]
5QS	Rule of Community (Serek ha-Yahad)	5Q11		Hebrew	Herodian		[366][375]
5QD	Damascus Document	5Q12		Hebrew	Herodian	Damascus Document	[366][376]
5QRule or 5QRégle	Rule of Community	5Q13		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Fragments related to 1QS	[377][378]
5QCurses	Curses	5Q14		Hebrew	Herodian	Liturgical compositions with curses	[377][379]
5QNJ	New Jerusalem Scroll	5Q15		Aramaic	Hellenistic-Roman	Description of the New Jerusalem	[377][380]
5QUnid	Unidentified	5Q16–5Q24		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Unidentified fragments	[377]
5QUnc	Unclassified	5Q25		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Unclassified fragments	[377][381]

Cave 6

Cave 6 was discovered alongside Cave 5 in 1952, shortly after the discovery of Cave 4. Cave 6 contained fragments of about 31 manuscripts.^[25]

List of groups of fragments collected from Wadi Qumran Cave 6:^[382][383]

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 6
6QpaleoGen	Genesis	6Q1	Genesis 6:13–21	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic; Palaeo-Hebrew script		[384][385]
6QpaleoLev	Leviticus	6Q2	Leviticus 8:12–13	Hebrew	Early Hellenistic; Palaeo-Hebrew script		[384][386]
pap6QDeut or 6QpapDeut(?)	Deuteronomy	6Q3	Deuteronomy 26:19	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	A few letters of Deuteronomy 26:19 on papyrus	[384][48][387]
6QpapKgs	Kings	6Q4	[1 Kings 3]]:12–14; 12:28–31; 22:28–31; 2 Kings 5:26; 6:32; 7:8–10,20; 8:1–5; 9:1–2; 10:19–21	Hebrew	Hasmonean	Made up of 94 Fragments.	[384][388]
pap6QPs or 6QpapPs(?)	Psalms	6Q5	Psalm 78:36–37	Hebrew	Herodian		[389][390]
6QCant	Song of Songs	6Q6	Song of Songs 1:1–7	Hebrew	Herodian		[389][391]
6QpapDan	Daniel	6Q7	Daniel 8:20–21; 10:8–16; 11:33–36,38; 8:16–17	Hebrew	Herodian	13 papyrus fragments.	[389][392]
6QpapGiants or pap6QEnGiants	Book of Giants from Enoch	6Q8		Aramaic	Herodian	Part of the "Book of Giants"	[389][393]
6Qpap apocrSam-Kgs or pap6QapocrSam/Kgs	Apocryphon on Samuel–Kings	6Q9		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Samuel–Kings apocryphon. Written on papyrus.	[389][394]
6QpapaProph or pap6QProph	Unidentified prophetic fragment	6Q10		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Prophetic text. Written in papyrus	[389][395]
6QAllegory	Allegory of the Vine	6Q11		Hebrew	Herodian	Fragment containing an Allegory mentioning a vine	[389][396]
6QapProph	An apocryphal prophecy	6Q12			Herodian		[389][397]
6QPriestProph	Priestly Prophecy	6Q13			Herodian	A priestly prophecy	[389][398]
6Q Apocalypse	Apocalyptic text	6Q14		Aramaic	Herodian	Two fragments with apocalyptic text	[389][399]
6QD	Damascus Document	6Q15		Hebrew	Herodian	Damascus Document 4:19–21; 5:13–14,18–21; 6:1–2,20–21; 7:1	[389][400]
6QpapBened or pap6QBen	papBenediction	6Q16			Herodian	Blessings related 1QSb. On papyrus	[401][402]
6QCalDoc	Calendrical Document	6Q17			Herodian	Calendric fragment	[401][403]
pap6QHymn	Hymn	6Q18			Herodian	Fragment of a hymn, related to 1QM	[401][404]
6Q Text Related to Genesis	Genesis	6Q19	Possibly from Genesis	Aramaic	Herodian	Related to Genesis 10:6,20	[401][405]
6QDeut(?)	Deuteronomy	6Q20	Possibly from Deuteronomy	Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman	Related to Deuteronomy 11:10	[401][406]
6QfrgProph or 6Q Prophetic Text	Possibly prophetic text	6Q21		Hebrew	Herodian	Prophetic fragment containing 5 words.	[401][407]
pap6QUnidA	Unclassified fragments	6Q22		Hebrew	Herodian		[401][408]
pap6QUnidA ar	Unclassified fragments	6Q23		Aramaic	Herodian	Related to "Words of the Book of Michael"	[401][409]
6QUnidB	Unclassified fragments	6Q24		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[401][410]
6QUnidB	Unclassified fragments	6Q25		Aramaic	Herodian		[401][411]
6QUnidB or 6QpapAccount or Contract	Accounts or contracts	6Q26		Aramaic	Hellenistic-Roman		[401][412]
6QUnidB	Unclassified fragments	6Q27–6Q28		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[401]
6QpapProv	Proverbs	6Q30	Proverbs 11:4b–7a,10b	Hebrew	Roman	Single six-line fragment	[401][413]
6QUnidB	Unclassified fragments	6Q31		Aramaic	Herodian		[401][414]

Cave 7

Cave 7 yielded fewer than 20 fragments of Greek documents, including 7Q2 (the "Letter of Jeremiah" = Baruch 6), 7Q5 (which became the subject of much speculation in later decades), and a Greek copy of a scroll of Enoch.^{[415][416][417]} Cave 7 also produced several inscribed potsherds and jars.^[418]

Lists of groups of fragments collected from Wadi Qumran Cave 7:^[382][383]

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 7
7QpapLXXExod	Exodus	7Q1	Exodus 28:4–7	Greek	Hasmonean	Greek fragment of Exodus	[419]
7QpapEpJer	Letter of Jeremiah	7Q2	Letter of Jeremiah verses 43–44	Greek	Hasmonean	Epistle of Jeremiah. On papyrus.	[420]
7Q3	Unidentified	7Q3		Greek	Herodian	Unknown biblical text	[421]
7Q4	Unidentified	7Q4		Greek	Hasmonean	Unknown biblical text	[422]
7Q5	Unidentified	7Q5		Greek	Herodian	Unknown biblical text. Believed by some to be Mark 6:52–53	[423]
7Q6–18	Unidentified	7Q6–18		Greek	Hellenistic-Roman; Herodian	Very tiny unidentified fragments written on papyrus	[91]
7Q papImprint	Unidentified	7Q19		Greek	Herodian	Unidentified papyrus imprint. Very tiny fragments written on papyrus	[424]

Cave 8

Cave 8, along with caves 7 and 9, was one of the only caves that are accessible by passing through the settlement at Qumran. Carved into the southern end of the Qumran plateau, cave 8 was excavated by archaeologists in 1957.

