Scientists may have solved a 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls mystery
Researchers at Tel Aviv University propose that the Qumran sect's unique 364-day calendar was used during their early history but was eventually abandoned due to astronomical inaccuracies and political shifts. The study reconciles long-standing debates about whether the calendar was a practical tool or a theoretical religious ideal.
Why it matters
This discovery offers a clearer understanding of the historical and religious context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the evolution of ancient Jewish sectarian practices.
A longstanding mystery surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls may have a new explanation. Researchers have debated for decades whether the Qumran sect actually followed its unusual 364-day calendar or whether the system existed mainly as a religious and theoretical ideal.
A study from Tel Aviv University argues that both possibilities may be partly correct. According to the proposed reconstruction, the sect likely used the calendar during its early history, when disagreements over religious dates contributed to its separation from the Jerusalem establishment. Later, however, the system may have been abandoned because of a fundamental astronomical problem and changing political relations with the Hasmonean leadership under Alexander Jannaeus.
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