One of the Oldest Copies of Scripture Coming to the US

Conservative News DailyNovember 30, 2025

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.,in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority,will soon exhibit fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls and othre ancient biblical artifacts. The Dead Sea scrolls, dating from 150 BC to AD 70, are among the oldest known copies of biblical and other second temple period texts. Starting November 22, 2024, visitors can view rotating displays of these fragments, including parts of Genesis, Psalms, Job, Numbers, Lamentations, Isaiah, and various apocryphal texts, through September 2026.

Additionally, the exhibition will feature significant artifacts such as the Magdala Stone, a 1st-century carved stone associated with Mary Magdalene’s hometown and used for Torah readings, and fragments of the first-century “Jesus Boat,” offering insights into the maritime culture of that era. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered accidentally by a Bedouin shepherd, include more than 800 manuscripts in several ancient languages and are regarded as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century, providing critically important evidence for the preservation of biblical texts over time.

The Museum of the Bible will soon host fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient artifacts in Washington, D.C.

In partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the museum will display “biblical texts and scrolls from the community at Qumran,” including three rotations of pieces from the Dead Sea Scrolls, according to the website for the Museum of the Bible.

Most of the texts composing the Dead Sea Scrolls were created between 150 BC and AD 70, making them some of the oldest copies of the Bible and other literature from the Second Temple period ever discovered.

Starting on November 22, visitors to the Museum of the Bible will be able to see numerous text fragments from the collection.

From November 2025 to February 2026, those fragments will include parts of Genesis, the Psalms, and a portion of Job from the Aramaic Targum, as well as other documents.

Between February and May 2026, the museum will display fragments of Numbers, Lamentations, and apocryphal Psalms, among others.

The last rotation from May to September 2026 will include pieces of Isaiah and several more apocryphal texts.

But fragments of the Bible and other literature are not the only artifacts visitors will be able to see.

The Magdala Stone, which comes from a first-century stone in Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene, will accompany the pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

“The block was likely used for the liturgical reading of the Torah and other sacred scrolls,” according to the Museum of the Bible.

The stone has carvings of the Second Temple and various ritual items involved in the waning years of Judaism amid the first advent of Jesus Christ.

Fragments of wood from a first-century fishing vessel known as the Jesus Boat will also be present.

The wood was preserved in the mud of the Sea of Galilee, providing “remarkable insights into maritime culture during the time of Jesus.”

The Dead Sea Scrolls, described by the National Endowment of the Humanities as the “most extraordinary archaeological discovery of the twentieth century,” were found by a young Bedouin shepherd who threw a rock in a cave near the Dead Sea and heard the sound of breaking pottery.

The accidental discovery produced more than 800 manuscripts from the Second Temple period, including texts in Hebrew, Old Canaanite, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin.

Famous portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls include the Great Isaiah Scroll, containing almost the entire book of Isaiah, and the Great Psalms Scroll.

Christians have often pointed to the Dead Sea Scrolls as evidence that God preserves His Word for all generations.

As the book of Isaiah says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”