Israeli archaeologists have discovered fragments of the Dead Sea Scroll in a remote cave in the Judean desert, some 25 miles south of Jerusalem.
The biblical text is written on almost 80 pieces of parchment, displaying Greek words from the books of Zechariah and Nahum, as well as a Greek version of a book presented in the Hebrew Bible, the Twelve Minor Prophets.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are incredibly important in the realm of theological history due to the fact that they contain the first known copies of religious texts and documents that detail the main beliefs of the Hebrew Bible.
Israeli archaeologists believe that these fragments of the Dead Sea Scroll may have been hidden in the cave during a Jewish uprising against the Romans almost 2,000 years ago.
Along with the scrolls, other incredibly significant artifacts have been discovered in other caves in the area over the past: the skeleton of a 6,000-year-old child; a large woven basket from the Neolithic period, approximately 10,500 years old; and other organic materials that the climate inside these caves has managed to preserve.
“When we think of the biblical text, we think of something very static. It was not static. There are small differences and some of these differences are important, ”says Joe Uziel, head of the Dead Sea Scrolls unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“With every little bit of information we can add, we can understand a little better how the biblical text took on its traditional Hebrew form.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.