From The BBC: Rare ancient scroll found in Israel Cave of Horror

[abqtommy]

I always have an interest in things like this. Not only does it increase our knowledge and
understanding of what our ancestors did, it also shows us that technology may change
but people stay pretty much the same.

from article:

'Fragments of a Biblical scroll and other relics have been found in what officials call an "historic discovery" in desert caves in Israel.

The dozens of pieces of parchment were written in Greek, with just the name of God appearing in Hebrew.

The scroll is believed to have belonged to Jewish rebels who fled to the hills following a failed revolt against Roman rule in the 2nd Century.

They were found during an operation to prevent caves in the area being looted.'

much more text and photos at link:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56405090

[Karadeniz]

1. Interesting! Why the child mummy, 4000 years older than the scroll fragments? Or the basket, 8000

Years older? Had the geography changed so much... Was the cave once more accessible? Can't wait for analyses! And why were the fragments in Greek when other writings have been in Hebrew? This cave is a puzzler!

[PatSeg]

2. I was wondering the same thing

Apparently the caves have been used for thousands of years, but they are so difficult to get to. As you say, perhaps they were more accessible at one time.

There are some different photos at The Guardian. A much better pic of the basket. The condition is extraordinary for something that is 10,000 years old.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/16/israeli-archeologists-find-new-dead-sea-scroll-fragments

[Karadeniz]

3. Thanks, better photos...

[Dream Girl]

17. Looks like it came fro Pier One. How did it stay intact 10,000 years? Just the arid climate?

[PatSeg]

24. Yes, I've never seen anything like it before

Even where the conditions are considered perfect for preservation of objects and bodies. I suppose parts of the caves are both cool and dry, but still 10,000 years is incredible.

[Ziggysmom]

5. The name of God was held in such reverence that it was not spoken and

when text was written in Greek, the name of God was entered in Hebrew text letters YHWH.
The rationale was that the covenant name of God was too sacred, too holy, to pronounce.
In Temple it was often said as Yahweh or Hashem.

Great articles!

[Karadeniz]

7. Yes, but I was referring to the Greek in the texts. The DSS were in Hebrew. Different group?

Different time? The Christian writings were Greek.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Different time, and therefore different group

The "Dead Sea Scrolls" at Qumran range over quite a long time - the main part is from the third century BCE to the first century CE. This new find is 2nd century CE. The Qumran scrolls are linked to the Essene sect, who faded away about the revolt around 70 CE. These come from the revolt centred on Simon bar Kokhba in the 130s CE.

[tanyev]

4. Marking to read later.

[machoneman]

6. I call b.s. Every damned year, just before Easter, some story comes out of Israel....

..about profound, earth-shaking, undiscovered or whatever scrolls, finds, relics, etc.

I swear these were found long ago but are dribbled out every year to hike interest in travel to Israel. It's a scam I say and I kid you not! Just watch for more 'bibilcal' stories of new discoveries that hit the media just before Easter, building always to a crescendo just before that Sunday.

Not saying the finds are phony, not at all. But I swear they are held back for say 9-10 months every year, only released to the media, time-wise, as noted above, until 30-60 days or so before Easter.

Coincidence? I think not.

[malaise]

8. Same worry here

It's almost an annual racket

[mitch96]

15. Ahhh marketing.. don't you love it! nt

[lagomorph777]

11. Passover hype?

[Ilsa]

16. More likely Easter since its in Greek, but yes, Passover

is celebrated over the same time this year.

[SergeStorms]

12. The original "Q".

Placing "Q-drops" around like easter eggs for the faithful to find.

[Ligyron]

14. Hence the "Horror" label.

[lagomorph777]

10. Starring Harrison Ford

[jcgoldie]

27. Harrison Ford is getting old enough he could play one of the mummies...

Just kidding

[Layzeebeaver]

13. Is it rare because there are only a few copies?

I hate headlines like that.

[abqtommy]

18. Hey, I'm just the messenger here. Don't shoot me! The Dead Sea Scrolls were written

in Hebrew and stashed away by The Essenes but there were quite a few of them when they were found. I understand they were pretty rare before that.

Your animosity toward headlines is certainly your own to deal with as best you can.

[Layzeebeaver]

22. Sorry I was not insinuating it was yours

That wasn't meant to be a dig at you.

[Beastly Boy]

19. This is cool.

Greek has been the language of the upper classes throughout the Roman Empire for centuries, and the upper class in Judea has been traditionally associated with priests and the Sadducee sect. It had been widely assumed that the since the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Sadducees, who constituted the power base for both the priest class and the aristocracy of the Jewish society, have gradually lost their identity. A Greek passage from the Bible may be a hint that the Saducees still held sway, or at least made up a distinct group among the Jews in the Roman Judea a hundred years after the destruction of the Temple.

[abqtommy]

21. I remember that The Pharisees were the Traditionalists/Conservatives of the two main

divisions of Jewish religious rulers. They probably refused to use Greek. There was
a lot of animosity between the Sadducees and Pharisees back in the day but I'm a little hazy and would have to refresh. There were a lot of different Jewish sects at the time
if I'm remembering right.

Thanks for your input.

[Beastly Boy]

29. What I found interesting in your post was that while the Pharisees morphed into

the rabbinical Judaism movement that survives to this day, there has not been much source information about the fate of the Sadducees, which were just as prominent as the Pharisees prior to the destruction of the Temple. Ironically, the Pharisees survived in part because they were at one point sanctioned by Emperor Vespasian (whose son Titus is credited for destroying the Temple). The Sadducees, on the other hand, being already hellenized to a large degree, found it much easier to blend into the fabric of the Roman Empire and assimilate. I always thought that was exactly what happened, but the find reported in the article you cited suggests that there were Jews besides the former Pharisees slash founders of Rabbinical Judaism who adhered to Judaism while worshiping in Greek, the language that was favored by the Sadducees. This is what I find so cool. It's like suddenly finding potential evidence for the long lost tribe of Israel that was not expected to survive past the destruction of the first Temple.

Totally Indiana Jones material!

[PlanetBev]

20. I posted in another discussion

That a comedian once said that scholars began to question the authenticity of the Scrolls found in 1947 because the word “Oldsmobile” appeared several times in the script.

[abqtommy]

23. drum roll followed with cymbal crash Don't tell me. I predict this was a Jewish comedian!

[PlanetBev]

26. Yeah, actually it was Woody Allen

Previously, I didn’t mention his name because he’s been pretty much persona non grata for quite some time. I do appreciate his humor, though.

[abqtommy]

28. I was thinking Mel Brooks. I don't think too badly of Woody. I was living in California at the

time and it was in the newspapers, radio and tv for months. I read the testimony of the head state investigator for the California CPS/Child Protective Services and he said they
monitored the family for one year and never found or saw anything to substantiate Mia
Farrow's claims. Make of that what you will. And Mel Brooks has been redlined by the
JDL/Jewish Defense League more than once. Go figure...

[Beringia]

25. Beautiful Coins, Very artistic