The Dead Sea Scrolls: Ancient Texts and the Roots of Christian Scripture
How the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls reshaped understanding of the biblical world from which Christianity emerged.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most important archaeological discoveries of the modern era, becoming notable in Christian history because they illuminate the religious, textual, and cultural world in which Christianity first arose. These ancient manuscripts, dating from roughly the third century BC to the first century AD, provide direct evidence of how Jewish scripture was preserved, copied, and interpreted in the centuries immediately preceding and overlapping the beginnings of Christianity. Their historical significance lies in how they deepen understanding of the biblical texts Christians inherited and the religious environment that shaped the earliest Christian movement.
