ASSIGNMENT: If you were among the discoverers of these ancient texts and
fragments, what questions would you want to investigate (give three)?
[RelSt 225, 18 January 2000]

---what are we dealing with?---

1. How many caves are there and are they connected to each other at all?

3. In general, how well preserved are the scrolls, and how did that vary 
from cave to cave?

1.  About how much of the text is more-or-less complete, versus the
fragmentary texts?  (approximate)

3.  Do the photographs of the texts released include all the fragments?

2.  Is it possible that other noteworthy archaeological sites - and
possibly other scrolls - have yet to be uncovered in the Dead Sea area?

1. What languages are the DSS written in, and how similar are these 
languages to their modern equivalents?

2. What texts ae included in the DSS?  That is, do the DSS comprise the 
Old Testament, or are the texts unrelated to Scriptures?

1.  How were the DSS preserved? That is, were they stored in containers,
and if so what type, and what were the factors which made them last so
long?


---where did it happen?--

2.   Jericho - near the Dead Sea - used to be a winter resort for
wealthy people (such as King Herod, who built a palace there), as its
low altitude made it the perfect vacation spot to escape cold. What type
of settlement was found near the scrolls?

Finally, were the Essenes the only community around the caves?  Were there
other groups?  Was the site a widely known or as remote as it seems now? 


---when were they written, deposited?---

1.   How old are the scrolls? When were they created, and when were they
hidden in the grave? (How long were they used before burial?)

2. How were the jars/scrolls transported inside the caves?

3. When was the last time that the caves were visited/inhabited by
man? (i.e. How long have they been left undisturbed?)


---why were they deposited there?---

3.   Why were the scrolls buried?

This leads to another questions as to why the scrolls might have been in
the caves at all.  Was this a normal practice of the surrounding
communities or did it have something to do with the fate of the scrolls'
authors?  If so, what was the fate of the Essenes?


---who wrote, read, deposited them?---

2.  How many Jews of the time period could read and write?

2) Who wrote them and why is there so much controversy surrounding this
question?

1.  Is it clear that all of the scrolls were written by the same group of
people over a relatively short period of time, or do the authors and dates
vary widely?

1.  Did the writers of these scrolls mean to keep them secret for all
time?
If so, why?

Is there any evidence which points to the scrolls intended audience?  For
example, were they intended for regular use or special occasions? Or even
written with posterity in mind? 

3.  Were the writers of the scrolls working with, for, or against each
other?  How aware were they of their fellow writers?


---so what [wherefore?] -- why study them?---

1) Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls so significant?

3) What conflicting opinions do scholars have surrounding them and who has
the most evidence to back up these opinions?

3.  About how much of the content of the scrolls is subject to vastly
differing interpretation?

2.  How "accurate" are the translations, i.e., what degree of leeway can
exist in the interpretation of the words?  (One example from one of our
books was the Prayer for King Jonathan [I think], where it's not, in fact,
clear that it mentions Jonathan's name.)  Given that there's a certain
amount of room for interpretation reading unpointed Hebrew/Aramaic, and the
texts are somewhat damaged, does this pose a significant problem?

===

2.Who found the DSS and how did it come about that they ended up being
controled in the hands of only a few scholars for so long?

2. What accounted for the delay in getting much of the Scrolls available 
for study?

3. Do the DSS relate more to what we know of as the "typical" bible
story or do they seem to be more connected to the time period itself, as
in the events of the time and the authors' concern with those events?

2. How did the Qumran Community interpret the OT?

1. Who was the Teacher of Righteousness?

3. What do the DSS reveal about Judaism and early Christianity?  Are 
there discussions of a messiah?

1. How much can the Scrolls tell us about the origins of Christianity 
(and how are we limited in learning about that from the Scrolls)?

3. Was John the Baptist related to the Qumran Community?

//end//