The Dead Sea Scrolls where is a place i can read them, i hear they have to do with bible but the church doesnt like them so it peaks my interest and i want to read them,

im looking for a place where i can read them online

Im posting what i have found off kazaa, if anyone finds a better presented version please post it, i found this a little confuseing, feel free to discuss the scrolls also.......


THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: Translated

THE LIBRARY SCROLLS:

THE Enoch Scroll

E[superscript]a I ii
12. ...But you have changed your works,
13. [and have not done according to his command, and tran]sgressed against him;
(and have spoken) haughty and harsh words, with your impure mouths,
14. [against his majesty, for your heart is hard]. You will have no peace.

En[superscript]a I iii
13. [They (the leaders) and all ... of them took for themselves]
14. wives from all that they chose and [they began to cohabit with them and to
defile themselves with them];
15. and to teach them sorcery and [spells and the cutting of roots; and to
acquaint them with herbs.]
16. And they become pregnant by them and bo[re (great) giants three thousand
cubits high ...]

Transcription by J. T. Milik, amended by J. C. Greenfield; translation by J. C.
Greenfield


The Hosea Commentary Scroll
Hos. 2:10-14
1. (10)[SHE DID NOT KNOW THAT] I MYSELF HAD GIVEN HER THE GRAIN [AND THE WINE]
2. [AND THE OIL, AND] (THAT) I HAD SUPPLIED [SILVER] AND GOLD ... (WHICH) THEY
MADE [INTO BAAL. The interpretation of it is]
3. that [they] ate [and] were satisfied, and they forgot God who [had fed them,
and all]
4. his commandments they cast behind them, which he had sent to them
5. his servants the prophets. But to those who led them astray they listened,
and they honored them [ ]
6. and as if they were gods, they fear them in their blindness.
7. vacat
8. (11)THEREFORE, I SHALL TAKE BACK MY GRAIN AGAIN IN ITS TIME AND MY WINE [IN
ITS SEASON,]
9. AND I SHALL WITHDRAW MY WOOL AND MY FLAX FROM COVERING [HER NAKEDNESS.]
10. (12)I SHALL NOW UNCOVER HER PRIVATE PARTS IN THE SIGHT OF [HER] LO[VERS AND]
11. NO [ONE] WILL WITHDRAW HER FROM MY HAND.
12. The interpretation of it is that he smote them with famine and with
nakedness so that they became a disgra[ce]
13. and a reproach in the sight of the nations on whom they had leaned for
support, but they
14. will not save them from their afflictions. (13)AND I SHALL PUT AN END TO ALL
HER JOY,
15. [HER] PIL[GRIMAGE,] HER [NEW] MOON, AND HER SABBATH, AND ALL HER FEASTS. The
interpretation of it is that
16. they make [the fe]asts go according to the appointed times of the nation.
1
And [all]
17. [joy] has been turned for them into mourning. (14)AND I SHALL MAKE DESOLATE
[HER VINE]
18. [AND HER FIG TREE,] OF WHICH SHE SAID, "THEY ARE THE HIRE [THAT MY LOVERS
HAVE GIVEN] ME."
19. AND I SHALL MAKE THEM A FOREST, AND THE W[ILD BEAST OF THE FIELD] WILL
DEVOUR THEM.

Transcription and translation by M. Horgan

[b]The Prayer For King Jonathan Scroll

Column A
1. Praise the Lord, a Psalm [of
2. You loved as a fa[ther(?)
3. you ruled over [
4. vacat [
5. and your foes were afraid (or: will fear) [
6. ...the heaven [
7. and to the depths of the sea [
8. and upon those who glorify him [
9. the humble from the hand of adversaries [
10. Zion for his habitation, ch[ooses

Column B
1. holy city
2. for king Jonathan
3. and all the congregation of your people
4. Israel
5. who are in the four
6. winds of heaven
7. peace be (for) all
8. and upon your kingdom
9. your name be blessed