Cave 8 produced five fragments: Genesis (8QGen), Psalms (8QPs), a tefillin fragment (8QPhyl), a mezuzah (8QMez), and a hymn (8QHymn).^[425] Cave 8 also produced several tefillin cases, a box of leather objects, tons of lamps, jars, and the sole of a leather shoe.^[418]

List of groups of fragments collected from Wadi Qumran Cave 8:^[382][383]

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 8
8QGen	Genesis	8Q1	Genesis 17:12–13, 15, 18–19; 18:20–22, 24–25	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
8QPs	Psalms	8Q2	Psalm 17:5–9, 14; 18:5–12	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
8QPhyl	Phylacteries	8Q3	Exodus 13:1–16; 12:43–51; 20:11 Deuteronomy 6:4–5; 6:1–3; 10:20–22; 10:12–19; 5:1–14; 10:13; 11:2–3; 10:21–22; 11:1; 11:6–12	Hebrew	1–100 CE Herodian	Fragments from a "Phylactery"	[48]
8QMez	Mezuzah	8Q4	Deuteronomy 10:1–11:21	Hebrew	30 BCE–68 CE Herodian		[48]
8QHymn	Unidentified hymn	8Q5		Hebrew	Herodian	Non-biblical composition.	[91]

Cave 9

Cave 9, along with caves 7 and 8, was one of the only caves that are accessible by passing through the settlement at Qumran. Carved into the southern end of the Qumran plateau, Cave 9 was excavated by archaeologists in 1957. There was only one fragment found in Cave 9.

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 9
9Qpap	Unidentified	9Q1		Hebrew	Roman	Written on papyrus.	[426]

Cave 10

In Cave 10 archaeologists found two ostraca with writing on them, along with an unknown symbol on a grey stone slab.

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 10
10QOstracon	Ostracon	10Q1		Hebrew		Two letters written on a piece of pottery.	[18]

Cave 11

Cave 11 was discovered in 1956 and yielded 21 texts, some of which were quite long. The Temple Scroll, so called because more than half of it pertains to the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem, was found in Cave 11, and is by far the longest scroll. It is now 26.7 feet (8.15 m) long. Its original length may have been over 28 feet (8.75 m). The Temple Scroll was regarded by Yigael Yadin as "The Torah According to the Essenes". On the other hand, Hartmut Stegemann, a contemporary and friend of Yadin, believed the scroll was not to be regarded as such, but was a document without exceptional significance. Stegemann notes that it is not mentioned or cited in any known Essene writing.^[427]

Also in Cave 11, an eschatological fragment about the biblical figure Melchizedek (11Q13) was found. Cave 11 also produced a copy of Jubilees, and a proto-Masoteric text of the Torah scroll (only a fragment of the Book of Leviticus surviving), known as the Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll.

According to former chief editor of the DSS editorial team John Strugnell, there are at least four privately owned scrolls from Cave 11, that have not yet been made available for scholars. Among them is a complete Aramaic manuscript of the Book of Enoch.^[428]

List of groups of fragments collected from Wadi Qumran Cave 11:

Fragment or Scroll Identifier	Fragment or Scroll Name	Alternative Identifier	English Bible Association	Language	Date/Script	Description	Reference
Qumran Cave 11
11QpaleoLeva	Paleo-Leviticusa	11Q1	Leviticus 4:24–26; 10:4–7; 11:27–32; 13:3–9; 13:39–43; 14:16–21; 14:52–15:5; 16:2–4; 16:34–17:5; 18:27–19:4; 20:1–6; 21:6–11; 22:21–27; 23:22–29; 24:9–14; 25:28–36; 26:17–26; 27:11–19	Hebrew	Herodian/palaeo-Hebrew script		[91]
11QLevb	Leviticusb	11Q2	Leviticus	Hebrew	Herodian/palaeo-Hebrew script		[91]
11QDeut	Deuteronomy	11Q3	Deuteronomy 1:4–5; 2:28–30	Hebrew	50 CE Late Herodian		[48]
11QEzek	Ezekiel	11Q4	Ezekiel	Hebrew	Herodian		[429][430]
11QPs	The Great Psalms Scroll	11Q5	Psalms	Hebrew	Herodian	A unique Psalms scroll with only about a quarter of the Masoretic psalms (in atypical order), three Syriac psalms, one from Ben Sira, and the only known copies of three more unique psalms—Plea for Deliverance, Apostrophe to Zion, and Hymn to the Creator—all of which are unattested by other sources, as well as the short text of David's Compositions.	[91]
11QPsa	Psalms	11Q5		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QPsb		11Q6	Psalm 77:18–21; 78:1; 109:3–4; 118:1; 118:15–16; 119:163–165; 133:1–3; 141:10; 144:1–2	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QPsc		11Q7	Psalm 2:1–8; 9:3–7; 12:5–9; 13:1–6; 14:1–6; 17:9–15; 18:1–12; 19:4–8; 25:2–7	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QPsd		11Q8	Psalm 6:2–4; 9:3–6; 18:26–29; 18:39–42; 36:13; 37:1–4; 39:13–14; 40:1; 43:1–3; 45:6–8; 59:5–8; 68:1–5; 68:14–18; 78:5–12; 81:4–9; 86:11–14; 115:16–18; 116:1	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QPse		11Q9	Psalm 50:3–7	Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QtgJob	Targum Job	11Q10	Job	Aramaic	Herodian	A unique Aramaic translation of the Book of Job; presents Job somewhat more favourably.	[91]
11QapocrPs	Apocryphal Psalms	11Q11	Psalm 91	Hebrew	Herodian	Apocryphal paraphrase of Psalms 91	[91]
11QJub	Jubilees	11Q12		Hebrew	Herodian	Ethiopic text of Jubilees 4:6–11; 4:13–14; 4:16–17; 4:29–31; 5:1–2; 12:15–17; 12:28–29	[91]
11QMelch	Melchizedek	11Q13	Contains Pesher/commentary on Leviticus 25:13; Deuteronomy 15:2; Psalm 7:8–9; 82:2; Isaiah 52:7; Daniel 9:25; Leviticus 25:9	Hebrew	50–25 BCE or 75–50 BCE Late Hasmonean or Early Herodian	Describes a tenth jubilee and portrays Melchizedek as a messianic agent of salvation, using similar language to that used for Jesus in Hebrews, such as "Heavenly Prince Melchizedek"	[91][48]
11Q Sefer ha-Milhamah	Sefer ha-Milhamah ("The Book of War")	11Q14		Hebrew	Herodian	An account of the final eschatological battle of the Israelites and the Kittim (Romans), including a messianic figure named the "Prince of the Congregation."	[91]
11QHymnsa	Hymns	11Q15		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QHymnsb		11Q16		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QShirShabb	Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice	11Q17		Hebrew	Herodian	Collection of 13 hymns describing a heavenly temple service.	[91]
11QNJ	New Jerusalem	11Q18		Aramaic	Herodian	Appears to be an apocalyptic vision, including some architectural details of a very large city (cf. Ezekiel and Revelation)	[91]
11QTa	Temple Scroll	11Q19		Hebrew	Herodian	Rephrases the Pentateuch laws in the spirit of Deuteronomy, seeks to resolve biblical legal conflicts and expand ritual laws.	[91]
11QTb	Temple Scroll	11Q20		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11QTc		11Q21		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
11Q Unidentified	Unidentified	11Q22		Hebrew	Hasmonean	Unidentified fragments.	[91]
		11Q23		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[91]
		11Q24		Aramaic	Hasmonean		[91]
		11Q25		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
		11Q26		Hebrew	Herodian		[91]
		11Q27		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[91]
		11Q28		Hebrew	Hellenistic-Roman		[91]
		11Q29				Serekh ha-Yahad related
11Q Unidentified	Unidentified	11Q30		Hebrew	Herodian	Unidentified fragments.	[91]
11Q Unidentified	Unidentified	11Q31				Unidentified fragment	[431]
11Q9999	Unidentified				Hellenistic-Roman		[91]

