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Why the Dead Sea Scrolls Belong to Israel
(Fox News) Jeremiah J. Johnston and Craig A. Evans - Despite Palestinian claims, we believe the Dead Sea Scrolls belong to Israel. The Judean Desert where the Scrolls were discovered is part of the historic Land of Israel. Indeed, the discovery of Hebrew and Aramaic texts there proves that the Jewish people lived there. The scrolls are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the three languages of the Bible. They are not written in Arabic. Indeed, the earliest scrolls date from 250 BCE, while Islam began some 800 years later. Moreover, Israel has properly cared for these priceless artifacts, as compared with what is happening to historic artifacts elsewhere in the Middle East. Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnston is associate professor of Early Christianity at Houston Baptist University, where Dr. Craig A. Evans is professor of Christian Origins.