The Dead Sea Scrolls

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1. What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Hieroglyphic papyri The original texts of the Torah The original texts of the Christian Gospels Fragments of ancient writings discovered near the Dead Sea shortly after World War II

2. What kinds of writing are contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Biblical Sectarian Apocryphal All of these types of writing

3. Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? Arab shepherds Residents of Khirbet Qumran Greek traders trying to record native practices Early Christian converts

4. According to most scholars, when were the Dead Sea Scrolls written? Between 500 BCE and 350 BCE Between 150 BCE and 70CE Between 100 CE and 500 CE Nobody really knows – it was a long time ago

5. About which of the following aspects of society at the time of their writing can information gained by studying the Dead Sea Scrolls? The transition between Judaism as shown in the Bible and Judaism as described in the Mishnah The Jewish background of Christianity The variety of Jewish religious sects and political parties in the Second Temple period All of these

6. The long delay in releasing the full contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls has led to the development of a number of conspiracy theories. Which of the following has NOT been suggested as a reason for the delay? The Dominicans who were in charge of all the early publications sought to prevent certain early "Christian" writings from appearing to contradict the current Roman Catholic canon The CIA was concerned about providing information that would legitimize terrorist groups The Dominicans who were in charge of the archaeological excavations were trying to steal the heritage of the Jewish people of Palestine by hiding or distorting the true meaning of the scrolls The Israel Antiquities Authority might be trying to suppress certain unflattering commentaries on early Hebrew practices or embarrassing facts about important historical figures from Judaea

7. What is the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls in terms of our understanding of the development of the Biblical canon? It is now clear that Old Testament scripture was extremely fluid until its canonization around 100 CE Since the Masoretic text (written hundreds of years later) differs significantly from the Dead Sea Scroll texts, it has now been discredited Since the Masoretic text (written hundreds of years later) is identical to the Dead Sea Scroll texts, it is now acknowledged as the true version of the Old Testament canon They make it clear that early Christians had a significant impact on the way the Old Testament texts were regarded in contemporary Jewish society

8. How did the Messiah predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls differ from the Christian understanding of the term? The Messiah was a prophet who would clarify the path to salvation for his people The Messiah was a priest who would lead his people to spiritual salvation There were three Messiahs The Messiah was a warrior-king who would lead his people to political salvation

9. Who was the "Teacher of Righteousness" referred to in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Jesus Christ A leader of the community responsible for formalizing the group’s beliefs and practices Mohammed Buddha

10. What Jewish leader may have been referred to as the "Wicked Priest" in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Alexander Jannaeus Caiaphas Hillel the Elder Moshe Dayan