Column C
1. because you love Isr[ael
2. in the day and until evening [
3. to approach, to be [
4. Remember them for blessing [
5. on your name, which is called [
6. kingdom to be blessed [
7. ]for the day of war [
8. to King Jonathan [
9.
Transcription and translation by E. Eshel, H. Eshel, and A. Yardeni

The Leviticus Scroll

Lev. 23:22-29

1. (22)[...edges of your field, or] gather [the gleanings of your harvest; you
shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I the LO]RD [am]
2. your God.
3. (23)The LORD spoke to Moses saying: (24)Speak to the Israelite people thus:
In the seventh month
2
4. on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred
occasion commemorated with load blasts.
5. (25)You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering
by fire to the LORD.
6. (26)The LORD spoke to Moses saying: (27)Mark, the tenth day of this seventh
month is the Day
7. of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice
self-denial, and you shall bring an offering
8. by fire to the LORD; (28) you shall do no work throughout that day. For
9. [it is a Day of Atonement on which] expiation is made on your behalf RD your God. (29)Indeed, any person who

Translation from "Tanakh," p. 192. Philadelphia, 1985.

[b]The Sabbath Sacrafice Scroll

30. By the instructor. Song of the sacrifice of the seventh Sabbath on the
sixteenth of the month. Praise the God of the lofty heights, O you lofty ones
among all the
31. elim of knowledge. Let the holiest of the godlike ones sanctify the King of
glory who sanctifies by holiness all His holy ones. O you chiefs of the praises
of
32. all the godlike beings, praise the splendidly [pr]aiseworthy God. For in the
splendor of praise is the glory of His realm. From it (comes) the praises of all
33. the godlike ones together with the splendor of all [His] maj[esty. And]
exalt his exaltedness to exalted heaven, you most godlike ones of the lofty
elim, and (exalt) His glorious divinity above
34. all the lofty heights. For H[e is God of gods] of all the chiefs of the
heights of heaven and King of ki[ngs] of all the eternal councils. (by the
intention of)
35. (His knowledge) At the words of His mouth come into being [all the lofty
angels]; at the utterance of His lips all the eternal spirits; tention of His knowledge all His creatures
36. in their undertakings. Sing with joy, you who rejoice [in His knowledge
with] rejoicing among the wondrous godlike beings. And chant His glory with the
tongue of all who chant with knowledge; and (chant) His wonderful songs of joy
37. with the mouth of all who chant [of Him. For He is] God of all who rejoice
{in knowledge} forever and Judge in His power of all the spirits of
understanding.

[b]THE PSALMS SCROLL:

Column 19: Plea for Deliverance (A Noncanonical Psalm)
1. Surely a maggot cannot praise thee nor a grave worm recount thy
loving-kindness.
2. But the living can praise thee, even those who stumble can laud thee. In
revealing
3. thy kindness to them and by thy righteousness thou dost enlighten them. For
in thy hand is the soul of every
4. living thing; the breath of all flesh hast thou given. Deal with us, O LORD,
5. according to thy goodness, according to thy great mercy, and according to thy
many righteous deeds. The LORD
6. has heeded the voice of those who love his name and has not deprived them of
3
his loving-kindness.
7. Blessed be the LORD, who executes righteous deeds, crowning his saints
8. with loving-kindness and mercy. My soul cries out to praise thy name, to sing
high praises
9. for thy loving deeds, to proclaim thy faithfulness--of praise of thee there
is no end. Near death
10. was I for my sins, and my iniquities have sold me to the grave; but thou
didst save me,
11. O LORD, according to thy great mercy, and according to thy many righteous
deeds. Indeed have I
12. loved thy name, and in thy protection have I found refuge. When I remember
thy might my heart
13. is brave, and upon thy mercies do I lean. Forgive my sin, O LORD,
14. and purify me from my iniquity. Vouchsafe me a spirit of faith and
knowledge, and let me not be dishonored
15. in ruin. Let not Satan rule over me, nor an unclean spirit; neither let pain
nor the evil
16. inclination take possession of my bones. For thou, O LORD, art my praise,
and in thee do I hope
17. all the day. Let my brothers rejoice with me and the house of my father, who
are astonished by the graciousness...
18. [ ] For e[ver] I will rejoice in thee.

THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY SCROLLS:

The Phylactery Scroll

Exod. 13:1-3
1. (1)And spoke
2. the Lord to
3. Moses
4. saying, (2)"Consecrate
5. to Me every first-born
6. the first issue of every womb of the
7. Israelites, man
8. and beast is Mine."
9. (3)And Moses said to the people,
10. "Remember this day
11. on which you went (free)
12. from Egypt, the house of bondage,
13. how with a mighty hand
14. the Lord freed you from it; no
15. leavened bread shall be eater. (4)This day

The Community Rule Scroll
And according to his insight he shall admit him. In this way both his love and
his hatred. No man shall argue or quarrel with the men of perdition. He shall
keep his council in secrecy in the midst of the men of deceit and admonish with
4
knowledge, truth and righteous commandment those of chosen conduct, each
according to his spiritual quality and according to the norm of time. He shall
guide them with knowledge and instruct them in the mysteries of wonder and truth
in the midst of the members of the community, so that they shall behave decently
with one another in all that has been revealed to them. That is the time for
studying the Torah (lit. clearing the way) in the wilderness. He shall instruct
them to do all that is required at that time, and to separate from all those who
have not turned aside from all deceit.
These are the norms of conduct for the Master in those times with respect to his
loving and to his everlasting hating of the men of perdition in a spirit of
secrecy. He shall leave to them property and wealth and earnings like a slave to
his lord, (showing) humility before the one who rules over him. He shall be
zealous concerning the Law and be prepared for the Day of Revenge.
He shall perform the will [of God] in all his deeds and in all strength as He
has commanded. He shall freely delight in all that befalls him, and shall desire
nothing except God’s will...

The Calendrical Document Scroll

1. [on the first {day} in {the week of} Jedaiah {which falls} on the tw]elfth in
it {the seventh month}. On the second {day} in {the week of} Abiah {which falls}
on the twenty- f[ifth in the eighth {month}; and duqah {is} on the third] {day}
2. [in {the week of} Miyamin {which falls} on the twelfth] in it {the eighth
month}. On the third {day} in {the week of} Jaqim {which falls} on the
twen[ty-fourth in the ninth {month}; and duqah {is} on the fourth] {day}
3. [in {the week of} Shekania {which falls} on the eleven]th in it {the ninth
month}. On the fifth {day} in {the week of} Immer {which falls} on the
twe[n]ty-third in the te[nth {month}; and duqah {is} on the sixth {day} in {the
week of} Je]shbeab {which falls}
4. [on the tenth in] it {the tenth month}. On the [si]xth {day} in {the week of}
Jehezkel {which falls} on the twenty-second in the eleventh month [and duqah {is
on the} Sabbath in] {the week of} Petahah {which falls}
5. [on the ninth in it {the eleventh month}]. On the first {day} in {the week
of} Joiarib {which falls} on the t[w]enty-second in the twelfth month; and
[duqah {is} on the seco]nd {day} in {the week of} Delaiah {which falls}
6. [on the ninth in it {the twelfth month}. vacat The] se[cond] {year}: The
first {month}. On the sec[on]d {day} in {the week of} Malakiah {which falls} on
the tw[entieth in it {the first month}; and] duqah {is}
7. [on the third {day} in {the week of} Harim {which falls} on the seventh] in
it {the first month}. On the fou[r]th {day} in {the week of} Jeshua {which
falls} [on] the twentieth in the second {month}; and [duqah {is} on the fifth
{day} in {the week of]} Haqqos {which falls} on the seventh
8. [in it {the second month}. On the fifth {day} in {the week of} Huppah {which
falls} on the nine]teenth in the third {month}; and duqa[h] {is} on the six[th
{day} in {the week of} Happisses {which falls}

