Dr. Robert Duke Cites 2,000-Year-Old Dead Sea Scrolls to Defend Jewish Ties to Israel
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 19
Dr. Robert Duke Cites 2,000-Year-Old Dead Sea Scrolls to Defend Jewish Ties to Israel
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 19
Summary
Museum of the Bible curator Robert Duke said the Dead Sea Scrolls offer powerful archaeological evidence that Jewish communities lived, worshipped and debated scripture in the land of Israel more than 2,000 years ago.
Hundreds of manuscripts and thousands of fragments found near Qumran from 1947 onward include not just biblical texts but prayers, legal writings, hymns and community rules, which Duke said undercut claims that Jewish attachment to the land is a modern political invention.
Duke also framed the scrolls as a window into Second Temple Judaism and the world of Jesus, highlighting the Great Isaiah Scroll as a manuscript predating Jesus' lifetime.
Writing as a Muslim advocate of reconciliation, he argued that acknowledging ancient Jewish history need not negate Palestinian rights and said peace requires accepting evidence even when it complicates modern political narratives.