King's Business - 1952-01

earthen jars in which the scrolls had been preserved in the cave for long centuries. “ The disturbances between the Jews and Arabs over the partition of Palestine had now begun, so it was impossible for me to go again to Bethlehem to secure further bundles of the manuscripts. But several of the Arabs with whom I was negotiating came to see me. We met near the Y.M.C.A. in Jerusalem. After several weeks of negotiations I was able to secure all the manuscripts that were available from the dealer in Bethlehem. “ In January, 1948, the Assyrian Bishop who had acquired the first bundle of manuscripts sent word to me that he would like to see me to get my opinion on the value of the scrolls, for others had told him they were of no value and not of ancient date. The Bishop did not know that I already had secured part of a second manuscript of Isaiah, and I had not known that he had secured the first manuscript of the book of Isaiah. As I mentioned before, I had been in America on my academic sabbatical year when the Bishop had ac­ quired his manuscript. The Bishop sent me the manuscripts which he had, by the hands of an acquaintance of mine, a member of the Assyrian community. We met in the Y.M.C.A., which was a neutral meeting ground. “ I saw at once that the Bishop’s manuscripts and those I had secured were of the same origin. The Bishop’s manu­ scripts included the book of Isaiah and a commentary on Habakkuk. I asked the gentleman whether the Bishop would sell the manuscripts to the Hebrew University, and the answer was in the affirmative. I took the manuscripts to my home for a few days and kept them in this very room in which we are now sitting. This room, by the way, is probably the only room in the world where all the manuscripts found in the cave have been assembled together. “ You can imagine my excitement as I examined the scrolls the Bishop had sent to me. Here I had in my hands the complete text of the book of Isaiah. I spent days and nights reading it. But I had to return it to the Assyrian Bishop.^ I made my way through No Man’s Land in Jerusalem to try to make a deal with my friend who represented the Bishop. It was agreed that we should meet again in a week’s time when he would bring the Bishop and I would bring Dr. Magnes of the Hebrew University, and we would talk over the price and the purchase of the manuscripts from the Syriacs. “ You can picture my feelings as I parted with the precious scrolls. The thought flashed through my mind that perhaps I would never see them again. And it turned out that I did not see them again! When they learned that the manuscripts were of great value, friends of the Bishop took them to the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, and the Americans obtained the right to publish the manuscripts. The Syriac Bishop then decided to take the manuscripts to the United States and there they were photographed and the original manuscripts were exhibited in the Library of Con­ gress. The Bishop asked a million dollars for the manuscript of Isaiah that he had. Some American institutions were interested in buying the manuscripts but they were afraid of legal problems. So far as I know they have not been sold. “ There were two Isaiah manuscripts found in the cave. We had one and the Bishop had the other. A portion of the leather of my manuscript had decomposed and a black mass had spread over parts of the scroll, making it difficult to read the manuscripts. This black mass also made it difficult to photograph the manuscripts by the usual process. In Feb­ ruary, 1949, I took the manuscripts to New York to the Pierpont Morgan Library and had them photographed by the infra-red process. This made it possible to read the writing of the manuscripts. “ In the light of many years of study of ancient Hebrew manuscripts, I am dating these scrolls before the Maccabean period—that is, not later than the second century B.C.” We asked Professor Sukenik whether the finding of the ancient manuscripts of Isaiah disproved the contention of the higher critics that there were two Isaiahs who wrote the book at different periods. He stated that there was absolutely no evidence in the complete scroll of the book of Isaiah that it had been written by more than one author. Professor Sukenik added, “ In fact we know that as far back as the

third century B.C., the book of Isaiah contained the same chapters that we now have in our modern versions.” The manuscripts found in the cave and now in the possession of the Hebrew University include one-third of the book of Isaiah and a number of ancient Hebrew hymns, hitherto un­ known, and a manuscript which Professor Sukenik has named, “ The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Dark­ ness.” When we asked Professor Sukenik why it was that the scrolls had been hidden in a cave, he replied, “ There are evidences that those who copied the manuscripts had to leave Palestine and go to Damascus. It was a custom among the ancient Jews never to destroy or throw away books or writings that contained the name of God, but to bury them. These were likely old or disused Biblical books, so they put them in jars in the cave when they left the country.” In conclusion Professor Sukenik said, “ There were two Isaiah manuscripts found in the cave. They were both written in the pure Biblical Hebrew. They are the oldest Biblical scrolls or Bible manuscripts in the world. They are one thousand years older than any Hebrew Biblical manuscripts now extant.” Professor Sukenik told us that he was preparing a publi­ cation in Hebrew and English about the manuscripts. It will contain a full translation of the Hebrew text, not only of the book of Isaiah, but of religious hymns that were used at that period. This book will probably be obtainable later on from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. We thanked Professor Sukenik most heartily for the most interesting and inspiring information he had given us. And we went our way with hearts full of joy and gratitude to God for giving us this narrative which we feel sure will be a blessing to both Jews and Gentiles in America and other lands.

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