Cave 12

Cave 12 was discovered in February 2017 on cliffs west of Qumran, near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.^[29] Archaeological examination found pickaxes and empty broken scroll jars, indicating that the cave had been discovered and looted in the 1950s. One of the joint Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Liberty University of Virginia project's lead researchers, Dr. Oren Gutfeld, stated, "Although at the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we 'only' found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing, the findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen."^[30]

Fragments with unknown provenance

Some fragments of scrolls have neither significant archaeological provenance nor records that reveal in which designated Qumran cave area they were found. They are believed to have come from Wadi Qumran caves, but are just as likely to have come from other archaeological sites in the Judaean Desert area.^[432] These fragments have therefore been designated to the temporary "X" series.

Fragment/Scroll #	Fragment/Scroll Name	KJV Bible Association	Description
XQ1-3	"Tefillin from Qumran"	Deuteronomy 5:1 – 6:3; 10:12 – 11:12.[432]	First published in 1969; Phylacteries
XQ4	"Tefillin from Qumran"		Phylacteries
XQ5a	Jubilees 7:4–5
XQ5b	Hymn
XQ6	Offering		Small fragment with only one word in Aramaic.
XQ7	Unidentified fragment		Strong possibility that it is part of 4QInstruction.
XQpapEn	Book of Enoch 9:1		One small fragment written in Hebrew. = XQ8

Gallery

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 175, complete, Testimonia, from Qumran Cave 4, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1, complete, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  The War Scroll, found in Qumran Cave 1.

• 

  A portion of the second discovered copy of the Isaiah scroll, 1QIsa^b.

• 

  Part of Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1. The Jordan Museum, Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll, Pesher Isaiah, from Qumran Cave 4. The Jordan Museum, Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 175, Testimonia, from Qumran Cave 4. The Jordan Museum, Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 109, Qohelet or Ecclesiastes, from Qumran Cave 4. The Jordan Museum, Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scrolls at the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Strips of the Copper Dead Sea Scroll at the Jordan Museum, from Qumran Cave 3, 1st century CE

• 

  Strip 11 of the Copper Dead Sea Scroll, from Qumran Cave 3, Jordan Museum

• 

  Strip 15 of the Copper Dead Sea Scroll, from Qumran Cave 3, Jordan Museum

• 

  Strip 13 of the Copper Dead Sea Scroll, from Qumran Cave 3, Jordan Museum

• 

  Strips 1 and 2 of the Copper Dead Sea Scroll, from Qumran Cave 3, Jordan Museum

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 109, Qohelet or Ecclesiastes, from Qumran Cave 4, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 109, Qohelet or Ecclesiastes, from Qumran Cave 4, at the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll, Pesher Isaiah, from Qumran Cave 4, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 175, Testimonia, from Qumran Cave 4, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Detail, Dead Sea Scroll 175, Testimonia, from Qumran Cave 4, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Part of Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1, the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Part of Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1, at the Jordan Museum in Amman

• 

  Dead Sea Scroll fragment 5/6HEV PS found in the Cave of Letters at Nahal Hever

Origin

There has been much debate about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The dominant theory remains that the scrolls were produced by the Essenes, a sect of Jews living at nearby Qumran, but this theory has come to be challenged by several modern scholars.^[433]

Qumran–Essene theory

The view among scholars, almost universally held until the 1990s, is the "Qumran–Essene" hypothesis originally posited by Roland Guérin de Vaux^[434] and Józef Tadeusz Milik,^[435] though independently both Eliezer Sukenik and Butrus Sowmy of St Mark's Monastery connected scrolls with the Essenes well before any excavations at Qumran.^[436] The Qumran–Essene theory holds that the scrolls were written by the Essenes, or by another Jewish sectarian group, residing at Khirbet Qumran. They composed the scrolls and ultimately hid them in the nearby caves during the Jewish Revolt sometime between 66 and 68 CE. The site of Qumran was destroyed and the scrolls never recovered. A number of arguments are used to support this theory.

• There are striking similarities between the description of an initiation ceremony of new members in the Community Rule and descriptions of the Essene initiation ceremony mentioned in the works of Flavius Josephus – a Jewish–Roman historian of the Second Temple Period.
• Josephus mentions the Essenes as sharing property among the members of the community, as does the Community Rule.
• During the excavation of Khirbet Qumran, two inkwells and plastered elements thought to be tables were found, offering evidence that some form of writing was done there. More inkwells were discovered nearby. De Vaux called this area the "scriptorium" based upon this discovery.
• Several Jewish ritual baths (Hebrew: miqvah = מקוה) were discovered at Qumran, offering evidence of an observant Jewish presence at the site.
• Pliny the Elder (a geographer writing after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE) describes a group of Essenes living in a desert community on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea near the ruined town of 'Ein Gedi.

