Hi there! We've been inundated with rains and floods and typhoons the last couple of weeks, so I thought of writing a travel article to cheer us up.
This is still from my 2008 trip in Israel, another trip to treasure for the rest of my life. It is very significant because this country is very historical, and it is also the country where we trace the roots of Christianity.
In this post, I will be sharing where the scrolls of the books of the bible were found, and yes, you guessed it right, it was in the Qumran Caves.
Ever wondered how we have the bible as we have it today? In the days of the bible, there were people who were called scribes, who were actually record-keepers, because at that time printing was not yet invented. So the scribes' duty was to keep records by copying manuscripts to keep records of history and important events.
They copied documents in scrolls, which were rolls of parchments or papyrus. Scrolls were the very first form of editable writing before printing was invented.
During the time of the bible, there were two major religious sects: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. There was also another sect, although we do not find it in the bible, and they were the Essenes. Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote about their existence. It was this group who lived in the caves of Qumran and made copies of the Old Testament books of the bible and other books as well.
Qumran caves is a series of caves, not just one, because a whole community lived in this area. Qumran Caves is found in the Judean Desert, near Masada and the Dead Sea, that's why I also included some pictures from Masada and the Dead Sea in this article, even though I have already shared some pictures in my recent articles from my trip in 2010.
The picture above is called Cave 4, from which they found the most number of scrolls. There were more than 15,000 fragments from over 200 books were found in this cave alone. Now, how were the scrolls discovered?
They were discovered accidentally, but I say providentially, because they were found in the year 1947, one year before the nation of Israel was to be voted to become a nation (again) by the United Nations in 1948. So what happened was that some sheep of a Bedouin shepherd went astray, and he followed it into the caves and came upon the troves of manuscripts. So then I believe that God caused that sheep to go into the caves so that the scrolls would be discovered, and they have been there for thousands of years!
You ask, how did the scrolls survive? And why were there so many fragments found? To answer the first question, this place is a desert place, very dry, so it was a very good place to store parchments, no worries about them growing molds or something. They were stored in earthen jars as well. For the second question, since they used quills to write in those days, whenever they made a mistake, there was no way to erase it, so they had to start over again, hence the number of fragments.
You see in the picture above that it is indeed very dry. Their source of water came from the sudden flash floods, and they dug cisterns, coated with tar, to store water for the times when there is no rain. The Essenes lived an ascetic life, and they practiced communal living.
This is an example of a scroll, and there were also scrolls made from animal skins. This scroll was on display at the museum at the area. Again, the Essenes, and all other scribes were very meticulous in their copying of manuscripts, every little tittle, every little comma or dot had to be copied, and one little mistake would cause them to start over again. If not for their meticulousness, who knows if we would have the bible as we have it today?
This is a mikveh, a Jewish purification bath. This is also found in the area. What they would do is channel the floodwaters into this cistern, and they would dip themselves into the body of water to purify themselves. If for example, they have already dipped themselves several times and the water is already very dirty, how do they make it 'pure' again? By adding just a drop of clean water, since water in this area is very scarce, that drop of clean water will make the water 'pure' again.
We also saw their ingenuity as they built canals, all coated with tar for 'waterproofing', so that flood waters will be stored in the cisterns. Sudden rains will cause flashfloods, and these were their only source of water as the place is situated in a hilly area, and the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea.
As the flood waters would flow, they would flow through the canals or waterways they built and would flow directly into one of the cisterns they built like the one we see in the picture. Isn't it amazing that we see the remnants of those structures up to this day? A testament to their engineering and building prowess, if I may call it that.
I can also say that the government of Israel did a very good job in preserving these sites so that people like us can go and see them ourselves. Can you imagine living in an area with harsh conditions?
It was not just scrolls and fragments they found but also different kinds of potteries and jars, proof that the community indeed lived there for a long time. These are also on display at the museum there. Sadly, a lot of the scrolls were looted and sold at the black market.
If you look at this picture closely, you see that the steps are somewhat smooth. That's the coating they added to make the structure waterproof, so that the cistern will store the water and not absorb it like soil normally would. Genius!
This is just one of the 'regulations' or things that the group followed. I could not get a better picture because there were other people around.
There was absolutely no vegetation that I saw in the area, no trees, no grass, nothing. Although it could be different in the rainy season when wildflowers may grow for a short time. But they would not survive for long. It is just too hot.
Aqueduct is what the waterways or canals they built are called. And these waterways were also coated with tar so that the maximum amount of water will be stored and not absorbed on the way.
This picture was taken at the side of the museum, if I am not mistaken. To show where this place was. As if I would forget, ha ha ha!
The following pictures are now of Masada and I am just adding some of them here, although not with much description as I already wrote an article about it in a previous post.
An aerial view of the structures, this one I got online just so we could get a whole view of the whole place and see how it extensive it was. Just imagine how the complex looked when it was all functional.
The parking lot of the Masada Park as seen from up top. You can see the Dead Sea in the distance.
Now I am taking you to the Dead Sea, which is also in the area. I will juts be sharing some pictures as well, since I also wrote an article about this already.
It was so much fun floating! If you don't know how to swim, you'd be able to float without difficulty there. The man at the back is a friend who does not know how to swim, and he floated quite far, and i had to go and 'rescue' him to take him back to the shore, his wife taking a video of it while happening, ha ha. It sure was a lot of fun!
And not to forget the mud sessions that we had- slathering the therapeutic mud all over our bodies. After we washed it off? Our skin was smooth and silky like a baby's! I kid you not. So many beauty products and cosmetics are made from the minerals mined from the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, and indeed it is something I can tick off my bucket list of places to visit in my lifetime.
Everyone was having fun floating in the water or slathering mud on their bodies. Whichever it was we were doing, it was all worthwhile, ha ha.
Even if it meant looking like zombies for a little while, we all wanted to have silky skin afterwards.
Before all the mud and the floating and swimming happened, we had to take a picture. I had to. Because I didn't know when I would ever go there again.
I was fortunate to have been able to go there again two years after, and now I am not sure when the next time is going to be. Soon, I hope.
Some of the gang in all our muddy glory. Well, I have to end this again. I will be sharing more pictures of this trip, places that we went to visit and all. Lehit raot for now as they say in Hebrew.
For more travel articles, you can go to this page.
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