Dead Sea Scroll question

My understanding is that the various scrolls have range in date, some as early as 200 BC and some perhaps as late as 100 AD. So you need to find the specific date for the scroll containing Isaiah 53.

Found this on the internet: "The earliest copy of Isaiah, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dates to the second century B.C., and is essentially like the Isaiah found in our Bible, though with many minor variations. Two major Isaiah scrolls were found near the Dead Sea, along with fragments of 16 other copies of the book. One of these scrolls contained all 66 chapters of Isaiah, which is the longest prophetic book in the Bible. At 24 feet, it is also the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls."

 

Nothing about the dating of these scrolls is "set in stone" but scholars are pretty convinced of the 200 BC - AD 70 dating on most of the scrolls. Given the socio-political issue surrounding Qumran (why they went there, the nature of their community, how they were oppressed) it makes sense to have them fall into this category. Also the composition of the documents, the inks and materials used, the nature of other archeological evidence surrounding them all seem to lead to the conclusion that this dating is pretty certain.

We can be pretty confident that the Qumran Scrolls dating in this period is what has been reported. These are some of the most thoroughly examined, carefully processed, and critically reviewed archeological finds of the last 200 years. They are some of the most checked and double-checked documents out there. Also, if this is any help in apologetics with unbelievers, much of the data and archeology has been done by non-believers.

The Isaiah scroll is dated to about 150 - 100 BC and this is one of the most important finds in the entire manuscript collection. The scroll is almost completely intact and varies from the MT of the Hebrew in minor areas which are usually attributed to differences in grammar, spelling, and formation of letters. It is a strong archeological evidence to aid our apologetic efforts.

 

COOL! I luv it!

 

Think of it this way: all the books in my house were not published in the same decade. A few from the 20s, several from the 50s, and some from the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. So also the Qumran community had writings from various ages; the DSS are not all original compositions or even copies made by the Qumran citizens themselves.

Remember, most of the thousands of "scrolls" are actually just small fragments, and only about 25% of them are actually canonical scripture. So, it wouldn't necessarily negatively affect biblical 'evidence' if some secular or apocryphal scraps are from the early 1st century AD.