Last night people gathered in the Hill Memorial Library on Louisiana State University’s campus to hear Professor Geza Vermes’ celebrated lecture regarding the work he has conducted on Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest and largest surviving collection of manuscripts concerning the bible and the time of Christ. The scrolls were first discovered when shepherds in the Judean Desert accidently stumble upon them while look for a lost goat. The shepherds found jars, unknown in a cave, which held these ancient scrolls. This miraculous discovery lead to an archaeological quest for more scrolls. According to Vermes, between the years 1950 and 1956, eleven more caves containing scroll fragments were discovered. The scrolls are mainly written on parchment paper. However, 15 percent of the manuscripts are on papyrus and one is on a copper sheet. They are written in “Hebrew, Aramaic, and a handful of Greek.” Archeologists also discovered a multifaceted structure of ruins near the scroll caves. They named this structure the Qumran ruin, in orientation with the region in which it is located.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are named in reference to the body of water near where the scrolls were discovered. The Dead Sea, actually a lake, is located in between Israel and Jordan. It is the lowest point on the Earth’s surface. The Dead Sea is called such due to the loose translation of its Hebrew name “Yam ha Maved,” meaning “Killer Sea.” It contains extremely high levels of mineral salt. Due to the excessive amount of salinity in its waters, fish or other organisms are unable to survive in the Dead Sea. However, people are able to adapt their bodies to the salinity, and while in the water, they actually float effortlessly due to being more buoyant. The salt and mud of the Dead Sea are thought to have health and therapeutic benefits.
Vermes’ Dead Sea Scrolls lecture seemed to be a popular event, so much so that the lecture hall could not fully support the influx of attendees. People were lined up against the walls and filling empty space in the walkways by standing or sitting on the floor. Flower arrangements were placed around the lecture hall to honor Vermes’ parents who died in the Holocaust. According to the program, “In honor of Professor Vermes’ visit, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne has proclaimed September 29 ‘Professor Vermes Day.’”
Before Vermes took the podium attendees were buzzing with anticipation to learn more about this captivating archeological find.
“His lecture sounds so fascinating. I thought it would be a great experience,” exclaimed Susan Lipsey. Lipsey said she has been to Israel four times in her life, and has seen the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. “This is the greatest archaeological find ever. . . .I remember the guide pointing out the caves. We were just in awe,” said Lipsey.
Mike Cruice, an LSU student who is planning to enter the Baptist Seminary said, “I just thought it would be a good thing to be here. . . .I am not familiar at all with them [the Dead Sea Scrolls]. . . .I want to learn the history and basics in order to fully understand them when I do read them.” Cruice said he plans to read the scrolls for pleasure if he is not required to read them in seminary school. He explained that his former youth pastor informed him of the lecture. Cruice said he was glad that he knew about this lecture and was “surprised that this many people came.”
Vermes is an acclaimed expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was born in Hungary in 1924, and studied in Budapest and Belgium. Vermes completed his dissertation on the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls. According to his bio provided for the lecture, “In 1991, he was appointed director of the Oxford Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. . . .His first article on the Dead Sea Scrolls appeared in 1949, and his first book Les manuscripts du desert de Juda in 1953 (translated into English in 1956 as Discovery in the Judean Desert).”
Vermes is a distinguished looking gentleman with a soft accented voice. He explained that he first learned about the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery when he was a “young student,” and would follow press reports in relation to the scrolls. Upon learning about the scrolls, he exclaimed that he vowed he “would solve the mystery of what was then called the greatest Hebrew discovery.” He said, “From then on the scrolls and my life were intertwined.”
Vermes explained the origin of the scrolls. He said that they dated from the end of the third century B.C.E. to first century C.E. He said that the scrolls were probably hidden in the caves in order to safe guard them from roman troops who would have destroyed the scrolls if they had discovered them.
Vermes discussed his difficulties he had in obtaining access to the actual scrolls. After their discovery, a Frenchman named Roland de Vaux and his team essential held a monopoly on the actual scrolls. De Vaux would only allow pictures of a portion of the scrolls to be published for other experts to examine and analyze. Vermes explained that in order to obtain information for his first publication on the scrolls he entered Jerusalem with illegal documents and shared idea about the scrolls in Jordan. He said that after his work was published he received great criticism from de Vaux. Despite his setbacks, Vermes never let go of his passion for the scrolls.
“After four decades the scrolls were liberated,” said Vermes. De Vaux and other organizations tyranny over the scrolls had come to an end. Scholars could study, examine and interpret the scrolls freely. All the Dead Sea Scrolls were available on photographs and microphage. Vermes was able to view the fragments of the scrolls, and translated them into English. He was thrilled when his work became published, until he picked up a copy of his own book and realized the picture of the scrolls on the cover was upside-down. He laughed and said, “Hardly anyone noticed . . . and those who did kindly and fairly attributed it to the publisher.” He said that before the next printing of his book was to be processed the mistake was corrected.
“What have we learned from the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Vermes commented.
Vermes explained that the Dead Sea Scrolls agree is substance with the Bible and Hebrew teachings. He said that there were certainly some additions, omissions and changes compared to scripture. He said this is significant because it “proves a unified traditional text of the bible [exists]. . . . Practically no difference . . . only spelling . . . otherwise the texts are the essentially the same.”
Vermes ended his lecture with a highly amusing anecdote on how his five-year-old grandson Ian claimed, “My granddaddy wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.” The audience chuckled and sighed because they they knew the lecture was at an end.
Vermes said that archeologists are still searching for more scrolls but none have been found yet. He explained that it was a miracle that any were found in the first place, because no one thought they could survive in the conditions that exist in the Judean Desert.
After the question and answer portion, two gentleman, Charles Hall and Clement Templet, who sat through the lecture diligently taking notes explained how much they valued Vermes’ lecture and work. “Here’s a man who has spent his whole life studying this. He has really mastered it at great odds,” said Hall, “I am as interested in him as the topic.” Templet explained that he is “very interested in early Christianity . . . the first 100 years.” Templet said, “Because of this lecture I will spend more time study this [the Dead Sea Scrolls].”
Cruice felt that the lecture was “great background for future study.” He said that the most interesting part about the scrolls was “how they got into the public instead of being left behind.”
The world is thankful that the scrolls were discovered and not hidden away forever. Many people around the globe have been fascinated by the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Vermes has even dedicated his whole life to them.