Qumran–Sectarian theory

Qumran–Sectarian theories are variations on the Qumran–Essene theory. The main point of departure from the Qumran–Essene theory is hesitation to link the Dead Sea Scrolls specifically with the Essenes. Most proponents of the Qumran–Sectarian theory understand a group of Jews living in or near Qumran to be responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, but do not necessarily conclude that the sectarians are Essenes.

A specific variation on the Qumran–Sectarian theory that has gained much recent popularity is the work of Lawrence H. Schiffman, who proposes that the community was led by a group of Zadokite priests (Sadducees).^[437] The most important document in support of this view is the "Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah" (4QMMT), which cites purity laws (such as the transfer of impurities) identical to those attributed in rabbinic writings to the Sadducees. 4QMMT also reproduces a festival calendar that follows Sadducee principles for the dating of certain festival days.

Christian origin theory

Spanish Jesuit José O'Callaghan Martínez argued in the 1960s that one fragment (7Q5) preserves a portion of text from the New Testament Gospel of Mark 6:52–53.^[438] This theory was scrutinized in the year 2000 by paleographic analysis of the particular fragment. However, this faced some contention, and O'Callaghan's theory remains an area of great dispute. Later analyses in 2004 and 2018, have lent credence to O'Callaghan's original assertion.

Robert Eisenman has advanced the theory that some scrolls describe the early Christian community. Eisenman also argued that the careers of James the Just and Paul the Apostle correspond to events recorded in some of these documents.^[439]

Jerusalem origin theory

Some scholars have argued that the scrolls were the product of Jews living in Jerusalem, who hid the scrolls in the caves near Qumran while fleeing from the Romans during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.^[440] Karl Heinrich Rengstorf first proposed that the Dead Sea Scrolls originated at the library of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.^[441] Later, Norman Golb suggested that the scrolls were the product of multiple libraries in Jerusalem, and not necessarily the Jerusalem Temple library.^[442][443] Proponents of the Jerusalem Origin theory point to the diversity of thought and handwriting among the scrolls as evidence against a Qumran origin of the scrolls. Several archaeologists have also accepted an origin of the scrolls other than Qumran, including Yizhar Hirschfeld^[444] and more recently Yizhak Magen and Yuval Peleg,^[445] who all understand the remains of Qumran to be those of a Hasmonean fort that was reused during later periods.

Physical characteristics

Radiocarbon dating

Parchment from a number of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been carbon dated. The initial test performed in 1950 was on a piece of linen from one of the caves. This test gave an indicative dating of 33 CE plus or minus 200 years, eliminating early hypotheses relating the scrolls to the medieval period.^[446] Since then two large series of tests have been performed on the scrolls themselves. The results were summarized by VanderKam and Flint, who said the tests give "strong reason for thinking that most of the Qumran manuscripts belong to the last two centuries BCE and the first century CE."^[20]:32

Paleographic dating

Analysis of letter forms, or palaeography, was applied to the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls by a variety of scholars in the field. Major linguistic analysis by Cross and Avigad dates fragments from 225 BCE to 50 CE.^[447] These dates were determined by examining the size, variability, and style of the text.^[448] The same fragments were later analyzed using radiocarbon dating and were dated to an estimated range of 385 BCE to 82 CE with a 68% accuracy rate.^[447]

Ink and parchment

The scrolls were analyzed using a cyclotron at the University of California, Davis, where it was found that all black ink was carbon black.^[449] The red ink on the scrolls was found to be made with cinnabar (HgS, mercury sulfide).^[450] There are only four uses of this red ink in the entire collection of Dead Sea Scroll fragments.^[450] The black inks found on the scrolls are mostly made of carbon soot from olive oil lamps.^[451] Honey, oil, vinegar, and water were often added to the mixture to thin the ink to a proper consistency for writing.^[451] Galls were sometimes added to the ink to make it more resilient.^[451] In order to apply the ink to the scrolls, its writers used reed pens.^[452]

The Dead Sea scrolls were written on parchment made of processed animal hide known as vellum (approximately 85.5–90.5% of the scrolls), papyrus (estimated at 8.0–13.0% of the scrolls), and sheets of bronze composed of about 99.0% copper and 1.0% tin (approximately 1.5% of the scrolls).^[452][453] For those scrolls written on animal hides, scholars with the Israeli Antiquities Authority, by use of DNA testing for assembly purposes, believe that there may be a hierarchy in the religious importance of the texts based on which type of animal was used to create the hide. Scrolls written on goat and calf hides are considered by scholars to be more significant in nature, while those written on gazelle or ibex are considered to be less religiously significant in nature.^[454]

In addition, tests by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Sicily, Italy, have suggested that the origin of parchment of select Dead Sea Scroll fragments is from the Qumran area itself, by using X-ray and Particle-induced X-ray emission testing of the water used to make the parchment that were compared with the water from the area around the Qumran site.^[455]

Preservation

The Dead Sea Scrolls that were found were originally preserved by the dry, arid, and low humidity conditions present within the Qumran area adjoining the Dead Sea.^[456] In addition, the lack of the use of tanning materials on the parchment of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the very low airflow in the Qumran caves also contributed significantly to their preservation.^[457] Some of the scrolls were found stored in clay jars within the Qumran caves, further helping to preserve them from deterioration. The original handling of the scrolls by archaeologists and scholars was done inappropriately, and, along with their storage in an uncontrolled environment, they began a process of more rapid deterioration than they had experienced at Qumran.^[458] During the first few years in the late 1940s and early 1950s, adhesive tape used to join fragments and seal cracks caused significant damage to the documents.^[458] The Government of Jordan had recognized the urgency of protecting the scrolls from deterioration and the presence of the deterioration among the scrolls.^[459] However, the government did not have adequate funds to purchase all the scrolls for their protection and agreed to have foreign institutions purchase the scrolls and have them held at their museum in Jerusalem until they could be "adequately studied".^[459]

