When the Ta'amireh bedouin tribe that discovered the first cave at Qumran, learned how valuable the texts they found were, they began to search for other sites that might contain more scrolls. This led in the autumn of 1951 to the discovery of caves high up in the near vertical rock face of the Wadi Murabba'at. With the confirmation that the new texts had come from Murabba'at, Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux commenced official excavations there in January 1952.[3] Four caves were examined.
Remains were discovered that reflected habitation, usually temporary, during the Chalcolithic period, the Bronze Age (including a Hyksosscarab), the Iron Age, and the Roman period. The Roman period is represented by a large amount of pottery and numerous weapons, including the blade of a pilum (a Roman javelin). Numerous spindle whorls were found, suggesting the presence of women working with yarn, and a coin hoard which included 149 Nabataeandrachmas, 51 imperial dinars and 33 tetradrachmas of Trajan. Most of the coins were minted in Antioch. The spindle whorls and the coins suggest a lengthy encampment by bar Kochba forces in the area, while the Roman objects point to the settlement being overrun by Roman forces.[4]
The Murabba'at area was surveyed by Pessah Bar-Adon in 1968 leading to the discovery of a fifth cave. In 1993 Hanan Eshel and Z. Greenhut discovered a cemetery which resembles that at Qumran.[5]
Textual materials
From the Roman period there is an inventory of about 120 documents which cover the decades leading up to the Bar Kochba revolt. Many of these are legal documents including deeds of land sale, marriage contracts, a debt acknowledgement and a writ of divorce. Fragments of biblical texts including Genesis, Deuteronomy and Isaiah were found, as well as the remains of a Hebrew Minor Prophets scroll.[6]
The following letter, translated by John Allegro, is addressed to Yeshua[dubious – discuss] ben Galgola, who was the military commander of the Herodium fortress, which lay between Wadi Murabba'at and Jerusalem. The letter provides Bar Kochba's real name.
Simon ben Kosebah to Joshua ben Galgola and the men of thy company; greetings. I call heaven to bear witness against me: if any one of the Galileans whom you have protected (or, delivered) cause trou[ble], I shall put fetters on your feet as I did to Ben Aphlul – Simon ben Kosebah (...)[15]
^MUR1 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^ abcOakTree Software, Inc. Accordance 10: Bible Software. 2008.
^MUR2 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^MUR3 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^MUR4 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^MUR5 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^MUR6 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^MUR88 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
^Translation by John Allegro, The Dead Sea Scrolls, p. 173.
Bibliography
Allegro, John M., The Dead Sea Scrolls (Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1956)
Benoit, P., Milik, J.T., and de Vaux, R., Les Grottes de Murabbaat (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961)(for text and photographs)
Ben-Yosef, Sefi [in Hebrew] (1979). "Man's History (Toldot ha-Adam)". In Yitzhaki, Arieh (ed.). Israel Guide - The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 5. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. OCLC 745203905.
"Leon Levy Collection". Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. Israel Antiquities Authority. Retrieved 2015-01-22.
Stern, Ephraim (Archaeology), Eshel, Hanan (Written material), "Murabba'at, Wadi", in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Schiffman, Lawrence H., VanderKam, James C. (eds.), Vol. 1 (Oxford, 2000), pp. 581–586.
