By the 2nd Century BC, Judaism had 2 main factions. Saducees were priestly aristocrats and Pharisees were non-priestly scholars emphasizing written and oral law. Another small Jewish group believed society was corrupt and moved to isolate themselves at Qumran on the Dead Sea's Northwest shore to wait for the arrival of the Messiah. They maintained strict community rules. A prospective member waited 3 years before he was eligible for acceptance into the community.
The Qumran residents copied biblical scrolls and stored them in jars. They hid the jars in caves before the Romans destroyed Qumran about 68 AD. Bedouins discovered scrolls in a cave by Qumran in 1947 and more scrolls in subsequent years in other caves. The scrolls were sold to an antiquities dealer who sold them to the highest bidders. The scrolls and fragments were not properly handled at first. Eventually many were acquired by Hebrew scholars. The scholars maintained a very tight grip on the scrolls and the translation went slowly and secretly. Later, the scrolls were photographed to maintain a backup copy. When the photographs were published the Hebrew scholars were forced to be more open with their translation.
Most of the surviving scrolls are incomplete. There are at least some fragments from most Old Testament books and insights into life in Qumran, which was contemporary with John the Baptist and Jesus.
The community at Qumran gathered water as it flowed from the highlands around Jerusalem into the Dead Sea. They needed a lot of water for their ritual baths 5 times each day. A river bed winds down the face of this hillside. Scrolls were discovered in the cave at the upper left.
One of the caves and ...
... and a close-up of the cave.
Landscape at Qumran with the Dead Sea in the background.
One of the ritual baths in the community.
Don't forget to flush!
Flowers in December at the Dead Sea
Masada is on the southwestern shore of the Dead Sea. It was first fortified by a Hasmonean ruler and then rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great. It included a northern and western palace, Roman bath, swimming pool, storage buildings, cistern, aqueduct, vegetable garden, etc.
The Sicarii used it during the First Revolt against Rome (66-72 AD). The Sicarii were Jewish assassins who killed foreigners and Jewish collaborators. They raided nearby Jewish villages like Ein Gedi where they killed hundreds of women and children.
The Romans conquered Jerusalem and Herodion and then attacked Masada. Over several months the Romans built a siege ramp and destroyed Herods wall with their siege engines and fire. When they entered Masada, they found all the inhabitants had killed themselves rather than submit to Roman rule.
Remains of the siege ramp
This room housed doves. Doves roosted in the holes in the wall behind Linda. They were raised to eat and to provide bird manure for garden fertilizer.
One of the Roman camps around Masada
Remains of one of Herod's palaces
We rode the tram to the top of Masada and walked down on the "snake path" behind Linda.
En Gedi is an oasis by the Dead Sea. The Judean Hills have a soft layer of limestone over a hard layer of limestone. Rain falls along the Hebron-Jerusalem-Nablus ridge, but rarely east of it. Rain seeps through the porous soft limestone to the eastward sloping hard stone shelf, then runs eastward until it emerges in springs. Two of these springs converge at En Gedi, and foster growth in a narrow valley by the Dead Sea.
Water flows down the narrow valley...
...and creates lush growth ...
...enchanting waterfalls ...
... greenery among the rocks...
...and a home for animals.
Nice view of the Dead Sea
