The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Dead Sea Scrolls Adventure Video Game Coming soon on Steam! The Dead Sea Scrolls Adventure Video Game! Check out this teaser... https://ypsnetiv.org Music SONG Desert Caravan ARTIST Aaron Kenny ALBUM LICENSES YouTube Audio Library

What do the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about the biblical text? It's important to note that among the scrolls we have at least fragments from each and every book of the Hebrew Bible, with the exception of the book of Esther. We also have the entire book of Isaiah, all 66 chapters, as well as a partial copy of the same text. Furthermore, enhanced carbon dating techniques, which make it possible to conclusively place the great bulk of these biblical texts in the first two centuries B.C.E. The...

Very little serious archaeology involves the adventure and raw excitement of an Indiana Jones adventure. But among the items found by archaeologists in the year 1952, in a cave not far from the Dead Sea, was a most unusual scroll, made not of parchment but of copper. It’s time for the real-life saga of the Copper Scroll! https://ypsnetiv.org Music SONG The Arid Land ARTIST Sir Cubworth ALBUM LICENSES YouTube Audio Library

The Dead Sea Scrolls shed new light on the unique genre of ancient Jewish mysticism, known as kabbalah, which until now has only been preserved in documents dating from early medieval times. Of course, the contents of this literature are far older, and were certainly passed down by word of mouth, long before being recorded in medieval sources. Now, thanks to a single Dead Sea Scroll, we have a clear reference to the kind of mysticism called in Hebrew merkavah, referring to chariot-throne of...

Beyond ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible and commentaries on the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain a wealth of original, sectarian writings. For example there are a number of previously unknown non-biblical psalms, scattered across a scroll containing the standard Psalms from the Hebrew Bible. Additionally, there is yet another scroll, one of the original scrolls discovered by the Bedouin in 1947, comprising an entire book of extra-biblical psalms. The literary plot only thickens… ...

Amazing, that as well-known as the Dead Sea Scrolls are, relatively few people have any idea of what's in them. Basically, we can break down the contents of the scrolls into a few categories. We have: scripture, hymns, ordinances and laws, and apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, along with a few miscellaneous texts. Aside from this unique cache of biblical books, there are also a significant number of commentaries on the Bible, focusing on prophecy and the “end of the world.”https://ypsnetiv.org

The Dead Sea sect was consumed with the idea that the end was near, that human history would cease with the immanent appearance of a messianic age. First, however, there would be a great time of trial, involving a terrible conflict between the forces of good and evil. One of the most fascinating of the dead sea scrolls, also among the original discovery of 1947, describes this final conflict. It’s known as the War Scroll. https://ypsnetiv.org Music The Arid Land Song 1 of 2 Early Avril ...

An incredibly important ancient scroll was found early on during the rush to comb the Dead Sea caves, following the initial discovery of scrolls by the Bedouin. It was discovered in situ in 1956, in what came to be known as Cave 11. But it didn’t come to light until the late 1970s. That was when Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin, who procured it from Kando after the 1967 Six Day War, finally published a massive translation of the text, with voluminous commentary. It is known simply as the...

There is a sizable number of Dead Sea Scroll texts and fragments that are shrouded in mystery. One of the most fascinating was pieced together from an assortment of small fragments found decades ago in a desert Cave. It may have been written by the founder of the Essene sect, the mysterious “Teacher of Righteousness.” Another important fragmentary text centers around the person of a mythologically exalted priest-king, known from a brief biblical passage as Melchizedek. Additionally, there is...

The Dead Sea sect, in keeping with their pietistic interpretations of Scripture, apparently believed that they were physically fulfilling Isaiah’s call to return to the wilderness, and they declared as much in the Community Rule...

If the Dead Sea Scrolls do in fact represent the library of an ancient Jewish sect, perhaps the Essenes, then they ought to provide evidence of the daily life of the community and its members. And that's exactly what we find in the Qumran corpus of texts. Because in addition to the Damascus Rule, we have a very important manual, which consists of the organizational structure and general rules and guidelines by which the community was to operate. It’s known as the Community Rule…

The so-called Damascus Document or Damascus Rule is certainly one of the most enigmatic ancient texts ever discovered. Who really wrote it, and what hidden narrative does it convey? All speculation aside, there is much to learn from the Damascus Rule about the organization of the sect, whatever their composition. Many mysteries await to be unraveled. Music SONG The Arid Land ARTIST Sir Cubworth ALBUM LICENSES YouTube Audio Library

Of all the parchments encompassing the ancient library known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the text known as the Damascus Rule stands out as the quintessential rule book of the mysterious sect who composed them. What do we know about this secretive religious order, living in strict seclusion in the middle of the Judean desert? Who was the revered leader they looked to, how was the sect organized, and what were the conflicts they endured? This enthralling episode in the Dead Sea Scrolls series...