Reader's Review: An Absolute Must Read!!,

By Kathy Adams

If you're a conspiracy theory nut like I am, this book is not one to skip. Ever since The Da Vinci's Code, no other book I read has ever come close to make me feel like I'm part of the story and making the "what ifs" playing in my mind. The Eight Scroll really captures that very essence.

Intense, thrilling, blended with a dash of humor, The Eight Scroll provokes you to think and imagine, painting a world of adventure in contemporary reality.

Remember this name, Dr. Lawrence Brown! A very talented writer and a name I now see sitting right beside well-known authors such as Tom Clancy or Dan Brown.

I bought The Returned, Brown's next book half-way reading through The Eight Scroll, knowing if it is even half as good, my money is still well spent.

THE LEVITICUS DEAD SEA SCROLL

MS in Hebrew on light brown leather, Qumran, 30 BC-68 AD, part of a scroll, 9,0x21,2 cm, column I: (5,0x7,2 cm), 9 lines; column II: (5,0x6,5 cm), 8 lines, in a good Herodian Hebrew book script, upper edge preserved 3,8 cm, intercolumn spaces 2,2 - 2,3 - 2,3 cm, blindruled with 4 verticals and 9 horizontals.

Commentary: This is a unique, new scroll, not belonging to any other Leviticus scrolls. Leviticus 26:3 - 9 is the earliest witness to this part of the Hebrew Bible, only preceded by the Septuagint 4QLXXLeva (DJD IX:119), dated to 1st c. BC. Leviticus 26:33 is the 2nd oldest witness to the text, only preceded by 4QLev-Numa (DJD XII:23), dated to middle or 2nd half of 2nd c. BC (Early Hasmonaean). Leviticus 26:34 - 37 is the earliest witness to the text.

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THE JOSHUA DEAD SEA SCROLL

There are only 2 other fragmentary Dead Sea Scrolls of Joshua in Jerusalem: Rockefeller Museum, with parts of the chapters 2, 3, 6-8, 10 and 17, making the present MS the earliest witness to this part of the Bible. With MS 2861 the oldest biblical MS in private ownership. 

MS in Hebrew on brown leather, Qumran, late 1st c. BC - early 1st AD, beginning of a scroll, 9,7x17,0 cm remaining, column 1: (5,7x8 cm), 9 lines, column 2: 3 lines, in a fine small Herodian Hebrew book script, + an uninscribed fragment 1,8x1,3 cm.

Context: The original scroll was appr. 5,25 m long, ca. 16,5 cm high, with ca. 55 columns, each ca. 11x8 cm with 16 lines and 1,5 cm between columns, lower edge 4 cm and upper edge ca. 1,5 cm.

 

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Newly revealed Coptic fragment has Jesus making reference to 'my wife'

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

(CNN) - A newly revealed, centuries-old papyrus fragment suggests that some early Christians might have believed Jesus was married. The fragment, written in Coptic, a language used by Egyptian Christians, says in part, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife ..."

Harvard Divinity School Professor Karen King announced the findings of the 1 1/2- by 3-inch honey-colored fragment on Tuesday in Rome at the International Association for Coptic Studies.

King has been quick to add this discovered text "does not, however, provide evidence that the historical Jesus was married," she wrote in a draft of her analysis of the fragment set to appear in the January edition of Harvard Theological Review. The divinity school has posted a draft of King's article to which AnneMarie Luijendijk, an associate professor of religion at Princeton University, contributed.

"This fragment, this new piece of papyrus evidence, does not prove that (Jesus) was married, nor does it prove that he was not married. The earliest reliable historical tradition is completely silent on that. So we're in the same position we were before it was found. We don't know if he was married or not," King said in a conference call with reporters.

"What I'm really quick to say is to cut off people who would say this is proof that Jesus was married because historically speaking, it's much too late to constitute historical evidence," she continued. "I'm not saying he was, I'm not saying he wasn't. I'm saying this doesn't help us with that question," she continued.

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The only surviving stylus or pen from Qumran.

QUMRAN STYLUS WITH NATURAL INK GROOVE 

Stylus of palm leaf with natural ink groove, with dried ink remaining on the tip. 

Context:  The Temple Scroll, with the 12 fragments, the scroll's linen wrapper, and a palm leaf pen, were found together in a large jar with lid (still in Kando's shop in Jerusalem), in Cave 11 in 1956. The Temple Scroll is now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum. 


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Bronze inkwell, Khirbet Qumran, before 68 AD

Bronze inkwell, Khirbet Qumran, before 68 AD, with 2 basket type handles turning opposite direction on the concave top, round corpus, h. 8 cm, diam. 8 cm, with pedestal base, decoration of parallel incised lines around rim and around ink hole. Green patina.

Context: Found 1950 on the Khirbet Qumran site prior to the official excavations, together with a bronze miniature incense altar with 4 protruding horns at the corners, other inkwells in bronze and clay were found during the excavations at Khirbet Qumran in 1951, 1953 and 1966-67. There exist only 2 more inkwells of the elaborate type of the present item.

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Writing From the Isaiah Scroll

 

A few lines (in Hebrew square writing) from one of the two scrolls of Isaiah found in the cave of the scrolls of Qumram, north-west of the Dead Sea.

Israel Museum(IDAM), Jerusalem, Israel

Copy of the Copper Scroll Found in Cave IV in Qumran

Copy of the copper scroll found in Cave IV in Qumran. This is the only Qumran text engraved on metal.The text in Aramaic tells about a hidden treasure of silver and gold weighing about 120-160 tons and lists over 60 hiding places,most of them in Jerusalem and Jericho.

Archaeological Museum, Amman, Jordan,kingdom

Newly Discovered Qumran Photographs from the 1950s

 Tea break.

 

This photo belongs to The Palestine Exploration Fund

(L. Boer, 25 March 1954)  From right to left: Roland de Vaux; Józef Tadeusz Milik; Ernest-Marie Laperrousaz (?); a student possibly named L. Sirand, unknown (also portrayed on photos 22 and 48) and Leo Boer;

Qumran: Inside the settlement:

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The location of the major points of interest are pointed out on a small scale version of the plan of the settlement. The order is mostly clockwise, starting from the north - where the entrance is located. 

Site #4: 

Tower A small square tower is located on the north side of the settlement, near the entrance from the visitors center. The diagram on the right shows the location of the tower as a red square. A view of the tower from the west side is shown in the picture below. Behind the tower is the north side of the Dead sea. Beyond the great salt lake is the mountains of Jordan

The Qumran archaeological site.

Reader's Review: A fascinating and fun read for those who love religious thrillers

By Midwest Book Review 

Truth is something that is battled for everyday. "The Eighth Scroll" tells the story of archeologist Frank Tones and his pursuit of the lost scroll of the famed Dead Sea Scrolls. But when bodies begin to turn up and people are silenced, the good of history seems to be no match for corruption and lust for power. "The Eighth Scroll" is a fascinating and fun read for those who love religious thrillers. 

Qumran: Plan of the settlement

The plan of the reconstructed Qumran is shown in the following diagram, showing the design of the rooms and structures (in grey and black), and the water supply system (in blue). The major points of interest are numbered and their description appears on the legend at the right.

 

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Reader's Review: Wonderful insightful novel with characters you can care about

By 

TicToc

... I would recommend this book for the suspense and thriller fan, it is full of action and verve, but it is also peppered with religious and historical facts as well. You will be drawn deep into the Middle East religious communities, and brush shoulders with the Mossad and the CIA. The characters are audacious and charismatic, drawing you into the story. This would be a marvelous book for a reading group. It is fast paced and hard to put down, a must have for your library.