In early 1953, they were moved to the Palestine Archaeological Museum (commonly called the Rockefeller Museum)^[460] in East Jerusalem and through their transportation suffered more deterioration and damage.^[20]:63–65 The museum was underfunded and had limited resources with which to examine the scrolls, and, as a result, conditions of the "scrollery" and storage area were left relatively uncontrolled by modern standards.^[20] The museum had left most of the fragments and scrolls lying between window glass, trapping the moisture in with them, causing an acceleration in the deterioration process. During a portion of the conflict during the 1956 war waged by Israel, Britain and France against Egypt, the scrolls collection of the Palestine Archaeological Museum was stored in the vault of the Ottoman Bank in Amman, Jordan.^[461] Damp conditions from temporary storage of the scrolls in the Ottoman Bank vault from 1956 to the Spring of 1957 led to a more rapid rate of deterioration of the scrolls. The conditions caused mildew to develop on the scrolls and fragments, and some fragments were partially destroyed or made illegible by the glue and paper of the manila envelopes in which they were stored while in the vault.^[461] By 1958 it was noted that up to 5% of some of the scrolls had completely deteriorated.^[459] Many of the texts had become illegible and many of the parchments had darkened considerably.^[20][458]

Until the 1970s, the scrolls continued to deteriorate because of poor storage arrangements, exposure to different adhesives, and being trapped in moist environments.^[458] Fragments written on parchment (rather than papyrus or bronze) in the hands of private collectors and scholars suffered an even worse fate than those in the hands of the museum, with large portions of fragments being reported to have disappeared by 1966.^[462] In the late 1960s, the deterioration was becoming a major concern with scholars and museum officials alike. Scholars John Allegro and Sir Francis Frank were among the first to strongly advocate for better preservation techniques.^[20] Early attempts made by both the British and Israel Museums to remove the adhesive tape ended up exposing the parchment to an array of chemicals, including "British Leather Dressing," and darkening some of them significantly.^[20] In the 1970s and 1980s, other preservation attempts were made that included removing the glass plates and replacing them with cardboard and removing pressure against the plates that held the scrolls in storage; however, the fragments and scrolls continued to rapidly deteriorate during this time.^[458]

In 1991, the Israeli Antiquities Authority established a temperature-controlled laboratory for the storage and preservation of the scrolls. The actions and preservation methods of Rockefeller Museum staff were concentrated on the removal of tape, oils, metals, salt, and other contaminants.^[458] The fragments and scrolls are preserved using acid-free cardboard and stored in solander boxes in the climate-controlled storage area.^[458]

Nine tiny phylactery slips were rediscovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in 2014, after they had been stored unopened for six decades following their excavation in 1952. The IAA is preparing to unroll the phylacteries or tefillin once a safe procedure has been decided upon.^[463][464]

Photography and assembly

Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were initially held by different parties during and after the excavation process, they were not all photographed by the same organization.

First photographs by the American Schools of Oriental Research (1948)

The first individual person to photograph a portion of the collection was John C. Trever (1916–2006), a Biblical scholar and archaeologist, who was a resident for the American Schools of Oriental Research.^[20]:68 He photographed three of the scrolls discovered in Cave 1 on 21 February 1948, both on black-and-white and standard color film.^{[20]:26[465][466]} Although an amateur photographer, the quality of his photographs often exceeded the visibility of the scrolls themselves as, over the years, the ink of the texts quickly deteriorated after they were removed from their linen wrappings.

Infrared photography and plate assembly by the Palestine Archaeological Museum (1952–1967)

A majority of the collection from the Qumran caves was acquired by the Palestine Archaeological Museum. The Museum had the scrolls photographed by Najib Albina, a local Arab photographer trained by Lewis Larsson of the American Colony in Jerusalem,^[467] Between 1952 and 1967, Albina documented the five-stage process of the sorting and assembly of the scrolls, done by the curator and staff of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, using infrared photography. Using a process known today as broadband fluorescence infrared photography, or NIR photography, Najib and the team at the Museum produced over 1,750 photographic plates of the scrolls and fragments.^{[20]:68[468][469][470]} The photographs were taken with the scrolls laid out on animal skin, using large format film, which caused the text to stand out, making the plates especially useful for assembling fragments.^[20]:68 These are the earliest photographs of the museum's collection, which was the most complete in the world at the time, and they recorded the fragments and scrolls before their further decay in storage, so they are often considered the best recorded copies of the scrolls.^[471]

Israel Antiquities Authority and NASA digital infrared imaging (1993–2012)

Beginning in 1993, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration used digital infrared imaging technology to produce photographs of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments.^[472] In partnership with the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center and West Semitic Research, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully worked to expand on the use of infrared photography previously used to evaluate ancient manuscripts by expanding the range of spectra at which images are photographed.^[473] NASA used this multi-spectral imaging technique, adapted from its remote sensing and planetary probes, in order to reveal previously illegible text on fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[473] The process uses a liquid crystal tunable filter in order to photograph the scrolls at specific wavelengths of light and, as a result, image distortion is significantly diminished.^[472] This method was used with select fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls to reveal text and details that cameras that take photographs using a larger light spectrum could not reveal.^[472] The camera and digital imaging assembly was developed specifically for the purpose of photographing illegible ancient texts.^[474]

On 18 December 2012^[475] the first output of this project was launched together with Google on the dedicated site Deadseascrolls.org.il.^[476] The site contains both digitizations of old images taken in the 1950s and about 1000 new images taken with the new NASA technology.^[477]

Israel Antiquities Authority and DNA scroll assembly (2006–2020)

Scientists with the Israeli Antiquities Authority have used DNA from the parchment on which the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments were written, in concert with infrared digital photography, to assist in the reassembly of the scrolls. For scrolls written on parchment made from animal hide and papyrus, scientists with the museum are using DNA code to associate fragments with different scrolls and to help scholars determine which scrolls may hold greater significance based on the type of material that was used.^[454] In a paper published in 2020 in the journal Cell, researchers from Tel Aviv University have shown that ancient DNA extracted from the ancient scrolls can be used to sort different scroll fragments not only based on the animal species but also based on variations in the nuclear genome of individual fragments. This effort enabled the researchers to match different fragments to each other based on their genetics and separate fragments which were falsely connected in the past.^[478][479]

Israel Museum of Jerusalem and Google digitization project (2011–2016)

In partnership with Google, the Museum of Jerusalem is working to photograph the Dead Sea Scrolls and make them available to the public digitally, although not placing the images in the public domain.^[480] The lead photographer of the project, , and his team are utilizing the Alpa 12 MAX camera accompanied with a Leaf Aptus-II back in order to produce ultra-high resolution digital images of the scrolls and fragments.^[481] With photos taken at 1,200 megapixels, the results are digital images that can be used to distinguish details that are invisible to the naked eye. In order to minimize damage to the scrolls and fragments, photographers are using a 1/4000th of a second exposure time and UV-protected flash tubes.^[480] The digital photography project was estimated in 2011 to cost approximately 3.5 million U.S. dollars.^[481]

Scholarly examination

After most of the scrolls and fragments were moved to the Palestine Archaeological Museum in 1953, scholars began to assemble them and log them for translation and study in a room that became known as the "Scrollery".^[482]

The text of the Dead Sea Scrolls is written in four different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean.

