Essenes Didn’t Write Dead Sea Scrolls?

Most people familiar with biblical history are aware of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written by the Essenes and hidden from the Romans during the first century. Or were they? New evidence suggests that they weren't written by the Essenes at all.

Haaretz reports:

Two Israeli archaeologists, Yuval Peleg and Itzhak Magen, have recently completed 10 seasons of excavations at Qumran, sponsored by the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria. These are the most extensive digs since those conducted by Roland de Vaux half a century earlier. Among the finds were numerous pieces of jewelry, imported glass and expensive stone cosmetics containers. "It's impossible to say that the people who lived at Qumran were poor," said Peleg.

In 1995, Professor Norman Golb of the University of Chicago caused an academic earthquake when he accused those in charge of Dead Sea Scroll research of concealing information from the public. Golb argued that the scrolls came originally from various libraries in Jerusalem, and were brought to Qumran and hidden in the surrounding caves to ensure their survival during the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans, which took place between 66 and 73 CE. Golb based his theory on the fact that the scrolls were written by more than 500 different hands. He and other scholars noted that some of the scrolls were particular to various sects active in Jewish society at the time, some of which were rivals of the Essenes. They charged that this fact had been concealed by scroll scholars.

But among the supporters of the traditional theory, there are those who remain unmoved. Dr. Magen Broshi, former chief curator of the Shrine of the Book and the one who coined the description of Qumran as "the oldest monastery in the Western world," said that he does not believe the reports of finds of jewelry and cosmetics vessels at Qumran. "If these items were found, they are not from the site itself, but rather belonged to the Roman garrison stationed there after its destruction," he said. According to Broshi, "even today, 98 or 99 percent of scholars still believe that Qumran was an Essene monastery."

Finding objects like jewelry certainly undermines the idea that this was a monastery; then again, if there really was a Roman garrison there later, then maybe they left the objects which don’t seem to belong. It may be true that most scholars believe the scrolls to be the exclusive work of the Essenes, but it looks like there may be room for disagreement and reasons for debate.

Read More:

• Religion 101
• Theism 101
• Does God Exist?