The Torah Precepts Scroll

1. until sunset on the eighth day. And concerning [the impurity] of
2. the [dead] person we are of the opinion that every bone, whether it
3. has its flesh on it or not--should be (treated) according to the law of the
dead or the slain.
4. And concerning the mixed marriages that are being performed among the people,
5
and they are sons of holy [seed],
5. as is written, Israel is holy. And concerning his (Israel’s) [clean] animal
6. it is written that one must not let it mate with another species, and
concerning his clothes [it is written that they should not]
7. be of mixed stuff; and one must not sow his field and vineyard with mixed
species.
8. Because they (Israel) are holy, and the sons of Aaron are [most holy.]
9. But you know that some of the priests and [the laity intermingle]
10. [And they] adhere to each other and pollute the holy seed
11. as well as their (i.e. the priests’) own [seed] with corrupt women. Since
[the sons of Aaron should...]

Interesting :)
heres some other info.
www.webcom.com/~gnosis/library/scroll.htm (http://www.webcom.com/~gnosis/library/scroll.htm)

ok ill be honest i just remembered reading something or watching discovery channel and something about the christan chruch doesnt recignize the dead sea scrolls even though they were writen at the same time as something or something along the lines of basicly they like this and that and just chose to omit the scrolls because they didnt like what they said about the church can anyone give me anything on this veiw point or any reasons behind it

In the early Christian church, there was a Council that determined what writings would be in the bible. (Council of Trent? Memory ain't so good.) Anyways, they chose the writings they thought were holy and put them all into one bible and I'm fairly sure that a Catholic bible is still the same it was when they were first determined what to contain. (A little less than two thousand years ago.) The Orthodox church has more books I know, like I believe there are four Maccabee's instead of the bibles most of us see with two. Then the other route, there are some books removed from the Catholic bible that are used in the protestant churches.


I'm sure there are parts of Christianity that recognize the scrolls, but I don't think the Catholic church recognizes them because they weren't in the original bible.

It has been a long time since the church history class though so I could be missing some things. :\

i dunno i may not have the facts but i heard they dont recignize them because they said something along the lines of the church is not needed and has become something that it shouldnt have and they basicly people can worship and are ment to worship from where they are kinda in there own way instead of a formal thing like church

From what i believe, the dead sea scrolls are all that is left of the writings of the library of Alexandria in Egypt, which was destroyed by Julius Caesar due to a misunderstanding. They were rushed out of the city when it was turned to ruins and they are directly linked with the bible as the most important writings of the old testament and more of the new testament.

It is now widespread belief that Judaism originated from Arkanarton (sp?) the first Egyptian Pharoah to believe in a single God, and that his son was Moses (funny how Moses is a Greek translation which means 'Son OF' and that in those days, the word 'Shepherd' meant 'leader of men', not just sheep). It is historical fact that there was a rebellion in Egypt between those who believed in a single God and those who did not.

There is also an uncanny similarity between the Jewish symbol of 7 candles and the original heiroglyph for the God Osiris.

If my memory serves me right, it was St. Paul who rewrote the bible, leaving roughly 60 of the orginal 140 books of the bible, who formed Catholicism when Constantinople became powerful. Constantino originally used the Christian religion to improve the morale and fighting capacity of his soldiers to give them something to fight for, and Catholicism rose from there.

