IMAGE INSIGHTS (Qumran and Isaiah 40:8): Located near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, the Wadi Qumran is the celebrated site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essene community of the Jews. Nearly 1,000 manuscripts of the biblical text (and others) were represented in the thousands of fragments and scrolls written on parchment and papyrus. Discovered in a series of caves between 1947 and 1956, the Dead Sea Scrolls are arguably the most important discovery of the 20th century and an archaeological treasure beyond compare. The scrolls include parts of every book of the Hebrew Bible (except Esther), along with many other ancient writings. Cave 4 (lower right hand of photograph) was particularly rich in material yielding 15,000 fragments from at least six hundred composite texts. Cave 1 contained a full manuscript of the book of Isaiah and is one of the largest and best preserved of the entire Dead Sea Scroll collection. It dates to approximately 100 BC and prior to its discovery the oldest known complete manuscript of the Old Testament had been the Aleppo Codex written in the 10th Century AD. The Dead Sea Scrolls were a monumental discovery which reveal the faithful preservation and transmission of God’s word. Critics were silenced as the scrolls contained no serious challenges to the narratives and doctrines of scripture. We can trust that the bible we are reading today is what was read by our forefathers in the faith. “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
By John W. Moore
