Why the Scrolls Matter
Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5
In the late 1940s, some youthful Bedouin shepherds were throwing rocks toward a hard-to-reach cave opening in the soft-sediment hills above the Dead Sea, near the Qumran community. One of their attempts succeeded in hitting its target…and produced the sound of breaking pottery.
That cave and 10 more were investigated, where archeologists unearthed an amazing discovery: around 15,000 scrolls and fragments of the ancient Hebrew Bible and other documents—written on parchment, copper, and papyrus—preserved in earthenware containers with lids. Representing all the Old Testament books except Esther, the writings are now commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
My husband and I visited Qumran a few years ago in modern-day Israel and were fascinated by the story of the scrolls. We also visited the exhibit where they’re held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. It was awe-inspiring to observe some of the scroll fragments and even a pair of sandals more than 2,000 years old.
What’s astonishing, however, is the level of accuracy between the scrolls and the modern-day version. Prior to the scrolls’ discovery, the earliest available Hebrew manuscripts were the Masoretic texts from around 1,000 A.D. The Dead Sea documents were created between 900 to 1,200 years earlier, yet the few differences between the two versions involved minor spelling variations and not the essential message.
The scribes who worked in community at a “scriptorium” near the Qumran site were painstakingly careful to copy each document, even counting the number of letters to ensure everything was correct. An entire manuscript would be thrown out for a single error.
What the scrolls also revealed was a missing verse in the later text of Psalm 145, an acrostic psalm (with verses arranged alphabetically) where a gap existed for the letter nun. If you inserted the missing section between verses 13 and 14, the New King James Version translation would read, “The Lord is faithful in all His words, and holy in all His works.”
Wow! That verse is so appropriate to the impact of the scrolls—that God’s word itself is faithful, accurate, inerrant, and infallible in its purpose to share His truth. It has not been significantly changed in more than two millennia, because of the meticulous care of the copyists. The unveiling of the scrolls proves the integrity of His word.
What does that mean to us? Simply that we can trust God’s word to be true and unchanging, just as applicable to us now as it was to the Hebrews, even before Jesus Christ was born.
As the apostle Paul said, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3)” He was quoting from Genesis 15:6, explaining that Abraham’s belief in what God spoke to him was the basis of his salvation. Believing God’s holy Scriptures is essential to our faith…God and His words are inseparable.
As you open your Bible this week, think about how God reveals Himself to us in every passage. We may find some sections puzzling, but the length and breadth of His words (somewhere between 700,000 to 800,000 in the Testaments combined, depending on the version) work together to confirm His truth. The New Testament fulfills His Old Testament message of love, grace, sacrifice, and mercy. Jesus is in every page.
Let’s take God at His inspired word this week, that it may be profitable for us in “doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” that we may be made complete and be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We can thank those early writers for their dedication to accurately record God’s work—He has used them, in His good timing, to affirm our faith in His word!
Heavenly Father, I praise You for preserving Your message to us over the centuries through faithful workers. May You speak to me this week through Your Holy Spirit as I read and listen to Your voice in my life. Teach me, guide me, change me as I hear Your words. Continue to convict me of my sinfulness, but bless me with Your love, joy, and peace. Inspire me to love and serve You more each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Nancy C. Williams is a Christian wife/mom with a writing career spanning more than 40 years in business and journalism. Williams is the author of the novel To Love a Falcon and the devotional book A Crocus in the Desert: Devotions, Stories, and Prayers for Women Experiencing Infertility. Her blogs are featured on Crossmap.com and AriseDaily. To follow Nancy’s posts and news, go to her home page at NancyCWilliams.com and subscribe at the bottom.
© Copyright 2026 Nancy C. Williams (text and photography). Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. #deadseascrolls #qumran #israel #Scripture #missingverse #shrineofthebook #scriptorium #masoretictext
