Who is Behind the Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery disappearance

The discovery of the hand writings of ancient Hebrew and Aramaic at Qumran province, post-World War II has sparked enthusiasm for the People of the History of the Bible to obtain information about these texts.
They expect to provide answers to the mysteries of an important period in human history.

That certainly is reasonable considering that the most ancient Hebrew manuscripts that exist today from the books of the Old Testament comes from the 10th century AD
Apart from that the scrolls were storing large differences if faced with septuagintal Greek manuscripts that successfully translated in Alexandria in the 13th century BC.

Which of the two manuscripts of the most valid in the event of a difference? Which of the two most reliable?

Not only limited to the Church-the Church Yitzrael, even the Christian Churches of Greece, acknowledge the Old Testament as part of their Scriptures.

While the Christians until the 10th century AD, the script relies on the Septuagint (the Greek text, important life) and after that they switch (except the Eastern Greek Church) to the Hebrew text at the beginning of the same century.

As the sources come down to us about al-Masih, all from the writings which are arranged in a half-century since the time specified as the death of Jesus.

And no one any manuscript (albeit slightly) from the sources of contemporary history that mentions a certain period is said that Jesus never lived at that time.

On the contrary, the Book of the New Testament itself, for reference only neighbor of Jesus' life gives us information contradictory with regard to the life and death of Jesus.

Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus was born during the reign of Emperor Herodus, who died in year 4 BC.

While the Gospel of Luke set the birth of the Messiah on the population census by the Roman period, namely in the six-born al-Masih.

Differences also emerged with respect to the berakhirya life of the Messiah on earth. Based on descriptions obtained from the Gospels, there is a setting in year 30, year-33 and some are set in the 36th.

While the earlier belief that the Gospel writers confirm it is the disciples and companions who lived during the Messiah, and they become living witnesses of the declaration that they write.

However, this present moment it became clear that none of the gospel writers who never met Jesus.

The authors were without exception rely on narrations they had heard from others or from their interpretations of ancient writings.

Based on this fact, the discovery of ancient writings that precede or during the time of Jesus' life in the area that only a few miles from the city of Jerusalem, which was mentioned as the town where the death of the Messiah, has revived hopes of finding the source- source of knowledge to uncover the veil of mystery and the nature of the problem in the history of Christian religious institutions and their connection with Jewish congregations exist in those days.

Enthusiasm becomes larger since the publication of the earlier parts of manuscripts in the sixties.

So it is clear that the writings of the hand is closely related to Judeo-Christian group known as The Esenes, who has a wise teacher by nature and the characters are no different from al-Masih.

But unfortunately that enthusiasm that emerged among the scientists of history and its holy book the lay reader would cause anxiety and worry from religious authorities and institutions of Jewish and Christian communities.

The reason for anxiety is not related to the fear that the information recovered will strengthen the faith of Muslims, because true that these writings are ancient religious writings.

But anxiety was more directed to fears of diversion and changes not only with regard to the nature of history, but also concerning interpretation of religious texts the following meanings.

Based on such reasons, then the government ever since Israel occupied the Old city of Jerusalem after the War of June 1967, masuskrip publishing efforts of the Dead Sea was practically stopped. While there still remains more than half of which have not been published.

Even more than that, the Israeli government seeks to silence voices that come from all directions (the most outspoken scientists instead of Israel itself).

To circumvent the constant insistence that the Israeli government planned a symbolic action. Authorities in Israel Archaeological Department to send the pictures photography been claimed as representing the entire manuscript in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, the University of Oxford in England and to a university in the United States.

Furthermore, the Israeli government to pretend as if furious and staged a protest when the university is meant to translate and publish the pictures photography manuscript without official permission from the Israeli government.

This symbolic drama of the Israeli government, apparently intended to give the impression as if all texts have been translated and published manuscripts, and thus there would be no more excuses of any party to urge the Israeli government to show all the ancient manuscripts in his hand.

