Introduction
The Temple Scroll is written in Hebrew in the square Herodian script of the late Second Temple Period, and comprises 65 columns (19 pieces of leather) and is 9 metres in length. The outer part of the scroll sustained considerable damage over the many centuries with the consequence that Columns 2 to 14 have many missing words and phrases. From Column 15 onward the inner part of the scroll is better preserved.
Most of the text is a reworking of biblical material (mostly from Exodus chapter 34 to Deuteronomy chapter 23), though not in the same order as given in the bible, sometimes it combines different biblical texts to present a novel view and there are parts that are non biblical that are presented using biblical phraseology.
There is no scholarly consensus regarding the date, origin, or who composed the work, or its relationship to the Qumran community. Some scholars attribute the Temple Scroll to the isolated Qumran community, while others see no connection with the Qumran community; instead they see the work as a priestly (possible Zadokite) document that was hidden in a cave by Zealots during their flight from Jerusalem in 70 CE before the Roman destruction of the Temple.
Using X-rays, samples from the scroll showed that the fragments have a ratio of chlorine to bromine about three times higher than found in sea water, and researchers conclude that the parchment of the scroll may have been made using Dead Sea water.
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