Qumran scrolls from the Dead Sea.

The Great Isaiah Scroll

The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It is the largest (734 cm) and best-preserved of all the biblical scrolls and the only one that is nearly complete. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the biblical book of Isaiah. Dating to around 125 BCE, it is also one of the oldest Dead Sea Scrolls, approximately a thousand years older than the earliest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible before the discovery of the scrolls.

The text version generally aligns with the Masoretic or traditional version codified in medieval codices like the Aleppo Codex, but it includes many variant readings, alternative spellings, scribal errors, and corrections. Unlike most biblical scrolls from Qumran, it exhibits a very complete orthography (spelling) that demonstrates how Hebrew was pronounced during the Second Temple period. About twenty more copies of the Book of Isaiah were also found in Qumran (another copy was discovered further south in Wadi Muraba’at), as well as six Pesharim (commentaries) based on the book; Isaiah is also frequently quoted in other scrolls (a literary and religious phenomenon present in the New Testament writings as well). The authoritative and scriptural status of the Book of Isaiah is consistent with the messianic beliefs of the community living in Qumran, as Isaiah is known for his prophecies of judgment and comfort, his visions of the end of days, and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Modern scholarship views the Book of Isaiah as an anthology, with its two main sections being the actual Book of Isaiah (chapters 1-39, with some exceptions) containing the words of the prophet Isaiah himself from the time of the First Temple around 700 BCE, and Deutero-Isaiah (Chapters 40-66) containing the words of an anonymous prophet who lived about a hundred and fifty years later, during the Babylonian exile and the restoration of the Temple in the Persian period. At the time of copying our Isaiah Scroll (the latter part of the 2nd century BCE), the book was already viewed as a single composition.

Several prophecies found in the Book of Isaiah have become cornerstones of Judeo-Christian civilization. Perhaps the most famous one is Isaiah’s vision of universal peace at the end of days: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (2:4).

Versions and Translations of the Book of Isaiah

We would like to draw your attention to the complexity of translating the words of the prophet Isaiah from about 2,800 years ago, as reflected in the various Hebrew versions and subsequent English translations. The mission of the museum is to provide you with the background information you need to reach your own objective perspective when reading this English translation of the biblical text.

Basic Concepts:

Masoretic Version of the Hebrew Bible The evidence from the Qumran scrolls suggests that there were multiple coexisting versions of the biblical text, although one – referred to today as proto-rabbinic or proto-Masoretic – enjoyed a special status during the Greco-Roman period (3rd century BCE – 1st century CE). This version apparently became the authoritative textual version for mainstream Judaism towards the end of the Second Temple period, as evidenced by ancient parchment fragments of some biblical books (1st-2nd century CE) discovered in other parts of the Judean Desert (Masada, Wadi Murabba’at, Nahal Hever, and Nahal Tze’elim). Through the work of generations of scholars (known as “Masoretes”) who faithfully preserved and transmitted the sacred words over centuries, a definitive or Masoretic version of the Hebrew Bible gradually evolved, containing its final corrected text, proper vocalization, and accentuation marks. The Aleppo Codex, copied by the scribe Solomon son of Buya’a in the 10th century CE in the Galilean city of Tiberias and annotated by the scholar Aaron ben Asher, is considered the finest existing example of this version. Since then, the Masoretic version has become the authoritative standard text of the Hebrew Bible, from which modern translations have been and continue to be made. While there are numerous English online translations of this traditional text, the version presented here is the authoritative version of the biblical Book of Isaiah as rendered by the Jewish Publication Society in 1917 and published by the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.

Great Isaiah Scroll Version

The text of the Great Isaiah Scroll generally corresponds to the Masoretic or traditional version codified in medieval codices (all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version, in the same conventional order). At the same time, the two-thousand-year-old scroll contains alternative spellings, scribal errors, corrections, and most importantly, many variant readings. Strictly speaking, the number of text variants exceeds 2,600, ranging from a single letter, sometimes one or more words, to an entirely different verse or version. For example, the second half of verse 9 and the entire verse 10 are missing in the current Masoretic version of Chapter 2 in the Great Isaiah Scroll in the complete manuscript at the Israel Museum, which you can view online here. However, the same verses were included in other versions of the Book of Isaiah found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QIsaa, 4QIsab) and the Hebrew text from which the ancient Greek version or Septuagint (3rd-1st century BCE) was translated. This confirms that these verses, although they were early enough, represent a late addition to the ancient and more original version reflected in the Great Isaiah Scroll.

