In my mental list of evidences for Christianity, there are few things more powerful than the book of
Isaiah.

In my mental list of evidences for Christianity, there are few things more powerful than the book of
Isaiah. I vividly remember discovering its messianic prophecies as a sophomore while flipping through a
Bible in my dorm room: “…by his wounds we are healed…it was the Lord’s will to crush him…he bore
the sin of many…” I had wanted to believe, but faith alone was too much for me to swallow. Now with
this, the scientist in me had found some hard evidence for God. It seemed incontrovertible – Isaiah was
written 700 years before Christ – that God had planned all along for us to be saved by Jesus.

I soon found out that my hall mates did not feel the same way! Late night conversations turned up objections: “They just wrote the prophecies
after Jesus died and made them fit his life…the Bible has been copied so many times, the text probably looks nothing like the original
version…modern day Judaism doesn’t view Isaiah as a messianic prophecy.” Unable to respond, I felt confused and discouraged.

I soon found out that my hall mates did not feel the same way! Late night conversations turned up objections:
“They just wrote the prophecies after Jesus died and made them fit his life…the Bible has been copied so many
times, the text probably looks nothing like the original version…modern day Judaism doesn’t view Isaiah as a
messianic prophecy.” Unable to respond, I felt confused and discouraged.

Later, I learned about the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were discovered in a series of caves near Jerusalem and
contained copies of many religious writings, including the book of Isaiah. Amazingly, many of the scrolls were
dated to around the year zero, and their text of Isaiah matched nearly word for word with the scriptures used to
produce modern Bibles. So Isaiah was not written after Jesus died, and the text of the Bible had not drifted over
the centuries. Moreover, much evidence suggested that the community that produced these scrolls was expectantly
waiting for a messiah, and it is likely that they, like other first century Jewish communities, considered
Isaiah as a central messianic prophecy. After learning this, I reread the Bible with renewed interest.

Given the deep influence the Dead Sea Scrolls have had on my life, I leapt at the chance to view them while on a
recent business visit to San Diego. A selection of about 10 scrolls (out of hundreds) is on display at the Natural History Museum in Balboa
Park from June 29 to December 31, 2007. Admission for non-members is $28, but I felt that this was well worth the price. In what follows, I
will review the features of this excellent exhibit that I experienced.

One of the most thoughtful aspects of the exhibit is that it provides ample historical, archeological and social context for the audience before
showing them the scrolls. The opening sections of the exhibit are composed of large pictures of the landscape from around the area of Qumran
where the scrolls were discovered. There we learn that the climate and terrain near Jerusalem is actually quite similar to that found near
San Diego. A video of a map centered on Jerusalem uses waves of different colors to show the different empires, from Egyptian to Roman,
which swept through the area over the span of 1500 years. We realize that strong religious convictions could have provided these people with
a sense of stability in uncertain times.

The next sections describe how the scrolls were first uncovered by shepherds and sold piecemeal to antiquities dealers. Large black and white
photographs from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s give us a feeling for the time of their discovery. A tent is set up with archeological tools
and a soundtrack of desert winds plays in the background to simulate the experience of excavating the community at Qumran. Hundreds of
tiny scroll fragments spread out on a table give us a sense of the monumental work required to piece them together. Another display shows
how letters in the Hebrew alphabet were gradually written differently over time. We can move a template of letters from a scroll backward
and forward until they match a set of letters from a known period. This allows us to clearly see how lexicographers were able to accurately
date the scrolls.

As the exhibit winds around to new sections, we are told about the group of people who were thought to have transcribed the scrolls. Pictures
of large cisterns for ritual cleansing are displayed with sounds of pouring water in the background. A reconstruction shows the long scriptorium
room and benches where it is thought that the scribes copied the scrolls. A room full of pottery marks what was probably their communal
dining area. Overall, we get the impression that these ascetic people were deeply committed to pursuing holiness, and that they brought
this conviction to their work on the scrolls.

Experiencing this entire context builds suspense for viewing the scrolls, displayed in the final section. They are surprisingly small and fragmented.
Kept in climate controlled cases and shown under soft light, we have to lean forward and squint to make out the tiny letters used by
the scribes. Despite the strain, the result is breathtaking. Here are jots of ink made on sheepskin over two thousand years ago by a people earnestly
seeking God. In one of the scrolls, we see that four dots, rather than the Hebrew letters for YHWH, are used out of reverence for God.
Even the personalities of the scribes seem to speak to us from across the ages: in one scroll the letters are rigid and straight, while in another
they are fluid and expressive. Fragments of the Psalms, Leviticus, and a commentary on the Ten Commandments are shown alongside their
English translations. Although there is a crowd to view them all, we only hear hushed voices, and the atmosphere is like that in a church during
prayer. Most unusual of the set is the “copper scroll,” a short cylinder that contains faulty instructions on where to find treasure. Scholars
are puzzled as to why this would be included with the others. Was it intended to distract possible looters away from the real treasures, the
scriptures?

Before I left, I leaned forward and closely examined a fragment of Isaiah,
with commentary. I wondered how the scribe must have felt about it when
he was writing it down. Could he have ever imagined that I would come,
thousands of years later, to be deeply moved by his work?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a profound expression of our desire to be close to
God. Should they still exist another two thousand years from now, they will
probably still draw a crowd. I highly recommend this informative and beautiful
exhibit.

Contact Information jmbeggs@indiana.edu http://www.sdnhm.org/scrolls/index.html