WE LIVE TODAY in an era where there are so many religious groups. There are so many sects. And if we are going to consult the dictionary for the meaning of the word “sect”, it means religious “faction.” There are now lots of factions in religion, which is not really surprising. Please, do not get mad at me because I am only telling the truth.

In the sphere of the Catholic Church, there are so many factions. There are various groups under the umbrella of Catholicism with each faction having its own beliefs. For example, the “Kursilista” is a group different from “El Shaddai.” “El Shaddai” is different from “Couples for Christ”, but all of them claim to be Catholics. “El Shaddai” is also different from the group of Frank Jimenez, the fat man in Channel 9. And Frank Jimenez’s group is different from Bingbong Crisologo’s group. The latter’s group is called “A New Life in Jesus.” Actually, my fingers are not enough to count the number of factions within the Catholic Church alone. That is why, sometimes, I cannot help but mention also their differences in sentiments . . . differences in principles . . . and differences in beliefs. What is surprising, and at the same time, heartbreaking, is, their beliefs are different from one another, although they belong to the same religion.

In the sphere of the Catholic Church, there are so many factions. There are various groups under the umbrella of Catholicism with each faction having its own beliefs. For example, the “Kursilista” is a group different from “El Shaddai.” “El Shaddai” is different from “Couples for Christ”, but all of them claim to be Catholics. “El Shaddai” is also different from the group of Frank Jimenez, the fat man in Channel 9. And Frank Jimenez’s group is different from Bingbong Crisologo’s group. The latter’s group is called “A New Life in Jesus.” Actually, my fingers are not enough to count the number of factions within the Catholic Church alone. That is why, sometimes, I cannot help but mention also their differences in sentiments . . . differences in principles . . . and differences in beliefs. What is surprising, and at the same time, heartbreaking, is, their beliefs are different from one another, although they belong to the same religion.

If this is the scenario, then, we must be alarmed if we accept in our heart that we are concerned about the truth, and if we are really seekers of only the truth. If we claim that we are ONE in our faith, and yet, we are divided in our beliefs and sentiments, then, we must be alarmed, because as far as the Bible is concerned, that is not good. Please, don’t get angry, but I want you to read James 3:16, 15, which says–

“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”

It said that, wherever envy and divisiveness, or factionalism dwells, there also dwell confusion and all evil works. And this, according to the Bible, is not the wisdom that descended from above. Instead, it is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Therefore, it would mean that, if a group is divided – if there is strife within the group, if there is envying, factionalism, and divisiveness – it violates the will of God.

I am not here to attack anyone. I am just doing my share in eliminating factionalism and differences in feelings. And that is by being united as a manner that is prescribed by God. We have to look for a common point, or a common interest, that will bind us together, and not to further divide ourselves. My objective is to foster unity. Others only misinterpret me. They thought that I simply meddle in the affairs of others. They question me why I have to mention the beliefs of others.

Actually, in this world, there is really nothing wrong in talking about the beliefs of other people. That is not bad. Even our Constitution allows that. We have our freedom of speech; we have our freedom of religion. And when it comes to religion, there is such a thing as “privileged communication,” especially on radio and on television. It is a form of immunity against libel. You may talk about other’s beliefs without being sued for libel. That is, if what you say deals only with the beliefs, and not with the person. You are not actually trying to destroy the person, but you are simply telling that what he believes in is not correct. That is what we must understand. So, please, do not get us wrong. In the studies that we are making, we do not have any ill intention of attacking anyone, if ever we are scrutinizing his beliefs. I am not saying anything bad about any person; I am simply talking about their beliefs.

Just consider the situation in our country today. We have a multi-party system; we have different ideologies. The government had permitted the communists to become a legal political party. There is also the Liberal Party, and the Nacionalista Party. They all have the freedom to express the ideology that they believe in. What more when it comes to religion! There is no need to seal our mouth to prevent us from proclaiming our belief that the Bible contains everything that is good, although, of course, this might offend others. But that is biblical, nonetheless. It is not bad to compare things if we truly desire to see the truth. This is what Ecclesiastes. 7:27 says–

“Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account.”

According to Solomon, he was “counting one by one, to find out the account.” Therefore, we cannot really avoid making comparisons. Before coming up with a final choice, we cannot help but compare one thing from another. That is inevitable. In buying mangoes, for instance, you look at the mangoes closely and then, you compare one from the other. Before you court a girl, you also make comparisons. You compare Maria with Marie to find out who between the two is more beautiful. When you compare them, you later realized that one of them was very talkative while the other was a silent type. You consider a lot of things. And when you have finally analyzed who is better, it is only then that you start courting. You are making a comparison because you are given many choices. Of course, it is a different story if only one is available. If that is the case, you do not really have a choice.

If there is but one religion, then, there is no need for us to choose because we are not given any alternative. But the point is, there are many religions today, and all of them claim to be the true religion. But it is doubtful! In the first place, no religious group would admit that they are false . . . and that they are heading for hell . . . and that their pastor is a liar! Nobody would say that. But take note, whenever they are introduced, they are addressed as “Reverend Pastor,” “Very Reverend.” It is wondering to note why they are using the word “reverend” when this word was used only once in the Bible. Just once! Unlike some terms, which were used for several times, the word “reverend” was used in the Bible only once. Do you know where it was used? We will read inPsalms 111:9–

“He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant forever: holy and reverend is his name.”

Holy and reverend is his name. “Reverend” was used to refer to the name of God. But today, it is surprising to hear how pastors, who know only three (3) verses, are being addressed as reverend. Obviously, they did not even think for whom the word reverend was been used. It was used only for God. Even the Apostles did not dare to use the word; not even the evangelists, and not even the early prophets of God. Many people today who would like to be called reverend. They overflow. There is even one who is being called “Most Reverend.”

However, if we will only think more deeply, we can already consider those simple matters as vital issues that need to be reflected on. We may ask ourselves, why are they using a word, which was meant for God only? It was not even used by the first servants of God. Therefore, from that point alone—from the way preachers and pastors are being addressed today—there is already something for us to ponder on. There are also those who call their pastors “Beloved Pastor,” or “Beloved Evangelist”. There are also some who are being called “Ka Bining,” and “Ka Ramos.” But there are some who are being called “Father.” Bear in mind that we are just talking about titles, or the forms of address to preachers, and yes, it is already alarming. The different names and titles that people give to pastors are quite alarming. In 1991, before the earthquake occurred, there was one preacher who was called Father Tropa. Do you remember him? After the earthquake he did not appear anymore. He was a priest who was sporting a long hair, and he wanted people to call him “Father Tropa.” His group was called Spaceship 2000, if I remember right. Perhaps, that was where former President Fidel V. Ramos derived his program, Philippines 2000.

What I am trying to tell you, brothers and sisters, is, if we will begin our scrutiny from the title alone, there are already so many things that would puzzle us. Each preacher is addressed differently. “Beloved pastor, bless me.” “Your blessings, Among.” “Among” was a form of address to priests during the Spanish period—during the time of our grandparents. The priests were called “Among.” If you will only study . . . if you will only seek for the truth, then, the truth will surely surface. Now, how does the Bible call a preacher? Should he be called “Very Reverend”? Should he be called “Beloved Pastor” or “Beloved Evangelist”? Should he be called “Father”, or “Reverend Father”? How should they be properly addressed? What is the correct way of addressing them? Let us read in Matthew 23:8–

“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.”

Christ prohibited us from calling anybody “Rabbi”. The Bible said, “be not” or “don’t”. We do not know if you will agree with me, but, if the Bible says, “do not,” that means we are prohibited from doing it. If the Bible says, do not commit adultery—that means adultery is prohibited. If the Bible says, do not marry a close relative . . . do not uncover your nakedness to your brother . . . do not approach your mother, or your father’s wife, nor your stepmother to uncover your nakedness . . . do not approach your close kin, nor be married to him . . . that means, all of those are prohibitions.

Now, God said, do not let anyone call you Rabbi, and you are all brethren. Therefore, that is how we should be addressed – brother or sister. You should not let others call you rabbi; you are not so special in the eyes of the Lord. In a true religion, nobody is above the other. Unlike in the “Hukbalahap” wherein there is a “Supremo”. In a true religion, everybody is equal, and each is addressed as “brother” or “sister.” All are brethren in God. That was why the Apostles addressed their fellows as “Brother Paul” and “Brother Peter.” Nobody was called “Reverend”; nobody was called “Father.” Those forms of addresses are prohibited by God. That was mentioned in23:9–

“And call no man your Father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

It says–

“Do not call anyone Father upon the earth.”