wadi, murabba, also, known, nahal, darga, ravine, seasonal, stream, which, runs, from, judean, desert, east, bethlehem, past, herodium, down, dead, south, khirbet, qumran, west, bank, here, caves, that, jewish, fighters, during, kochba, revolt, leaving, behind. Wadi Murabba at also known as Nahal Darga is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream which runs from the Judean desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea 18 km south of Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank It was here in caves that Jewish fighters hid out during the Bar Kochba revolt leaving behind documents that include some letters signed by Simon Bar Kochba 1 2 Nahal Darga Contents 1 Discovery and analysis of the caves 2 Textual materials 2 1 List of manuscripts from Cave 1 2 2 Letter from Simon Bar Kochba 3 References 3 1 BibliographyDiscovery and analysis of the caves EditWhen the Ta amireh bedouin tribe that discovered the first cave at Qumran learned how valuable the texts they found were they began to search for other sites that might contain more scrolls This led in the autumn of 1951 to the discovery of caves high up in the near vertical rock face of the Wadi Murabba at With the confirmation that the new texts had come from Murabba at Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux commenced official excavations there in January 1952 3 Four caves were examined Remains were discovered that reflected habitation usually temporary during the Chalcolithic period the Bronze Age including a Hyksos scarab the Iron Age and the Roman period The Roman period is represented by a large amount of pottery and numerous weapons including the blade of a pilum a Roman javelin Numerous spindle whorls were found suggesting the presence of women working with yarn and a coin hoard which included 149 Nabataean drachmas 51 imperial dinars and 33 tetradrachmas of Trajan Most of the coins were minted in Antioch The spindle whorls and the coins suggest a lengthy encampment by bar Kochba forces in the area while the Roman objects point to the settlement being overrun by Roman forces 4 The Murabba at area was surveyed by Pessah Bar Adon in 1968 leading to the discovery of a fifth cave In 1993 Hanan Eshel and Z Greenhut discovered a cemetery which resembles that at Qumran 5 Textual materials EditFrom the Roman period there is an inventory of about 120 documents which cover the decades leading up to the Bar Kochba revolt Many of these are legal documents including deeds of land sale marriage contracts a debt acknowledgement and a writ of divorce Fragments of biblical texts including Genesis Deuteronomy and Isaiah were found as well as the remains of a Hebrew Minor Prophets scroll 6 List of manuscripts from Cave 1 Edit Fragment or Scroll Identifier Fragment or Scroll Name Alternative Identifier English Bible Association Language Date Script Description ReferenceWadi Murabba at Cave 1Mur1 Pentateuch Mur1 Genesis 32 4 5 30 33 33 1 34 5 7 30 35 1 4 7 Exodus 6 5 11 Hebrew Roman Parts of Genesis Exodus and Numbers 7 MurDeut Deuteronomy Mur2 Deuteronomy 10 1 3 Hebrew 20 84 CE Roman 8 9 MurIsa Isaiah Mur3 Hebrew Roman 10 MurPhyl Phylacteries Mur4 Contains Exodus 13 1 16 Deuteronomy 11 13 21 6 4 9 Hebrew Roman 8 11 MurMez Mezuzah Mur5 Contains Exodus 13 1 16 Deuteronomy 11 13 21 6 4 9 Hebrew Roman 8 12 Mur6 Unidentified literary text Mur6 13 MurXII Minor Prophets Mur88 Hebrew Roman Square script 14 Letter from Simon Bar Kochba Edit The following letter translated by John Allegro is addressed to Yeshua dubious discuss ben Galgola who was the military commander of the Herodium fortress which lay between Wadi Murabba at and Jerusalem The letter provides Bar Kochba s real name Simon ben Kosebah to Joshua ben Galgola and the men of thy company greetings I call heaven to bear witness against me if any one of the Galileans whom you have protected or delivered cause trou ble I shall put fetters on your feet as I did to Ben Aphlul Simon ben Kosebah 15 References Edit Ben Yosef 1979 pp 27 28 Dare to delve into Nahal Darga Allegro The Dead Sea Scrolls pp 35 36 Stern 2000 p 582 Stern 2000 pp 581 582 Stern 2000 pp 583 585 MUR1 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library a b c OakTree Software Inc Accordance 10 Bible Software 2008 MUR2 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library MUR3 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library MUR4 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library MUR5 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library MUR6 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library MUR88 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library Translation by John Allegro The Dead Sea Scrolls p 173 Bibliography Edit Allegro John M The Dead Sea Scrolls Harmondsworth Pelican 1956 Benoit P Milik J T and de Vaux R Les Grottes de Murabbaat Oxford Clarendon 1961 for text and photographs Ben Yosef Sefi in Hebrew 1979 Man s History Toldot ha Adam In Yitzhaki Arieh ed Israel Guide The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country in Hebrew Vol 5 Jerusalem Keter Publishing House in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence OCLC 745203905 Leon Levy Collection Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library Israel Antiquities Authority Retrieved 2015 01 22 Stern Ephraim Archaeology Eshel Hanan Written material Murabba at Wadi in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls Schiffman Lawrence H VanderKam James C eds Vol 1 Oxford 2000 pp 581 586 Coordinates 31 35 18 N 35 22 22 E 31 58833 N 35 37278 E 31 58833 35 37278 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wadi Murabba 27at amp oldid 1118454359, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
