The Isaiah Scroll of Qumran: The Message Is Reliable

We've been working through the passages in Isaiah referred to as the Servant Songs, and this Sunday I made mention of the amazing story of the Great Isaiah Scroll found in 1947 in the caves of Qumran in the desert south of Jerusalem - part of the collection known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is amazing to me that with this one serendipitous discovery we can see how faithfully the words of Isaiah had been kept across more than one thousand years.  As I have said, the authority of the Bible lies not in the text itself, but in the God who speaks to us through these words.  What this thousand year leap in text history allows us though is the assurance that the words through which God speaks to us, have been faithfully preserved for us.  The means by which He communicates His message have been carefully kept across the span of time.  This is important not simply to impress us with the text, but to give us confidence in the message.  And a good thing indeed, for that message is one of radical grace and discipleship.  It is only right that a message to surrender our lives should show itself to come to us by way of a trustworthy means.

I used a quotation that I forgot to attribute on Sunday, so wanted to repeat it, and correct my error.

"Of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, there are only 17 letters in question. Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense.(Bill - Like Color or Colour)  Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions. The three remaining letters comprise the word LIGHT, which is added in verse 11 and which does not affect the meaning greatly. Furthermore, this word is supported by the Septuagint (LXX). Thus, in one chapter of 166 words, there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission - and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage." (Norman Geisler & William Nix, "A General Introduction to the Bible", Moody Press, Page 263).

Here is a photo of the actual scroll itself, made of 17 sheets of parchment stitched together with 54 columns of text, 24 feet long and eleven inches high.

This photo is part of a helpful article on the Isaiah Scroll in Wikipedia.  Click here to give it a look for more details.


Click Here if  you would like to hear the sermon itself, from April 10, 2011 at Christ Covenant Church in Fredericksburg, Va.  Or click here to go to the Christ Covenant's website and hear more sermons.

Finally, imagine my surprise and excitement to discover that there has been another recent archeological discovery that may have similar insight and impact for our understanding of the events a people around the crucifixion of Jesus.  Click here to read about it from BBC News.