The Dead Sea Scrolls
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
We have already noted that the Masoretes exercised great care in the transmission of the Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible. A part of that care involved the disposal of old and worn manuscripts. Because of this, the oldest Hebrew manuscripts in 1940 were only a thousand years old. This changed dramatically with a discovery by the Dead Sea.
1. First Discovery: The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls was discovered in 1947 when an Arab shepherd boy, while looking for a stray goat, happened to throw a rock into a cave along the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Instead of the bleating of a goat, he heard the crash of a breaking clay pot. He investigated and found several clay jars containing old scrolls with Hebrew writing on them. The scrolls changed hands several times before finally finding their way to the authorities. When they did, they caused a stir that is still being heard today.
2. Further Discoveries: Over the course of the next few years, archaeologists recovered 40,000 fragments of manuscripts in 11 different caves. Represented was almost the entire Old Testament, portions of which have been dated as early as 175 B.C.
3. Significance: The significance of these finds cannot be underestimated. In a single find, the Textual Critic had jumped back 1000 years. These manuscripts provide a basis for judging the accuracy of the Hebrew Bible. How does the Masoretic Text match up to the early scrolls discovered in the Dead Sea Caves? Geisler and Nix offer the following answer: Of the 166 words in Isaiah 53:1-12, there are only 17 letters in question. Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense. Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions. The three remaining letters comprise the word LIGHT, which is added in Isaiah 53:11 and which does not affect the meaning greatly. Furthermore, this word is supported by the LXX. Thus, in one chapter of 166 words, there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission - and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage. (1968:263). This is a remarkable testimony to the accuracy of the Masoretic Text upon which our Bible is based. Over a period of a thousand years, very little has change has come upon the text. We have a Bible we can trust. There is sufficient manuscript evidence to back it up.