Recommendations:

With these basic concepts in mind, we recommend that you use the tools available to you in the following ways:

If you can read Hebrew, select any passage from the Great Isaiah Scroll and compare it with the Masoretic version of the same passage in the Aleppo Codex (http://www.aleppocodex.org/). You can then assess the similarities and differences between the two versions. If you cannot read Hebrew, please proceed as follows:

Select a specific passage from the version of the Great Isaiah Scroll and click on the online JPS English translation of the Book of Isaiah in the online viewer. Note that this translation reflects only the Masoretic version of the biblical book and does not specifically represent the current text of the version of the Great Isaiah Scroll. If you want to compare both versions, please click here, and you will see the first five chapters of the Book of Isaiah in parallel columns: on the left side, the English translation of the Great Isaiah Scroll by Professor Peter Flint (Trinity Western University, Canada) and Professor Eugene Ulrich (University of Notre Dame), and on the right side, the JPS English translation of the Masoretic version. This way, you can personally assess the complex issue of the different readings, which obviously have literary, historical, and theological implications for the correct understanding of Isaiah’s original words.

The Temple Scroll, known as 11Q19, was likely discovered in 1956 in Cave 11, located about two kilometers north of Khirbet Qumran. It is written in Hebrew using the square Herodian script of the late Second Temple period (first half of the first century CE). It was written on extremely thin animal skin (one-tenth of a millimeter), making it the thinnest parchment scroll ever found in the Qumran caves.

There are two additional copies of the same composition: one in Cave 11 (Temple Scrollb [11Q20]) and another (possibly a fragmentary specimen of the last part of the work) in Cave 4 (4QTemple Scrollb [4Q524]). Most scholars believe that all three manuscripts are copies of an original work from the second half of the second century BCE. (after 120 BCE, possibly during the reign of John Hyrcanus I.) in Israel.

The Temple Scroll consists of 18 parchment sheets, each containing three or four columns of text. With a total length of 8.146 meters, it is the largest scroll ever found in the Qumran caves. The second half—the inner part of the scroll—is better preserved than the first.

The work claims to provide the details of God’s instructions (to Moses?) regarding the construction and operation of the Temple. It is intended to be a kind of “new Book of Moses,” combining the laws of the Temple and sacrifices (mainly from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers) with a new version of these laws as formulated in Deuteronomy chapters 12-23.

The temple complex, as described in the scroll, should be arranged in three concentric square courtyards, reminiscent of the encampment of the Israelites in the wilderness. Just as the Ark of the Covenant stood at the center of the Israelite camp, so too should the utopian temple stand at the center of the inner courtyard, with the altar for burnt offerings and other objects nearby, radiating its sanctity to the entire Jewish people and the land of Israel, much like the Ark of the Covenant during the Israelites’ wanderings in the desert.

A central question concerns the social origin of this work: Although the scroll shares many features with other sectarian works found in the caves near Qumran, it lacks some representative expressions, such as the term “Sons of Light” and concepts like the belief in predestination. Many scholars still attribute the Temple Scroll to the isolated community in Qumran. Others reject any connection with the Qumran community and claim that the work originates from certain priestly (possibly Zadokite) circles and that the scroll was hidden by priestly zealots during their flight from Jerusalem, before its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE.

War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness (1QM)

• Location: Qumran, Cave 1
• Dating: 1st century BCE – 1st century CE
• Material: Parchment
• Dimensions: Height: 15-16 cm; Length: 279 cm
• Ownership: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Accession Number: 96.84/210

The War Scroll (1QM), also known as “The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness,” is one of the seven original Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It contains 19 columns (originally there were at least twenty), of which the first 14-19 lines (out of at least 21-22) are preserved. The work is written in Hebrew in a square Herodian script and dates from the late first century BCE or the early first century CE. Seven additional fragments (4Q491-497) with similar content were also found, but the relationship of these texts to 1QM is not entirely clear; they might represent an earlier version of the War Scroll or source materials on which the War Scroll is based.

Against the backdrop of a long biblical tradition of a final war at the end of days (Ezekiel 38–39; Daniel 7–12), this scroll describes a seven-stage, dualistic confrontation between the “Sons of Light” (the term the community members use for themselves), led by the “Prince of Light” (also called Michael, the Archangel) – and the “Sons of Darkness” (a nickname for the enemies of the community, Jews and non-Jews alike), supported by a nation called Kittim (Romans?), led by Belial. The confrontation would last 49 years, ending with the victory of the “Sons of Light” and the restoration of the Temple service and sacrifices. The War Scroll describes battle formations, weapons, the age of participants, and military maneuvers reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman military manuals.

This work is strictly speaking not an apocalypse (i.e., a heavenly revelation), and it lacks a “messianic” figure. Individual details, such as the high age of the combatants and the leadership by priests, indicate the idealistic nature of the war described in the work and lend the treatise a fictional quality. Nonetheless, the War Scroll may indeed reflect political tensions in Judea between Romans and Jews, which would culminate in the outbreak of the revolt in 66 CE. The scroll also sheds light on the New Testament Book of Revelation, in which a final war between earthly and heavenly forces is similarly described.