Language	Script	Percentage of Documents	Centuries of Known Use
Hebrew	Assyrian block script[483]	Estimated 76.0–79.0%	3rd century BCE to present
Hebrew	Cryptic scripts "A" "B" and "C"[484][485][486]	Estimated 0.9–1.0%[487]	Unknown
Biblical Hebrew	Paleo-Hebrew script[488]	Estimated 1.0–1.5%[486]	10th century BCE to the 2nd century CE
Biblical Hebrew	Paleo-Hebrew scribal script[488]
Aramaic	Aramaic square script	Estimated 16.0–17.0%[489]	8th century BCE to present
Greek	Greek uncial script[488]	Estimated 3.0%[486]	3rd century BCE to 8th century CE
Nabataean	Nabataean script[490]	Estimated 0.2%[490]	2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE

Publication

Physical publication and controversy

Some of the fragments and scrolls were published early. Most of the longer, more complete scrolls were published soon after their discovery. All the writings in Cave 1 appeared in print between 1950 and 1956; those from eight other caves were released in 1963; and 1965 saw the publication of the Psalms Scroll from Cave 11. Their translations into English soon followed.

Controversy

Publication of the scrolls has taken many decades, and delays have been a source of academic controversy. The scrolls were controlled by a small group of scholars headed by John Strugnell, while a majority of scholars had access neither to the scrolls nor even to photographs of the text. Scholars such as Norman Golb, publishers and writers such as Hershel Shanks, and many others argued for decades for publishing the texts, so that they become available to researchers. This controversy only ended in 1991, when the Biblical Archaeology Society was able to publish the "Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls", after an intervention of the Israeli government and the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA).^[491] In 1991 Emanuel Tov was appointed as the chairman of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, and publication of the scrolls followed in the same year.

Physical description

The majority of the scrolls consist of tiny, brittle fragments, which were published at a pace considered by many to be excessively slow. During early assembly and translation work by scholars through the Rockefeller Museum from the 1950s through the 1960s, access to the unpublished documents was limited to the editorial committee.^{[citation needed]}

Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (1955–2009)

The content of the scrolls was published in a 40 volume series by Oxford University Press published between 1955 and 2009 known as Discoveries in the Judaean Desert.^[492] In 1952 the Jordanian Department of Antiquities assembled a team of scholars to begin examining, assembling, and translating the scrolls with the intent of publishing them.^[493] The initial publication, assembled by Dominique Barthélemy and Józef Milik, was published as Qumran Cave 1 in 1955.^[492] After a series of other publications in the late 1980s and early 1990s and with the appointment of the respected Dutch–Israeli textual scholar Emanuel Tov as Editor-in-Chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project in 1990 publication of the scrolls accelerated. Tov's team had published five volumes covering the Cave 4 documents by 1995. Between 1990 and 2009, Tov helped the team produce 32 volumes. The final volume, Volume XL, was published in 2009.

A Preliminary Edition of the Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls (1991)

In 1991, researchers at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Martin Abegg, announced the creation of a computer program that used previously published scrolls to reconstruct the unpublished texts.^[494] Officials at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, led by Head Librarian William Andrew Moffett, announced that they would allow researchers unrestricted access to the library's complete set of photographs of the scrolls. In the fall of that year, Wacholder published 17 documents that had been reconstructed in 1988 from a concordance and had come into the hands of scholars outside of the International Team; in the same month, there occurred the discovery and publication of a complete set of facsimiles of the Cave 4 materials at the Huntington Library. Thereafter, the officials of the Israel Antiquities Authority agreed to lift their long-standing restrictions on the use of the scrolls.^[495]

A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1991)

After further delays, attorney William John Cox undertook representation of an "undisclosed client", who had provided a complete set of the unpublished photographs, and contracted for their publication. Professors Robert Eisenman and James Robinson indexed the photographs and wrote an introduction to , which was published by the Biblical Archaeology Society in 1991.^[496] Following the publication of the Facsimile Edition, Professor Elisha Qimron sued Hershel Shanks, Eisenman, Robinson and the Biblical Archaeology Society for copyright infringement for publishing, without authorization or attribution, his decipherment of one of the scrolls, MMT. The District Court of Jerusalem found in favor of Qimron in September 1993.^[497] The Court issued a restraining order, which prohibited the publication of the deciphered text, and ordered defendants to pay Qimron NIS 100,000 for infringing his copyright and the right of attribution. Defendants appealed the Supreme Court of Israel, which approved the District Court's decision, in August 2000. The Supreme Court further ordered that the defendants hand over to Qimron all the infringing copies.^[498] The decision met Israeli and international criticism from copyright law scholars.^{[499][500][501][502][503]}

The Facsimile Edition by Facsimile Editions Ltd, London, England (2007–2008)

In November 2007 the commissioned the London publisher, , to produce a facsimile edition of The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIs^a), The Order of the Community (1QS), and The Pesher to Habakkuk (1QpHab).^[504][505] The facsimile was produced from 1948 photographs, and so more faithfully represents the condition of the Isaiah scroll at the time of its discovery than does the current condition of the real Isaiah scroll.^[504]

Of the first three facsimile sets, one was exhibited at the Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, and a second set was purchased by the British Library in London. A further 46 sets including facsimiles of three fragments from Cave 4 (now in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum in Amman, Jordan) Testimonia (4Q175), Pesher Isaiah^b (4Q162) and Qohelet (4Q109) were announced in May 2009. The edition is strictly limited to 49 numbered sets of these reproductions on either specially prepared parchment paper or real parchment. The complete facsimile set (three scrolls including the Isaiah scroll and the three Jordanian fragments) can be purchased for $60,000.^[504]

