The Dead Sea Scrolls

Today while doing a little bit of research on the dead sea scrolls, I found an awesome website.  Now, instead of having to get a passport to examine the scrolls, all you need is a computer.  The scrolls have been made available to view online, but in a way that lets you zoom in and really take a look at them up close.  You can also click on a portion of the text and get the English translation of the passage you're looking at!  So amazing!


Here's a link to the website that lets you examine them interactively: http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/


The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be the most important archaeological find of the 20th Century.  Discovered near Qumran, these excavated scrolls contain portions of ancient manuscript evidence for the Bible.  The scrolls now give us early bible manuscripts that were written 1,000 years earlier than any Bible text we had previously.  The "Isaiah Scroll" is the single oldest ancient manuscript evidence we have, and the entire Isaiah prophecy has survived in its completeness.  This is extremely important to Christians, as well as historians.  By examining it, we are able to see how much of our Bible has been changed or has been "lost in translation" over the past few thousand years...and what we find is astounding!  It has remained the same, through all of this time.  


It is in that very book of Isaiah (40:8) where it was said "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."  How fitting that the oldest Biblical manuscript we have in existence should preserve these very words, words that have proven to be fully true.  


Here is a link to a YouTube video, that talks specifically about the website that I linked above: The Dead Sea Scrolls Online  If you don't have time to check out the website, at least take the time to watch this 2 minute video that shows you what the website is about, and what you're able to do through it.


A small glimpse at how our marvelous God is more than capable of keeping His word to us.  Hopefully this modern look at God's unfailing faithfulness will encourage your heart.

Valley of Siddim...Dead Sea and Tar Pits

I was reading in Genesis 14 when verse 10 caught my eye.  It starts out "Now the Valley of Siddim was filled with tar pits..."


I thought that I'd like to see what those tar pits look like now, or see if there was evidence of them ever existing.  Since I believe the Bible to be accurate in every aspect, I figured it would be easy to find.  And it was!


Here's what I discovered.  The Valley of Siddim is no longer an empty valley...it is now the Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea).  Not only that, but it still has it's tar pits!  Here's some of the info and photos I found.  I'm so grateful that I not only have a Bible that I accept as truth on faith, but that has proven itself as truth again and again.


The Dead Sea is a lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel to the west.  It lies over 1,000 feet below sea level, and is the Earth's lowest elevation on land.  At 1,237 ft. deep, it is the largest hypersaline lake in the world!  It has a salinity of 33.7%, and is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.  It is called the "Dead Sea" because animals cannot flourish in it's environment because of the salinity. It is 42 miles long, and 11 miles wide.



The Dead Sea's salt has been used in cosmetics and herbal sachets, and the Dead Sea has been the supplier of a wide range of products from balms used in Egyptian Mummification, to fertilizer.  It was also a site of refuge for biblical King David.

With a density of 1.24 kg/L, swimming is actually more like floating.  Every year the Dead Sea has over 1 million foreign tourists visit this natural wonder.

From deep seeps in the sea, is a constant discharge of asphalt.  Occasionally an enormous chunk will float up (like the one pictured left), but it is more common to see pieces like the one pictured below.  The sea is constantly spitting up small pebbles of the black asphalt substance and bitumen (aka pitch or tar).  Asphalt coated figurines and Neolithic skulls have even been found washed up from the sea.  Which answered my question about whether or not I could dig around in an under water pit and find remains of folks from Biblical times.  Creepy, and yet cool!

Sodom and Gomorrah...Yikes!

Many of us are familiar with the Old Testament story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out in Genesis 18 and 19.  Basically these cities were full of some pretty evil stuff, and God was going to destroy them with the exception of just a few faithful people, who He was going to allow to get out of the city before it's destruction.  In Genesis 19:24, the Bible says that the Lord rained "brimstone and fire" from heaven onto Sodom And Gomorrah.  (you can read this, and any other Bible verses online at www.youversion.com)

The cities, which have been discovered and carefully examined, are located in the plains area near the Dead Sea.  An early historian named Josephus (37-100 AD) recorded that during the time of his life these cities could still be seen...and they still remain today.  I won't go over all the mountains of evidence for the existence of the cities, and how they match up perfectly with the Biblical account...but there's lots of information and videos on the internet if you're interested in learning more.

For now, I'll share some pictures from the discovery of these toasted towns:

In the picture to the left you can see the ashen ruins of what are clearly remains of building structures.

All of the structures have been burnt through, leaving everything in a flaky, ashy state.  With a little bit of force, the layers of ash can be pushed away.  The ground surrounding these buildings is ash as well.  The ash is formed by Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Carbonate, which are by-products of burning limestone and sulfur.

The swirling effect seen in the remains in this picture, was caused by thermal ionization, electrons repelling and attracting at a temperature of around 6,000 degrees.  (God does "hot" well, eh?)


Here is also a picture of one of the pieces of brimstone they found (white center) surrounded by a burn ring. 

Another picture of the ashen structure remains.  The structure on the right is the remains of a tower.











Obviously, this is just a high level overview of the findings of Sodom and Gomorrah.  And although I do love seeing the Bible come to life in our modern world, this finding is a little bit scary.  Not just because it actually happened, but because this is what divine judgment can look like.  I'd much rather be on the "well done, my good and faithful servant" end of the judgment spectrum!

Was Joseph...Imhotep?

As I continue working my way through the Bible, I'm taking time to research some of the different people, places and events that it mentions. Growing up in a Christian home, I took for granted that the Bible is not only the Word of God, but that it's also completely true.  Now, as an adult, I have a new appreciation for the Bible and it's historic integrity.  

The first thing I decided to look into was Joseph, son of Jacob.  The story of Joseph from the Old Testament is pretty well known...although the Broadway musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" isn't as accurate as what we find in Genesis!

I stumbled across some information about Imhotep (not the creepy guy from "The Mummy", the real dude) and was surprised at how many similarities there are between him and Joseph!  Here are a few of them:

1. Both second in command under Pharaoh 

2. Both lived to be 110

3. Both stored corn during 7 years of good harvest

4. Both feed their people during 7 years of famine

5. Both known for interpreting dreams

6. Joseph was called "Zaphnath-paaneah" which meant "Over Physicians", and Imhotep was a physician

7. Both initiated a tax of 1/5

8. Both were one of twelve siblings

Wow!  That's a lot of similarities...but maybe a lot of people come from families with 12 siblings, live to be 110, and are second in command under Pharaoh...?

Now, there is a problem with this theory.  The Biblical timeframe given for Joseph's life doesn't match up with the years that Imhotep was in Egypt under Pharaoh.  After researching this a little further, I discovered a rather large community of scientists, archaeologists and historians who, regardless of their religion, believe that Egyptian chronology is incorrect!  That would make Joseph being Imhotep more plausible.  I won't go into the details of how their could be flaws with Egyptian chronology, but the information is out there if someone wants to look further into it.

Whether or not Imhotep was actually Joseph of the Bible doesn't really matter...but it's a neat thought that we may be able to learn more about this biblical character by studying what was left behind by the Egyptian legend Imhotep. Just something I thought was interesting!