Two new books have been published reporting on the discovery of 25 Hebrew Bible texts, at least some of which may be part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There have been ~70 such texts that have appeared on the antiquities market since 2002.
The provenance of these manuscripts is uncertain since they were found on the antiquities market, but they may have come from the Qumran caves. They are believed to be ~2000 years old.
Nehemiah was the only book that was not found among the original Dead Sea Scrolls. This new cache of manuscripts, however, contains portions of Nehemiah (2:13-16), as well as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Samuel, Ruth, Kings, Micah, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Joshua, Judges, Proverbs, Numbers, Psalms, Ezekiel, and Jonah. Given the unknown provenance, however, the manuscript may not be part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, even if it dates from the same period of time.
Work is currently underway to investigate the manuscripts to make sure they are not forgeries.
News articles:
Update 3/16/20: The Museum of the Bible held 16 of these ~70 post 2002 fragments. They were recently discovered to be forgeries, casting doubt on the other ~55 as well. See the National Geographic’s “Exclusive: ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ at the Museum of the Bible are all forgeries“
Thinking to Believe 
October 13, 2016 at 8:18 am
Believers tend to cling to forgeries if only to further their cause. This is not impressive.
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October 14, 2016 at 5:26 am
There’s no reason to suspect forgery, or authenticity for that matter. Let the pros do their evaluation. This is one area where Bible literalists actually welcome radioisotope dating.
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October 14, 2016 at 9:30 am
Has God Spoken? EVIDENCE FOR THE BIBLE pt1
Mike Winger
Published on Apr 17, 2016
How could you prove that God has communicated to us? What would be a reasonable way to show that God has spoken? This video answers that question and deals with false prophecies in preparation for the next video in this series where we will begin to look at fulfilled prophecy in the Bible as proof that God has spoken.
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October 14, 2016 at 11:10 pm
SonofMan, Bob said it. There’s no reason at this point to think that these are forgeries. But what would we be clinging to anyway? Nothing significant rests on these fragments. We already have have thousands of verified fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls that are just as old and cover more books. This find is an exclamation mark to an already existing tome.
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October 14, 2016 at 11:22 pm
Theo Rumin:
Then begs the question, what was the point of the Post # 4 if “Nothing significant rests on these fragments……”? A slow news day?
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October 14, 2016 at 11:28 pm
“Work is currently underway to investigate the manuscripts to make sure they are not forgeries.”
Is this “forgery” investigation then, merely to determine if somebody is making money from inauthentic fragments on the antiquities market?
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October 15, 2016 at 12:04 am
The point is that it’s awesome whenever 2000 year old documents are found, yet alone when they might be part of a cache of famous documents like the DSS. I’m not saying these would not be important. Having part of a book we didn’t have before, and (in some cases, I’m sure), having 2000 year old attestation for parts of books we did not have before is an important thing. My point is simply that nothing rests on this find.
The investigation is to see if the documents are genuine.
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October 15, 2016 at 6:03 am
1 John 5:20
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Dr. David Wood Proves the Resurrection of Christ
Trinity Apologetics
Published on Sep 17, 2016
David Wood (Ph.D) presents an excellent case for the historicity of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. And these are just a few pieces of evidences – volumes of scholarship have been done on the resurrection! The empty tomb is also very well attested even by the enemies of the disciples. If the disciples stole the body (as the ancient Jews held to) then this would never result in the conversion of Paul (an enemy of the church) and James (the skeptic unbelieving brother of Jesus). And why would the disciples knowingly suffer and die for something they know is a lie? This idea simply cannot account for all the facts.
Christianity would have DIED in the 1st century hadn’t Jesus rose from the dead!
See also my own video on the historic evidence: http://bit.ly/2bGGJ5k
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October 15, 2016 at 7:57 am
Theo:
Fair enough, and reasonable.
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October 15, 2016 at 10:20 am
FA:
“And why would the disciples knowingly suffer and die for something they know is a lie?”
The point is that this was a covert operation and no man other than Jesus, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and the Entourage that accompanied him when he left the country, knew it and believers would never know the truth until today as I point it out.
The disciples did not know it was a private, secret operation and therefore lived their lives subsequent to the event on belief, in the same way that you live your life on belief and how & why all other believers do the same; that’s why you are referred to as believers; you have no personal knowledge and accept what you have been taught, persuaded by, accustomed to and indoctrinated with church dogma (religion).