When it comes to religion, God is prohibiting us from calling any man on earth Father. “For one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

We know very well that our words would hurt a lot of people. But, does it mean that, simply because others are hurt by our pronouncements we must already shut our mouth? Would you rather let us keep the things that we know to ourselves simply because others are hurt by what we say? And those who get hurt will eventually get mad to us? Must we prevent ourselves from talking even if the things that we say are all written in the Bible? Will you let us do that? Do you think God also wants it that way? Let us read what is written in Jeremiah 26:2–

“Thus saith the Lord. Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.”

Should we just keep it to ourselves? Must we no longer speak simply because others will be hurt with our pronouncements? God did not want it that way! He said, “All the words that I command thee to speak unto them, diminish not a word.” .” What must be the principle of a true preacher of God, who wants to express the truth, but in the process, he would be offending the feelings of others? Let us read in Numbers 22:18–

“. . . If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do other good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak.”

That is the guiding principle of a true preacher. He would still speak even if Balak bribes him with a house full of silver and gold. That could actually make him richer than Ka Erdie. Are you familiar with Balak’s house? Balak was a false god of the Egyptians, and of the early pagans. They used to build big houses and temples for their false gods. You can just imagine if you are going to fill that house with gold and silver!? Today, a kilo of gold costs 3 million. And a kilo of gold is just a small piece of gold. But Balak’s house was big, and it would be filled with gold. If you are greedy of money, your eyes would surely be dazzled. But the Bible said a true preacher of God would never be tempted by gold. He said, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak.”

Perhaps, that is more than enough. You see, it is just like performing a surgery. For the patient not to feel the pain, he is injected with anesthesia. That is exactly what I am trying to do with you so that you won’t get mad us. And that is how it should be. It is also biblical. We are going to study religion. And we are going to speak. For all we know, our words are already hitting your faith, and you are already mad to us. Please don’t. Just like in a surgery, you are first given a dose of anesthesia. After that, you would no longer be conscious that you are already cut into pieces. But in undergoing this process, your illness will be cured. That is the doctor’s main intention. If a tooth is to be extracted, you will first be given an anesthesia. Otherwise, you might kick the dentist while he is extracting your tooth because of severe pain.

That is also my intention why I am trying to tell you all these. There are teachings in the Bible, which would, inevitably, be mentioned. So, if we want to remain true to what God said, nothing must prevent us from speaking – even if you get mad to me! In the first place, why do I have to study the Bible if I would only be intimidated by your feelings? We better throw the Bible away. We will recount to you a story instead. If you want, I will tell you the stories of Lola Basyang or the story about Kapitan Kidlat, a folkloric super hero of long ago. Or, perhaps, if you prefer a more contemporary story, I will tell you the story of Luis Fernando and Maria Del Clemente of a famous Mexican television novella. If we are just going to tell each other stories, we will surely have lots of fun, but we will not gain anything, except a little laughter, which will also vanish after a while. Sooner or later, they will also be forgotten, because everything has an end.

But, if we are going to talk about the word of God, there is something about the preacher that we must first realize. A true preacher speaks of things that God wants him to say, irrespective of who is going to be affected. Now, if a preacher simply wants to please other people, and he doesn’t want his listeners to get mad at him, it could be because he has a vested interest. There are, indeed, preachers who do not want to displease other people. Do you know why? We will read Jude 16. This is what it says–

“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own hurts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”

Did you see the reason why they are respectful? They show respect to other people because of personal gains. That is what Judas/Jude Thaddeus said. He is the better Judas/Jude. There were two Judases. Do you have any son whose name is Judas (Jude)? You see, due to the people’s ignorance of the Bible, parents no longer want to name their son Judas (Jude) anymore. They only name their children Mary (Maria), Peter (Pedro), and John (John), but not Judas (Jude). Had I been given the chance to father some children, perhaps my firstborn would be named as Judas/Jude. Why? . . . It is because the name Judas (Jude) is not at all bad a name. In fact, there was a good Judas in the person of Judas Thaddeus. So, who was the bad Judas? He was Judas Iscariot . . . and this is the name that should not be given to a child. It is just like the name Simon. There was a good Simon, and there was also a bad Simon. Who was the bad Simon? He was the one, who after recognizing the God-given gifts in the Apostles, also wanted to possess the same gifts.

For this reason, he approached the Apostles to buy from them the same gifts. From that gesture, the word “simony” was derived. If you pay a certain amount of money in exchange of some powers, or authority, that is simony. Simony refers to the practice of buying a power/authority. Therefore, there was a bad Simon, and there was also a good Simon. Did you know who helped Jesus carry his cross? Do you know his name? What was his name? In other words, parents do not want to name their son Judas because they were only thinking of Judas Iscariot, and not Judas Thaddeus. The same is true with the name Simon. There is a good Simon; there is also a bad Simon. Even Peter is also Simon. He was called Simon Peter.

There are preachers who show respect to people because of personal gains. Why? Let us read in Romans 16:18–

“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceived the hearts of the simple.”

This is the reason why, whenever he speaks, nobody gets hurt. They speak fairly, but they are deceiving the hearts of the simple. Why? It is because they are not really serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. No wonder, they make sure that the people they serve will never get angry. But if you are truly serving God, what should be your guiding principle whenever you speak? Galatians 1:10 says–

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ..”

Are we persuading God, or men? Are we trying to please God, or men? If we are only pleasing men, we will never be a servant of Christ. Why?Galatians 1:11 says–

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.”

St. Paul said that, the gospel that he is preaching is not in conformity with what man prefers. What the Gospel wants is different from what man wants. Man wants pleasure; the Gospel is against it. Man wants to have as much as 5, or 8, or even 10 wives. There are men who really change their partners monthly. Why are we saying these things? It is because there are person known to us who frequently changes his wife. That is why, he has so many firstborns. Man wants to change his wife from time to time. Man does not want to be fatigued; but the Gospel is not tolerating laziness. In other words, if you will truly preach the Gospel, you really could not help but hurt the feelings of some people. And if a preacher can be easily intimidated and harassed by other people, he can never preach the Gospel faithfully. But God’s instruction was clear–

“Speak unto all cities all the words that I command you to speak unto them; diminish not a word.”

Are you all set now? Perhaps, we have given you enough “anesthesia” for you not to get hurt and offended to whatever we are going to say that might touch your wrong beliefs.

Eddie Villanueva said that, religion is no longer needed. We have recorded Wilde Almeda also claiming that religion is no longer needed. There was also another pastor who shared the same belief. Pastor Louie also believes that religion is not needed. However, the Bible states that, religion is needed. The Bible is teaching us a pure religion. And from the book ofJames 1:27we have read that–

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

So, pure religion displays charity and holiness. And charity is manifested by showing compassion to the orphans/fatherless and to the widows. On the other hand, holiness means keeping oneself unspotted from the world. Therefore, the essence of true, or pure, religion in the Bible is charity and holiness. That is why, religion is indispensable. You can never be saved without the true religion, which is upheld by the Bible.

Our topic for this edition is: Who is practicing, or exercising, the true religion in our time? The Bible can be compared with a script. Will you agree to that? A script is dramatized; it is reenacted, while the word of God is kept within one’s heart, and then, it is lived. So, who is exercising true religion nowadays? We have read earlier that a true religion is made up of charity and holiness. Charity and holiness! Now, which among the religions nowadays is exercising charity and holiness? Are you interested to find out? Try to examine the practice of many religions today. Will they qualify to the standards of the Bible about a true religion? Do they show charity to the fatherless and the widows, and to the so-called less fortunate brothers and sisters? Do they take the necessary precautions that they may not be contaminated and be dominated by the “world”? Let us find out the answers to these questions from the studies that we are making. Let us begin.

Why must a true religion exercise charity? Let us readI Corinthians 13:13. It says–

“And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, but the greatest of these is charity.”
The Bible said that, there are 3 things that a person needs to possess: faith, hope, and charity (or love). The Greek word “agape” was translated in English as “charity.” Agape means, holy love, holy concern, holy charity. Why am I mentioning this? Charity, or love, for others is very necessary. Without it, religion is useless. That is what you must remember. Actually, all religions claim that they have love and charity. In fact, their organization is called “Caritas de Manila.” Practically, all claim that they have charity. But the question is: in reality, do all religions exercise charity and love, and concern for others? Let us readI John 3:17 it says–

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

If you have the means, if you live comfortably, and you see that your brother is in need . . . Please, take note, he is not asking for anything yet, you simply have seen that he was in need, and yet, you denied him charity, how do you expect that God’s love will dwell in you? Therefore, you will never attain salvation, and your religion is not pure. Why? Because you abandoned your brother who is in need. Now, enumerate the different religions today, and see for yourself if they show charity to their less fortunate brethren. Obviously, they do not. Please, don’t get offended, but let me cite an example.

