A study conducted by researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands has revealed that the Dead Sea Scrolls are older than previously believed.
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The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in 1943 by two Bedouin shepherds. Fragments of the ancient documents were hidden in caves in the Qumran region of Israel, near the Dead Sea.
To determine when they were written, the study team — whose findings were published in PLOS One — used artificial intelligence to examine the handwriting of the ancient fragments and claimed they derived more accurate dates for some writings, including the Book of Daniel.
The scientists used an AI program called Enoch, which was fed with a vast number of already dated ancient texts from Israel and the West Bank that also had radiocarbon dates.
The AI tool Enoch then used machine learning to study the handwriting progressions in 135 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The study stated that the fragment of Daniel 8–11, which was believed to date from the 160s BCE, could actually be from as early as 230 BCE, aligning with the period when the biblical book was written.
“With the Enoch tool, we are opening a new door to the ancient world, like a time machine that allows us to study the hands that wrote the Bible,” the study authors wrote in a statement.
“Especially now that we have established, for the first time, that two fragments of biblical scrolls date back to the time of their presumed authors.”
The researchers also stated that fragments written in Herodian Aramaic and Hasmonean Hebrew, previously believed to date from the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE, are actually older than originally thought.
These new datings result in “a new chronology of the scrolls and the redating of key ancient Jewish texts that contribute to current debates on Jewish and Christian origins,” according to the study.
Photo and video: Creative Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