Accordingly you trade your humanity and common sense for the church hoax of the supernatural and live in the world of the Ghost Buster Movie syndrome that materializes the invisible and makes money from believers which was why the Ten Commandments was a huge box office hit.
The sea parting has much more sensational “wow impact” than the tides turning twice a day.
Why do you think the army of torch bearers in the army describing the Exodus move to the back of the march, if not waiting for the tide turn?: here’s the account that your common sense can understand if you let it control your mindset for a change of light in your brain:
Exodus 14: 19-31
19-20 The angel of God that had been leading the camp of Israel now shifted and got behind them. And the Pillar of Cloud that had been in front also shifted to the rear. The Cloud was now between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The Cloud enshrouded one camp in darkness and flooded the other with light. The two camps didn’t come near each other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawaters split.
22-25 The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters a wall to the right and to the left. The Egyptians came after them in full pursuit, every horse and chariot and driver of Pharaoh racing into the middle of the sea. It was now the morning watch. God looked down from the Pillar of Fire and Cloud on the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He clogged the wheels of their chariots; they were stuck in the mud.
The Egyptians said, “Run from Israel! God is fighting on their side and against Egypt!”
26 God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea and the waters will come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots, over their horsemen.”
27-28 Moses stretched his hand out over the sea: As the day broke and the Egyptians were running, the sea returned to its place as before. God dumped the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned, drowning the chariots and riders of Pharaoh’s army that had chased after Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29-31 But the Israelites walked right through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall to the right and to the left. God delivered Israel that day from the oppression of the Egyptians. And Israel looked at the Egyptian dead, washed up on the shore of the sea, and realized the tremendous power that God brought against the Egyptians. The people were in reverent awe before God and trusted in God and his servant Moses.
Don’t please imagine that a ready made batch of believers that accounts for Religion and Hollywood financial security will be easily let go to pursue the Kingdom which Jesus said of religion: “I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisee Clerics! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either for you remove the key to knowledge from the people.”
Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life. Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That’s right—if you make Insight your priority, and won’t take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, believe me, before you know it the key will be yours; you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God the God that lives within you!
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October 16, 2016 at 11:18 am
Isaiah 35
3
Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
4
Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
5
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.
7
The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
8
A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.
9
No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,
10
And the ransomed of the LORD/YHWH will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
* * * * *
The Bible and Slavery: Answering “Atheists”
Reformed Apologetics Ministries
Published on Feb 4, 2015
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October 19, 2016 at 8:50 am
True Temple Mount Part 1
ChristianConservativ
Published on Aug 28, 2016
What if the Western Wall was not the Western Wall? What if the Temple Mount was not the Temple Mount? Watch and decide for yourself.
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October 19, 2016 at 8:54 am
True Temple Mount Part 2
ChristianConservativ
Published on Aug 28, 2016
What if the Western Wall was not the Western Wall? What if the Temple Mount was not the Temple Mount? Watch and decide for yourself.
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October 19, 2016 at 8:57 am
True Temple Mount Part 3
ChristianConservativ
Published on Aug 30, 2016
What if the Western Wall was not the Western Wall? What if the Temple Mount was not the Temple Mount? Watch and decide for yourself.
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October 19, 2016 at 1:38 pm
Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):
A Critique by Dr. Leen Ritmeyer and a Rebuttal to Ritmeyer by Dr. Ernest L. Martin Concerning the New Research of Ernest L. Martin regarding the true site of the Temple in Jerusalem
http://www.hope-of-israel.org/critique.html
From the above submittal:
No one is better qualified from a professional sense to critique Dr. Martin’s research on the location of the Temples in Jerusalem than Dr. Leen Ritmeyer. Not only did he work closely with Professor Benjamin Mazar and was the official architect of the archaeological excavation at Jerusalem from 1973 until its closure, but he is now considered by most scholars in the world as the chief authority on the location of the Temple Mount. He teaches in the archaeology department of the University of Leeds in England and is a highly respected lecturer on Temple Mount studies in some of the most prestigious academic institutions and organizations. He could rightfully be called one of the top representatives of the traditional school of Temple experts that place the Temple within the confines of the Haram esh-Sharif (that all scholars have accepted as true, and this also including me until I started to look extensively into the subject in 1995). Until the appearance of my research study, all mainline scholars, historians and archaeologists (and this includes all Rabbis, all Christian priests and preachers and Muslim authorities) accepted without the slightest controversy (and with some expressing a reverence approaching divine inspiration) that the former Temples in Jerusalem were all located in the area of the Haram esh-Sharif.