There are several different scrolls found the dead see scrolls being the most famous.
One of the interesting in my opinion are the once found a decade ago in Egypt I think.
The interesting part there is that there are 5 gospels instead of the four found in the new testament.
The four we know of are pretty much the same as in the bible the extra one was written by someone named thomas. It is quite different in the sence that it portraits Jesus more like a boudist monk then as the son of god.
Which is quite interesting because there are plenty of theories about him studying in Nepal.
This is however highly controversial and the church offcourse denies this all and calls it blasphemy.
I have yet to find a transcript of these scrolls. But then again I think allot of people have allot to loose if these are readily available.
It would certainly give the bible a whole new meaning.
But then again the Japanese emperors reaction to the explanation of Christianity (in the 1500) was that it sounded to him like a weak spinoff of boudism.
I will look in to the links submitted here :)
Cheers

There were actually several gospels, and as mentioned before, there was a council selected that decided which ones would actually go into the bible itself.

Woah, a little misinformation here.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were not from the Library of Alexandria. They're believed to be the writings of an ascetic sect of Jews called the Essenes. The reason the quotes above look so odd is that the scrolls are very old, many have fallen apart or are illegible despite a surprising degree of preservation. The scrolls include copies of Old Testament books and apocrypha (among other writings that and, I believe, rituals that give a glimpse into the lives of the Essenes).

The Old Testament books are interesting because they let biblical scholars examine the translations and compare them to translations commonly used today. IIRC, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls has a significantly different rendering of Jeremiah than the bible, and there are less severe differences in translation throughout the scrolls.

Also included are some apocrypha, books that are, in some cases, historical to the period, but not included in the OT or NT canons for one reason or another. The most debated of these throughout history is Enoch (a very interesting read btw), which is quoted by Jude (vv 14-15) but not accepted as canonical, which then throws the authenticity of Jude into question (but this contradiction was routinely glossed over back in the day).

The Council of Nicaea established the Nicene Creed, basically a set of established doctrines of Christian faith to help combat the "heresy" of Arianism.

The development of the canon is a tricky affair (and the following is a very abbreviated look at it), though the Council of Laodicea (363 AD) did note as authoritative the books held in the current Catholic canon, minus Revelation. A few years later, Athanasius, the powerful Bishop of Alexandria, made an official decree, adding Revelations to the canon. This was the decision of one very powerful man but still wasn't accepted by all, particularly those not fond of Revelation. In 692 the Trullan synod convened by Justinian declared both Athanasius and the Council of Laodicea to be official despite the contradiction between them (i.e., Revelation as canonical). Worse, this synod (composed of Eastern bishops) also added 1st and 2nd Clement and several other books not named before the public "because of the mysteries contained in them." The quote implies that, much like the "mystery cults" popular in the centuries on either side of Jesus' life, there were authoritative doctrines and sayings never given to the written word.

Anyway, it wasn't until the Council of Florence in 1443 that a pope rendered any decision on canonicity, and by then it only applied to the Western church. The running theme until then was to accept as canonical the most popular works and reject those that were lesser known or which raised disputes among authorities -- tradition settled the canon more than scholarship.

There were more than 5 gospels actually, including a Gospel of Mary, Gospel to the Hebrews and such that were never accepted as canonical, though it may simply be that they didn't get off to as good a start as the accepted four. Those four were chosen by Tatian, a Syrian convert to Christianity by Justin Martyr who made his selection around 160 CE. The four he selected (doubtless following the ideology of his mentor) proved popular enough to gain widespread use. It is at this point that organized clergy begin taking action against the unorthodox and heretical, as they defined it.

Why four gospels when more are out there? One authority, Irenaeus, gave his reasons:

It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are, since there are four directions of the world in which we are, and four principal winds...the four living creatures [of Revelation 4.9] symbolize the four Gospels...and there were four principal covenants made with humanity, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ. (Against All Heresies 3.11.8; cf. M 263)

Sound reasoning, eh? =) For loads of information on the other early writing I recommend The Gnostic Gospels by Dr. Elaine Pagels.

Jamman, you're thinking of Akhenaton, a pharoah who chose one god to replace the Egyptian pantheon. There's a lot of theorizing about this (probably even more on A&E and The Learning Channel) but no certainty regarding Akhenaton's relationship to the Jews. There wasn't so much a rebellion; once the pharoah died his name was stricken from record and the old pantheon returned.

