The View from Jerusalem

A New Pilot Project to Digitally Image the Scrolls.

On the 26th of August approximatey 25 scholars and heads of institutions who promote research on the Dead Sea Scrolls were invited to a private viewing at the offices of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This project, initiated by the IAA intends to create a database of digital images of the entire corpus of scrolls (estimated at least 900 in number) which have been derived from caves and other sites in the Judean Wilderness. (This viewing was followed up by a press conference on the next day).

The room that will be devoted to the project sits across a hallway from the hermetically sealed vaults which house most of the scrolls which are housed by the IAA and next to the institution’s conservation lab. This 4 x 5 meter room was outfitted with a table on each wall. Three tables had camera copy stands, each with a camera which is set to fulfill a specific purpose.

Two stands carried standard Hasselblad cameras. One was altered for infrared imaging (by the removal of the camera’s infrared blocking filter) which will be carried out on all fragments of scrolls (estimated 15,000 in number). The camera back will take 48 (or 40?) megapixel images of each of the plates of fragments (c 10 x 12″ each) with some variation in special cases. The light source is has a 940 nm filter for best contrast between the carbon ink and the darkening parchment surface.

The other camera was set for taking color images of the manuscripts. Normal color balancing will be applied to each image. Two high quality full range light sources will be applied to the scrolls at 45° angles to the subject. Unfortunately not all scrolls can be viewed in color and will need the infrared camera to view them due to the darkening of the skin surfaces over the centuries of deterioration.

The third camera was a CRI Multispectral Imaging System with a range between 650 and 1050 nanometers on the light spectrum (visible ultraviolet and infrared). The use of this camera, which hopefull will continue to be available, will be more useful for the fragments which will need special imaging beyond the 940 nm infrared range of the Haselblad.

The proprosed project is not yet in place and is being preceded by this presently announced “Pilot Project” under Dr. Gregory Bearman (formerly of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena) and Pnina Shor (Director of the Department Conservaton and Imaging at the IAA) which intends to be open to all suggestions and questions from those who interested.

This post will be followed by certain hopes of myself and other scholars who might have a certain “wish list” for what the larger project might accomplish for our own work,which may also be of interest to the world of lay persons and scientists who may still have their own questions.

S. Pfann

The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) published an interview that they made with me last winter. The fact that only snippets were actually aired and published has led to some misunderstandings. There was one snippet, in particular, which could lead the audience to believe that I was stating that New Testament manuscripts were found at Qumran. The quote goes like this:

“We asked why the Dead Sea Scrolls were so important to us today. Pfann said, ‘because they confirm the Bible that we have. There’s variants, but basically it’s [that] you can barely tell the difference between the two texts, [the one] that we have in Qumran and in our Bibles.’ ”

This quote is correct but lacks the full context for that statement. And I do see how it can be easily misunderstood. I was asked by Chris Mitchell of CBN if the New Testament was found at Qumran. I replied “No”. The posited Gospel of Mark fragment from cave 7 remains unconvincing. There are manuscripts that have similar language to the New Testament (such as the so-called “Son of God text”) which confirm that parallels to certain unusual titles and statements did in fact exist. However, there are no quotes from the New Testament among the scrolls.

At least three Old Testament text traditions were discovered among the caves at Qumran. One of these is called “Proto-Masoretic”, and is understood to be the tradition that lies behind our present Hebrew Bibles, and is amazingly close from a textual standpoint.

The (Hebrew) Bible at it was widely quoted in the New Testament (aside from the Septuagint) has generally proven to be quite similar to the Proto-Masoretic line of manuscripts. In this way the New Testament itself, in most cases, was relying upon the same textual traditon that led to the text we use in our Bibles today.

This is all that was intended in the interview. Sorry, no New Testament books from the first century have been discovered so far among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Just the same we should never give up hope that some other books of the Bible might be discovered some time in the future. For example, another book of the Hebrew Bible has recently been identified, presumably from Qumran. At the time of this interview last winter, I stated that Esther, Nehemiah and 1 Chronicles were the only books of the Old Testament that were not found at Qumran, which was true at the time. Since then Prof. Charlesworth, while attending the July Conference at the Shrine of the Book, revealed a photograph of a fragment of the book of Nehemiah, that was from a private collection.
There is little doubt that there is still more out there somewhere.