What I show in my research is that the whole world (for the past 600 years) has been wrong and that the world needs to accept the truth of the documentary and biblical evidences that I give in my book and abridgments so that the truth will finally prevail in this most important issue. It can properly be stated that Dr. Ritmeyer could legitimately be considered a proper and qualified spokesman for all the traditionalists throughout the world who insist that the Temples were located within the precincts of the Haram esh-Sharif. As for me and my research, I am the lone anti-traditionalist who has brought forth the research to prove dogmatically that the world is thoroughly and totally wrong.
On the Web Page of Dr. Leen Ritmeyer is his critique of Dr. Martin’s book The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot and his abridgment found on the ASK Web Page. The critique of Dr. Ritmeyer (produced below) can be read in full at his Web Page at http://www.templemountonline.com . In this rebuttal, Dr. Martin first gives a section of Dr. Ritmeyer’s critique and then comments on that portion. He then follows the archaeologist/architect with every word stated by Dr. Ritmeyer followed by a response from Dr. Martin. The first words of Dr. Ritmeyer are given in the paragraph below, and continue to the end of his critique….
* * * * *
http://askelm.com/temple/t980504.htm
http://hope-of-israel.org/realsite.html
http://www.templemountlocation.com/fo…
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October 19, 2016 at 4:54 pm
Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):
A Critique by Dr. Leen Ritmeyer and a Rebuttal to Ritmeyer by Dr. Ernest L. Martin Concerning the New Research of Ernest L. Martin regarding the true site of the Temple in Jerusalem
http://www.hope-of-israel.org/critique.html
From the above submittal:
No one is better qualified from a professional sense to critique Dr. Martin’s research on the location of the Temples in Jerusalem than Dr. Leen Ritmeyer. Not only did he work closely with Professor Benjamin Mazar and was the official architect of the archaeological excavation at Jerusalem from 1973 until its closure, but he is now considered by most scholars in the world as the chief authority on the location of the Temple Mount. He teaches in the archaeology department of the University of Leeds in England and is a highly respected lecturer on Temple Mount studies in some of the most prestigious academic institutions and organizations. He could rightfully be called one of the top representatives of the traditional school of Temple experts that place the Temple within the confines of the Haram esh-Sharif (that all scholars have accepted as true, and this also including me until I started to look extensively into the subject in 1995). Until the appearance of my research study, all mainline scholars, historians and archaeologists (and this includes all Rabbis, all Christian priests and preachers and Muslim authorities) accepted without the slightest controversy (and with some expressing a reverence approaching divine inspiration) that the former Temples in Jerusalem were all located in the area of the Haram esh-Sharif.
What I show in my research is that the whole world (for the past 600 years) has been wrong and that the world needs to accept the truth of the documentary and biblical evidences that I give in my book and abridgments so that the truth will finally prevail in this most important issue. It can properly be stated that Dr. Ritmeyer could legitimately be considered a proper and qualified spokesman for all the traditionalists throughout the world who insist that the Temples were located within the precincts of the Haram esh-Sharif. As for me and my research, I am the lone anti-traditionalist who has brought forth the research to prove dogmatically that the world is thoroughly and totally wrong.
On the Web Page of Dr. Leen Ritmeyer is his critique of Dr. Martin’s book The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot and his abridgment found on the ASK Web Page. The critique of Dr. Ritmeyer (produced below) can be read in full at his Web Page at http://www.templemountonline.com . In this rebuttal, Dr. Martin first gives a section of Dr. Ritmeyer’s critique and then comments on that portion. He then follows the archaeologist/architect with every word stated by Dr. Ritmeyer followed by a response from Dr. Martin. The first words of Dr. Ritmeyer are given in the paragraph below, and continue to the end of his critique….
