As some of you know, even though my academic field is ancient Mediterranean religions, including Christian Origins and late 2nd Temple Judaism, I have ended up wearing a few extra “Hats” so to speak. I would include here the archaeological side of my research along with the textual studies typical of my field. Another entire field has to do with biblically oriented Apocalyptic Movements through the ages, including the 1993 Waco tragedy, with messianic leader David Koresh and his Branch Davidian followers…hence my book, Why Waco, which offers an account of both my involvement and my analysis of that event and the group involved. Another focus is chasing down the 19th century Moses Shapria manuscript popularly known as the “Moses Scroll,” which purports to contain the little scroll of Moses” referenced in Deuteronomy 29:1; 31:24-29. It was found on the east side of the Dead Sea in a cave in the 1870s, acquired by Shapira from Bedouin, and subsequently declared a forgery by various European scholars to whom Shapira presented it for examination.
If you are not familiar with this story you have a thrilling page-turning read ahead of you. I would recommend you begin with Ross Nichols book, The Moses Scroll, which I highly recommend. I have been working with Ross since 2019 on this project and we have teamed up with Prof. Idan Dershowitz, interviewed in this video, and several other scholars who support the idea that this earliest “Dead Sea Scroll” is ancient, whether it goes back to Moses or not, and far from a forgery. In fact we think it is likely pre-Exilic. Unfortunately the manuscript strips have disappeared but we have traced their history as they were sold and resold, and hope we are near finding the last owner so they can be scientifically examined and dated.
This interview provides a nice overview of the whole case and brings you up to date with where we are on this. Idan and I wrote this article for BAR magazine together in 2021, “The Shapira Scroll: The Case for Authenticity,” which you can download here, and you can find Idan’s publications, including his major book, at his Academia.edu site.
I hope we will have more to report in the coming months regarding our Quest to find the texts themselves. If this topic is new to you I recommend you begin with Ross Nichols’s The Moses Scroll. You will not regret it!
Anyway, enjoy this interview!
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