Dead Sea Scrolls for Sale

[Ahriman238]

Wasn't sure if this belonged in News or SLAM. But it seems private collectors have snapping up Dead Sea Scroll fragments illegally, and people are pissed.

For years, fragments from the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls have been sold quietly to evangelical Christian collectors and institutions in the United States — even though Israel regards those sales as illegal. Now the transactions, and the frictions associated with them, have come under an international spotlight.

One big reason is that the scraps are so valuable, in financial as well as archaeological terms. The reported price tags for the fragments range up to $35 million or more. All those texts could shed new light on the origins of Jewish scriptures, ranging from Genesis and other books of the Bible to the messianic rules that were laid down by the mysterious community behind the scrolls.

"They are really small pieces, but they are important because you may have two or three lines that may have not been found anywhere else. And suddenly it adds a lot to the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is at least one rather amazing discovery in one of them," Jerry Pattengale, who oversees 12 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the privately held Green Collection, recently told The Associated Press.


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Pattengale declined to discuss the discovery further, saying that he had to wait until the finding was published.

Many of the fragments sold on the private market come from William Kando, a Palestinian Christian whose family has held onto a collection of pieces from the Dead Sea Scrolls for decades. Kando's father, Khalil Eskander Shahin, was a Bethlehem cobbler and antiquities dealer who bought and sold some of the Dead Sea Scrolls after the initial discovery by Bedouin shepherds in 1946.

During the 1967 Middle East War, Israel seized thousands of scroll fragments that were held in east Jerusalem. Under pressure from Israeli authorities, Shahin (who came to be known by his nickname, "Kando") sold the Israelis a 26.7-foot-long (8.15-meter-long) scroll of parchment that was hidden in a shoebox beneath a floor tile in his bedroom. That manuscript, which describes the construction and operation of an idealized Jewish Temple, is known worldwide as the Temple Scroll.

The Christian connection
The elder Kando had many more fragments hidden away, and those were eventually transferred to Switzerland, his son told AP. After the father's death in 1993, the sons began selling off the family collection. Through a series of sales, fragments ended up in the hands of such institutions as Azusa Pacific University, an evangelical Christian college near Los Angeles; and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Randall Price, founder and president of the Texas-based World of the Bible Ministries and a professor at Liberty University in Virginia, said he met with William Kando in 2010 and discussed the sales of the fragments. "He is very insistent that the remaining fragments go to institutions that deal with the Bible so that they can be shared with Christian believers," Price wrote afterward.

Kando told AP that he offered to sell the remaining fragments in the family's collection to institutions in Israel, including the government's antiquities authority — but that they couldn't afford to buy them.

"If anyone is interested, we are ready to sell," he said. "These are the most important things in the world."

The Genesis fragment
Israeli authorities are reportedly interested in one scrap in particular: a well-preserved, butterfly-shaped fragment of Genesis that's about the size of a cereal box. The manuscript, which was recently exhibited at the Fort Worth seminary, includes passages that tell the story of Joseph and his "coat of many colors." Price said that fragment was valued at $35 million or more, but Kando told AP that his family is not participating in any new negotiations for scroll sales. He said the Genesis fragment and the other scrolls that remain in the family's possession are currently locked away in a Swiss safe-deposit box.

The Israeli government, meanwhile, sees the scrolls and other ancient Jewish texts as cultural treasures — and in recent years, authorities have clamped down on what they regard as illegal sales. More than 10,000 fragments of the scrolls are being studied in a climate-controlled, government-operated lab in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority wants to see Kando's fragments added to that collection — but says that his asking price is too high. It's threatening to seek the seizure of any pieces that hit the market.

"I told Kando many years ago, as far as I'm concerned, he can die with those scrolls," Amir Ganor, head of the authority's anti-looting squad, told AP. "The scrolls' only address is the State of Israel."

[Borgholio]

I'm wondering how the sales are illegal. Yes, Israel claimed they are cultural treasures but they were found by a private citizen. Does Israel have a right to eminent domain personal property like this...and do so in a way to prevent sales that take place outside of the country?

[Simon_Jester]

A lot of other countries like Egypt, Greece, China, and so on have the same problem. Historical artifacts can be literally priceless in that they're irreplaceable, and the knowledge they contain cannot be had any other way. Many nations have had to deal with imperialist nations' adventurer-archaeologists carting off big chunks of their history (see Egypt and Greece, and the contents of Tutankhamen's tomb or the Elgin Marbles, for reference). So the precedents for "I'm a private individual and I have a right to do as I please with these cultural treasures from your ancient history" are NOT good.

[Borgholio]

Hmm, I wonder if the fact they're housed in a historically neutral country will have any impact on this?

[Edi]

A lot of other countries like Egypt, Greece, China, and so on have the same problem. Historical artifacts can be literally priceless in that they're irreplaceable, and the knowledge they contain cannot be had any other way. Many nations have had to deal with imperialist nations' adventurer-archaeologists carting off big chunks of their history (see Egypt and Greece, and the contents of Tutankhamen's tomb or the Elgin Marbles, for reference). So the precedents for "I'm a private individual and I have a right to do as I please with these cultural treasures from your ancient history" are NOT good.

Indeed. Many countries have laws on the books that any finds like the Dead Sea Scrolls or similar archeological treasures are automatically state property for cultural and historical reasons. The person who or persons who find them may (or may not) get some kind of finder's fee or reward, but they are not entitled to keep them.

