One of the great mysteries surrounding the Dead Sea scrolls may now be solved. Ever since their discovery in the vicinity of Qumran in 1945, scholars have wondered how an isolated group of scribes could have produced such an immense collection of fragments. Over 15,000 pieces from 900 original documents have been found so far in nearby caves, but the community of Qumran was never home to more than a few dozen residents at a time. The answer, says a new study, may now have been uncovered in a 1000-year Hebrew scroll preserved in the Cairo museum.
According the “Damascus Covenant,” members of the Essene sect, long believed to have written the Dead Sea Scrolls, brought their treasured scrolls from all over the region for an annual gathering in Qumran, thus accounting for the immense volume of material found. A new study by Daniel Vainstub, archaeologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published in the journal Religions in June, 2021 says it all fits with known archaeology of the area (https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/8/578/htm).
If nothing else, the new study should help put to rest the notion that the Dead Sea scrolls could have been created by any group other than the Essenes, as some have claimed, but many important questions remain unanswered. The Essenes, many have believed, made up the religious group out of which John the Baptist and/or Jesus himself emanated. While today, most have abandoned the idea that Jesus was directly linked to the Essenes, several still think the Baptist was part of the group. More difficult questions remain undiscussed, like the significance of the Copper Scroll found in 1952, and the arguments of British metallurgist Robert Feather of a strong connection to Amarna, the ancient capital of Egypt under the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti.