Try to go to Quiapo—right in Quiapo Church. Outside the church were churchgoers and vendors. And in between stalls of vendors were beggars—very dirty . . . flies feasted on the sores on their body . . . and there were also infants, cuddled by their mothers, being exposed to the scorching heat of the sun. When evening came, we could see them sleeping on the sidewalk. We had a locale in Quiapo, right across Mercury Drug. That is why I am able to see these things. You can even saw how a mother, together with her child, ran for shelter when the rain poured. And if you are going to look upward, you will realize that the air-conditioning unit in the pastor’s room was working. The pastor is up there in his room. No flood will reach his room; no mosquitoes could enter his room. On the other hand, his brethren in faith were outside–under the rain, being bitten by mosquitoes, and very dirty. If God would descend from heaven, and he would see those beggars and their pastor, He would definitely reprimand the pastor. “Didn’t I tell you that a true religion looks after the less fortunate?” And the pastor would reply, “My Lord, if I would look after all of them, I would surely run out of resources. I might go bankrupt. I do not want to be poor, so I just abandoned them.” Very well, then, go to hell!

The Bible said, whoever has this world’s good, and sees his brethren in need, but denies him compassion, how will God’s love dwell in him? Will that person be saved? Be the judge. From that verse alone, a lot of religious organizations today will not qualify (to be called a true/pure religion). We know of a pastor who lives in a palace, while his members are living in the squatter’s area, near the Pasig River. That is why, they all get nervous whenever it rains; they are afraid that the flood might drown their children. Did you see the great difference in their living condition? A palace versus a shanty, made out of tin cans. But when Thursday comes, these squatters give donations to the one who lives in the palace. Is that right? That is wrong! No pastor can prove that such a practice is right. We are challenging anybody, who can prove that such is right. And we will prove that it is wrong. I will let them cut my throat if they can prove, by using the Bible that, it is right that the one from the squatter’s area must give donation to the one residing in the palace (who would no longer run short of money in his lifetime). What a disgraceful religion, if that is the case!

If I may compare our group with theirs, ours is a poor organization. I am the poorest in the group. But the members of our group can never accuse me that I am enriching myself at their expense. But despite our being poor, I can guarantee you that we do not have any beggar member here, not even one. Why? It is because I believe that the true religion, in the Bible, looks after the less fortunate. That is why, we have orphanages. Although we are poor, we do not have a single member who begs for alms. But there is a religion whose members beg for money even in market places. They carry pouches. Those people are shameless! Others would perhaps say that my language is quite tough and biting. Aren’t those people really shameless and bold-faced? What do you want me to say? . . . That they are good looking? Is that it? If that is the case, then, we are not being true! In the Bible, there is really such a thing as “bold-faced” people. Let us read in Ecclesiastes 8:1–

“. . . a man’s wisdom maketh his face shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.”

There are bold-faced people, but they pretend to be the opposite. They carry pouches, and they tell people that the money that they collect is for the Lord. If they see the fish vendor giving you your change, they will surely await you. They are the “beggars” who are wearing neckties. They are competitors of the real beggars. But they do not only compete with real beggars, they even rob them of the alms that they received from other people.

Formerly, the Munoz junction was being occupied by an old beggar. Later on, that old beggar had to look for another post because it had been occupied by the followers of the pastor from Marikina. Those people do not really select the people they are going to molest. They will just approach you with their pouches. The power of darkness has spread everywhere. Sometimes you would just be surprised that they are already standing in front of you, with their pouches. When the day had ended, the beggar counted the alms that he received. On his way home, he passed by his former post, which was now occupied by the followers of the man from Marikina. And to his amazement, when he passed by them, they extended toward him their pouch – a manifestation that they were asking him to drop inside his donation. The beggar got angry. Can you imagine that? They already kicked him off his original post, and now, there they were asking him to give a part of his earnings from begging! Now, will you not consider them shameless and bold-faced? They were elegantly dressed, and yet, they were soliciting money from a beggar! Is that right? Is that justice?

My countrymen, if nobody will talk and disclose all these, we will forever be misled in religion. A true religion is one that looks after the less fortunate . . . it shows love to others. A true religion is not abusive, or advantageous, of its members. From that aspect alone, many religious organizations today will not meet the standards of the Bible. Isn’t it that the question that we are trying to answer is: Who is practicing true (pure) religion today? So, you have to choose which of the religious organizations today exercise true religion.

There are big religious organizations today, but they all neglect their members. If only our group is as big as theirs . . . But granting that the owner of SM happened to be one of our members, we will tell him to accommodate inside SM all the beggars outside every evening, so that they won’t get wet whenever it is raining. The main essence of true religion is, to do good to one’s fellow all his life. That means, loving one’s fellows. Unfortunately, you were never taught to do that; you were never taught of what true religion is all about. Why did we say that? .Because you do not even care for your neighbors. The rich did not even show any concern to his neighbor, who was in a state of delirium. Insofar as the Bible is concerned, let us find out if you really have an obligation to your neighbors. Let us read what is written inProverbs 27:10–

“Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.”

Your neighbor is important to God. However, there are rich people who do not care about their neighbors. Sometimes, they even let go of their dogs to chase the poor who are begging for alms. That is because they were never taught of true religion. Their philosophy in life is for one “to teach oneself.” It is bad not to care for one another. It has become very unfortunate to see that love no longer exists among men, especially, love for the less fortunate. Nowadays, the poor are even used as instruments in cheating other people. Isn’t it that today, there are syndicates that employ beggars? That is why many people do not want to give alms to the beggars anymore, believing that they are parts of the syndicate.

Personally, my line of thinking is that, if a beggar asks for alms and you have the means, you better give him, regardless of the possibility that he could be a member of a syndicate. That is his means of livelihood, so, we should show our compassion to them. Whenever I give alms to beggars, I always tell myself that, the amount I am giving him will be spent for his meal, instead of being given to the syndicate. But there are people who deny their peso to the beggar. And yet, they claim that theirs is the true religion, and that, only they have the right to go to heaven. They firmly believe that their group is real; that only they will go to heaven. So, we couldn’t help but conclude that, perhaps, those people thought that heaven was meant only for the Filipinos. Can you imagine that? Heaven is so vast but there is only a handful who would occupy it!

There are groups of faith, which have that kind of belief. (One of them is the group from Hagonoy.) They consider themselves as believers. Do you know how many they are? Three hundred! And one of their doctrines is that, only they would be saved. Imagine? Heaven was made so big, and yet, only 300 will occupy it. What kind of a belief is that? In the first place, how can you be saved when you do not have love for your fellows? Do you know what these religions have learned? They wanted to be loved, but they do not want to love! Why? They only love their pastor. So, they give him donations; they make him richer; they buy him a car, an airplane, a jet, and a ship. Their pastor had brainwashed them that, when they give they will receive a hundred-fold . . . that, they would receive abundant and overflowing blessings. If that were true, how come the members remain impoverished? They still have no rice. Who, then, received abundant and overflowing blessings? Of course, it was their Pastor or Evangelist despite the fact that these pastors do not even look after the welfare of their poor members; they do not even bother to share with them a little of what they enjoy. And yet, they unabashedly claim that, theirs is the true religion. How can that be true when their members loiter in the streets, day and night . . . rain or shine; they sleep on the sidewalks without any pillow. Is that the true/pure religion?

A religion has a responsibility to other people, not only among neighbors, but even to the beggars, to the orphans/fatherless, to the widows, and to all, who need help. A true religion has a responsibility . . . that is what the Bible says. It shows love for others.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING!

YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME

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1. log on to www.talkshoe.com

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5. click on “listen, chat, and talk”

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Happy listening!

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Three MCGI Web sites now officially competing for best Web site and People’s Choice awards

by: Kaanib.net News Service

31 October 2007

Three Web sites entered by the Members Church of God International (MCGI) to a local web award body made it as finalists in the respective categories of organization, community and portal, and celebrities and personalities. They are: Ang Dating Daan Bible Exposition Online (angdatingdaan.org), Kaanib.net and Danielrazon.com.

Last year, MCGI earned four major awards for the same Web sites entered this year including the Most Popular Website of the Year award for angdatingdaan.org, which the organization enjoyed for five years in a row now. Only Kaanib.net so far has won an outstanding achievement award in terms of design and development in 2005.

The Philippine Web Awards is the event annually organized by the magazine publisher Media G8Way, which celebrates this year one decade as the premier award-giving body for local websites. From 15 categories this year, there are 69 finalists, which include some popular corporate and organizational sites such as those from Ayala Corporation, Smart Communications, Honda Cars Philippines, China Bank, Chowking, GMA-7, UNTV-37, MTV Philippines, Bench Clothing, San Miguel Corporation, Yehey and EYP, among others.