The Community Rule (Serekh HaYahad, 1QS), formerly known as the “Manual of Discipline,” is the main part of one of the first seven scrolls discovered in 1947 in Cave 1 at Qumran. It was written between 100 and 75 BCE in Hebrew using a square Hasmonean script.

In addition to this manuscript, fragments from no fewer than ten other copies of the work were found in Cave 4 (4Q255-264), and two tiny fragments of another copy were discovered in Cave 5 (5Q11). The copy from Cave 1 is the best preserved and contains the longest known version of the text. Based on comparisons with the fragments from Cave 4, scholars have concluded that the manuscript from Cave 1 represents a late stage in the development of the composition.

The Community Rule is a sectarian work that is crucial for understanding the way of life of the community. It deals with topics such as the admission of new members, behavior during communal meals, and even theological teachings (such as belief in cosmic dualism and predestination). The picture that emerges from the scroll is one of a communal, ascetic life governed by strict rules, transforming the members of the community into “priests in spirit” leading a holy life in a “spiritual temple.” The members of the community shaped their daily lives in symbolic imitation of the lives of the priests serving in the Temple by praying and performing ritual washings—in stark contrast to the “defiled” physical Temple in Jerusalem.

At that time, rule literature was a new genre that would later become part of the Christian monastic tradition (for example, the Rule of Saint Benedict from the 6th century). The discovery of the Community Rule in Qumran is the earliest evidence of the existence of the genre in Western civilization. The significance of this work lies in the fact that it provides a rare opportunity to learn more about the life of the sectarians, whom we believe to be Essenes, through their own rule literature. Before the discovery of the scrolls, little was known about the Essenes, apart from hints from classical sources (Flavius Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder) as well as some references in rabbinic literature.

The Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll (Pesher Habakkuk, 1QpHab) is a relatively complete scroll dating back to the first century BCE and is part of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the caves of Qumran in 1947. It interprets the first two chapters of the biblical Book of the Prophet Habakkuk and consists of 13 columns written in clear, square Herodian script. It is noteworthy that the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter, unpronounceable name of God, is written in ancient Hebrew characters, unlike the rest of the text.

In this work, the verses of the biblical book are copied paragraph by paragraph in their original order. However, the biblical text of Habakkuk on which the commentary is based seems to occasionally diverge from the Masoretic text.

Each paragraph is accompanied by a commentary, introduced by the Hebrew word “pishro,” meaning “its interpretation,” or “pesher hadavar al,” meaning “the interpretation of the matter relates to.” The commentary employs a prophetic style to address events of the author’s time.

Two main themes are addressed in this composition. One relates to the internal religious policies of Jerusalem and the Temple priesthood, while the other focuses on the effects of the appearance of the Romans (referred to as Chaldeans or Kittim in the work) on the historical stage. As in most works of this genre, historical figures are not mentioned by name, but there are allusions to individuals such as “the Teacher of Righteousness,” “the Wicked Priest,” “the Man of Lies,” and others, whose exact identities are yet to be determined.

This exceptionally well-preserved scroll is a key source for our knowledge of the spiritual life of the secluded Qumran community. It illuminates the self-perception of the community and serves as a paradigm against which other examples of this genre (such as Pesher Nahum or Pesher Micah) are measured.

In addition to this manuscript, fragments from no fewer than ten other copies of the work were found in Cave 4 (4Q255-264), and two tiny fragments of another copy were discovered in Cave 5 (5Q11). The copy from Cave 1 is the best preserved and contains the longest known version of the text. Based on comparisons with the fragments from Cave 4, scholars have concluded that the manuscript from Cave 1 represents a late stage in the development of the composition.

The Community Rule is a sectarian work that is crucial for understanding the way of life of the community. It deals with topics such as the admission of new members, behavior during communal meals, and even theological teachings (such as belief in cosmic dualism and predestination). The picture that emerges from the scroll is one of a communal, ascetic life governed by strict rules, transforming the members of the community into “priests in spirit” leading a holy life in a “spiritual temple.” The members of the community shaped their daily lives in symbolic imitation of the lives of the priests serving in the Temple by praying and performing ritual washings—in stark contrast to the “defiled” physical Temple in Jerusalem.

At that time, rule literature was a new genre that would later become part of the Christian monastic tradition (for example, the Rule of Saint Benedict from the 6th century). The discovery of the Community Rule in Qumran is the earliest evidence of the existence of the genre in Western civilization. The significance of this work lies in the fact that it provides a rare opportunity to learn more about the life of the sectarians, believed to be Essenes, through their own rule literature. Before the discovery of the scrolls, little was known about the Essenes, apart from hints from classical sources (Flavius Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder) as well as some references in rabbinic literature.