The Testimony, January 200128

Prophecy, Historyand Archaeology

EDITOR: Tony Benson, 26 Tiercel Avenue, Norwich,NR7 8JN. Tel./Fax 01603 412978;

e-mail: rabenson@globalnet.co.uk

The scrolls and the Book2. The scrolls in use

John Carder

BEFORE THE advent of printing, the Bibli-cal books usually each took up a separatescroll. The exceptions were the so-called

‘Minor Prophets’ (a Christian term), Hosea toMalachi, which were often grouped on a singlescroll, and commentaries, such as the Habakkukscroll (mentioned in Part 1). The book of Estheris usually on a separate scroll, called Megillat-Esther, of which medieval copies were often or-nately illustrated.

Names and groupingsEven with separate scrolls, some major group-ings were recognised. Two groups were ‘the Lawand the Prophets’ (as mentioned in Matthew 5:17,7:12 and 22:40). The Law is the Law of Moses,sometimes simply called ‘Moses’ in the NewTestament, and in Hebrew ‘Torah’, which means‘Teaching’. The term ‘the Prophets’ was some-times extended to include all the books otherthan the Torah.

The names by which we know the books ofthe Bible are derived from the Septuagint, theearly translation into Greek. The Torah is oftenreferred to by the Greek word ‘Pentateuch’, the‘Five Books’.

Some of the Hebrew scrolls are known by thenames with which we are familiar, or at least by

their Hebrew equivalents. But others are referredto by their opening words or by a word or phrasein the first sentence. Thus the book we know asGenesis is called ‘In the Beginning’. The otherbooks, or scrolls, of the Torah are named in thesame way, as is shown in the box below.

The sentences or verses in scrolls, unlike theAV, are not separated as paragraphs, and are notnumbered. In the absence of easy systems ofnumbering, the reading portions are referred toin the same way as whole books, by a word or ashort phrase in the opening sentence of the sec-tion. Thus the set Torah portion which we knowas Genesis 22:1-19 is called the Aqedah, ‘the Bind-ing’ (of Isaac).

Features of ancient scrollsTwo special features of the ancient scrolls shouldbe noted. There were, and are, no capital lettersto indicate names or the beginning of sentences.There are only occasional gaps denoting sectionsin otherwise solid blocks of text. Thus the syna-gogue readings required a trained memory anda quick perception.

Also, the Hebrew in most scrolls is writtenwith no indication of vowels. This is also thecase with modern Hebrew; ordinary books, news-papers and advertisements have no vowel signs.

The names of the first five books, the Torah, of the Hebrew Bible are derived from the firstwords of each book, or the key words of the first sentence, as follows:

Hebrew Hebrewtransliteration pronunciation

(Gen.) In the beginning (as one word) Bereshit Ber-esh-eet

(Ex.) And these are the names (two words) Ve’eleh shemot Vuh-eh-leh shem-mot

(Lev.) And He called (one word) Vayyikra Vay-yik-rah

(Num.) In the wilderness (one word) Bemidbar Buh-mid-bar

(Deut.) These are the words (two words) Eleh hadevarim Eh-leh hah-dev-ar-eem

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This is difficult for those brought up only onEnglish to visualise, though it is easier to readHebrew without vowels than English. A partialsystem of indicating vowels by a fuller spellingcame into use during the Second Temple period.

A fuller system of vowel ‘points’, consistingof tiny symbols under the consonants, wasadopted a century or two after the fall of thetemple. It is still used in printed Hebrew Bibles,in dictionaries and in some texts for teachingHebrew; that is, in sources where it is essentialfor a correct understanding of meanings andpronunciation.

As the scrolls of the longer writings, such asIsaiah, could be seven or eight metres (overtwenty feet) long, it was, and still is today, eti-quette for synagogue services to have scrollsrolled ready to the right place so as not to keepthe congregation waiting while a great length ofscroll was wound. This rule applied even to thehigh priest for the temple service.

this in our final article, God willing). The Isaiahscroll would have been put ready on the table,rolled to the place for the weekly portion. Jesuswould have opened the scroll by parting therollers to reveal the portion.

With no numbered chapters or verses (num-bering was not added until Bibles were printed),and no capital letters at the beginning of sen-tences, Jesus would have had to have scannedthe text quickly to find the place he needed tostart reading. Then “he [Jesus] closed the book[when he had finished reading], and he gave itagain to the minister” (v. 20). Jesus would haveloosely rolled the handles together so that thenext reader could quickly open the scroll at thenext portion.

The ‘book’ of Revelation 5At first sight, Revelation 5:1 seems to suggest a‘book’ that is different in its physical layout fromthe usual scrolls: “And I saw in the right hand ofHim That sat on the throne a book written withinand on the backside, sealed with seven seals”.

From the Greek it is clear that a scroll is meant,but from the English of the AV it appears to beunusual in being written on both sides. But notethat John wept because nobody could read thewriting inside (v. 4), that is, until he whose rightit was broke the seals. Until then the scroll wassealed in the same way as that of Isaiah 29:11.

John’s vision is of a scroll written on one side,with that side rolled to the inside, as was usual,and sealed on the outside, the backside, withseven seals. There were no commas used in theGreek of the first century, and the comma shownin the AV is misleading, suggesting that the docu-ment was written on both sides.