People’s Choice Awards, whereby voting was opened since the semi-finals phase, is given to Web sites which receive the most number of votes through online and SMS or mobile voting. To vote for our entries via SMS, follow the following directions:

For angdatingdaan.org, type WEBBYS VOTE 72
For kaanib.net, WEBBYS VOTE 22
For danielrazon.com, WEBBYS VOTE 19

Globe, Touch Mobile, and Sun Cellular subscribers can send the typed message to 2973, while for Smart and Talk N’ Text users, typed message should be sent to 210. Voting ends until midnight of November 22, 2007.

Awarding ceremonies is set on November 23, 2007 at the Teatrino Promenade, Greenhills.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING!

YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME

These are the steps to tune in to the podcast:

1. log on to www.talkshoe.com

2. create your own account

3. after installing the talkshoe software, click “LIVE NOW” tab

4. look for Brother Eli’s podcast entitled “The Brother Eli Soriano Truth Pod“

5. click on “listen, chat, and talk”

*please be advised that it is a must that everyone who will be calling in the podshow should be wearing a headset to avoid feedbacks and echoes.

Happy listening!

Bro. Jan Michael

DO YOU KNOW that, according to the Bible, God created four other intelligent creatures, next to man? They do not include dogs, gorillas, and monkeys, which others thought to be second to man in terms of intelligence. Aside from that, the advocates of the theory of Charles Darwin have this wrong belief that monkeys, or apes, are the direct descendants of man. They believe that man evolved from a lower form of living things. Unfortunately, that is against what the Bible says.

Do you know that, according to the Bible, the ants have a superior intelligence, which is almost second to man’s? Proverbs 30:24-28 says–

“There are four things which are little upon the earth but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.”

While Proverbs 6:6-8 says–

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise; Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

We have to remember that it is the Bible itself that considers the ants as wise. And in their being wise, they no longer need any ruler, or leader, for them to enjoy a sophisticated way of life.

Do you know that the ants’ dwelling place is even air-conditioned? They are storing food for the entire duration of the rainy season. They have their own knowledge in agriculture. They collect organic matters, which serve as their food during the lengthy rainy season.

Do you know that the ants that we see everyday are mostly female? They live in a colony that is made up of more than one million members, workers, and soldiers that are all females. The male ants die after the queen ant fertilizes. The queen ant’s only duty is to lay about 50,000 to 100,000 eggs a day.

According to studies conducted by zoologists, there about 12 million to 14 million kinds of ants in our planet. And like humans, they are found in almost all habitable places, except in mountains that are covered with ice, and in the polar region. Based on studies, the ants have unusual physical features. Their head is made of a special sensor that easily identifies chemical and visual signs. In addition, they have about half a million nerve cells in their brain. They have a keen vision and a sensitive hair that responds to anything attached to it. Their teeth are as sharp as a carving tool. They have strong muscles that allow their six legs to move. When needed, they are able to secrete liquid from their special glands that warn their companions in case of an impeding danger. Out of their poison glands, they are able to discharge formic acid and other poisons, which they use against their enemies. Their antenna functions as their nose and fingers.

Within 24 hours, they are able to build their houses. And this lasts for more than a month, and this is where their queen lay eggs. There is another colony of ants, which is called “army ants,” that build their houses neither on the ground nor on trees. Their bodies linked together serve as a shelter for their queen. About 200,000 to 750,000 ants link their bodies together in order to cover the queen and her young. But when morning comes, the separate. Other ants, however, live underground.

According to reports, the ants are able to dig about 40 tons of soil in order to build their gigantic home. A colony of ants can maintain 150 houses, and they are able to patrol 1,600 square metes. The territory of ants is one of the biggest in the world of insects. The soldier ants stay only on the sides of their house in order to guard it from attacks of enemies. Should enemies come, they send a signal that could be smelled by their comrades so that they could be given reinforcement. They surround their enemies and spit on them formic acid. And when they are killed, they bring them to their camp to be eaten.

Do you know that ants are able to communicate and send messages to their colleagues by means of a liquid called “pheromone”? This is the reason why when an ant discovers food deposits, it could easily call on its companions who would gather them.

Another remarkable trait of ants is their industry. One can never see a sleeping ant. Have you seen one? That is why an ant is being used as a paragon of industry. As written in Proverbs 6:6-10–

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise; Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth, her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When will thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.”

Let us not be lazy; let us not be sluggards. It is not good to be one.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING!

YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME

These are the steps to tune in to the podcast:

1. log on to www.talkshoe.com

2. create your own account

3. after installing the talkshoe software, click “LIVE NOW” tab

4. look for Brother Eli’s podcast entitled “The Brother Eli Soriano Truth Pod“

5. click on “listen, chat, and talk”

*please be advised that it is a must that everyone who will be calling in the podshow should be wearing a headset to avoid feedbacks and echoes.

Happy listening!

And for a family to live harmoniously, the wife must learn to submit herself to her husband. If you want to buy a refrigerator, consult your husband first. In the first place, he is the breadwinner. If he gives his consent, then, go ahead. You may buy one. If that is the case, do you think they will still quarrel? Not anymore, because he has given her his consent. The husband is the head in the household; he is the president. If the president has approved something, the vice president also approves it. Who is the president? Ephesians 5:23—

“For the husband is the head of the wife.”

The husband is the head of his wife. Therefore, if you are the husband, but you are just the vice president in the house, that means, you do not believe in God. In a marital relationship, the husband is the head, and his wife must be under his subjection. And if a wife submits herself under the subjection of her husband, there will never be any quarrel between the two of them. If you want to visit your parents, you seek for the permission of your husband. If he consents, even if you go home late, he will not be angry with you. Who knows, he might even fetch you there. Because he loves you and because you understand each other, he might even fetch you from your parents’ house.

Just consider the trains. Trains will not collide and clash against each other so long as they stick to their respective rails, even if one of them gets out of order. A husband and a wife have their respective rails to tread. And as long as they stick to their own rails, everything will run smoothly; no accidents will happen. But why do accidents happen? Why are some children neglected? Why do they turn out to be drug addicts? Why do some children become gamblers and bystanders? Why do they loiter in the streets? Why? Both the husband and the wife had gone off the track, especially today when some couples just beget children without proper planning. (“Dear, it’s been two months since my last menstruation.”) Then, her mother-in-law how many children do they already have. She said 12, and she is conceiving for the 13th. And because of that, she was ascribing the blame to her husband. But his husband ascribed the blame on her, saying that she liked it too. That is the usual story. And at my age, I have witnessed similar situations.

There are also parents who would even give justification for their negligence. They would reason out that, it is better that they are many because, many will be working for their livelihood. There are really parents who bear children just to have somebody to work in their behalf. That is not good.

Personally, I believe that loving parents normally prepare for their child even before he is born. They buy the baby a crib, diapers, etc, although diapers today are no longer a problem because of the availability of disposable diapers. But in the past, long before the baby is born, the expecting mother already prepares the diapers. She would even embroider them with the word “baby”. The parents also plan for their child’s future. (“When she grows up, we would send her to St. Agnes, or St. Mary. They also plan for the course that they want their child to pursue. That is what I mean by “planning”.)

There are also husbands would run their hands on the tummy of their pregnant wives. They would talk to the baby inside (“When are you going to come out? I hope you are a girl”). And the reason they want a girl is, for her to work in a cabaret when she grows up. That is wrong. A child must be loved; he/she must not be made a laborer.

If we are going to live in accordance to the laws being spoken in the Bible, the wife must submit herself to her husband. The husband, on the other hand, is under the authority of Christ. He must live by the doctrines of God; he must not cheat his wife. That is the next topic that we are going to study. We will try to find out the qualities of a man to whom the woman must submit herself.

But always bear in mind, sisters, for a woman not to go wrong, she must abide by the doctrines of God. She must put herself under the subjection of her husband. (Next time, we are going to study the kind of husband a man should be.)

At this point, let us focus our discussion on the women. First of all, the Bible admonished the woman to be modest, both in her ways and in her manner of dressing. She must not be contentious and talkative. What else? Colossians 3:18 gives the commandment for women–

“Wives, submit yourself unto your husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:33—

“And the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

Abraham was revered by Sarah. Sarah called Abraham “Lord”. Therefore, the women were commanded to revere their husbands. Why? Because, there are wives who do not respect their husbands. Sometimes, the wife even shouts at her husband in the presence of other people. (“Tulume, how shameless you are! You do not even want to help me in the household chores! Go home and cook rice.”) She does not even consider that her husband was with his friends. Does that kind of woman have any respect for her husband?

A woman who respects her husband will not confront him in the presence of other people. There was a woman who heard that her husband was womanizing. So, she looked for him. She found him with other bystanders. But she did not make a scene right there and then. In fact, she courteously excused herself to everybody. (She told them, “Dear, one moment please. Please, excuse us. We will just have to talk about an important matter.” The husband asked, “What is it?” She answered, “Come, we will talk about it at home.”)

(When they reached home, she pinched him hard, and said, “How dare you womanize!”)

