In 1947, while looking for a lost goat, young Bedouins found some ancient scrolls in the caves of Qumran, in the Judean desert. Unknown to those young shepherds, they had found the oldest known surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures. One thousand years older than the next closest existing Scripture, the Qumran scrolls were a staggering find. But what were they doing hidden in desolate caves near the Dead Sea?

Although scholars disagree why the scrolls were hidden, let's examine the evidence. Rabbis traditionally bury scrolls when they are old and unusable. If all the Qumran scrolls were old when they were buried, it's likely the caves were merely burial places for Scriptures sacred to the people who lived there.

Some of the scrolls are, indeed, ancient. The "Enoch" scroll was copied in Aramaic (a form of Hebrew) sometime between 200-150 BC. "Leviticus," found in 1956, was probably copied during the late 2nd/early 1st century BC. "Hosea" also dates from the late 1st century BC. Some of the thousands of additional fragments are from the 3rd century BC.

Since there is good evidence the scrolls were buried in 68 AD, or thereabouts, we could conclude the Qumran caves were merely a burial ground for old scrolls. Except for one thing. The scroll for Psalms was most likely copied sometime between 30-50 AD. It was practically new when it went into Qumran Cave 11. (Compare how different it looks from the other, older scrolls.)

What else was going on in Israel around 68 AD? Rome was crushing Jewish insurrections. Zionist rebels were sick of Roman rule. Jerusalem itself was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD. There is little doubt the Jewish scribes were trying to save their sacred texts by hiding them in the caves of Qumran. They knew full well Roman soldiers would destroy their scrolls if they were discovered. Likely believing they would someday return, the scribes of Qumran wrapped their scrolls in linen cloth, fastened them with tabs and thongs and placed them inside clay jars, that are unique to Qumran. Then they fled the conquering soldiers and never returned.

Rome was not the only power from whom native people hid their sacred treasures. Other conquerors were equally powerful. Some were more ruthless than the Romans. Other treasures, from other cultures, were burned or buried (where they remained undiscovered for thousands of years).

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