The First Calendrical Hints

The initial discovery of scrolls in the region of Khirbet Qumran was made by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, apparently in the spring. The story of their discovery and how they eventually made their way into the hands of scholars is a complicated but familiar one. The major part of these discoveries consisted of seven completely or largely preserved scrolls which were made available for study relatively early. The seven scrolls and their dates of publication are: Isaiah a (1950) Isaiah b (1954) Pesher Habakkuk (1950) Genesis Apocryphon (1956) Rule of the Community (1951) War Scroll (1954) Hymn Scroll (1954)