S. Pfann 

A number of people have been sending in queries concerning the relatively new inscription called the Gabriel Revelation, or closer to the Hebrew of the original editor: The Vision of Gabriel.

I hope to contribute a few of my own thoughts on this text which has taken scholarship and the world by surprise.

SJP

A conference to commemorate 60th anniversary of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls begins today at the Shrine of the Book called The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, Celebrating 60 Years of Discovery.

The following is an abstract from the conference web page :

This conference follows up on the 1997 congress held in memory of Joy Gottesman Ungerleider, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the scrolls’ discovery, but with a different emphasis. This time, our aim is to reflect on the progress made in the last ten years and to articulate our hopes for the future of Qumran studies.

The conference program will update us on the most recent developments in scholarly opinion, as we seek to reconceptualize and recontextualize the scrolls in today’s world. We will then be ready to address such questions as: how does the public learn about the scrolls; how can we dispel myths and inaccuracies; and how might knowledge of the scrolls be incorporated in related academic research and in educational settings? How should Dead Sea Scroll scholars present their subject, which embraces the study of ancient civilizations, the phenomenology of religion, and the history of both Judaism and Christianity, and is of contemporary relevance and interest to schoolchildren, university students, and the public at large?

The conference offers a live webcast at the following web address:

http://www.imj.org.il/DSS_Conference_2008/index.html

A publication by H. Eshel and M. Broshi makes a claim that Cave 7Q is east of the location marked, and caves 8Q and 9Q have been switched.

This statement is incorrect. I have based the identifications of the caves on de Vaux’s descriptions. The actual location of these three caves with respect to the site and with respect to one another can be deduced from de Vaux’s early publications. The most useful are Revue Biblique 63 (1956), pp. 572–73 and DJD III (Oxford: 1962), pp. 27–31. (Access to his notebooks, I believe, is unnecessary to determine the exact location of these caves.)

Beginning first with the location of cave 8Q, it is “Au sud-ouest de la grotte 7Q” (DJD III, p. 30). It is also “à côte de la précédente” (i.e., cave 7Q; RB 63 (1956), p. 572). Combining these two descriptions, we should understand that cave 8Q is “to the southwest of cave 7Q and (immediately) beside it”. Therefore, cave 7Q cannot be east of the location marked on the photograph since it must be adjacent to 8Q.

Cave 9Q is “un peu nord de la grotte 8Q, sur le versant ouest de l’éperon” (DJD III, p. 31). It is also “communiquant avec la précédent (i.e., cave 8Q) à un niveau un peu plus élevé” (RB 63 [1956] p. 573). Combined and in translation these statements indicate that cave 9Q is “interconnected with cave 8Q at a little higher level and a little to its north, on the western slope of the spur.” (9Q is not to the south of 8Q, as the reader contends, but the opposite according to de Vaux). From this description, the three caves form a rather tight triangle with respect to one another.

Regarding the location of cave 7Q, and thus all three interrelated caves, de Vaux writes that it is “à l’extrémité de la platforme qui s’etend au sud du Khirbeh. C’était une chambre arrondie dont tout le toit, toute la partie sud et une partie du sol se sont effondrés dans le Wady Qumrân. On y accédait par un escalier partant du bord de la plateforme, au nor-ouest de la chambre; les marches inférieures de l’escalier sont seules conservées” (DJD III, p. 27). “A l’extrémité de l’esplanade qui s’etend au sud du Khirbet [spelling: sic] et dominant le Wady Qumrân” (RB 63 [1956] p. 572). Combined and translated: “At the end of the platform/esplanade that extends to the south from the khirbeh and overlooks the Wadi Qumran, there exists a round chamber whose entire roof, entire southern part and a portion of the floor had collapsed into the Wadi Qumran. One reached it by a staircase which started from the edge of the platform, to the northwest of the room; only the lower steps of the staircase are preserved.” Therefore the identifying criteria for cave 7Q are: (a) The form of cave 7Q must be round. (b) Only its southern side wall, which overlooks the wadi is entirely missing. (c) Its roof must be entirely missing. (d) Its floor must be partially missing. All these features indeed fit the cave identified as 7Q, and no other cave, in the photograph.