Can be ascertained that there still exist a number of manuscript pieces still unpublished, and by certain parties being deliberately kept secret, for thus he will be forgotten again by history.

However, parts of which have been published before, enough to explain to us what true mystery by certain parties deliberately covered up. This is what shall we try to reveal it on-topic discussion follows.

The manuscript is the Dead Sea is a collection of ancient handwritten recovered between the years 1947 - 1956 in the caves that lie hidden in the mountains west of the Dead Sea, among others, the area of ​​Qumran, Muraba'at, Khirbat, Mird, Ein Pause and Masada.



The findings, particularly from the Qumran area or Umran, Jordan the West Bank territory which is only a few kilometers south of Jericho (Areeha), since the half-century ago, has brought profound impact on the mindset researchers throughout the Jewish and Christian world.

Further discoveries were spectacular, definitely, has resulted in many changes in the structure of the trust that had been believed to be in Palestine.

However, we are still in the initial step that can not be expected to get perfect results, unless the entire manuscript is successfully published and understood its meaning by the researchers.

When World War II almost died down, precisely in February 1947, discovered the first cave near the Dead Sea.

When was Palestine under British guardianship and Jerusalem is still in the grip of the Palestinian people.

Initially, Muhammad Ad-DIB, a young shepherd loses a sheep property. He came from Ta'amirah tribe who inhabit the region stretching from Jerusalem to the banks of the Dead Sea. In an effort to find a lost sheep, the shepherd boy had climbed onto a rock.

From there he saw a narrow slit of a cliff facing mountain slopes. Picked up a stone, he threw the stone into the cave and suddenly sounded impact threw stones with objects that seemed made of pottery.

The little Shepherd and then climbed the mountain slope and peered over the top. In the dim atmosphere, Muhammad witnessed a number of pottery furniture neatly arranged on the floor of the cave.

The next morning, Muhammad returned to the cave followed by a few of my friends. And indeed, inside the cave they found a set of furniture from pottery and seven rolls of handwriting.

In a short time, handwritten manuscript that has been exhibited for sale by antique dealer in Jerusalem, called Kando.

He bought goods from a resident Ta'amirah. Athanasius Samuel, head of the Catholic Convent of Saint Mark in Switzerland which at that time was in Jerusalem to buy 4 pieces of manuscripts, while the other 3 pieces were purchased by Professor Eliezer Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

When the Arab War - Israel raging, following the proclamation of the founding of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, Athanasius worried about the fate of the ancient manuscripts he had bought.

He intends to send the four manuscript to the United States for sale there. But finally the manuscripts were purchased by Yigael Yadin (Sukenik Professor children) at a quarter million U.S. dollars on behalf of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Thus, the findings of the first seven scripts that are in the ownership of Hebrew University in Israel.

When reached the Arab-Israeli peace agreement on November 7, 1949, the area of ​​the northern third of Qumran and the Dead Sea region into the territory of the Kingdom of Jordan Hashemit, and thus the authorities in Jordan can freely launch a series of archaeological expeditions in order to track the presence of ancient manuscripts of the remaining .

While on the other citizens of the existence of secret Ta'amirah mysterious caves, but in Jordan the authorities finally managed to find it on the end of January 1949.

Following the discovery of the location of the caves of Qumran, Jordan authorities immediately launched a search expedition in these caves.

Under the supervision G.L. Harding, a British scientist who served as Director of the Department of Archaeology Jordan with Rev. Roland de Vaux director of the French Dominican I'Ecole Biblique in East Jerusalem, the expedition managed to find hundreds of small pieces in a cave below the ancient objects of pottery , fabrics and objects from wood.

Antiques are certainly very helpful attempt to determine the historical writings of ancient times that hand.

But unfortunately, this expedition did not proceed to include the area of ​​Khirbat (Plain below the location of the cave), except in November 1951, which found the ruins of ancient settlements are inhabited by the followers of the sect Esenes, in it was also found roman antiquities .