I admire that woman because she was able to control her emotion. She expressed it only when they have reached home.

The women were commanded to revere their husbands. You must respect your husband. You must not divulge to other people the things that your husband keeps. Do not tell anyone that he has ringworm in his buttocks. There are women who are like that. They do not hesitate telling other people that their husband has a body odor. Bear in mind that, even he has body odor, you must learn to accept him for what he is. Do not think that just because he has a body odor, you could already flirt with other men. No! Instead, you have to do something about his body odor. You will never be saved if you flirt with other men simply because your husband has a body odor. You will go to hell; you will not be saved. Find a remedy to his body odor. You buy him alum. Apply it in his armpit after he has taken a bath, and you’ll see, he’ll never smell bad the whole day. There are lots of remedies to it. That is the best thing that you can do. He is already your husband. Why don’t you just sing …

“You’re my Everything Everything I need You’re the song I sing And the book I read You’re a way beyond belief I just make it brief You’re my winter, summer, Spring, my everything.”

Even if he has a body odor, you can no longer return him to his parents. That is, if you want to be saved. Is that true, or not? Do not fool around; do not go with other men. You will not be saved if you do that. The soul of a man is very important. In this world, you are already considered fortunate if you live up to 80, or 90 years. Do you think we still reach that age? Nowadays, there are people who die at the age of 31. Today, the life span of a man is much shorter.

Let’s say you lived in this world for 100 years. Let’s say that you died after 100 years. Are you not afraid that your soul, should you go wrong, will experience eternal punishment? That is why we should prepare. A wise man prepares, not only for the present, but also for the future. He is taking into consideration not only the present but also of what is yet to come. There are many challenges that await him in the future, and he is preparing for those.

Sisters, do you want to be worthy in the eyes of God? Do not forget the fundamental doctrines taught to you. Be modest in your manners … in the way you dress up … in dealing with other people. Also, submit yourself, in full subjection, to your husband. And lastly, revere your husband, and keep on doing good things all the days of your life.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING!

YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME

These are the steps to tune in to the podcast:

1. log on to www.talkshoe.com

2. create your own account

3. after installing the talkshoe software, click “LIVE NOW” tab

4. look for Brother Eli’s podcast entitled “The Brother Eli Soriano Truth Pod“

5. click on “listen, chat, and talk”

*please be advised that it is a must that everyone who will be calling in the podshow should be wearing a headset to avoid feedbacks and echoes.

Happy listening!

At the beginning of the 20th century many important scientific developments occurred, each of them proving how wrong Darwin’s theory was.

In the 1900s, the science of genetics was born, and shortly afterwards the structure of genes and chromosomes was discovered.

In 1955, James Watson and Francis Crick demonstrated the structure of the DNA molecule. To explain DNA briefly:

In the nucleus of every cell in your body, there is a DNA molecule, containing all the information about your body. The color of your hair and your eyes, information about your internal organs, your external appearance, your height, and all your other characteristics are all encoded in your DNA. To understand how much information is contained in DNA, consider this comparison:

If you wrote down the information in one DNA molecule, it would fill a library of 900 volumes of 500 pages each. To house these encyclopedias, you would need a library as long as a football field. This much information, invisible to us, is contained in one single molecule.

DNA proves that cells could not have come into being by chance. This is one of the countless clear proofs of God’s existence.

We have mentioned just a few of the developments that occurred in the last century. Every branch of science separately affirms the invalidity of evolution. Despite this, evolutionists continue to cling to Darwin’s “explanations.” They even add new fabrications to the old ones. But these will still not make Darwin’s famous barrel experiment work, because evolutionists still do not think scientifically. They do not accept the fact that the Almighty God created all living things.

Very well, what has changed in Darwin’s theory in the meantime? Let’s look at a conversation between scientists who believe in the evolutionist myth, and those who don’t:

Scientist 1: Darwin’s resources were limited. In his day science was at a very low level. He could not prove evolution under those conditions.

Scientist 2: Maybe we can do what he couldn’t. We will prove that a cell can come into existence by chance.

Scientist 3: I don’t agree. No living creature will come out of your cherished barrel.

Scientist 1: Our laboratories are filled with high-tech instruments. Now we know more about living things. We have discovered the structure of cells. Perhaps human beings will soon produce a living thing.

Scientist 2: Let’s try it again.

Scientist 3: You’re wrong. People who think like you have been waiting by their barrels for a hundred years. You can wait for hundreds of years more, but still nothing will happen. Remember, Darwin didn’t get the results he wanted.

Scientist 1: Why not give it a try? We might succeed.

Scientist 2: Let’s see what happens.

Scientist 3: No! You can wait a million years, but nothing will happen. To create life, it isn’t enough to assemble all the elements in living things. Only God creates and gives life.

After their conversation, the three scientists make a decision.

Scientist 3: Alright, we have many more resources than Darwin had; let’s use them all and do an experiment. You will see the results, and maybe then you will accept the truth.

Scientist 1: OK.

Scientist 2: Let’s get started.

And they try the experiment again . . .

Scientist 1: There, I’ve made a mixture of gasses that I think were in the Earth’s primal atmosphere.

Scientist 2: I’ve made an artificial source of electrical discharge.

Scientist 1: Let’s boil the gas mixture at 100 degrees Centigrade for a week.

Scientist 2: Let’s apply a continuous electrical charge to the mixture. That may work better.

An electrical charge is applied to the mixture and it is heated constantly. What will be the result?

Scientist 1: It’s been a week. Let’s put some of the mixture in a test tube.

Scientist 2: But there are no test tubes in nature. . . !

Scientist 1: Never mind. We can’t do it any other way. It will just be a little deception.

Scientist 2: Alright. You’re very sly. Let’s see if it will work.

The scientists are amazed when they examine the mixture. There is still no cell.

Scientist 1: I don’t believe it; it still didn’t work.

Scientist 2: We’ve done everything. How could it not work?

Scientist 1: We have all the resources and we’ve tried everything but we couldn’t produce a single cell.

Scientist 2: Come on, let’s give up.

Like Darwin’s dream, the dream of these scientists also comes to an end.

Scientist 3: You see? I told you so. Inanimate matter cannot create life by itself. This is only a deception devised by some people that don’t believe in God.

Scientist 1(stubbornly): By the 21st century we will be proven right.

Scientist 2: Maybe we have failed so far. But soon we will do it; you will see.

Scientist 3: Gentlemen. It’s not possible; admit it. To prove the theory of evolution, you’ve added things to your experiment that do not exist under natural conditions. But you turned a blind eye to that. You had every resource at your disposal. And you carried out the whole experiment according to your own planned program.

Scientist 1: Yes, so what?

Scientist 3: You made a plan and did the experiment. You didn’t leave the experiment to chance; you calculated every stage of it. But, as you know, inanimate matter cannot decide to combine and then implement it. You did that and you failed. And you can wait a few weeks or a few years, but you still won’t be able to do it. You can bequeath this experiment to those who come after you for thousands or even millions of years but you will never be able to bring a perfectly formed living thing out of that barrel.

Since you have not been successful in this experiment in spite of all your plans and technological resources, how can you expect that living beings could be formed out of unconscious matter?

For living things to come into being, there must first of all be a delicate and precise measurement of the necessary elements and a superior knowledge to direct and assemble them. These are found in the infinite intelligence of the Almighty Lord. Living things did not come into being by themselves, but were created by God, the Lord of all the worlds.

All the followers of Darwin up to the present time have been proven wrong. But some among them have not still lost their belief in the barrel. The most noted evolutionists have all waited patiently, hopefully, expectantly around this barrel.

Let’s now look at the situation in which two evolutionist scientists find themselves.

Evolutionist 1: How can this be? Why has no living thing emerged? We’re trying everything.

Evolutionist 2: What answer can we give to the creationists? All the scientific research has shown them to be right.

Evolutionist 1: No matter what, we can’t accept creation. People must not think that people who believe in God are right. We’ll have to keep up the lie; there’s no other choice.

These scientists can’t obtain any results, either.

Now, we’ll introduce you to one of the cells that make up your body.

Hi! I’m a cell. There are about a hundred trillion of my friends, making up your body. We form you by dividing in your mother’s womb. We play a part in every activity you do throughout your whole life. We work for you every time you breathe, walk, eat, digest, see and feel. Inside us we have energy producing power stations, transportation systems to move products from one area to another, pipelines, information banks containing data about all the products and laboratories.

We are made up of numerous proteins, not one of which can come into being by chance. So, we did not come into existence by chance, either. How could this marvelous system come into being by chance with its factories, information banks, laboratories, energy centers and transportation systems? Of course, it couldn’t.