Some confusion derives from problem that the present staircase which leads to this cave from the edge of the platform descends from the northeast and not the “northwest”. Since the actual cluster of caves can only be the three which have been identified in the photo, (with floors and doors of each nicely highlighted by the sun), there are only two possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy. (1) The described “original staircase” truly descended from the northwest but is no longer visible. (2) The word “northwest” is in error and should be corrected to “northeast.” I prefer the latter explanation since “the last steps” of the present stairway, which follows a sensible course from the edge of the platform, can be identified in most photos.

Perhaps I should include these paragraphs in the discussion, since recent publications indicate that there is still some confusion as to the location of these and other caves. Indeed, the official French volume of de Vaux, Humbert and Chambon, unfortunately may be, at least in part, the source of this confusion. Their publication exhibits inexactitudes in the artist’s drawing of the features of the marl formation resulting in erroneous identifications of caves 4Q (a and b), 5Q, 7Q, and 10Q (cf. R. de Vaux, J.-B. Humbert and A. Chambon, Fouilles de Khirbet Qumran et de Ain Feshkhah, Vol. 1 NTOA Series Archeologica 1, University Press Fribourg, Switzerland/Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1994: plate II). In the Foreword to the English Annotated edition, acknowledgment was made by Humbert of my aid in the correct identification of the caves in the marl formation (The Excavations of Qumran and Ein Feshkha (Revised English Edition), NTOA Series Archeologica 1B, 2003: p. xv). This identification is based on the real features that exist, as evident from the photographs. Unfortunately, the NTOA series has not yet corrected the inexact drawings. Other scholars have tried their hand at identifying the location of these caves but have evidently built upon the erroneous identifications of the earlier publications (e.g., Broshi and Eshel, “Three Seasons of Excavations at Qumran,” Journal of Roman Archaeology. p. 322, fig.1) There the authors, without explanation, have re-identified cave 7Q as cave “H” and moved 7Q further to the east.

Humbert/Chambon: left; Broshi/ Eshel: center; Pfann, according to de Vaux’s description: right

If another collapsed cave does indeed exist to the east of the cluster 7Q-9Q, it was overlooked by de Vaux and his team, since they wrote nothing about it. If the new cave contains ancient material remains, then it comprises a new discovery worthy of being added to the list of Qumran caves. (This is not to ignore the valuable contributions of Broshi and Eshel’s work as a whole).

Cave 7Q

Figures: II, XXXI
In 1955 a team of workers undertook the task to examine the entire perimeter of the marl terrace which supports the khirbeh in order to determine if there were other caves that had been into the marl as was the case for caves 4 and 5.

This laborious task led to the recognition of a cave whose excavation was not carried out since the layers were too loose in that location and four caves which had been inhabited but whose major part had collapsed into the ravine: of which all that remained is the access stairway or part of the chamber. Just the same some things survived, including some potsherds and the remnants of baskets, of cloth or of leather, some remains, occasionally … , inscribed documents. The caves received the sigla for caves which contain manuscripts in the region of Qumran: 7Q through 10Q.

7Q – At the far end of the esplanade that extends southward from the Khirbeh and rises above the Wadi Qumran. The pottery is connected with period 1b; a jar carries the name amor twice painted in black ink. We collected Greek papyrus fragments of the the Book of Exodus and of the Letter of Jeremiah and a small leather fragment written in Hebrew.
M. BAILLET, J. T. MILIK and R. DE VAUX, The ‘Small Caves of Qumran’, DJD III Texts (Oxford, 1962) p. 27.

Objects of cave 7Q.
Gr 7Q-1: inscribed potsherd. Gr 7Q-2: bowl. Gr. 7 Q-3: bowl. Gr 7Q-4: lid. Gr 7Q-5: jar. Gr 7Q-6: inscribed jar. Gr 7Q-7: inscribed potsherd. Gr 7Q-8: jar.

Cave 8Q

Figures: II, XXXI
8Q – Adjacent to the preceding cave. Some fragments of a molded lamp of the 1st century CE. Two phylactery holder with four compartments an one holder with only one case. One fragment of a phylactery and numerous small rolled documents bearing a very fine script.
M. BAILLET, J. T. MILIK and R. DE VAUX, The ‘Small Caves of Qumran’, DJD III Texts (Oxford, 1962) p. 30.