Other scrollsNon-Biblical scrolls from shortly after the dateof the Revelation have been found having somesimilar features. They are legal documents, meantto be kept sealed to prevent alterations, and tobe opened only when required as evidence.

A famous find was a group of documents, thepossessions of a Jewish woman, by name Babatha,at the time of the Bar Kochbar revolt (A.D. 132-135). She with others hid in a cave near Ein Gedifrom Roman soldiers, was besieged by them andpresumably died there. Babatha had with her inthe cave the marriage contracts of herself andher daughter, and other prized documents, ina basket that was found in a crevice by Israeliarchaeologists in 1962.

A Hebrew scroll with the rollers slightly partedready for reading

The high priest in the templeWhen the temple was still standing, the highpriest on the Day of Atonement had to read threeportions about that day, including Leviticus 16and Leviticus 23:26-32. After them he had to sayNumbers 29:7-11. The high priest had the scrollrolled ready for the first of the Leviticus por-tions, but when he had finished reading them hewould place the scroll under his arm and recitethe verses from Numbers by memory.

Jesus in the synagogueWhat are we to understand of the incident in thesynagogue at Nazareth, recorded in Luke 4:16-20? Verse 17 says: “And when he had openedthe book, he found the place where it was writ-ten . . .”. It would not have been a book as weknow it, as these were a later invention (more on

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Babatha’s contracts did not have wax seals,but were stitched into a tight roll. The first partof the scroll was left free as a kind of tab, onwhich there were the signatures of seven wit-nesses, each written beside one of the stitches.Individual features of Babatha’s contracts werethat they were written in Greek on papyrus andthat the text was written down the length of thescroll.

Some modern aspectsSynagogues were an outgrowth of the temple,and have some features reminiscent of the tem-ple. Alluding to the ark mentioned in Exodus40:20,21, the synagogue scrolls are kept in a small

cupboard called an Ark (Aron), which is usuallycovered by an elaborately embroidered curtain,‘the veil’.

The scroll itself is covered or carried in a silkor linen mantle. ‘Crowns’ in the form of silverpomegranates are placed over the tops of therollers. A group of such Torah crowns stands onthe stone cenotaph in the so-called David’s Tombon the southwestern hill of Jerusalem. A silver‘breastplate’ and small bells are sometimesdraped on chains over the crowns and rollers.Pomegranates, bells and the breastplate are, ofcourse, reminiscent of the regalia of the highpriest, the tabernacle and the temple.

(To be continued)

Gleanings from the LandWatermelonsAs they journeyed through thehot dry wilderness, the childrenof Israel, according to Numbers11:5, longed for some of theproduce of Egypt, includingmelons. The Hebrew wordabattichim (plural) occurs onlyhere in Scripture and is usuallyregarded as referring to the wa-termelon.

In Britain today (and presum-ably in other Western nationstoo) various kinds of melons areavailable all the year round, andthis sometimes includes water-melons, distinguishable by theirdark green rind (or striped greenand yellow in some cases) andred, juicy flesh. During the sum-mer in Israel watermelons canbe seen piled high on roadsidestalls, and the juicy flesh is highlyprized for the refreshment it pro-vides in the baking heat. I stillrecall a self-service restaurantat Jericho where the Arab pro-prietor cut huge slices of water-melon with a large knife for ourparty of thirsty coach travellers.

In the 1920s Jewish settlerson the coastal plain began todevelop improved strains ofwatermelon from a variety al-ready being grown locally,

and (interestingly in view ofNumbers 11:5) thought to be ofEgyptian origin. Today many wa-termelons are grown in the Jor-dan valley and the Arava (thevalley running from the DeadSea down to the Gulf of Eilat)using irrigation. Far superior inflavour, however, are thosegrown in Galilee without the useof irrigation; they ripen slowlyand absorb less water, resultingin a higher sugar content. Agri-cultural scientists in Israel areworking on new varieties, includ-ing a smaller one, suitable for asmall family.

A sabbatical yearOne of the provisions of the Lawof Moses was that the land ofIsrael should have “a sabbathof rest” every seventh year, dur-ing which the land would not becultivated, and even “That whichgroweth of its own accord”should not be harvested (Lev.25:1-7). The Israelites had to relyon God to provide a harvest inthe sixth year so bountiful thatthey would have enough provi-sions to last them until the har-vest of the eighth year.

Such a year is today referredto as a shmita year, from the

Hebrew word for release (she-mittah in Young’s Concordance).This noun and the related verboccur several times in Deuter-onomy 15 regarding the releas-ing of people from debts, whichwas also commanded for eachseventh year. The current Jew-ish year, which began in Sep-tember, is a shmita year.

Neot Kedumim News, thenewsletter of the Biblical Land-scape Reserve situated atModi’in in Israel, says that theReserve is observing the shmitayear and will not therefore becarrying out the agricultural ac-tivities that are normally part ofits work of demonstrating to visi-tors what the Land was like inBiblical times. The newslettermakes the point that this provi-sion in the Law of Moses is thefirst known provision for the re-plenishment of the soil, allow-ing it to provide for the needs ofsubsequent generations. It alsohelps overcome one of the prob-lems of irrigation, the gradualaccumulation of sodium and cal-cium, which makes the soil veryalkaline and affects fertility. Oneof the major causes of the de-cline of ancient Mesopotamia,home of Babylon and Assyria,

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