Oldest Bible to Be Exhibited in Seoul

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Old Testament manuscripts written from 250 B.C. to 68 A.D., will be on display at Yongsan National Memorial Museum from Dec. 5 to June 4, 2008.

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

An extraordinary exhibition is expected to unite all Christians ― Protestants and Roman Catholics alike ― this holy month.

The oldest Old Testament manuscripts found in the Dead Sea showing the history of ancient Israel at a time of transition in Judaism and the origin of Christianity are coming to Seoul to be exhibited for the first time in the nation.

Five genuine pieces and three copied pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls will be on display, along with 800 pieces of other relics at Yongsan National Memorial Museum in Seoul from Dec. 5 to June 4, 2008.

The exhibition titled ``The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Birth of Christianity'' is expected to draw much attention from not only Christians and but also Korean historians and non-Christians as it is one of the oldest anthropological and historical resources.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest Old Testament manuscripts written from 250 B.C. to 68 A.D. The scrolls are 1,000 years older than the Alepo manuscript and the Leningrad manuscript, which were thought to be the oldest Bibles.

The exhibition of the scrolls, which link the Old Testament to early Christianity, include an 8.2 meter scroll and various original scrolls.

The scrolls consist of more than 800 manuscripts in Hebrew and Aramaic that were discovered 60 years ago in caves east of Jerusalem near the ruins of a forlorn settlement known as Qumran, beginning in 1947, on the Dead Sea.

The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include practically the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 A.D.

``Before discovering these scrolls, many biblical scholars thought that there would be no more scrolls in the area. But these scrolls which had been kept for 2,000 years were finally unveiled 60 years ago,'' Rev. Song Chang-hyun, professor of Catholic University of Daegu, told The Korea Times.

Rev. Song, who is an renowned expert in the Dead Sea Scrolls in Korea, explained that these scrolls have three kinds of significance; they are the oldest record of the Old Testament; they are Hebrew and Aramaic-written texts; they are the first direct historical sources showing how Jews lived and about their thought in the early Christian period.

Along with the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit hall, the Qumran Community exhibit hall shows the lives of the people from whom the scrolls came.

``We can see the lives of the people who left Jerusalem and lived as sectarians writing manuscripts of the Bible and hiding them in the caves near Khirbet Qumran where they survived as a community,'' said Rev. Song.

The Birth of Christianity exhibit hall shows the historical background and persecution including the historical background of the Holy Land where the footprints of Jesus were left, and the objects of Romans and Jews who persecuted Christianity during 1-3 centuries B.C.

The Footprints of Jesus exhibit hall displays early Christianity in which the remnants of Churches where built in the places significant to the life of Jesus, and of the pilgrims during the Byzantine period. It includes the replica of the Madaba Map, which is part of a mosaic tile floor in St. George's Orthodox Church in Madaba, Jordan. It is the oldest extant map of the Holy Land and is dated to the middle of the 6th century A.D.

Lastly, the Birth, the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus exhibit hall shows the experience of Bethlehem, Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre. In this section, the remains of Churches after the Byzantine period to the medieval period are exhibited. Visitors can get the experience of Jesus' death and resurrection through the reconstruction of a typical present church in Jerusalem.

Rev. Song also said that Christians can see how the Old Testament was created through this exhibition.

``It has been 60 years since the scrolls were found. This kind of exhibition has been held in many Western countries, pushing many biblical and anthropological scholars to actively study it,'' said Rev. Song.

He said, however, that this opportunity is good for not only Christians but also non-Christians as the importance of historical resources lives is of interest to all.

``At the same time, I hope the exhibit can boost many Korean scholars to search for insights into the history of ancient Israel at a time of transition in Judaism and the origin of Christianity,'' he said.

Along with the exhibition, the special workshop for the exhibition will be held at the same venue from Dec. 10-14.

Open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Yongsan National Memorial Museum, the exhibit was organized by the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Tickets cost 15,000 for adults, 12,000 won for teens and 7,000 won for elementary school children and children under four.

For more information, call (02) 785-8710 or www.scrolls.co.kr.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr