Tour Guide for the Dead Sea Scrolls

Our Racine WELS Churches are planning a trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. If you are interested in going, here is the information.

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Cost: Age 60 and over — $37

Age 59 and under—$39

Includes transportation & entry to the exhibit

Lunch: There is a cafeteria in the museum where sandwiches, soup, pizza, etc. will be available. Lunch will be on your own.

Time: Meet at First Evan Lutheran Church at 728 Villa St., Racine. The Dead Sea Scrolls Tour Guide Video from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary will begin in the church basement at 8:30 am. Bus will leave at 9:00 am. Plan to be back in Racine by 4:00 pm.

Sign up at your church. Make checks payable to Les Smith. He must have payment by Monday, April 26. You can turn your checks in to your church office. For questions you can speak to your pastor or call Les & Sherri Smith at 554-5072.

Miscellaneous Info:

• Our entry time at the museum is 10:45 am
• Tickets will be picked up when we arrive
• Once in the exhibit, you may not leave and re-enter
• Items not allowed in the exhibit: food, drink, gum, photography equipment, large bags or backpacks

Here is a brief tour guide prepared by Professor John Brug from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI. Tomorrow's post has a video from Professor Brug

This document points out some of the highlights of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s exhibition of Dead Sea scrolls. This exhibit is more notable for the way in which it presents the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls rather than for the number of original scrolls which are present here. This guide is based on observation of the exhibit and does not attempt to duplicate all the information on the audio tour.

[Headsets providing forty-minutes of audio commentary on the highlights of the exhibit are available as an add-on to the admission price.]

The guide approximates the order they appear in the exhibit, though some types are grouped.

Unlike King Tut exhibits in which you can ooo and aaah at gold treasures, getting the most out of this exhibit takes some work, since much of it is textual and written in ancient languages.

There are four main parts of the exhibit.

I. The first part of the exhibit provides the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The period begins with the oppression which the Jews experienced from the Hellenistic (Greek) kings of Syria (the Seleucids) around 165 BC (or BCE Before the Common Era). The Jews, led by the Maccabees, revolted against this oppression, but the successors of the Maccabees turned into corrupt despotic priest-kings called the Hasmoneans, who were hated by the people at Qumran. A key issue at this time was the willingness of the upper classes of the Jews to assimilate to Greek culture. The Hasmoneans were replaced by the dynasty of Herod the Great and by Roman governors including Pontius Pilate. Jesus died about 30 AD (also CE Common Era). In 70 AD the Jews revolted against Rome and this led to the destruction of Jerusalem and to the hiding of the scrolls before the destruction of Qumran.

Pictures The exhibit features a number of mural-size pictures of the site of Qumran. Do not rush by them too quickly.

Small finds Take note of the glass and perfume bottles and other small finds near the beginning of the exhibit. Think of the perfume that was used to anoint Jesus’ feet. Most of these require no special comments, but don’t skip by them too quickly. Notice also the strigils (hooked-shaped scrapers) which athletes used to scrape the sweat, oil, and dirt off themselves after exercising. This points to the issue of Hellenizing and the Greek practice of nude exercise.

Coins The inscriptions and propaganda messages of the coins which are displayed several places in the early portions of the exhibit are especially important. Notice the mixture of Jewish and non-Jewish motifs and names on the coins of the Hasmonean rulers. Some Hasmonean coins feature archaic Hebrew inscriptions (that is, the form of the Hebrew was that from Old Testament times not that in our Hebrew Bibles. Few could read it any more). This motto emphasizes their role as high priests. The coins also feature temple objects. Look for the Menorah (Temple lampstand). Any of these small bronze coins could be the widow’s mites.

The two most important coins for the New Testament are
1) the Shekel of Tyre, which was the Temple tribute money paid by Peter for him and Jesus, the legal tender of the Temple sold by the money changers, and very likely the money paid to Judas. The image on these coins is a form of Baal, yet the priests demanded that it be used in the Temple.

2) the coins of Pilate, who was the only Roman governor who placed heathen objects on the coins he issued in Jerusalem. Look for the picture of the reverse of the coin with the date LIZ—this Date is 30 AD, the date of Christ’s death (near marker 112). The picture of this coin is sideways with the LIZ running from top to bottom.

Ossuaries Ossuaries are bone boxes into which the bones were gathered after the flesh had decayed. The most famous and controversial is the ossuary of James, son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus. Another is the bone box of Caiphas. (You won’t see them here). But the one you should especially examine here is the ossuary of Alexander the son of Simon of Cyrene. Another bone box refers to a didaskalos—Teacher.

