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June 29, 2007 - January 6, 2008 A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?
Does a "Dead Sea Scroll in stone" cast new light on early Jewish and Christian views of the messiah? That is the question raised by an intriguing ancient text, a question now being debated in newspapers, web sites and blogs. The text, called "Gabriel's Vision" by Ada Yardeni, the Israeli scholar who first published it, is written in ink on stone and dates to about the late first century B.C. and early first century A.D. The text first came to wide attention when our print publication, Biblical Archaeology Review published Yardeni's "A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?" [http://www·bib-arch·org/archive·asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=34&Issue=1&ArticleID=16&extraID=14] in its January/February 2008 issue (Yardeni pointed out that had the text been written on leather, she would have thought of it as another Dead Sea Scroll fragment). "Gabriel's Vision" consists of 87 lines, divided into two columns. The text is written in the first person, apparently by someone named Gabriel, and contains numerous Biblical phrases. It is an apocalyptic text and seems to have been written by a supporter of the Davidic dynasty. You can read Yardeni's BAR article by clicking on the link above and you can also see her transcription of the Hebrew text and her English translation [http://www·bib-arch·org/news/dssinstone_english·pdf]. But now the story has taken on a new twist. A major New York Times article (July 6, 2008) described research by Hebrew University textual scholar Israel Knohl, which claims that "Gabriel's Vision" provides important new insights into the early Jewish and Christian concepts of the messiah. A more complete article tracking Knohl's research-by the man himself-will be published in the September/October 2008 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Knohl looks at the history of Jewish and Christian messianism and explores their similarities and differences. The new stone Dead Sea Scroll opens up a new chapter in the history of this relationship, according to Knohl. In this pre-Christian Jewish text, he finds references to two different concepts of the messiah-one, the Messiah son of David; and the other, the Messiah son of Joseph (Ephraim). The return of the messiah of David would involve a military victory. Indeed, the Davidic messiah will institute the messianic age with a "day of battle." He will make his enemies "a footstool." The Messiah son of David is a triumphal messiah. Ephraim, or the Messiah son of Joseph, is a very different kind of messiah and reflects a new kind of messianism. This kind of messianism involves suffering and death. In the new Dead Sea Scroll in stone, Knohl sees a messiah who suffered, died and rose. Quoting the Gospels, Knohl finds that Jesus himself rejects the concept of the militant Messiah son of David. Also in the stone Dead Sea Scroll, an archangel orders someone to arise from the dead in three days. Although the text is difficult, the setting clearly reflects death and bloodshed. Watch for Knohl's full article, "The Messiah Son of Joseph: "Gabriel's Revelation and the Birth of a New Messianic Model," in the September/October 2008 BAR, out in mid-August. It will include the full text of the stone Dead Sea Scroll, plus Professor Knohl's reconstructions. Update: Ada Yardeni has informed us that she agrees with Knohl's reading in The Messiah Son of Joseph. 
There is only one place on earth where an unending stream of evidence substantiating the Bible is discovered year after year. Granted, it's been 40 years since the major discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls thrilled biblical archaeologists and others who love the Word of God. The latest discovery-two small fragments of animal skin, brown with age, with Leviticus 23:38-39 and 43-44 inscribed in ancient Hebrew-are now in the hands of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). How they got there is an intriguing story in itself. About a year ago, Professor Chanan Eshel, an archaeologist at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, was summoned to an abandoned police station near the Dead Sea for a clandestine meeting with a Bedouin Arab. After explaining that he'd been offered $20,000 on the black market, the man asked Eshel to evaluate the fragments. It would be hard to describe the emotions that surged through the professor's heart as he examined the skins. "I was jealous that he had found them instead of me," said Eshel, who has worked in the Judean Desert for nearly 20 years. "I was also very excited, though I didn't believe I would ever see them again." Months later, after learning that the fragments had not left the country, Eshel bought them with $3,000 provided by Bar Ilan. The skins were turned over to the IAA, which is now testing them for authenticity. They are the 15th find in this area and date to the Second Revolt against the Romans under Bar-Kochba. The discovery sparked renewed hope among biblical archaeologists that the Judean Desert has much yet to yield. "No scrolls have been found in the Judean Desert since 1965," said Eshel. "This [find] encourages scholars to believe that if they bother to excavate, survey and climb, they will still find things in the Judean Desert. The common perception has been that there is nothing left to find there, but that is clearly wrong."
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The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition is a joint production of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation and the San Diego Natural History Museum. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The images on the sdscrolls.org home page Flash™ segment are from a View of the Dead Sea © N. Folberg, Dead Sea Scrolls pottery and the 11Q5 Psalms scroll, courtesy of IAA.  |
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