This week we will be looking at what has been called a Dead Sea Scroll in Stone, but is prbably more appropriately called the Vision or Apocalypse of Gabriel.
Before I post texts and comments, just a little bit of background is useful.
The stone itself is unusual. The text is not carved, but written in ink on the stone. The condition of the stone suggests that it wa sprobably posted on a wall, inside a building, one would assume.
Because of the style of the letters, the stone seems to have been written roughly contemporary with the scrolls at Qumran, but - since the stone was not found in an archaeological dig, no one can be sure about where it was placed or how it was used/read.
Unlike many other semi-recent finds - the Talpiot tomb of "Jesus" or the ossuary of James "brother of Jesus" - there hasn't been any serious argument about this being a forgery or a modern piece.
While there is plenty of argument about what the text says, and what it means, no one is suggesting that it is not a text from the century or two before Jesus' life and ministry.
The image is a drawing of the original stone. You might find it interesting, especially because it makes it clear why you see so many blank spaces in the text that I will post. We can talk about this a bit more Monday, but for now, it's just kind of a cool little image.
Before I post texts and comments, just a little bit of background is useful.
The stone itself is unusual. The text is not carved, but written in ink on the stone. The condition of the stone suggests that it wa sprobably posted on a wall, inside a building, one would assume.
Because of the style of the letters, the stone seems to have been written roughly contemporary with the scrolls at Qumran, but - since the stone was not found in an archaeological dig, no one can be sure about where it was placed or how it was used/read.
Unlike many other semi-recent finds - the Talpiot tomb of "Jesus" or the ossuary of James "brother of Jesus" - there hasn't been any serious argument about this being a forgery or a modern piece.
While there is plenty of argument about what the text says, and what it means, no one is suggesting that it is not a text from the century or two before Jesus' life and ministry.
The image is a drawing of the original stone. You might find it interesting, especially because it makes it clear why you see so many blank spaces in the text that I will post. We can talk about this a bit more Monday, but for now, it's just kind of a cool little image.
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