Now let’s read what some famous scientists have said about the impossibility of life emerging by chance:

The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein. —Sir Fred Hoyle

The most elementary type of cell constitutes a “mechanism” unimaginably more complex than any machine yet thought up, let alone constructed, by man. —W.H. Thorpe

Some scientists are aware of the miracle of cells. They acknowledge that life cannot come into being from inanimate matter. Darwin the barrel-mixer and evolutionists have made several false claims about cells and living things. But now you know very well that it is Almighty God Who created everything. that God created a cell from nothing and commanded it to divide in your mother’s uterus. He created living beings from such cells. The flowers, birds, fish, fruits and beautiful array of living things created from cells are just one proof of God’s supreme artistry.

In his theory, Darwin proposed that living things came into being by chance out of inanimate matter. But don’t forget: one living thing must already exist in order for another living thing to emerge. Your mother and father are living beings, as are their mothers and fathers. This life has continued to be passed on from the very first human being, Adam (peace be upon him). And the One Who created Adam is Almighty God, the Lord of all life. Never in history has any living being come into existence from inanimate matter. Evidence from modern science has proved once again that God created living beings. But Darwin and his followers didn’t want to accept this fact; they were too concerned about their own importance and didn’t want to believe in God’s existence. They chose to deceive people with their “explanations.” The theory of evolution is based on lies and there is not the slightest proof to support it. This book was written to show you that evolutionists are in a hopeless situation, and that the theory of evolution is a lie.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING!

YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME

These are the steps to tune in to the podcast:

1. log on to www.talkshoe.com

2. create your own account

3. after installing the talkshoe software, click “LIVE NOW” tab

4. look for Brother Eli’s podcast entitled “The Brother Eli Soriano Truth Pod“

5. click on “listen, chat, and talk”

*please be advised that it is a must that everyone who will be calling in the podshow should be wearing a headset to avoid feedbacks and echoes.

The Schøyen Collection has since 1994 acquired 60 Dead Sea Scrolls fragments from 15 different Scrolls plus artefacts from the Essene community that hid this important Jewish library from Roman soldiers in AD 68. The fragments were among those found by the Bedouin in cave 1 in Qumran in late 1946, Cave 4 in 1952, and cave 11 in 1956, and subsequently sold to the dealer Kando in Bethlehem. They were in the hands of private proprietors and were not known to the scholarly community before they became part of The Schøyen Collection. The fragments are dated to the Hasmonaean and Herodian periods (1st c. BC – AD 20), and will be published by myself alongside other collaborators. Two fragments have previously been published in the official DJD series vols. 26 and 38.

This part of the collection includes:

• Remnants of 10 biblical scrolls (Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 2 Samuel, Psalms, Isaiah, Joel, Daniel). Some of the fragments preserve important textual variants compared to the traditional Hebrew text (the Masoretic text) and the Septuagint. 8 of these scrolls also have part of the earliest text known of the Bible.
• A fragment of the apocryphal book of Tobit, published in Revue de Qumran 22 (2006).
• Fragments from some non-biblical scrolls: Rule of Benedictions from the Manual of Discipline Scroll, the Temple Scroll, the Genesis Apocryphon Scroll, and a fragment of a hitherto unknown text.
• The original cloth wrapper of the Temple Scroll and a stylus found together with the Temple Scroll in cave 11.
• A small incense altar, and an inkwell of bronze, asserted to have been found by the bedouin at Qumran before the archaeological excavations there.
• A scroll jar – one of the pottery jars containing scrolls, which were found by the Bedouin in Cave 1 at Qumran late 1946.

The Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran is the most important textual find of the 20th century. It has ramifications for biblical studies (Old and New Testament) and for the understanding of early Jewish history and tradition.

The Collection

10 items are listed here out of a collection of 60 Dead Sea Scroll fragments from 15 different scrolls, with the scroll jar and inkwell in addition.

Apart from The Schøyen Collection, the Dead Sea Scrolls are represented in six public institutions: Jerusalem: Shrine of the Book, Rockefeller Museum and Franciscan Biblical School; Amman: Archaeological Museum; Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale; Heidelberg: University Library, and at a few other locations.

12.1 Biblical scrolls

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• MS 1909 Qumran, 1st c. BC

–>

• MS 1926/1 Qumran, ca. 150-125 BC
• MS 2861 Qumran, 2nd half of 1st c. BC
  See also MS 4611, Qumran, 30 BC – 68 AD
• MS 4612/1 Qumran, 30 BC – 68 AD
  See also MS 2713, Qumran, late 1st c. BC – early 1st AD
  See also MS 1926/4, Qumran, ca. 4 BC-68 AD

12.2 Parabiblical scrolls

• MS 5234 Qumran, ca. 50 BC
• MS 1926/2 Qumran, ca. 4 BC-68 AD

12.3 Sectarian scrolls

• See also MS 1909, Qumran, 1st c. BC
• MS 5095/1 Qumran, late 1st c. BC-68 AD

12.4 Inkwells and pens

• MS 5095/3 Qumran, late 1st c. BC – early 1st c. AD
• MS 1655/2 Qumran, before 68 AD

12.5 Scroll jars and wrappers

• MS 5095/2 Qumran, late 1st c. BC – early 1st c. AD
• MS 1655/1 Qumran, before 68 AD

12.1 Biblical scrolls

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MS 1909

THE MANUAL OF DISCIPLINE DEAD SEA SCROLL

BENEDICTIONS 5:22 – 25

MS in Hebrew on vellum, Qumran, 1st c. BC, 1 fragment of a scroll, 3,3×1,6 cm, 1 partial column, (original column 20×13 cm), part of 4 lines (originally 29 lines), in a formal Hasmonaean Hebrew book script; a fragment, 0,7×0,8 cm, with the offset of the letters Shin and Lamed; 2 uninscribed fragments, 2,0×0,7 cm and 0,5×0,5 cm.

Context: Part of the final benedictions (1QSb=1Q28b) of the scroll originally known as the Manual of Discipline (1QS), also named after its 2nd text, The Rule of the Community (1QSa) or Serekh ha-Yahad. This was one of the 7 scrolls found in Cave 1 at Qumran in June 1947. The Metropolitan, Bishop Athanasius Samuel, took 4 of these scrolls (the Manual of Discipline, the Isaiah A Scroll, the Habakkuk Commentary, and the Genesis Apocryphon), to New York in January 1949 to be sold. They were advertised in the Wall Street Journal on 1 June 1954, bought 1 month later by Yigael Yadin on behalf of the Israeli Government and immediately taken back to Israel. They are now in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The present fragment had either fallen off the scroll in the cave, or while in the possession of Athanasius Samuel.

A further fragment from the bottom of column 7 of 1QS, in The Schøyen Collection, see MS 1926/3. Further Dead Sea Scroll fragments: MSS 1926/1-2 & 4, 2713 and 2861. There are 10 more fragmentary Rule of the Community scrolls from Cave 4 (4QS255-264).

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (1st c. BC-68 AD); 2. Qumran cave 1 (68-1947); 3. Muhammad Adh-Dhib of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1947); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1947-1948); 5. Syrian orthodox Monastery of St. Mark (Metropolitan Athanasius Samuel), Jerusalem (1948-1973); 6. Dr. William Brownlee, Claremont, California (1973-1983); 7. Louise Brownlee, Claremont, California (1983-1994).

Commentary: The Manual of Discipline/Rule of the Community scroll is one of the most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Manual of Discipline is one of the oldest documents of the Essenes. Originally written around 100 BC, it contains the community’s liturgies, statutes, organisation, discipline, and a penal code. The 2nd text, the Rule of the Community, is also known as the Messianic Rule. It is the rule for a community adapted to the requirements of the Messianic war against the nations. The 3rd text, from which the present fragment comes, is a collection of blessings, to be recited by the Master or the Teacher of Righteousness for the ceremony of the institution of the new community. It was intended for the Messianic age. Included in the blessings are the members of the Community, the Messiah of Aaron, the sons of Zadok, the priest, and finally the Prince of the congregation, the Messiah of Israel. This text is unique, not witnessed in any other Dead Sea Scroll.

Published: 1. by George J. Brooke and James M. Robinson: A further fragment of 1QSb: The Schøyen Collection MS 1909, in: Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont, California, Occasional papers no. 30, Nov. 1994; 2. Journal of Jewish Studies, vol. 46, Nos. 1-2, 1995, pp. 120-133; 3. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, XXVI, Philip S. Alexander and Geza Vermes: Qumran cave 4, XIX, 1Q28b, pp. 227-233, plate XXIV.

Exhibited: 1. Conference of European National Librarians, Oslo, Sept. 1994. 2. Treasures from the Dead Sea. Manchester museum, 21 October 1997 – 10 January 1998; 3. XVI Congress of the International Organization for the study of the Old Testament. Faculty of Law Library, University of Oslo, 29 July – 7 August 1998.