Objects of cave 8Q.
Gr 8Q-1: dates. Gr 8Q-2: box and leather objects. Gr 8Q-3: hide. Gr 8Q-4: fabric twine. Gr 8Q-5: two phylactery cases. Gr 8Q-6: phylactery case. Gr 8Q-7: lid. Gr 8Q-8: plate. Gr 8Q-9: lid. Gr 8Q-10: sole of leather sandal. Gr 8Q-11: lid. Gr 8Q-12: lamp. Gr 8Q-13. lid. Gr 8Q-14: upper part of jar.

Cave 9Q

Photograph of 9Q in the album: 435
Figures: II, XXXI
M. BAILLET, J. T. MILIK AND R. DE VAUX, The ‘Small Caves of Qumran’, DJD III Texts (Oxford, 1962) p. 31.
9Q – Connected with the preceding cave at a slightly higher level. A single papyrus fragment with a few Hebrew leters.
Objects of cave 9Q.
Gr 9Q-1: dates and pits. Gr 9Q-2: three fragments of cord.

Cave 10Q

Figures: II, XXXI
10Q – To the west of Qumran on the western face of the promentory into which cave 4 is cut. Some potsherds, fragments of a mat. An ostracon carries two Hebrew letters.
Objects of cave 10Q.
Gr 10Q-1: inscribed potsherd. Gr 10Q-2: fragment of a large mat. Gr 10Q-3: fragment of a lamp.

The research therefore has been somewhat productive. At the very least we have ascertained that the immediate vicinity of the khirbeh doesn’t conceal more caves that might contain stores of manuscripts comparable to those preserved in cave 4. We have also learned that there were other caves than caves 5 and 4 which were hewn into the marl terrace and which had contained manuscripts. These caves had collapsed down into the ravine. The pottery of cave 7 suggests that it collapsed at the time of the earthquake, but the lamp from cave 8 indicates that it was still inhabited during period II. We will still have to be left in suspense; the destruction may also have been due to later collapses or simply a process of gradual erosion.

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THE CAVES OF THE SOUTHWEST SPUR OF THE SETTLEMENT: Caves 4Qa, 4Qb, 5Q and 10Q

Cave 4 (4Q) (map ref. 1934.1276)
In the first half of September 1952, close to the site of Kh. Qumran, Bedouin discovered three new caves bearing manuscript fragments. These became known as caves 4 (4a and 4b) and 6. Caves 4a and 4b were situated only seven meters apart from one another. Unfortunately, the Bedouin mixed the manuscripts coming from these two caves and, accordingly, de Vaux decided to record all fragments coming from both caves as “4Q”. The Bedouin offered some of the fragments for sale in Jerusalem on Sept. 20 before they had finished emptying the caves. The authorities quickly found the caves and stopped the digging. Within two days de Vaux and Harding arrived with a team to excavate the cave. Of the approximately 730 fragmentary manuscripts which have been identified as having come from cave 4, fragments of about one-fourth of these were identified among those found in the excavation dubbed “the ‘E’ series” (PAM 40.962-985). Also derived from excavation: an ink-inscribed jar (PAM 42.865).

Fragments of various manuscripts excavated by the team include: 4Q1, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, 34, 37, 51, 52, 62, 63, 68, 72, 74, 80, 84, 109, 111, 114, 115, 121, 163, 179, 204, 217, 227, 249, 257, 258, 270, 276, 289, 302, 321, 324c, 334, 364, 365, 367, 379, 381, 384, 387, 391, 395, 412, 418, 422, 423a, 432, 440, 481, 487, 489, 497, 499, 503, 506, 509, 512, 518, 519, 525, 529, 545, 558, “M pap Hod-like,” “M127a,” “M47b,” “M49,” “SL19.” Most of these date to the first two centuries BCE and came primarily from recesses in the floor of cave 4a. These excavated fragments remain the only sure means for identifying which manuscripts actually derived from the cave since 90% of the fragments came to the museum through Bedouin sources which cannot be confirmed beyond doubt.