The facsimiles have since been exhibited in Qumrân. Le secret des manuscrits de la mer Morte at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France (2010)^[506] and Verbum Domini at the Vatican, Rome, Italy (2012).^[507]

Digital publication

Olive Tree Bible Software (2000–2011)

The text of nearly all of the non-biblical scrolls has been recorded and tagged for morphology by Dr. Martin Abegg, Jr., the Ben Zion Wacholder Professor of Dead Sea Scroll Studies at Trinity Western University located in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.^[508] It is available on handheld devices through Olive Tree Bible Software - BibleReader, on Macs and Windows via emulator through Accordance with a comprehensive set of cross references, and on Windows through Logos Bible Software and BibleWorks.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader (2005)

The text of almost all of the non-Biblical texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls was released on CD-ROM by publisher E.J. Brill in 2005.^[509] The 2400 page, 6 volume series, was assembled by an editorial team led by Donald W. Parry and Emanuel Tov.^[510] Unlike the text translations in the physical publication, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, the texts are sorted by genres that include religious law, parabiblical texts, calendrical and sapiental texts, and poetic and liturgical works.^[509]

Israel Antiquities Authority and Google digitization project (2010–2016)

High-resolution images, including infrared photographs, of some of the Dead Sea scrolls are now available online on two dedicated websites.

On 19 October 2010, it was announced^[511] that Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) would scan the documents using multi-spectral imaging technology developed by NASA to produce high-resolution images of the texts, and then, through a partnership with Google, make them available online free of charge,^[512] on a searchable database and complemented by translation and other scholarly tools. The project is scheduled for completion within five years.

On 25 September 2011 the Israel Museum Digital Dead Sea Scrolls site went online.^[513][514] It gives users access to searchable, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history. As of May 2012, five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum have been digitized for the project and are now accessible online: the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War Scroll.

Biblical significance

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Hebrew-language manuscripts of the Bible were Masoretic texts dating to the 10th century CE, such as the Aleppo Codex.^[515] Today, the oldest known extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century. The biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls push that date back a full thousand years, to the 2nd century BCE.^[516] This was a significant discovery for Old Testament scholars who anticipated that the Dead Sea Scrolls would either affirm or repudiate the reliability of textual transmission from the original texts to the oldest Masoretic texts at hand. The discovery demonstrated the unusual accuracy of transmission over a thousand-year period, rendering it reasonable to believe that current Old Testament texts are reliable copies of the original works.

According to The Dead Sea Scrolls by Hebrew scholar Millar Burrows,

Of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, there are only seventeen letters in question. Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense. Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions. The remaining three letters comprise the word "light," which is added in verse 11, and does not affect the meaning greatly.^[517]

It is important to note that differences were found among fragments of texts. According to The Oxford Companion to Archaeology:

While some of the Qumran biblical manuscripts are nearly identical to the Masoretic, or traditional, Hebrew text of the Old Testament, some manuscripts of the books of Exodus and Samuel found in Cave Four exhibit dramatic differences in both language and content. In their astonishing range of textual variants, the Qumran biblical discoveries have prompted scholars to reconsider the once-accepted theories of the development of the modern biblical text from only three manuscript families: of the Masoretic text, of the Hebrew original of the Septuagint, and of the Samaritan Pentateuch. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the Old Testament scripture was extremely fluid until its canonization around A.D. 100.^[518]

Biblical books found

There are 225 Biblical texts included in the Dead Sea Scroll documents, or around 22% of the total, and with deuterocanonical books the number increases to 235.^[519][520] The Dead Sea Scrolls contain parts of all but one of the books of the Tanakh of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament protocanon. They also include four of the deuterocanonical books included in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles: Tobit, Sirach, Baruch 6 (also known as the Letter or Epistle of Jeremiah), and Psalm 151.^[519] The Book of Esther has not yet been found and scholars believe Esther is missing because, as a Jew, her marriage to a Persian king may have been looked down upon by the inhabitants of Qumran,^[521] or because the book has the Purim festival which is not included in the Qumran calendar.^[20]:180 Listed below are the most represented books, along with the deuterocanonicals, of the Bible found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the number of translatable Dead Sea texts that represent a copy of scripture from each Biblical book:^[522][523]

Book	Number found
Psalms	39
Deuteronomy	33
1 Enoch	25
Genesis	24
Isaiah	22
Jubilees	21
Exodus	18
Leviticus	17
Numbers	11
Minor Prophets	10[note 1]
Daniel	8
Jeremiah	6
Ezekiel	6
Job	6
Tobit	5[note 2]
Kings	4
Samuel	4
Judges	4[526]
Song of Songs (Canticles)	4
Ruth	4
Lamentations	4
Sirach	3
Ecclesiastes	2
Joshua	2

Non-biblical books

The majority of the texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls are non-biblical in nature and were thought to be insignificant for understanding the composition or canonization of the Biblical books, but a different consensus has emerged which sees many of these works as being collected by the Essene community instead of being composed by them.^[527] Scholars now recognize that some of these works were composed earlier than the Essene period, when some of the Biblical books were still being written or redacted into their final form.^[527]

Museum exhibitions and displays

Small portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls collections have been put on temporary display in exhibitions at museums and public venues around the world. The majority of these exhibitions took place in 1965 in the United States and the United Kingdom and from 1993 to 2011 in locations around the world. Many of the exhibitions were co-sponsored by either the Jordanian government (pre-1967) or the Israeli government (post-1967). Exhibitions were discontinued after 1965 due to the Six-Day War conflicts and have slowed down in post-2011 as the Israeli Antiquities Authority works to digitize the scrolls and place them in permanent cold storage.