Lamps Notice the various styles of lamps and try to identify those which are heathen, Jewish, and Christian. The plain lamps with a nozzle tip shaped like a bow are from the time of Herod and Jesus. See also the lamps which will be a display at the seminary until June.

Jerusalem Map On the large Jerusalem model first check out the labeled sites (the Antonia is probably the site of Jesus’ trail before Pilate and Herod’s palace is the site of his appearance before Herod Antipas). The site of Calvary is mentioned on the descriptions but not marked on the map but you can find it—just north of Herod’s palace is a pyramid-shaped monument—Calvary was near this, and the tomb was perhaps 100 meters north, where the church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands. Try to find the five-porched, double Pool of Bethesda, just north of the Temple. Look for Herod’s theater and race track south of the temple (a sign of Hellenizing), and Gethsemane in the valley just below the Temple. The site of the Last Supper and Caiphas’s palace was in the southwest part of the city, southeast of Herod’s palace.

II The second part of the exhibit tells about the discovery of the scrolls.
The Finds The video and displays give a good popular summary of the discovery and controversies about the scrolls. (See the Wiki file on our site for more information or read some of the many online sources or the resources listed in the bibliography.) If the docents are on duty, stop at the display in which you can handle pottery sherds and see how archaeologists analyze pottery. (You can also do this at the seminary).

Look for the jars that contained the scrolls and the ink well for writing the scrolls. Take note of the Nash Papyrus of the 10 Commandments, which was the oldest biblical text until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. (A facsimile of the Nash Papyrus is on the display at the seminary).

III. The Scrolls (actually most are scraps not scrolls)
The most important Dead Sea Scroll is the Great Isaiah Scroll, the only complete Bible book among the scrolls. It shows how faithfully the Bible has been transmitted. The one on display here is a forgery-quality copy, not the original. The bottom line of column six is “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel.”

After passing through the replica of Cave 4 you reach the genuine scrolls.

There are two mains kinds of scrolls: Bible scrolls and other religious documents that present the peculiar views of the sect at Qumran.

The Pentateuch fragments are aptly named since they are fragmentary, and it is difficult to read from them.

Two biblical texts are Daniel 1:10-17 or Ecclesiastes 6. You can make out the words fairly well.

Exodus 32:15-19, 25-30 is written in the Old Testament style alphabet. Everyone, even those who don’t know Hebrew, can recognize the difference between the new style Hebrew letters of Daniel and the old style of the Exodus texts.

The sectarian text (that is, non-biblical texts of the Essenes) like the Words of Moses, Pesher Habbakuk, Manual of Discipline, and Book of Mysteries either are fictional religious works or commentaries. The Copper Scroll is a treasure map but it is not known if the treasure is fact or fiction.

The New Testament texts are not Dead Sea Scrolls. They come from Egypt from about 400 years after the Dead Sea Scrolls. Notice the difference of papyrus from parchment.

Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls the Masoretic Codex was the oldest existing Hebrew Bible. It is from about 900-1000 AD. In the display it is currently open to Exodus 20. Even if you don’t read Hebrew you can probably spot the 5th through 7th Commandments since the short verses stand out in their own white space.

The Jeselsohn Stone is a sectarian text written on stone. The Jeselsohn Stone, named after its owner Dr. David Jeselsohn, a Swiss antiquities collector, is also known as "Gabriel's vision" or "Gabriel's revelation", and is a three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew written in two, partially preserved columns, containing a collection of apocalyptic prophecies. The stone, dated to the late first century BC, was found near the Dead Sea and, according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era. Some define it as a Dead Sea Scroll on stone. What makes the Jeselsohn stone interesting is the 80th line of the inscription on the stone which has caused some spirited debate across the globe. Some critical biblical scholars believe that the partially obscured text supports a controversial theory that the story of a Messiah who would be resurrected from the dead after three days may have originated in Jewish tradition. Its alleged ties to a resurrection on the third day are quite speculative, and even if they actually there, may simply refer to Hosea 6:2. The alleged resurrection reference in line 80 is barely legible. This is much ado about nothing.

IV. Bibles
Among the Bibles, note the Gutenberg Bible—the first printed Bible from just before the time of Luther, the Luther Bible and the pre-Luther German Bible, the early edition KJV (note especially the small type-size and illustrations), and the pre-KJV English. As you leave the exhibit, take time to look at the beautiful artwork of the illustrated Bible being created for St. John’s Abbey. This is a modern attempt to recreate a medieval tradition.

Kids of all ages. Immediately as you leave the exhibit, before the gift shop, go into the hands-on area to practice paleography (dating of writing), putting together pottery, etc. Give it a try.

There is an Imax on the region of the scrolls. If you like the Imax experience, it is okay, but it does not add much to your knowledge of the scrolls.