The MilwaukeePublic Museum is going to be the site of a major Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition starting January 22, 2010.
The exhibition will feature the recently discovered Jeselsohn Stone, which only came to light recently.
The stone is estimated to be about 2,000 years old. It was acquired by a collector, David Jeselsohn, about 10 years ago. Where it was found is unknown, although Jordan has been suggested as a probable location.
Its partially legible and, as such, onlychunks of the inscription can be made out. It appears to be written by someone named Gabriel (it has the words I Gabriel on it) and talks about the apocalypse (a common topic in religious texts of the time).
Part of the text reads (from a translation by Ada Yardeni):
[Thus] said YHWH, the Lord of Israel: Behold, all the nations are
14. against(?)\to(?) Jerusalem and ,
15. [o]ne, two, three, fourty(?) prophets(?) and the returners(?),
16. [and] the Hasidin(?). My servant, David, asked from before Ephraim(?)
17. [to?] put the sign(?) I ask from you. Because He said, (namely,)
18. [Y]HWH of Hosts, the Lord of Israel:
19. sanctity(?)\sanctify(?) Israel! In three days you shall know, that(?)\for(?) He said,
20. (namely,) YHWH the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Israel: The evil broke (down)
21. before justice. Ask me and I will tell you what this bad plant is
For copyright reasons I cannot post the full translation here, although one did appear online at Biblical Archaeology Review.
The document came to light abouta year ago whenscholar Ada Yardeni, of Hebrew University, wrote about it. In Biblical Archaeology Review he said that, If it were written on leather (and smaller) I would say it was another Dead Sea Scroll fragmentbut it isnt. It is written on gray-coloured stone!
Another treat coming to Milwaukee is a fragment of the copper scroll.This scroll wasfound in cave 3 at Qumran and is made out of copper. Its a controversial and odd scroll. Rather than dwelling on religious matters it talks about the location of hidden treasure.
Part of it reads (from theWest Semitic Research Project)
In the fortress which is in the Vale of Achor, forty cubits under the steps entering to the east: a money chest and it contents,of a weight of seventeen talents.
No one has ever found the treasures it talks about and its a matter of debate whether they existed or not.
Other scrolls are going to be featured as well, although the exact fragments have not been announced.
Also being featured is a 23 foot reproduction of the Isaiah scroll andpapyri from Egypt that have Greek translations of the New Testament. The exhibit will also feature several hand-copied medieval bibles, including the oldest version of the Greek Masoretic text.