by the  Rev. Dr. Charles A. Gieschen

Ever since the discovery of ancient scrolls in caves near a region known as Qumran in the northwest side of the Dead Sea around 1947, these manuscripts have captivated the attention of both biblical scholars and the general public. In spite of widespread awareness of this find, mystery continues to shroud the scrolls because few have actually read these manuscripts or understand their significance for our study of Judaism and Christianity. Therefore, the purpose of this brief article is to help you understand what is in the scrolls and how they are significant for Christians.

The manuscripts that have been recovered, several of which are only partially preserved in fragments, contain a wide variety of literature that was copied or created between the third century B.C. and the first century of the Christian era. There are some copies of biblical manuscripts, such as the Isaiah scroll, that are among our earliest copies of Old Testament books. There are also copies of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts, such as Tobit or 1 Enoch, that were quite popular among some Jewish groups. There are also many manuscripts that are unique to the Qumran community, such as commentaries on biblical texts, texts that guide community life, worship and hymn texts, and texts about the end of the world. As one can surmise, the extant scrolls are like a small "library" of various types of literature by different authors or copyists and not a uniform, multi-scroll document from the hand of one author. Further-more, the fragmentary state of many of these manuscripts has often complicated and delayed their publication and interpretation.

Although no Christian documents were found in Qumran, these Jewish documents are significant to us for two primary reasons. First, the biblical manuscripts from Qumran provide important data for our study of Old Testament textual criticism (i.e., the history of the transmission of the Hebrew text) and Old Testament interpretation. In most cases, the copies of biblical manuscripts affirm the careful accuracy of the transmission process that resulted in the oldest complete manuscript of the Old Testament that is dated to A.D. 1008 and serves as the basis of modern scholarly editions of the Hebrew Bible. Most of the Qumran manuscripts that are not copies of Old Testament books give us evidence of how the Old Testament was being interpreted and applied. For example, several texts show that the Qumran community understood that they were living in the latter days foreseen by the Old Testament prophets. Furthermore, interpretation techniques of these Jews at Qumran led them to derive additional laws from the Old Testament that they understood as hidden beneath the revealed words.

A second reason these manuscripts are significant for Christians is that they give primary source evidence about the theology and practices of a group of Jews, probably Essenes, who continued to exist in the first century as Christianity began. This evidence helps us to understand the diverse teaching that existed within Judaism when Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth, began His ministry that was later continued by His apostles. Therefore, it is helpful both to compare and contrast the theology and practices of this group with that of Jesus and early Christians in order to see their common Jewish roots, as well as the distinctiveness of Christianity. For example, Jesus states in Matthew 5:43 that someone has commanded others "to hate your enemies." There is no such command in the Old Testament of the teaching of rabbis (i.e., rabbinic literature). The Rule of the Community from Qumran, however, contains several commands to "hate" the children of darkness. Although Jesus may not have specifically had these Qumran community commands in mind when He made this statement, nevertheless they give us solid historical evidence of a first-century Jewish group that issued such a command.

The primary focus of study at seminary is Holy Scripture, since it is God's inspired revelation and our only source of Christian doctrine. We also help future pastors to become familiar with other ancient literature that contributes to our understanding of Holy Scripture. Since the manuscripts that were found fifty years ago in the caves near Qumran can contribute of our understanding of Holy Scripture, it is important that pastors have some familiarity with their contents.

NOTE: For further information about the history and contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, see James C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994). A fine edition of the Hebrew/Aramaic transliteration and English translation of the various published manuscripts is Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert J. Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).

The   Rev. Dr. Charles A. Gieschen   is Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary.

From Volume 5, Issue 1, January/February, 2001