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Dead Sea Scrolls

A view of the Qumran archaeological site from a recently excavated Dead Sea Scroll cave above, January 22, 2019. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)
July 15, 2026, 5:56 am
Power of 7: Could an ancient political feud explain Qumran sect’s faulty 364-day calendar?
New theory offers a solution to one of the Dead Sea Scrolls’ longest-running puzzles, arguing the out-of-sync calendar was used for ideological reasons — until it felt safe to abandon it
By Zev Stub
Japanese biblical Hebrew scholar Takamitsu Muraoka in Jerusalem on December 30, 2008. (Courtesy of Matthew Morgenstern)
February 16, 2026, 5:51 pm
Takamitsu Muraoka, Japanese pioneer of Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew studies, dies at 88
A prominent specialist in Semitic languages, Muraoka was proud to describe himself as the first Japanese student to complete a PhD at the Hebrew University
By Rossella Tercatin
The Great Isaiah Scroll, the oldest near-complete book of the Hebrew Bible, dating back to approximately 2,200 years ago. (Giorgio Skory/Qumran Caves Publication Project)
January 3, 2026, 8:17 am
The oldest complete biblical scroll ever found was originally split in 2, scholar finds
Study comes as ‘Great Isaiah,’ a 24-foot-long text parchment found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, set to be displayed by the Israel Museum in full for the first time since 1968
By Rossella Tercatin
Imaging technician and camera operator Shay Halevy shows on screen fragments of a newly discovered script found by Israel Antiquities Authority researcher, Oren Abelman in "Cave 11" near Qumran, at the IAA department in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, on May 2, 2018 using multispectral imaging. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
September 13, 2025, 1:00 pm
Computers taught to read Dead Sea Scrolls in hunt for clues hidden from human eyes
By combining multispectral imaging with computer vision methods, Tel Aviv University researchers give scholars new tools to read, match, and study the 2,000-year-old artifacts
By Rossella Tercatin
Dr. Asaf Gayer from the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Ariel University, examines a cave near the Ein Gedi National Park in the Dead Sea region, featuring an ancient Aramaic inscription, possibly dated to the Bar Kochba Revolt, that was first revealed to the public in August 2025. (Asaf Gayer)
August 7, 2025, 10:31 am
‘Abba of Naburya has perished’: Unique 1,900-year-old inscription found in Dead Sea cave
Four-line Aramaic text, one of the few legible inscriptions from the era, may be tied to the Bar Kochba Revolt. The words were spotted only inches away from hidden Roman swords
By Rossella Tercatin
Shas party leader Aryeh Deri and spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef visit the scene of suspected arson and vandalism at a Jerusalem synagogue on June 8, 2025. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 9, 2025, 3:12 pm
Daily Briefing June 9: Day 612 – Will Shas bring down the coalition?
Political correspondent Sam Sokol on Haredi parties’ bids for draft exemptions threatening the government; archaeology reporter Rossella Tercatin on new studies on the Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls
By Jessica Steinberg, Sam Sokol and Rossella Tercatin
Isaiah Scroll from the IAA's Dead Sea Scrolls collection. (Shai Halevi, Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
June 6, 2025, 4:45 pm
New study revolutionizes Dead Sea Scrolls dating, might rewrite Israel’s history
Trailblazing interdisciplinary system, combining AI and radiocarbon dating, indicates the precious artifacts may have been written decades – or even centuries – earlier than previously believed
By Rossella Tercatin
Tefillin from around 2,000 years ago in the laboratories of the Israel Antiquities Authority. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
June 14, 2024, 10:24 am
Study: Ancient phylacteries’ natural leather color illustrates evolution of Jewish law
Analysis of 2,000-year-old tefillin found in Judean Desert caves shows no dye was used in their construction; deep black is mandated by contemporary Jewish Law
By Gavriel Fiske
A section of the Herculaneum Scrolls that was successfully read by the Vesuvius Challenge contestants. (Vesuvius Challenge)
February 16, 2024, 4:17 pm
In breakthrough, parts of Herculaneum scroll, buried by Vesuvius eruption, deciphered
Three students crack previously unreadable ancient philosophical text with machine learning software developed to read damaged Dead Sea Scrolls
By Ariella Oldfield
Section of the Pesher Habakkuk scroll, as displayed in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. (Wikipedia Commons)
September 24, 2023, 11:41 am
First recorded evidence of Yom Kippur depicts day of affliction as sectarian struggle
Prof. Yonatan Adler, author of ‘The Origins of Judaism,’ cites dramatic passage from the Dead Sea Scrolls that shows Hasmonean-era jostling for religious authority
By Gavriel Fiske
Archaeologists carefully remove the swords from the entrance of the cave where they were discovered in the Judean desert. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
September 7, 2023, 2:10 am
Crack unit of rock-climbing archaeologists claims success in curbing antiquities theft
Six years into wide-scale Judean Desert cave survey operation, few Dead Sea Scrolls fragments are found. But the Land of Israel’s historical picture is ever more in focus, says IAA
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, is shown the Codex Valmadonna I book by, from left, President of Board of Deputies of British Jews Vivian Wineman, Chairman of Ostro Minerals Schweiz AG Maurice Ostro and UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at a reception to mark the Diamond Jubilee in London, on February 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool)
From the WebSeptember 11, 2022, 2:19 pm
Week’s best: Queen’s complex bond with Jews and King Charles III’s ties to Israel
PLUS: Who is new UK PM Liz Truss? * Horovitz op-ed on deadly crime in the Arab community * First Temple-era ‘Dead Sea Scroll’? * Podcast: Jewy-American author Elyssa Friedland
The Damascus Document Scroll, found in Cave 4 at Qumran (Library of Congress / Wikipedia)
September 28, 2021, 11:23 pm
Ancient text said to solve mystery of why Dead Sea Scrolls were placed in Qumran
Israeli researchers believe 1,000-year-old document from Cairo Geniza shows site hosted an annual event where Essene sect gathered, bringing religious scriptures they left behind
By ToI Staff
The Dead Sea scrolls at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, November 5, 2018. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
April 22, 2021, 9:54 pm
Doing what no human eye can, AI reveals secrets of Dead Sea Scroll’s creation
Computers analyzing tiny details of famous Isaiah Scroll spot different styles indicating 2 scribes, and opening new avenues into understanding origins of ancient documents
By Stuart Winer
Sieving finds at the entrance to Muraba‘at Cave. (Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority)
March 16, 2021, 5:26 pm
Dead Sea scroll discovery brings tantalizing prospect of more yet to be found
With another 20 promising caves to be excavated — and 25% more of the Judean Desert still to be surveyed — stunning finds in Cave of Horror unlikely to be the last
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
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