Few Bible students realize that some of the key texts in the Hebrew Bible about the “wilderness” or “desert” are specific references to what is called in Hebrew, the “Arava,” the rift valley that runs down to the Dead Sea–the lowest spot on earth–all the way into Africa. For example,…
Parallels Between A New Dead Sea Scroll Fragment (4Q521) and the Early New Testament Gospel Tradition One of the more intriguing of the Dead Sea Scrolls released in the 1990s, after being held by the DSS committee for decades, is a fragment that most now title “Messianic Apocalypse” (4Q521).…
This groundbreaking article by the late Bargil Pixner, a Benedictine priest and my dear friend, mentor, and colleague, was published in Biblical Archaeology Review in May/June, 1997 as a cover story. One of my great honors was to edit this article from the German and put it into BAR magazine style…
The following four essays were in response to a comprehensive essay exam I gave in my Dead Sea Scrolls course. They were written by my student Jeffrey Poplin and used with his permission. I thank Jeffrey for his superb work and happily pass these along to my blog readers: Essay One: Offer…
1. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947-1956 in 11 caves (5 by Beduin; 6 by archaeologists) on the upper northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The area is 13 miles east of Jerusalem, and is -1300 ft. below sea level (Jerusalem is +2400 ft. above sea level). 2.…
In 1883 fifteen leather strips found by Bedouin in caves on the east side of the Dead Sea came into possession of book and manuscript antiquities dealer Moses Shapira of Jerusalem. These ancient texts were written in Paleo-Hebrew and after painstaking reading and transcription of the faded letters by Shapira,…
Ross Nichols, author of the book,The Moses Scroll published last year, offers the best to date overview of the entire 19th century saga of Jerusalem antiquarian and bookseller, William Moses Shapira, and his sixteen leather strips inscribed in paleo-Hebrew purportedly discovered by Bedouin on the east side of the Dead Sea…
This lecture lays out the varied calendrical systems used in ancient Judaism. Calendars are complex things and lie at the core of our lives, as well as how most religious traditions function. How to count time was one of the most contentious issues between various ancient Jewish groups and sects–whether…
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946-47. We are already seeing signs of various retrospective reporting and analysis in special issues of major mass media publications such as National Geographic and Life magazine. These thick, lavishly illustrated, special editions are harbingers of much more…
Here is a lecture version of my previous post, “Dead Messiahs Who Don’t Return.” Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, and click the “bell” on Youtube if you want notifications. I am uploading dozens if lectures from my decades long career in March. https://youtu.be/rMe0g52O-OY