The majority of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection was moved to Jerusalem's Shrine of the Book (a part of the Israel Museum) after the building's completion in April 1965.^[528] The museum falls under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, an official agency of the Israeli government. The permanent Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the museum features a reproduction of the Great Isaiah Scroll, surrounded by reproductions of other famous fragments that include Community Rule, the War Scroll, and the Thanksgiving Psalms Scroll.^[529][530]

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection held by the Jordanian government prior to 1967 was stored in Amman rather than at the Palestine Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem. As a consequence, that part of the collection remained in Jordanian hands under their Department of Antiquities. In 2013 parts of this collection have been put on display at The Jordan Museum in Amman, to which they were moved from the Jordan Archaeological Museum.^[531] Among the display items are artifacts from the Qumran site and the Copper Scroll.^[532]

Ownership

Past ownership

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (May 2012)

Arrangements with the Bedouin left the scrolls in the hands of a third party until a profitable sale of them could be negotiated. That third party, , was a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who soon contacted St Mark's Monastery in the hope of getting an appraisal of the nature of the texts. News of the find then reached Metropolitan Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, better known as Mar Samuel. After examining the scrolls and suspecting their antiquity, Mar Samuel expressed an interest in purchasing them. Four scrolls found their way into his hands: the now famous Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa^a), the Community Rule, the Habakkuk Pesher (a commentary on the book of Habakkuk), and the Genesis Apocryphon. More scrolls soon surfaced in the antiquities market, and Professor Eleazer Sukenik and Professor Benjamin Mazar, archaeologists at Hebrew University, soon found themselves in possession of three, The War Scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns, and another, more fragmented, Isaiah scroll (1QIsa^b).

Four of the Dead Sea Scrolls eventually went up for sale in an advertisement on 1 June 1954, The Wall Street Journal.^[533] On 1 July 1954, the scrolls, after delicate negotiations and accompanied by three people including the Metropolitan, arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. They were purchased by Professor Mazar and the son of Professor Sukenik, Yigael Yadin, for $250,000 (approximately $2,400,000 in 2020 dollars^[534]), and brought to Jerusalem.^[535] Since 2002, forgeries of Dead Sea Scrolls have appeared on black markets.^[536]

Current ownership

Israel claims ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection currently housed in the Shrine of the Book on the grounds of the Israel Museum. This claimed ownership is contested by both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.^[537]

A list of known ownership of Dead Sea Scroll fragments:

Claimed Owner	Year Acquired	Number of Fragments/Scrolls Owned
Azusa Pacific University[538]	2009	5
Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago[539]	1956	1
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary[540]	2009; 2010; 2012	8
Rockefeller Museum – Government of Israel[541][542]	1967	> 15,000
The Schøyen Collection owned by Martin Schøyen[543]	1980; 1994; 1995	115[544]
The Jordan Museum – Government of Jordan[531]	1947–1956	> 25
[545]		1
Ashland Theological Seminary[545]		1
Lanier Theological Library[545]		1
Pasadena Private Collection[545]		1

Note:

• In 2020 Museum of the Bible (also known as Green Collection – Green Family) reported that all 16 of the museum's Dead Sea Scroll fragments acquired between 2009 and 2014^[544][546] are modern forgeries.^[547][548]

Ownership disputes

The official ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed among the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. The debate over the Dead Sea Scrolls stems from a more general Israeli–Palestinian conflict over land and state recognition.

Parties Involved	Party Role	Explanation of Role
Jordan	Disputant; Minority Owner	Alleges that the Dead Sea Scrolls were stolen from the Palestine Archaeological Museum (now the Rockefeller Museum) operated by Jordan from 1966 until the Six-Day War when advancing Israeli forces took control of the Museum, and that therefore they fall under the rules of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.[549] Jordan regularly demands their return and petitions third-party countries that host the scrolls to return them to Jordan instead of to Israel, claiming they have legal documents that prove Jordanian ownership of the scrolls.[550]
Israel	Disputant; Current Majority Owner	After the Six-Day War Israel seized the scrolls and moved them to the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum. Israel disputes Jordan's claim and states that Jordan never lawfully possessed the scrolls since it was an unlawful occupier of the museum and region.[551][552][553]
Palestinian Authority	Disputant	The Palestinian Authority also has a claim to the scrolls.[554]
Canada	Neutral Exhibition Host	In 2009, a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection held by the Israeli Antiquities Authority was moved and displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. Both the Palestinian Authority and Jordan petitioned the international community, including the United Nations,[555] for the scrolls to be seized under disputed international law. Ottawa dismissed the demands and the exhibit continued, with the scrolls returning to Israel upon its conclusion.[556] A planned exhibition in Germany was cancelled, as the German government could not guarantee a return of the scrolls to Israel [1]

Copyright disputes

This section needs attention from an expert in law. The specific problem is: Complexity of copyright law surrounding historical documents in the United States and other nations. WikiProject Law may be able to help recruit an expert. (June 2012)

There are three types of documents relating to the Dead Sea Scrolls in which copyright status can be considered ambiguous; the documents themselves, images taken of the documents, and reproductions of the documents. This ambiguity arises from differences in copyright law across different countries and the variable interpretation of such law.

In 1992 a copyright case Qimron v. Shanks was brought before the Israeli District court by scholar Elisha Qimron against Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeology Society for violations of United States copyright law regarding his publishing of reconstructions of Dead Sea Scroll texts done by Qimron in A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were included without his permission. Qimron's suit against the Biblical Archaeology Society was done on the grounds that the research they had published was his intellectual property as he had reconstructed about 40% of the published text. In 1993, the district court Judge Dalia Dorner ruled for the plaintiff, Elisha Qimron, in context of both United States and Israeli copyright law and granted the highest compensation allowed by law for aggravation in compensation against Hershel Shanks and others.^[557] In an appeal in 2000 in front of Judge Aharon Barak, the verdict was upheld in Israeli Supreme Court in Qimron's favor.^[558] The court case established the two main principles from which facsimiles are examined under copyright law of the United States and Israel: authorship and originality.

The court's ruling not only affirms that the "deciphered text" of the scrolls can fall under copyright of individuals or groups, but makes it clear that the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves do not fall under this copyright law and scholars have a degree of, in the words of U.S. copyright law professor David Nimmer, "freedom" in access. Nimmer has shown how this freedom was in the theory of law applicable, but how it did not exist in reality as the Israeli Antiquities Authority tightly controlled access to the scrolls and photographs of the scrolls.^[557]

See also

• Ancient Hebrew writings
• Cairo Geniza
• Jordan Lead Codices
• Nag Hammadi library
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri
• Teacher of Righteousness
• The Book of Mysteries

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Books

Other sources

Further reading

• Harrison, R.K., The Dead Sea Scrolls: an Introduction, in series, The Cloister Library, New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dead Sea Scrolls.

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Dead Sea Scrolls

• Bible Places: Qumran Caves
• Chabad.org: What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
• The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
• Israel Museum, Jerusalem: Shrine of the Book – Dead Sea Scrolls
• My Jewish Learning: Dead Sea Scrolls