Discovery of Biblical Scrolls Shows Importance of Greek Old Testament, Scholar Says

Catholic News Agency ^ | 3/19/21 | Jonah McKeown

[marshmallow]

Denver Newsroom, Mar 19, 2021 / 03:01 am MT (CNA).- Israeli archaeologists announced this week the discovery of several new sets of Dead Sea Scrolls— ancient fragments of biblical text that have, for the past 70 years, contributed to scholars’ knowledge about the Old Testament.

The new scroll fragments, which the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced March 16, include the books of Zechariah and Nahum, both minor prophets.

Dr. John Bergsma, professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville who has written and spoken extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls, told CNA that an interesting feature of the scrolls recently found is the language in which they are written— Greek.

"What it shows is that Jews in the Holy Land, living in the land of Israel, were speaking Greek and even praying and reading the scriptures in Greek around the time of our Lord, the apostles, and the early Church," Bergsma told CNA.

In 1947, a shepherd happened upon a cave in the northern Judean Desert in Israel and discovered jars containing parchment scrolls. Archeologists later uncovered ten more caves containing nearly a thousand pieces of fragmented parchment, papyrus, and copper.

The fragments contain, among other writings, many Old Testament texts. The find was significant because the texts were much older than the Bible manuscripts produced by Jewish scholars in medieval times.

The discovery of a twelfth cave came in 2017, as part of a joint archeology expedition from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and Liberty University in Virginia.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

I spent a few weeks studying Ancient Greek theater in Greece. What a profoundly beautiful and powerful place it is. No surprise it’s where the Gospel went forth immediately after Israel.

[SunkenCiv]

• Israeli archeologists discover new Dead Sea Scrolls for first time in 60 years
• Bible scroll from Bar Kochba era discovered in Judean Desert
• In a Remarkable Find, Archaeologists Exploring the 'Cave of Horror' in Israel Have Discovered a New Dead Sea Scroll
• Dead Sea scroll discovery brings tantalizing prospect of more yet to be found
• Israeli archaeologists discover biblical scroll fragments for the first time in 60 years

[Scrambler Bob]

The find was significant because the texts were much older than the Bible manuscripts produced by Jewish scholars in medieval times.
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The Jewish scribes considered their copies more accurate than the source they copied from.

They had elaborate counting and ‘parity’ schemes to enable this.

So. I do not consider the mdieval times Jewish manuscripts (I am assuming in Hebrew), to be inferior.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

While confirming the importance of Greek, it is not exactly surprising. I mean, Greek was the language of science and literature, and was the common language that permeated the area from 300 BC to 600 AD. It is not exactly unexpected that any Old Testament coppies from after 300 BC would be written in Greek.

[BlackVeil]

I find it unexpected, because I thought that the Jewish communities always kept the scriptures in Hebrew, regardless of what language they spoke in daily life.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

I am sure you know more about it than I do.