07/04/2021
Join Mishkan Hashofar Copper Scrolls Revealed!
Tuesday 7-9 pm FREE
www.mishkanhashofar.org
Mishkan HaShofar presents: Jim Barfield.
Jim will be providing us with the same presentation he did for the Israeli Antiquities Society about the Copper Scrolls.
In 1952, archaeologists found the Copper Scroll in a cave at the site of Qumran near the Dead Sea. Made of copper, the scroll stood apart from the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were composed of parchment or papyrus. Once unrolled and deciphered, the Copper Scroll was confirmed as being further unique: It describes a vast treasure—hidden in locations throughout the Judean wilderness. Immediately people began to wonder whether the Copper Scroll might be a map to treasure from the Jerusalem Temple. Inscribed on durable material and hidden in a secure location, the Copper Scroll—serving as a sort of treasure map—was meant to survive. Burying a massive treasure, recording the burial locations on a virtually indestructible scroll, and then hiding that scroll show that someone anticipated that the treasure and treasure map would be seized. Moreover, someone went to great lengths to try to prevent that from happening. The treasure is vast, far beyond what we could imagine would be the property of an individual or even a group, unless they were the rulers of a nation. … If we look at the Copper Scroll closely in terms of its contents, this treasure seems to come from a temple—perhaps the Temple in Jerusalem—and was secreted away in 64 (or perhaps 61) locations, most of which are close to Jericho. The enormous size of the treasure, as well as the presence of cultic terminology (e.g., references to tithes, priestly vestments) included in the text, indicates the treasure’s sacred origin.
Although the religious terminology in the Copper Scroll indicates it came from a temple, the text does not specify which temple. However, the language of the Copper Scroll, Mishnaic Hebrew with some Greek loanwords, connects the scroll to a Jewish context. Coupled with the proximity of the various hiding locations to Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Temple seems a likely point of origin.
Mishkan HaShofar is a Messianic Jewish Congregation in Silver Spring, MD. We are Jewish and Gentile believers who follow the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.