Finland for example has very strict laws regarding these things, including sea salvage of old wrecks.

[Steve]

IIRC another complicating factor is when these laws apply to finds in countries that would be more likely to destroy things that contradict state and religious policies about the past than to allow them to see light of day.

[Thanas]

So these pieces are going to people who are not qualified in any way to analyze them and who might falsify their "editions" of them. Great.

[Zaune]

Indeed. Many countries have laws on the books that any finds like the Dead Sea Scrolls or similar archeological treasures are automatically state property for cultural and historical reasons. The person who or persons who find them may (or may not) get some kind of finder's fee or reward, but they are not entitled to keep them.

Finland for example has very strict laws regarding these things, including sea salvage of old wrecks.

Same here in the UK, unless it's relatively common, low-value stuff like single Roman coins etc. The finder's fee also tends to be quite a bit more than what the going rate on eBay used to be until we tightened up on enforcing it a few years back.

And is anyone else wondering how many bids came in from Japan?

[Alyeska]

So these pieces are going to people who are not qualified in any way to analyze them and who might falsify their "editions" of them. Great.

Even better. These private collectors are destroying the scrolls through ignorance about preservation of their delicate nature.

[Ahriman238]

So these pieces are going to people who are not qualified in any way to analyze them and who might falsify their "editions" of them. Great.

This is a concern of mine. Anyone know if this Baptist Seminary is particularly reliable or has any sort of history with handling delicate antique documents?

[Elheru Aran]

So these pieces are going to people who are not qualified in any way to analyze them and who might falsify their "editions" of them. Great.

This is a concern of mine. Anyone know if this Baptist Seminary is particularly reliable or has any sort of history with handling delicate antique documents?

While I have no specific knowledge of this particular seminary, most of these places will have libraries, and often a collection of old Bibles and such will have a place of pride. As such, they will have *some* experience handling old books... mind you, we're mainly talking 500-300 years old, not 2,000 here!

Southwest Baptist is one of the biggest seminaries in the country though, and I would imagine they would try to treat these fragments with due care and reverence. They have a 'Rare Book Collection' along with collections of artifacts, so presumably (hopefully?) they have some sort of curator for same, with (again, hopefully) some training in taking care of these artifacts.

[Thanas]

While I have no specific knowledge of this particular seminary, most of these places will have libraries, and often a collection of old Bibles and such will have a place of pride. As such, they will have *some* experience handling old books... mind you, we're mainly talking 500-300 years old, not 2,000 here.

Southwest Baptist is one of the biggest seminaries in the country though, and I would imagine they would try to treat these fragments with due care and reverence. They have a 'Rare Book Collection' along with collections of artifacts, so presumably (hopefully?) they have some sort of curator for same, with (again, hopefully) some training in taking care of these artifacts.

None of that qualifies them in handling dead sea scrolls. They might just be some random collectors for that matter. These pieces belong in a proper institution and proper storage areas, both things that cost far more money and expertise than this seminar has, unless they are willing to hire a proper expert and build a proper storage safe, which, btw, needs to emulate certain specific conditions like air pressure, humidity, temperature etc.

[Elheru Aran]

None of that qualifies them in handling dead sea scrolls. They might just be some random collectors for that matter. These pieces belong in a proper institution and proper storage areas, both things that cost far more money and expertise than this seminar has, unless they are willing to hire a proper expert and build a proper storage safe, which, btw, needs to emulate certain specific conditions like air pressure, humidity, temperature etc.

Of course. I merely point out that they aren't *completely* clueless about handling ancient documents, and while I doubt their scientific integrity would go so far, presumably they aren't going to simply chuck them on a pedestal for everybody to flip through.

I would be wary of figuring that SWBTS doesn't have the money to handle these artifacts properly, though... like I said, they're one of *the* biggest seminaries in the country, and IIRC they're associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which is one of the most powerful and well funded religious organizations in the country. They are certainly capable of spending the necessary resources to appropriately archive fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, should they deem it necessary-- and that last part is the big caveat.

It's rather more likely, you have to admit, that a supposed academic institution would be capable of preserving these ancient remnants of Scripture than some multimillionaire collector like the guy who owns the Hobby Lobby stores (he's got some, I think)...

[Thanas]

That depends. A surprising amount of private collectors actually make their stuff available for research because if it gets somewhere, hey, they can look like the great philanthropist and if it does not, they still got the stuff to display. A private collector usually has no agenda besides "hey, look at what I got."

Religious organizations should not be trusted with historical documents about their religion.

[Serafina]

Money shouldn't be an issue for them.

The issues are expertise and willingness to employ it.
For the former, i think its actually dangerous if they think that they can handle such delicate artifacts just because they have lots of old books. We're talking about very different requirements here - ones that require actual specialized experts. A private collector strikes me as more likely to realize that he needs to hire an expert than a bunch of pseudo-scholars.
The latter, well - all you need is the content not fitting with their beliefs and a resulting lack of funding, and there goes an irreplaceable artifact.

[CJvR]

Why would christian churches be so interested in scrolls that pre-date Jesus?

[Atlan]

Why would christian churches be so interested in scrolls that pre-date Jesus?

Did you just hear yourself say that? If you THINK for just a few seconds, you're going to find out that you said something REALLY stupid.

I mean, you basically said "Those fragments are only discussing the FIRST testament of their religion, why do they fuckin' care?"