–>

MS 1926/1

www.schoyencollection.com/dsscrolls.htm

THE GREAT ISAIAH DEAD SEA SCROLL

BIBLE: ISAIAH, UNINSCRIBED FRAGMENTS AND PART OF THE COVER

MS in Hebrew on vellum, Qumran, ca. 150-125 BC, 24 uninscribed fragments, largest 2,8×1,1 cm, from a scroll of 17 membranes, 26×734 cm, 54 columns, 28-32 lines.

Context: Part of the Great Isaiah A Scroll, 1QIsa, now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Of the present MS, 8 fragments, largest 1,1×1,0 cm, come from the lower edge of the scroll; 6 fragments, largest 1,3×0,9 cm, from the cover; 9 fragments, largest 2,8×1,1 cm, are repair vellum; a repair thread, 3,0 cm sewn into a vellum fragment, 2,0×0,4 cm, comes from the lower edge of column XII. In addition there are 8 bits of linen thread from the cloth in which the scroll originally was wrapped. <!–
Further Dead Sea Scroll fragments in The Schøyen Collection, see MSS 1909, 1926/2-4, 2713, 2861, 4611, 4612 and 5095/1.–>

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (ca. 150 BC-68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 1 (68-1947); 3. Muhammad Adh-Dhib of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1947); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1947-48); 5. Syrian orthodox Monastery of St. Mark (Metropolitan Athanasius Samuel), Jerusalem (1948); 6. Gift to John C. Trever, Jerusalem, Claremont and Laguna Hills, California (1948-1994).

Commentary: The Great Isaiah A Scroll is the earliest complete MS of any of the books of the Bible. The vellum cover of the scroll is lost, apart from the present 6 fragments.

Published without the present fragments in: Millar Burrows, John C. Trever and William H. Brownlee: The Dead Sea Scrolls of St. Mark’s Monastery. vol. I, New Haven, The American School of Oriental Research, 1950; and facsimiles in: John C. Trever: Scrolls from Qumran Cave I, Jerusalem, The Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, and Shrine of the Book.

Exhibited: XVI Congress of the International Organization for the study of the Old Testament. Faculty of Law Library, University of Oslo, 29 July – 7 August 1998.

MS 2861

THE JUDGES DEAD SEA SCROLL

BIBLE: JUDGES 4:5 – 6

MS in Hebrew on brown leather, Qumran, ca. 80-30 BC, 1 fragment from a scroll, 3,0×8,5 cm remaining, part of 1 column, (3,0×8,5 cm), 4 lines in a good Herodian Hebrew book script.

Context: Judges is only represented on fragments from the 3 Dead Sea Scrolls 1QJudg in Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, and 4QJudga+b, in Jerusalem: Rockefeller Museum.
<!–Further Dead Sea Scroll fragments in The Schøyen Collection, see MSS 1909, 1926/1-4, 2713, 2861 , 4611, 4612 and 5095/1.–>

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (2nd half of 1st c. BC-68 AD); 2.
Qumran Cave 4 (68-1952); 3. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1952-1956); 4. Private collection, Switzerland (1956-1995).

Commentary: The earliest witness to this part of the Bible. The oldest biblical manuscript in private ownership.
Preliminary description based on information from Dr. James H. Charlesworth, who will publish the MS in the DJD series and in the Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls Project.

See also MS 4611, The Leviticus Dead Sea Scroll, Qumran, 30 BC – 68 AD

12 MINOR PROPHETS DEAD SEA SCROLL

BIBLE: JOEL 4:1 – 4
MS in Hebrew on dark brown leather, Qumran, 30 BC-68 AD, fragment of a scroll, 10×7 cm, part of 1 column, (6,5×5,4 cm), 8 lines in a fine regular Herodian Hebrew book script, upper edge preserved 3,6 cm.

<!–Context: Further Dead Sea Scroll fragments in The Schøyen Collection, see MSS 1909, 1926/1-4, 2713, 2861 and 4611. see MSS 1909, 1926/1-4, 2713 2861 MS 4611

–>Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (30 BC-68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 4 (68-1952); 3. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1952-1956); 4. Private collection, Switzerland (1956-1995).

Commentary: This is a unique, new scroll, not belonging to any other Joel scrolls. The text is wholly or partly preserved on the following Dead Sea Scrolls: Joel 4:1 – 16: MurXII (DJD II:88) undated, Joel 4:4 – 9: 4QXIIg (DJD XV:82), 30-1 BC, Joel 4:1 – 2: Septuagint 8HevXIIgr (DJD VIII) late 1st c. BC. The present Joel 4:3 will be the 2nd earliest witness to the text if MurXII has an earlier date, but will be the earliest witness, if MurXII has a later date. The leather is so darkened that the text can only be read via infrared photography.

See also MS 2713, The Joshua Dead Sea Scroll, Qumran, late 1st c. BC – early 1st AD

See also MS 1926/4, The Daniel B Dead Sea Scroll, Qumran, 4 BC-68 AD

12.2 Parabiblical scrolls

MS 5234

TOBIT DEAD SEA SCROLL

BIBLE: TOBIT 14:4 – 6

MS in Aramaic on papyrus, Qumran, ca. 50 BC, 1 fragment, 6,8×2,1 cm, part of right side of a column, (5,9×1,6 cm), part of 7 lines in a late semiformal Hasmonaean Hebrew book script.

Context: Part of the column next to fragment 8 of 4Qpap.TobitAar=4Q196 (ca. 50 BC). 4QTobitCar=4Q198 (ca. 50 BC) has parts of the same text, both published in DJD XIX, pl. I-VIII.

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (ca 50 BC -68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 4 (68-1956); 3. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1956-1972); 4. American priest, later serving in Switzerland (1972-1995).

<!–Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (ca. 1-68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 4 or 11 (68-1956); 3. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1956-1972); 4. Private collection, Switzerland (1972-2003).

–>Commentary: This MS with the other fragments of 4Q196, is the earliest witness to this part of the Bible. Tobit (or Tobias) was written in the 5th or 4th c. BC, and is an apochryphal book in the Hebrew Bible, but part of the Septuagint. The present text is Tobit’s instructions given when he was at the point of death in Nineveh, to his son Tobias and his seven sons, ordering them to hurry away to Media, as Assyria and Babylonia will not be safe according to the prophets’ of Israel. The present Aramaic text is rather different from the Septuagint, and shorter.
The allocation of this MS to 4Q196 was kindly communicated by Florentino Garcia Martinez.

MS 1926/2

THE GENESIS APOCRYPHON DEAD SEA SCROLL

GENESIS APOCRYPHON, COL. 1, LINES 1 & 2; COL. 2, LINE 1

MS in Aramaic on vellum, Qumran, ca. 4 BC-68 AD, 3 fragments, 2,8×2,5 cm, 2,3×2,9 cm, 1,3×1,0 cm, part of 2+1+2 lines in a Herodian Hebrew book script, from a scroll of 4 membranes, 31×283 cm remaining, 22 columns, ca. 34 lines. Further 2 pieces of contemporary vellum repair material, 3,5×1,1 cm and 3,4×0,6 cm.

Context: Part of the Dead Sea Scroll 1QApocGen, now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The 2 larger fragments from the present MS apparently matches the top of columns I and II. The rest of column I is lost, apart from remnants of the left margin, and fragments from 1Q20. The smallest fragment has not yet been placed.
<!– Further Dead Sea Scroll fragments in The Schøyen Collection, see MSS 1909, 1926/1, 3-4, 27132861, 4611, 4612 and 5095/1. –>

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (ca. 4 BC-68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 1 (68-1947); 3. Muhammad Adh-Dhib of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1947); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1947-48); 5. Syrian orthodox Monastery of St. Mark (Metropolitan Athanasius Samuel), Jerusalem (1948); 6. Gift to John C. Trever, Jerusalem, Claremont and Laguna Hills, California (1948-1994).

Commentary: Originally written 1st half of 2nd c. BC, the Genesis Apocryphon is a form of parabiblical literature, which retells the story of parts of Genesis, embellishing it and adding haggadic details. It should probably be called more properly “Book of the Patriarchs”, because it recounts in embellished form the stories of Noah and Abraham. It is related to the kind of literature one finds in the Book of Jubilees. Only one copy has been found of this unique text. This is the earliest Aramaic example of pseudoepigraphic literature that have come down to us, actually copied in the lifetime of Christ and the Apostles.

Published without the present fragments in: Nahman Avigad and Yigael Yadin: A Genesis Apochryphon, Jerusalem, The Magnes Press of the Hebrew University, 1956.
Published by Dr. Bruce Zuckerman and Dr. Marilyn Lundberg in: The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Newsletter, no. 12, Cincinnati, Ohio, Autumn 1996.

Exhibited: XVI Congress of the International Organization for the study of the Old Testament. Faculty of Law Library, University of Oslo, 29 July – 7 August 1998.

