Dead Sea scrolls exhibit attracts thousands
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Nearly 20,000 guests came to the Oakland California Temple Visitor's Center in November and December to see the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit sponsored in part by BYU and F.A.R.M.S. (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies).
The exhibit includes replicas of several of the more significant scrolls and such artifacts as lamps, a Judean sword that dates to 600 B.C., and coins.
"We have been amazed at the interest of the community and members of the Church," said Elder Sylvan Seely, director of the visitor's center. "With the able help of the sister missionaries, senior couples and more than 30 volunteer Church members, visitors leave with a better understanding of the Bible and can resonate with the scriptures when Isaiah 29:4 talks about the writings to 'speak out of the ground' and 'whisper out of the dust.' It also reminds Latter-day Saints of the ancient prophecies of sacred records coming forth in the last days."
Between 200 and 1,000 visitors came each day to see the scrolls.
"It's a really special time of year anyway with the Christmas lights on the palm trees and plaza of Temple Hill," said Sister Lisa Hoki, a missionary from Mililani, Hawaii. "The Dead Sea Scrolls have drawn a lot of people to the visitor's center who wouldn't have come otherwise. It's a great opportunity for us to share the gospel with our guests."
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of over 900 biblical and non-biblical writings discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves along the northern shore of the Dead Sea.
Scholars believe the scrolls were written by an apostate group of the early Jewish church. They departed Jerusalem around 130 B.C. to establish a community called Qumran where they worked to purify the church and also to find religious freedom.
The scrolls were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek on kosher animal skins or papyrus and many scrolls were wrapped in linen and sealed in clay jars.
Except for the book of Esther, fragmentary remains of every book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) are contained in the scrolls. In addition to these and other religious texts, the scrolls contain writings of legal documents, business records, poetic compositions and other literature, thus opening a modern-day window into the culture, politics and daily life of ancient Jews.
The traveling exhibit came to Oakland from the Washington D.C. Visitor's Center and will arrive for display at the visitor's center in Los Angeles after it leaves Oakland Jan. 4.
