Evening star., 1949-10-23
Expert Emphasizes
Import, Authenticity
|0f Hebrew Scrolls
By Cospor Names

ance OF the ancient hebrew SCTOllS
found two years ago in q cave
in the Ain Feshka area on the
northwest shores Of the Dead Sea,
south of Jericho. were emphasized
last night by Prof. William F.
Albright, w. w. Spence Professor
Of Semitic Languages at Johns
Hopkins University.
Speaking before specially in
vited audience Of ministers.
scholars and others who filled
the Coolidge Auditorium in the
Library Of Congress. DR.. Albright
declared the value Of the scrolls
toward shedding further light on
the Bible and on the history Of
the period could not be over
rated.
Three of the eight scrolls dis
covered by two BedouinS in
earthen jars within a cave will
be on display at the Library from
today through Nov. 6.
There is no doubt whatever
that we have here a discovery Of
the utmost significance for all
Biblical study and for the humani-
ties In general" DR.. Albright told
the gathering. The years 1948-'49,
which also witnessed in Upper
Egypt the discovery of AZ previ-
ously lost treatises of the early
Agnostics, will be remembered as
long as there is freedom in schol-
arship and writing, and honest
men can carry on scholarship and
research. These discoveries will
throw more light on religion and
ideas between 800 B. c. and 300
A. D. than all the discoveries made
since the Renaissance"
Cites Illustrations.
DR.. Albright cited Illustration
after Illustration of script writing
to date the scrolls in the Macca-
bean period Of 1865 to 81 B. c. He
also cited instances of noted schol-
ars at distances from each other
arriving within SO years of dating
the scrolls by these and other
means.
The speaker defended the au-
thenticity Of the scrolls and their
preservation by pointing out that
the sealed earthen jars in which
they were found could be kept dur
ing the long years in the cave
without the scrolls deteriorating.
"The text of the new Isaiah
text Zone Of the scrolls on exhibi-
ton in the Library is surprisingly
like that of the printed Book of
Isaiah in our modern Hebrew BIZ
bles." the scholar asserted. In
the End century B. C. we here
have an even better witness to
the text than our Greek Bible,
which was translated from an
other Hebrew scroll which has a
different history going back to the
Sd, 4th or even 5th century B. c.
The copyists Of the Hebrew Bible
were more exact than any of us
dreamed"
DR.. Albright declared the third
scroll. a kind of compendium OF
the doctrines and practices of a
still-unidentified jewish sect. con-
tanned material which will throw
flood of light on the Jewish
background of the Gospels and
the Epistles.
I'VE are very close 10 the time
Of John the Baptist. We have here
something of the immediate back
ground Of the era. When it is
published, scholars will at last
have insight into type Of Jewish
life from which Christianity
emerged. We are very close to the
backgrounds Of Christianity"
The speaker told the gathering
there is nothing in these dis
coveries that should disturb the
faith OF any reasonably-enlight-
ened Christian or jew"
In answer to a question follow
ing the formal lecture, DR.. Al
bright said the discovery does not
reveal whether the Book Of Isaiah
was written by one person or sew