Dawn Morrison, age 15, of Patterson, N.J., for her question:
JUST WHAT ARE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS?
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a large group of ancient documents that were discovered in the middle of the 20th century in some caves along the northwestern side of the Dead Sea. The priceless collection is made up of Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts.
Scholars believe the scrolls are part of the library maintained by a strict sect within Judaism called the Essenes. The manuscripts tell of the type of Judaism that existed before the time of Christ.
The scrolls are the oldest known documents of the books of the Bible. Problems developed in the dating and translations as the manuscripts and as fragments were put together.
In 1947 the first discovery was made. A young Bedouin tribesman was searching for his lost goat. He threw a rock into a small opening in the cliff in Qumran Valley and heard a sound of something. When he went into the opening he discovered that his rock had hit some pottery jugs. Inside the containers were decaying leather scrolls wrapped in linen cloth. These came to be known as the original Dead Sea Scrolls.
The cave in which the scrolls were found came to be known as the Qumran Cave I. The eight scrolls changed ownership a number of times are are now in the possession of the state of Israel.
Other discoveries came later. Fragments of other manuscripts were found in 1951 in the caves of Wadi Murabbaat, located 11 miles to the south of Qumran Cave I, and at Khirbet Mird.
An organized search in the Qumran area in 1952 turned up manuscripts and fragments in 10 additional caves. Qumran Cave III contained two copper scrolls that give an account of supposed treasures and their hiding places.
One of the richest discoveries was Qumran Cave IV. Here were found fragments of nearly all of the Old Testament books.
Most scholars date the manuscripts from 160 B.C. to A.D. 230.
Most of the Qumran scrolls were written in old Testament Hebrew, although a number of them were written in Greek and Palestinian Aramaic.
The seven major manuscripts found in Qumran Cave I are a sample of the writings in the larger body of scrolls and fragments. Two of the manuscripts outline the complete Hebrew text of the Book of Isaiah, along with various other Old Testament texts.
One manuscript is made up of the first two chapters of Habakkuk.
Another one is the "Manual of Discipline," a strict rule of life that centers around detailed and complete obedience to Torah, the written law of the Jews.
Another manuscript includes an explanation of the Book of Genesis and a collection of psalms of thanksgiving. Still another tells of the last battle between the powers of good and evil.