photo: Qumran

January–April 2008Adult Bible Study

Learner’s

STUDY GUIDE

Formations

ST

UD

YG

UID

E

Visit QumranCheck out the

Travel Journal inside

• Make God KnownEvangelistic Lessons from Ephesians

• “We Have Seen His Glory”Encountering Christ on the Way to the Cross

• The Heart of the GospelThe Timeless Message at the Center of Our Faith

• An Unforgettable ChurchHow the First Christians Lived Out the Gospel

• Make God KnownEvangelistic Lessons from Ephesians

• “We Have Seen His Glory”Encountering Christ on the Way to the Cross

• The Heart of the GospelThe Timeless Message at the Center of Our Faith

• An Unforgettable ChurchHow the First Christians Lived Out the Gospel

AFL_17_2_wrap_tp_5189.qxp 9/17/07 5:00 PM Page 1

east of Jerusalem, a small militaryfortress was established there in theeighth century BC.This wilderness areais identified withthe City of Salt,one of six cities ofJudah listed inJoshua 15:61-62.

Several periodsof occupationare evident atQumran. Alarge watercistern, walls, and pottery fragmentsdate to the eighth and seventh cen-turies BC. The settlement wasdestroyed with the fall of thekingdom of Judah. After severalcenturies of abandonment, Qumranwas resettled. Around 130 BC, a newsettlement developed. An elaboratewater collecting system of aqueducts

Formations Travel Journal by Jim PittsThis travel journal leads us on a journey to a location related to the Bible.

hirbet (the Arabic word for“ruin”) Qumran is on thenorthwest shore of the DeadSea. Between 1947 and 1956, a

number of ancient manuscripts, nowknown as the Dead Sea Scrolls, werefound in nearby caves. Located a fewmiles south of Jericho and 25 miles

K

The scriptoriumThe scriptorium was the place where some of the DeadSea Scrolls were copied. The discoveries in thescriptorium include evidence of sharpened reeds (usedas pens), pottery ink wells, and dried sheepskins (whichwere used to make scrolls).

Inkwell from the

scriptorium of the Dead

Sea Scrolls, Kirbet Qumran,

before AD 68.

Inkwell

Qumran

AFL_17_2_wrap_tp_5189.qxp 9/17/07 5:00 PM Page 2

Dead Sea

Miqveh BathMiqveh Bath used for a religious ceremony of purification. Ritually

defiled persons would enter a miqvah by one set of steps, immerse

themselves in the water, and then exit by a separate set of steps

once they has been ritually cleansed.

and reservoirs, buildings, and potterykilns were constructed. The complexincluded a watchtower, a diningroom, a writing room, a flourmill, astable, a laundry, and variousworkshops.

The residents apparently aimed to beas self-sufficient as possible, althoughthere do not seem to have been anysleeping quarters. Tents or caves mayhave served occupants for shelter.Near the settlement, separated fromit by a wall, there is a large cemetery. An earthquake and fire severelydamaged the buildings in 31 BC. Thesite was deserted for a brief periodand then repaired and resettledbetween 4 BC and AD 6. Thanks toa treasure trove of archeologicalremains and literary evidence, wehave information and insight into lifeand religious aspirations of the first-century AD residents at Qumran.

In June AD 68, Qumran wasdestroyed during the Jewish Revoltagainst Rome. Then it served as aRoman garrison for twenty years.Later, Bar-Kokhba’s fighters occupiedthe ruins during the Second JewishRevolt in AD 132–135.

Some sixty years ago, the character ofthis community was more clearlyrevealed. Bedouin shepherdsaccidentally discovered a clay jar in acave near Khirbet Qumran thatcontained seven parchment scrolls.The scrolls came into the hands ofdealers in antiquities, who offeredthem for sale. What followed is a

complex story of their ownership andrestricted availability to the academiccommunity. The Israel Museum inJerusalem constructed a special building—the Shrine of the Book—in which toexhibit the Dead Sea Scrolls to the public. For the most part, the scrolls date from the

AFL_17_2_wrap_tp_5189.qxp 9/17/07 5:00 PM Page 3

For their safe keeping, the scrolls werehidden in caves near Qumran when theRoman Army advanced on the area beforemoving on to destroy Jerusalem in AD 70.They tell us much about the Qumrancommunity and greatly enhance ourunderstanding of Judaism andChristianity in the first century. Amongthe scrolls are copies or fragments of everybook of the Hebrew Bible except Esther.

The scrolls also include numeroussectarian documents particular to theQumran community. Certain manu-scripts apparently describe the life of thecommunity: the Manual of Discipline, theDamascus Document, the ThanksgivingPsalms, and the War Scroll. They tell

about the community’s originand history, its rules of life,and expectations for thedawn of a new age. The sect was a Jewish

middle of third century BC to thesecond half of the first century AD.Written mostly on parchment (a feware on papyrus), they were part of thelibrary of a monastic-type commu-nity. In some caves the manuscriptswere carefully placed in covered cylin-drical jars, but in others they appearto have been dumped in haste. Somemanuscripts disintegrated intothousands of fragments that had to bepieced together with the utmostpatience and care.

QumranThe people at Qumran constructed a

complex of buildings to include communal

facilities, a water system, a library, and a

large cemetery.

The Shrine of the Book – JerusalemThe Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare ancient

manuscripts are displayed in Jerusalem’s Shrine of the

Book. The museum’s white dome symbolizes the lids of

the jars in which some of the scrolls were found.

Scroll jarsAs Roman forces approached in AD 68, the Essenes hidtheir religious scrolls in the caves near Qumran, wherethey were discovered beginning in 1947.

AFL_17_2_wrap_tp_5189.qxp 9/17/07 5:01 PM Page 4

CommunityArtistic representationof the main complexof the Qumran community.

QumranCave 4 - as seen from the ruins of thesettlement - produced the largest number ofscrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are copies orfragments of every book of the HebrewScriptures except Esther. The scrolls werehidden in eleven different caves.

apocalyptic movement preparing for theend of the world. When it came, thewicked would be destroyed, and Israelwould be freed from the yoke of thenations. Before this, God would raise up acommunity of the elect who were destinedto be saved. These few would become thenucleus of the future divine order.

Members of this sect, believed to beEssenes, opposed the Hasmonean dynastyof kings and priests. They regarded thesacrificial worship in Jerusalem as havingbeen defiled. Therefore, this new monasticorder was a community of protest againstthe establishment “heretics” in Jerusalem.

Like their near neighbor, John the Baptist,they were a voice crying in the wilderness,“Prepare the way of the Lord, make hispaths straight” (Mk 1:3).

AFL_17_2_wrap_tp_5189.qxp 9/17/07 5:01 PM Page 5