Paul's contribution to the bible is nothing compared to his contributions to doctrine (which surpass Jesus', really), but he didn't rewrite it. He wrote letters to a number of churches, answering questions and encouraging devotion. Because his epistles predate the gospels, they are an important source of information on the early church.

BTW, the names given to the gospels (Thomas, Mark, etc) are more matters of tradition than scholarly attributions of authorship.

Now that I've put you all to sleep...

Yeah, you're talking about "the fifth gospel", sometimes referred to as the Gospel of St. Thomas. Maybe you or someone you know has watched that movie lately, DAMMIT can't remember the name.

Anyway, as with most things you hear, the truth is a little different. When you actually read the parts that you can find on the internet, the "fifth gospel" doesn't seem nearly as controversial as it is talked up to be.

Obligitory Cecil Adams:Years ago the media had a big hype about the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls. Since then, nothing. Were the scrolls translated? What, if anything, was discovered? Or is this another dry hole like the shroud of Turin? --A. Barnes, Towson, Maryland

Of course not, you loser. The key difference is that the shroud of Turin was a fraud, while the Dead Sea scrolls were legit. The more complete scrolls were translated within a short time after discovery and shed a good deal of light on the origins of Christianity and pre-Christian Jewish life. There were also many fragments, work on which proceeded at a pace some scholars found exasperatingly slow. But more on that in a mo.

The first scrolls were discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea in 1947 and many more were found later. Most experts believe the initial find, at Qumran, was the library of a monastery opf Essenes, an ascetic Jewish sect, that was hidden shortly before the Romans swept through and destroyed everything in 68 A.D. The scrolls contain copies of major chunks of the Old Testament (although nothing of the New) that predate previous manuscripts by a thousand years. There are also quasi-biblical texts and religious works, an Essene rule book, and so on.

Considered individually, most of the scrolls are of limited interest to nonspecialists except perhaps for a copper scroll listing the locations of Jewish treasures presumably hidden from the Romans. (The directions are so cryptic and the sites have been so altered, however, that so far as I know no treasure has been recovered, if in fact it even exists.) Collectively, however, the scrolls suggest Jesus' ideas weren't entirely original but rather were partly rooted in the beliefs of the Essenes--a shocking notion at one time but less so now.

The big news in recent times has been unhappiness over the slow pace of scroll research. Access to the scrolls for many years was limited to a small committee of scholars. As the years rolled on and little research was published, other scholars began complaining and demanded that the rest of the world be allowed to have a crack. The editorial committee resisted, but in 1991 an ingenious crew of outsiders announced they had used a computer to piece together one document from a previously published concordance. A short time later a California library announced it would allow unrestricted access to its complete set of photographs of the scrolls, and researchwise it's been pretty much open season since.

--CECIL ADAMSAlso, a fantastic Staff report on Who Wrote the Bible can be found linked HERE (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbible1.html). You can find mention of the Dead Sea Scrolls in several chapters of this GREAT report - for those of you who want to know who wrote the bible, but whom reading a couple thousand pages of information is too much.

Where was I.. ..Dead Sea Scrolls (all quotes vastly out of context, read the entire 5-article series):The oldest existing parchments, the Dead Sea scrolls, date from around 100 BC.We don't know much about how the debate over canonization progressed. The Dead Sea Scrolls, for instance, dated from 100 BC to 70 AD, include all the books of the Hebrew Bible except Esther. Is that coincidence? Does that mean that the Qumran sect rejected the book of Esther? We will probably never know, but it's interesting that all other Biblical books (plus some others) were stored in the caves, long before Jamnia.I'm not a religious man myself, but I did find this series of Straight Dope Staff Reports *very* facinating reading.

Hope that gets you junior bible scholars cookin'.

Heh, I expected Palimax to post hte movie name.

I looked it up - it's Stigmata.

