Two new books have been released that detail more than 25 new, previously unpublished Dead Sea Scroll fragments. 13 scroll fragments were donated to the Museum of the Bible by Steve Green, the owner of the Hobby Lobby craft store chain. They were analyzed by a team of scholars and published in Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum Collection (Brill, 2016). Included is a fragment of the book of Nehemiah, which, if authenticated, would be the first copy discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The other batch of scrolls comes from the collection of Martin Schøyen, and are published in Gleanings from the Caves: Dead Sea Scrolls and Artefacts from The Schøyen Collection (Bloomsbury, 2016). Altogether, the various fragments record parts of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Nehemiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Jonah and Micah. Some scholars are questioning whether some of the fragments are forgeries, as little is known of the provenance. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently expressed concern that scrolls are being found by looters in caves around the Judean desert and finding their way to the antiquities market. Scientists are conducting tests on the fragments that were donated to the Museum of the Bible to determine their authenticity.
Off-site Links:
- http://www.livescience.com/56428-25-new-dead-sea-scrolls-revealed.html
- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dozens-of-dead-sea-scroll-fragments-may-have-been-discovered/
- http://www.history.com/news/secrets-of-new-dead-sea-scrolls-come-to-light
