Bible Students

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been a popular object of attention for many recent decades. Why is this? What are the Dead Sea Scrolls, and what significance do they hold? Hostile lower biblical criticism has been a staple of liberal scholarly reconstructions of the biblical text. The authenticity of the current biblical manuscripts, especially the Old Testament, is hotly contested. Up until a few decades ago, the oldest Old Testament manuscripts available were from around 1,000 AD. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date to around 1,000 years prior (300 BC – 100AD), strengthen the reliability of Scripture.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul states that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (NKJV). This claim to the reliability of Scripture is a hefty burden to prove. If all Scripture is given by inspiration, this would require that the Scripture we have is at least very close to the original autographs. If not, then how could one claim for it to be given by God, if it had been corrupted so significantly? This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls come in.

The Dead Sea Scrolls give modern archeologists and bibliologists an insight into the transmission of the biblical texts. It allows them to see how reliably the text has been transmitted over the course of two thousand years. This tracking of the transmission of biblical texts is key for lower and higher biblical criticism. The Dead Sea Scrolls validate the claim given by Paul in 2 Timothy, demonstrating that the documents we have today are incredibly close to the ancient documents used by the community in Qumran. Without this set of documents, the test of reliability would be restrained to comparing different branches of current manuscripts. However, with the discovery of these fragments, archeologists can not compare the current manuscripts with thousands of the two-thousand-year-old-fragments. 

What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of fragments dating back to around the third century BC to the first century AD. They were placed in dry caves at Qumran by the Ascetic community, as well as some documents hidden in the caves by Jewish refugees fleeing from Roman destruction.

These documents give a glimpse into the interesting culture of the Qumran community, not only giving biblical documents but many other documents from the Second Temple period. In fact, most of the documents were written during the time of the Second Temple period, from around 500 BC – 70 AD. Because of the ancient timeframe, these documents give insights into the minds of many from that period. They help paint a more thorough picture of manuscript development, as well as the culture of the Second Temple period. 

These fragments were discovered in the middle of the 20th century by local Arab shepherds. These shepherds discovered pots with fragments and scrolls in them. After this, archeologists were quick to uncover many thousands of fragments in multiple caves in Qumran. There were nearly 300 caves in that region which were excavated. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls are critical in the discussion of lower biblical criticism. Lower biblical criticism is the understanding of the original biblical manuscripts. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back 2,000 years, more than twice as old as the previously most ancient manuscripts, show how over 2,000 years the manuscript tradition has stayed largely the same. With mostly minor differences, the manuscripts are a prized find for many archeologists. 

Current Context in Liberal Textual Criticism and Isaiah

Liberal theologians and archeologists alike have criticized the biblical text in the absence of any concrete ancestor manuscripts. However, the discovery of the Qumran texts have silenced many of the old accusations of liberal textual criticism. In fact, many terms and concepts in the New Testament, which liberal scholars thought to be unique to the New Testament Christian period, deviating from its Jewish ancestors, were seen in the Qumran texts. These texts confirm first century Christian ideas about the Messiah and the heart of the Law, which contrasted to the more common Pharisee and Sadducee Jewish sects. 

These documents definitively silenced the anti-conservative voice in biblical criticism, which had at one point claimed biblical authenticity was far removed from the original autographs. Now with the discovery of these fragments, biblical criticism definitely can see the reliable transmission of these documents over the last two millennia. 

One specific point of interest is the Isaiah scrolls found in Qumran, which have almost identical readings to their current counterparts. There is a 95% level of agreement, which is mostly accounted for by spelling differences, though some are more significant. This is about the same story for all of the documents found. There is a high level of agreement between these two-thousand-year-old texts and today’s manuscripts. 

Application

The Dead Sea Scrolls have incredible application for everyday life. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the reliability of Scripture. Without the confirmed reliability which the Dead Sea Scrolls provide, confidence in the accuracy of today’s manuscripts would be overshadowed by the great unknown of over a thousand years of missing manuscripts. The reliability of the Old Testament allows Christians to confidently use it for application to everyday life. 

In summary of the above points, the Dead Sea Scrolls allow Christians to have more confidence in Scripture. Before this discovery, conservative Christians who believed in the accuracy of the biblical texts could only bear the accusations of liberal archeologists and theologians, not to mention skeptics from opposing worldviews. They were unable to arm themselves with the reality of the biblical integrity which Christians are now able to, thanks to these documents.  

As a Christian, these documents are key to understanding both the historical development and theological certainty of the biblical documents. First, the historical development of the biblical documents is a question of great importance, as it deals with the integrity of the manuscripts scholars have today. In today’s scholarly landscape, many parts of the New and Old Testament seem to be scribal additions (two common examples are place name changes in the Old Testament, and the latter half of Mark 16 in the New Testament). Because of the great amount of manuscript attestation, serious students of the Bible are able to see what was originally penned by the New and Old Testament authors. However, one can still believe that God has overall preserved His message even through the additions of some sections, allowed in as He saw fit. However, the great agreement between the ancient and modern Isaiah scrolls, among others, aid in understanding the reliability of the manuscript tradition. 

Rather than being unsure if the manuscript tradition today has been completely detached from its ancient ancestor, biblical students can see the historical development of different books, and understand the similarities and variant readings between the two. However, the existence of variant readings is comforting, as one can only see the vast amount of variant readings due to the overwhelming amount of biblical manuscript attestation, showing what the original document should have said. These variant readings are nothing to fret over. 

Additionally, the second point of specific interest, the theological reliability of the documents. The reliability of the manuscript tradition is an important part in understanding the theological reliability of the text. A big question stemming from the criticism of the historical reliability of the biblical text is the theological reliability. If great sections of Scripture had been added in later centuries, how could one be sure of the theological reliability of any of Scripture? If core doctrines were based on Scripture which was later found out to be additions, what would one do? The reliability of the text shown in the Qumran fragments demonstrates the historical and theological reliability of the text. Because the text is historically reliable, it naturally follows that overall, the text is vastly original to the supposed authors. Because of this, the text given can be trusted for its theological implications. While one should not base a doctrine on one verse alone, or even a couple of verses, the overall historical reliability of the New and Old Testament, demonstrated by the reliable transmission of the Qumran texts until today, is something someone can put their faith in for theological truth. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy stands strong to this day. The biblical documents are very close to the originals. Since the middle of the 20th century, the Qumran fragments have allowed biblical scholars to better understand the role history had on the transmission of the biblical text up until today. This understanding has greatly aided the confidence in the theological reliability of the New and Old Testament, as it outlines the truthfulness of Scripture throughout the ages. Paul was right on the mark when he penned his famous words, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV). The Bible is still reliable today, and the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm it even to skeptics. 

Bibliography

Geisler, Norman L., William E. Nix. From God to Us. Chicago, Illinois. Moody Publishers, 2012.

Holden, Joseph M. The Comprehensive Guide to Apologetics. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2021.

Ilan Ben Zion, “Israeli experts announce discovery of more Dead Sea scrolls,” AP News, March 2021. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/new-dead-sea-scrolls-israel-19844d3eb208190914182e78d9d79aac/.

John Currid, “The Dead-Sea-Scroll Discovery—75 Years Later,” The Gospel Coalition, March 2022. Retrieved from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/dead-sea-scrolls-75-years/. 

Nathan Steinmeyer and Megan Sauter, “What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?” Biblical Archeology Society, April 2023. Retrieved from https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/dead-sea-scrolls/what_are_the_dead_sea_scrolls/.