Eleven caves containing archaeological findings were revealed since the initial discovery. Let us explore now the caves of Qumran one at a time. The first cave known as 1Q contained several clay jars which had been wrapped in linen. These jars contained the first manuscripts found at Quran. “Here were manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament that were one thousand years older than any other extant manuscripts.”2 The age of these texts were and are very important for more than one reason; they prove the accuracy of the Bible, and they help to falsify the theory of the book of Isaiah. It is believed in the non-Christian Jewish community of Biblical scholars that the Disciples of Christ must have implanted their ideals in Isaiah the fifty-third chapter. With a date of one thousand years older than any known text, and having a complete copy of the Book of Isaiah, (which included chapter fifty-three complete with all the prophecies concerning Jesus) one has proof to falsify the allegations made against the Disciples of Christ. This find also shows us that the texts we have today in the Bible are very accurate and trustworthy. The treasures of cave one included two complete copies of the book of Isaiah, documents of Community Rule, commentary on Habakkuk, a war scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns, and Genesis Apocryphon.3
Although there have been “about two hundred caves explored by archaeologists after the original finds, of which about forty contained pottery and other objects, twenty five caves contained pottery of the same type as that found in the original cave, a dozen more contained manuscript fragments.”2 There are eleven caves including 1Q that are more commonly reported which brings us to cave number two. Cave number two is known as Q2 and was discovered in February, 1952.4 This cave brought forth three hundred fragments that stemmed from thirty different manuscripts. These included the Book of Jubilees, and the Book of Sirach which was found in the original Hebrew. Cave three also known as 3Q was discovered on March 14, 1952.4 The findings of this particular cave are very important, because in this cave was found a different style of manuscript. Usually ancient manuscripts which are recovered from anywhere are found on vellum, parchment, or papyrus. What was discovered was amazing: “there were two rolls, but one of them consisted of two strips of copper rolled up together.”5 This copper manuscript was an impressive eight feet long and contained all the original riveting and bindings. It was a task to unveil the writings on them due to the fact that the metal was old and oxidized, therefore making it almost impossible to open. They would however be opened with the help of H. Wright Baker ,a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Manchester College of Technology in 1956.5 Other discoveries found in 3Q included 14 manuscripts including Jubilees and the Copper Scroll. There were sixty-seven hiding places in 3Q most of which were underground, and according to some of the writings found on a scroll; some of these hiding spots contained large amounts of Gold and Silver.4
To be continued next week…