I like any movie that ties into actual real religious things like this. Stigmata, The Exorcist, even pieces of the Indiana Jones flicks.

dont leave out arnald in "end of days"

Religion = Money Making Scheme! OMG!

Heh, I expected Palimax to post hte movie name.I missed it in the thread, or I might have.

At first glance, I would have thought of The Ninth Gate (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0142688) with Johnny Depp, but that's just a "get the spooky book" story.

Come to think of it, I actually liked that movie. From what I've just read on the subject, I'll have to add the DVD to my collection to listen to the Polanski (yeah yeah, pedophile) comments about "the girl" and the ending.

[/end hijack]

I liked the movie, and it inspired me to read up on the subject a bit, but (personal view) I don't think it's a movie worth buying.

Thanks for setting my memory straight Thormir, it's been a while since i've studied much Theology.

However i have to disagree that there was no rebellion in Egypt, as even the bible refers to the freeing of the Jews from Egypt. The Essenes may have been that group.

Esther is the only book in the Bible not to mention "God," which may have something to do with its exclusion.

Jamman, the question is whether the exodus actually took place, a question under some debate. In any case, if it's historically accurate it took place during the reign of Ramses II, not Akhenaton (though I don't recall where those two stand in terms of chronology).

The Essenes came along much, much later. Like, a millennium+.

I had the impression that the Essenes grew out of Egypt from the Exodus. A group that threatened Egypt and as so were forced to leave. I am talking out of my impressions from what i read once upon a time, and what i seem to have managed to remember broken into little bits which i've tried to piece back together. The Exodus took place after Akhenaton. My impression is that Moses led the first ancestors of the Essenes out of Egypt, and that Moses was a descendant and strong believer in his ancestor who was Akhenaton - Therefore taking the title 'Son of' and 'Shepherd'.

Whether this has much historical value, it probably does not. But this is close to an interpretation i read a long time ago. It was to do with links between Christianity and Paganism.

I'm sure i also read somewhere else that the Edomites and the first Essenes may have been religious rivals, but we refer to what may have been the Essenes as Israelites. /shrug I can't remember, guess i'll go do some research so i know what i'm talking about.

Well, Moses led the first ancestors of the Essenes out of Egypt (as the story goes), but in the same way he led the first ancestors of all Jews. The whole of Judea was never a threat to Egypt even during the reign of King David (for whom no evidence exists outside the bible).

Because all we really have to tell us of the exodus is the bible, it sounds like you read someone's possible scenario. Really, we don't know what happened, or even if the exodus happened at all. Made for a great Charlton Heston flick though. =)

Want an interesting story revolving around the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Tree of Life watch Neon Genesis Evangelion

http://www.bowler-meatmallet.org/Signatures/Treeoflife.jpg

Dead Sea Scrolls in NGE are really just a set piece, a background source of prophecy that isn't explored to any degree. You could replace "Dead Sea Scrolls" with "Martha Stewart Cookbook" and it wouldn't change the story at all.

But you should still check out NGE if you haven't.

whats the name of the anime that has nowahs ark in it, its not to old

ohh yea Spriggan, that was a sweet movie

If only the Vatican would open up it's vaults, I think you'd see a resurgance in the Catholic faith. There are items in there that date way back to the old testament. Heaven forbid that they should actually stimulate any interest......

I wanna see the Vatican vaults dammit!!!!

/em mumbles, grumbles

Bloody Swiss Guards....

Makes you wonder what they're hiding, eh Binuvan?

I'd rather see the documents, relics and rituals of the old world that were destroyed by early Christians, however. The wealth of information lost over those early centuries is staggering.

Dead Sea Scrolls in NGE are really just a set piece, a background source of prophecy that isn't explored to any degree. You could replace "Dead Sea Scrolls" with "Martha Stewart Cookbook" and it wouldn't change the story at all.

Thats relatively true but it was a shameless plug for EVA
http://www.bowler-meatmallet.org/Signatures/Misatomoon.jpg