12.3 Sectarian scrolls

See also MS 1909, Manual of Discipline, Dead Sea Scroll, Qumran, 1st c. BC

MS 5095/1

THE TEMPLE SCROLL, COLUMNS 2 AND 3

MS in Hebrew on vellum, Qumran, late 1st c. BC – 68 AD, 12 fragments, 5,5×2,9 cm, 3,8×2,0 cm, 4,3×1,3 cm and smaller, part of columns 2 and 3, parts of up to 4 lines each on 2 or more layers sticking together, in a developed formal Herodian Hebrew book script by scribe A, from a scroll of 67 columns, 19 membranes, total length 9 m., Linen cloth from the wrapper sticking to most of the fragments. A piece of linen from the wrapper, 1,2×2,0 cm. 3 fragments with modern thick paper sticking.

Context: The Temple Scroll, with the fragments MSS 5095/1 and 5095/4, the scroll’s linen wrapper MS 5095/2, and a palm leaf pen, MS 5095/3, were found together in a large jar with lid (still in Kando’s shop in Jerusalem), in Cave 11 in 1956. The Temple Scroll is now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum.

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (early 1st c. – 68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 11 (68-1956); 3. Bedouins of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1956); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1956-1961); 5. Private collection, Switzerland (gift from Kando) (1961-1980) and heirs.

Commentary: The Temple Scroll is the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with its 9 m. The text was originally written ca. 150 BC, and purports to be the second Torah of the Community of Essenes, giving particularly attention to the way the Temple is to be reconstructed. The purpose of the scroll is to be a New Deuteronomy, a law for the remnant of Israel in the future. With the Manual of Discipline, the most important of the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls.

12.4 Inkwells and pens

MS 5095/3

QUMRAN STYLUS WITH NATURAL INK GROOVE

Stylus of palm leaf with natural ink groove, Qumran, late 1st c. BC – 68 AD, 8,6×0,9×0,5 cm, dried ink remaining on the tip.

Context: For a Qumran inkwell, see MS 1655/2. The Temple Scroll, with the 12 fragments MS 5095/1, the scroll’s linen wrapper MS 5095/2, and a palm leaf pen, MS 5095/3, were found together in a large jar with lid (still in Kando’s shop in Jerusalem), in Cave 11 in 1956. The Temple Scroll is now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum.

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (early 1st c. – 68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 11 (68-1956); 3. Bedouins of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1956); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1956-1961); 5. Private collection, Switzerland (gift from Kando) (1961-1980) and heirs.

Commentary: The only surviving stylus or pen from Qumran.

MS 1655/2

INKWELL FROM THE SCRIPTORIUM OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS, KHIRBET QUMRAN

Bronze inkwell, Khirbet Qumran, before 68 AD, with 2 basket type handles turning opposite direction on the concave top, round corpus, h. 8 cm, diam. 8 cm, with pedestal base, decoration of parallel incised lines around rim and around ink hole. Green patina.

Context: Found 1950 on the Khirbet Qumran site prior to the official excavations, together with a bronze miniature incense altar with 4 protruding horns at the corners, MS 1655/4. 4-5 other inkwells in bronze and clay were found during the excavations at Khirbet Qumran in 1951, 1953 and 1966-67. There exist only 2 more inkwells of the elaborate type of the present item. MS 1987/15 and one published by Nabil I. Khairy, Inkwells of the Roman Period from Jordan, in Levant 12(1980), pp. 155-162, figure 5a and plate 25D.

Provenance:1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (until 68 AD); 2. Khirbet Qumran site (68-1950); 3. Members of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (ca. 1950); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1950-1953; 5. John Marco Allegro, Oxford and Manchester (1953-1963)?; 6. Private Collector, USA (1963-1975); 7. Fayez Barakat, Los Angeles, Cat. VI F.Z. 181(1975); 8. Mathias Komor, New York (1975-); 9. American Collector (-1992); 10. David Goldstein, Los Angeles (1992-1993).

Commentary: One of the inkwells found in Khirbet Qumran, and itcontains remains of a carbon ink (lampblack and gum), of the type used on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The 2 inkwells found in the “scriptorium” were of a plain cylindrical Roman type, another had a single vertical handle, while the present one is much more elaborate in the execution.

Published: Stephen Goranson: Qumran, a hub of scribal activity?, in: Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 20 no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1994), pp. 36-39. The other Qumran inkwells are widely published by de Vaux, Allegro, Steckoll, Goranson and others.

Exhibited: 1. Treasures from the Dead Sea. Manchester museum, 1997; 2. XVI Congress of the International Organization for the study of the Old Testament. Faculty of Law Library, University of Oslo, 29 July – 7 August 1998.

12.5 Scroll jars and wrappers

MS 5095/2

THE TEMPLE SCROLL WRAPPER

Linen cloth, Qumran, late 1st c. BC – 68 AD, ca. 45×60 cm, the upper edge lacking, in a fine weave of 12×12 S-spun threads pr square cm, the warp and weft of fairly same thickness, the lower edge with border of 2 pairs of thicker parallel threads, 2 cm apart; with stains from the scroll, some tiny black gelatinised vellum fragments stitching. The cord to fasten the wrapper around the scroll, 85 cm long, made from 3 linen threads.

Context: The Temple Scroll, with the 12 fragments MS 5095/1, the scroll’s linen wrapper MS 5095/2, and a palm leaf pen, MS 5095/3, were found together in a large jar with lid (still in Kando’s shop in Jerusalem), in Cave 11 in 1956. The Temple Scroll is now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum. Smaller parts of the wrapper still stick to MS 5095/1. For similar wrappers from Cave 1, see DJD vol. I, Oxford 1955, G.M. Crowfoot: The linen textiles.

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (early 1st c. – 68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 11 (68-1956); 3. Bedouins of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1956); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (1956-1961); 5. Private collection, Switzerland (gift from Kando) (1961-1980) and heirs.

Commentary: The Temple Scroll is the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with its 9 m. The text was originally written ca. 150 BC, and purports to be the second Torah of the Community of Essenes, giving particularly attention to the way the Temple is to be reconstructed. The purpose of the scroll is to be a New Deuteronomy, a law for the remnant of Israel in the future. With the Manual of Discipline, the most important of the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls. The common way of keeping books, i.e. scrolls, in the ancient period, was to wrap them up or put them in cases, sometimes both, and then put them in a cupboard. In the later synagogues this cupboard was generally referred to as the Ark of the Law. Representation of it, with the doors open and the ends of the scrolls showing, are seen on Jewish gilt glass vessels found in the catacombs in Roma. To the present day, the Torah is a scroll with a scroll wrapper.

MS 1655/1

DEAD SEA SCROLL JAR FROM QUMRAN

Pottery jar of cylindrical form (complete), Qumran, before 68 AD, h. 43 cm, diam. 21 cm, flattening sharply at top and bottom to a 15 cm wide collared neck, and a ring base respectively, 3 handles or rather horizontal lugs on the shoulders pierced with holes through which a string could be passed to retain the lid in position, lid now missing.

Context: About 40-50 jars were found in Qumran cave 1, nearly all broken and incomplete. 2 complete jars in The Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, 1 in The John Allegro Collection, Manchester, and 1 complete and most of the broken ones at Rockefeller Museum Jerusalem, a few other broken exemplars in museums in Jordan, Western Europe and USA.

Provenance: 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (until 68 AD); 2. Qumran cave, probably cave 1 (68- ca. 1948); 3. Members of the Ta’amireh tribe, Judaean desert (ca. 1948-1952); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”), Bethlehem (ca. 1952-1953); 5. John Marco Allegro, Oxford and Manchester (1953-1963); 6. Sotheby’s, London 11.11.1963:72; 7. H.M. Serota, Chicago (1963-1987); 8. Fayez Barakat, Los Angeles (1987-1991), Cat. Masterpieces in the Barakat Collection (1989):PF 1123; 9. Leonard Berman, Los Angeles (1991-1992); 10. David Goldstein, Los Angeles (1992-1993).

Commentary: This MS storage jar is mentioned in John Allegro: The Dead Sea Scrolls, Middlesex, Penguin, 1956, p. 77. Illustrated in: The Allegro Qumran Collection. Supplement to the Dead Sea Scrolls on microfiche, Ed.: George J. Brooke, Leiden, E. Brill, 1996, frames 10 (B10-C10), AQ. Pots 9-19, the photos taken 1963 at Prestburg.
The jar was probably found in cave 1, the starting point of the most important and widely published and controversial archaeological MS find of this century. The hoard from 11 caves consists of ca. 16 intact or mainly intact scrolls and between 15,000 and 100,000 fragments from ca. 800 scrolls, containing about 600 different texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The discovery was a break-through for the study of Judaism and of the Old Testament with texts about 1000 years older than the MSS of the 10th c. previously known.

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