Of the 718 manuscripts presently ascribed to Cave 4Q approximately 578 are of defineable and of literary character. Of these: 143 (25%) are Biblical books, approximately 175 (30%) can be considered as Yahad/Sectarian, 28 Phylacteries/Mezuzot, approx. 110 (19%) parabiblical/legendary (including 9 Jubilees, 7 Enoch, 6 Giants, 2 New Jerusalem); 7 War Rule (M), 1 Temple Scroll; the remainder include calendars, liturgies, eschatological texts and private documents (About 140 others were poorly defined).

The corpus of manuscripts of Caves 4a and 4b is highly diverse in content and spans a broad range of time from the mid 3rd century BCE to the last half of first century CE. Although the Biblical and sectarian content of the cave, in many respects is similar to that of Cave 1Q, it also contains a large number of works which might seem atypical to be produced or propagated by such a group as the Yahad/Essenes. In many ways the collection is more of a general nature like that of a “National Library” representing an exhaustive collection of the national literature providing access to all pertinent literature, in all of its diversity, at a single location. Just the same, in spite of its diversity, the collection doesn’t treat the national literature produced by other groups of equal interest. It emphasizes the Bible and especially the Books of Moses as being of fundamental importance as all groups of the day did. Of similar value seems to have been the books of Jubilees, Enoch and Giants. However, it emphasizes the literature of one specific group (the Yahad) and noticeably lacking various compositions (including most of the Apocrypha and Pseusepigrapha, notably Ben Sira and I–IV Maccabees as well as works which might characterize Pharisaic and Saduceen teachings), which makes it more limited in scope.

The tattered form of the scrolls from these caves, along with the fact that no effort seems to have been made to preserve them, either to store them in jars or in cloth seems to indicate that this was not an “in use” library, nor a hiding place nor an archive for usable scrolls. This collection is rather a “geniza” or burial place for sacred texts which were to be put away to deteriorate naturally and not to be disposed of as refuse.

Excavation: Sept. 22-29, 1952. Final excavation report: de Vaux, DJD VI, pp. 3-22.

Objects of cave 4Q.
Gr 4Q-1: inscribed jar. Gr 4Q-2 through 4: jars. Gr 4Q-5: jar lid. Gr 4Q-6: lid. Gr 4Q-7: jug. Gr 4Q-8: bowl. Gr 4Q-9: bowl. Gr 4Q-10: bowl. Gr 4Q-11 and 12: plates. Gr 4Q-13: cooking pot. Gr 4Q-14: jug. Gr 4Q-15: lid. Gr 4Q-16: jar. Gr 4Q-17: juglet. Gr 4Q-18: plate. Gr 4Q-19 through 21: bowls. Gr 4Q-22: lamp. Textiles.

4Q manuscripts:

In summary, “Cave 4″ (actually Caves 4a and 4b) should likely be considered the tattered remains of a mixed geniza, resembling the remains of a “National Library” or more correctly “Institutional Library” since it does not contain what would be considered objectionable or heretical materials (lacking many apocrypha, pseudepigrapha and non-Jewish philosophical works which might be considered objectionable).

Cave 5 (5Q) (map ref. 1934.1276)
A partially collapsed cave discovered by the excavation team about 25 meters to the north of cave 4a during the excavation of cave 4. At least 25 manuscripts were recovered in the excavation carried out by J. T. Milik (PAM 41.033-037; 42.316-323).

Excavation: Sept. 25-28, 1952. Final excavation report: de Vaux, DJD III, p. 26.

Objects of cave 5Q.
None. Textiles: None recorded.

5Q manuscripts:


25 Mss –7 Biblical (incl. 1 paleoHebrew: Leviticus), 1 phylactery, 0 Jub, 1 Giants, 1 New Jerusalem; 4 Yahad/Sectarian: 1 Biblical commentary, S, D, 1 sectarian document. Others, 1 apocryphon, 0 apocryphal Prophecy, 0 Calendar; 1 curses (6 poorly defined); [NB, all parchment]. Sectarian (NonYahad?)

Although the number of extant manuscripts in this cave is comparatively much smaller it may have served as a third, somewhat later repository within the 4Q geniza complex. It similarly includes relatively old manuscripts even though the copies of the scrolls are, in general, more recent. The cave similarly includes both Yahad (including a copy of the Community Rule) and lay Essene (including a copy of the Damascus Covenant) texts.