Include metal coins, which from the time of manufacture indicate that the caves are inhabited by specific people to blazing Jewish rebellion movement against the Romans between the years 66-70 AD, which ended with the scorched earth of Jerusalem and the expulsion of Jews from the city these and other areas around Jerusalem.

Because of greed to obtain material advantages, the inhabitants Ta'amirah explore almost the entire edge of the Dead Sea region in order to find other manuscripts expected to remain hidden in the caves of the mountainous region.

In November 1952, a Bedouin citizens Ta'amirah managed to find another cave stored in it a large number of scrolls and manuscripts that have been weathered into small pieces. He later sold it to the authorities in Jordan.

How to searches conducted by residents Ta'amirah was later imitated by the government of Jordan to conduct exploration in the caves of the Dead Sea in order to find manuscripts that are still remaining.

Peak, in 1965, found a set of caves which consists of twelve pieces, also in the area of ​​Qumran. New caves have been found further that were numbered in order of discovery.

Residents Ta'amirah found cave number 1, 4, and 6, while the seven caves discovered by the other authorities Jordan.


De Pater Voux, subsequently appointed as Responsible Jordan Archaeological Expedition in an effort to discover the ancient manuscripts at Qumran, and concurrent Responsible translation project and manuscript preparation.

By de Foux, manuscript fragments recovered in the Cave Number-1 submitted to Dominique Partolemi and Millick, both partners work at the French Dominican Foux de I'Ecole Biblique. Publishing script translation done by Oxford University in 1955.

Following thereafter, in 1961, the translation of manuscripts found in the cave Muraba'at region, south of Qumran, by Josef T. Belongs, has been published as well.

The fourth part of the manuscript Muraba'at containing scriptures from Psalms findings in cave number 11 was published in 1965.

While the fifth section which is the pieces that came from cave number 4 published in 1968.

In the next development, also discovered ancient manuscripts in the caves of Qumran others outside the region, among others in the region Mird, southwest of Qumran, Muraba'at (southeast of Qumran) and Masada, an ancient Jewish fortress at the southern Dead Sea controlled by the Israeli government.

In an effort to discover the ancient manuscripts, the residents of Qumran was not satisfied with the search at Qumran, they even have explored almost all the mountainous region that stretches along the coast of the Dead Sea region.

0ktober In 1951, once again a resident Bedouin Ta'amirah found a number of manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek in a cave in Muraba'at oasis region, about 15 km south of Qumran cave first, then he sold the manuscript to its findings Jordan authorities.

At the same time, a number of other Ta'amirah find some Christian writings in the area Mird, near Qumran, on which are written in Syriac language.

An expedition team consisting of Israeli archaeologists led by Yigael Yadin, the codex also do a search between the years 1963 - 1965, particularly in the relics of the scars in the fortress of Masada, in Israel's territory, the north east of Arikha (Al-Khalil) , and managed to find several pieces of ancient manuscripts.

But the spotlight here is our ancient writings from Qumran, which is believed to be relics of the people Esenes sect, not the writings of Judaism and Christianity are found outside Qumran.

Arab War - Israel in 1967 led to the collapse of the West Bank into the clutches of the Israeli occupation government, as well as the museums of Jerusalem, where the shelf of ancient manuscripts.

No one apart from mastery of Israeli authorities in addition to a manuscript of copper, because at that time, the manuscript was in Amman, Jordan. And since then, all activity ceased publication codex practical.

(Footnotes)
1. At the time of the Greek language became the common language used in the Mediterranean region, the old Testament Hebrew-Bible-less comprehensive for most people.

For this reason, the Yahudi scholar translating the Old Testament from a variety of Hebrew texts of the fragments also speak Aramaic, into Latin, this is called the "Septuagint", see Encyclopaedia Britannica 2004 Deluxe Edition CD-Room (translator).


Adapted from the Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Translated from the Original Title

Makhtutat al Bahri al Mayit

Work: Ahmad Osman
Copyright Maktabatu as Syuruq, Cairo