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October 19, 2016 at 5:00 pm
The Temple Mount and Fort Antonia
By Ernest L. Martin, PH. D., April 1998
http://askelm.com/temple/t980504.htm
From the above Report:
We all remember the proverb that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is so true. When we are able to view a site that we have been reading or hearing about, the historical and architectural information associated with the area becomes much more meaningful and the subject better understood. That is certainly the case with the Temple built by Herod the Great that existed in the time of Christ Jesus along with the adjacent fortress that dominated the landscape known as Fort Antonia. The truth is, no one in modern history (nor for the past 1900 years) has actually witnessed the complex of buildings that comprised the Holy Sanctuary and the fort that was built to protect it. This is one of the reasons why I have wanted to present to all of you on the ASK mailing list the first general view of what the Temple and Fort Antonia looked like to the inhabitants of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. Once we recognize the actual situation of the two structures that I show in the illustrations, and once you realize their dimensions, many points of teaching that we observe in the New Testament will make much better sense to us. In a word, a true perspective of those two buildings that occupied the greater part of northeastern Jerusalem (west of the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Offense) will provide a panoramic view that will show the sheer beauty and majesty of the Mother City of the Jews in the early part of the first century. Without doubt, it was a splendid and awesome display of architectural grandeur at its best. My new book “The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot” will present the full and interesting details.
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October 19, 2016 at 5:04 pm
Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):
The Real Site of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem
In New Testament times the Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) was the site of a Roman fort and a military camp called Fort Antonia. Ancient witnesses reveal that the Haram was indeed the Roman fort, and it was a large enclosed military camp — some 36 acres in area. It was a miniature Roman city with its own administration, living quarters and temple structures to accommodate some 6,000 soldiers of the 10th Legion. The Jewish Temple itself was built above the Gihon Spring in the City of David so that the water could be drawn up for purification purposes. The Temple was to the north of David’s city on a mound called Ophel. David’s city itself was called the Citadel (Akra) — a mound to the south, also called Mt. Zion.
by T. V. Oommen
http://hope-of-israel.org/realsite.html
From the above article:
Virtually all maps of Jerusalem show the location of Herod’s Temple of Jesus’ time on the elevated rectangular walled-in space called Haram esh-Sharif which means Temple Mount. What do you see on the ‘Temple Mount’? There is one structure standing prominently on it that can be seen from anywhere in Jerusalem, particularly from Mt. Olives on the eastern side. This is the Dome of the Rock, a Moslem shrine with beautifully inscribed octagonal walls and a gold covered dome, and is certainly the center piece of the Old City.
The popular view, supported by Jewish scholars, is that the Dome stands where the Holy of Holies of Herod’s Temple was. Due to this belief, the high western wall of the Haram opposite to the Dome is revered by Jews who believe the bottom stone layers are Herodian (the top ones are Ottoman). Herod’s Temple is referred to by the Jewish people as the Second Temple (the First one being Solomon’s Temple), but we shall see later that this designation is not correct. The Western Wall is popularly called the ‘Wailing Wall’. The temple entrance was from the east, so the Holy of Holies would be in the west.
Did the Jewish people always believe that the Haram (I shall use this shortened name for Haram esh-Sharif) was the real Temple Mount? The truth is, they have been holding this belief for only the last 800 years; the reverence to the Western Wall (wrongly called the ‘Wailing Wall’) started some 380 years ago. So where did they place the Temple site before that time? I shall reveal the true site in this article. One thing I can say now is that the Haram is NOT the true Temple Mount.
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October 19, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Location of Fort Antonia
“I have already established that Josephus wrote that Fort Antonia was located on the highest hill. There are a few more key questions that when answered will tell us the exact location of Fort Antonia. The best way to understand where the fort was located is to read through Josephus’ account.”
http://www.templemountlocation.com/fortAntonia.html
From the above article:
The Meah fortress was built upon under the Hasmoneans during the late 2nd century BCE and renamed the Baris. It was rectangular and possessed several high towers, one of which was known as “Straton’s Tower”. The Baris was connected to the Temple Mount by an underground passageway. The Baris was besieged by Herod the Great during his Siege of Jerusalem in 63 BCE, during which one of its towers was felled by Roman siege engines. Under Herod the Great, the Hasmonean Baris underwent renovation or reconstruction, and it was renamed Antonia in honor of his patron Mark Antony.
This allows for Fort Antonia to be placed on the old north wall that Nehemiah rebuilt. Recently coins from the 1st century were found under the west wall of the Temple Mount that we see today. This means that Herod the Great did not build the west wall of [today’s] Temple Mount. It was built by his grandson or great grandson, many years after Herod the Great finished Fort Antonia and the Temple. The west wall of today was built into the [Tyropoeon] Valley. The old west wall was built on the edge of that valley.
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December 18, 2017 at 2:36 pm
The TRUE Temple Location – Restore the Path
Published on Dec 16, 2017 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh5zKZ4Kdgs
Eyewitness accounts, ancient documents,archaeological discoveries. They all point to the true location of the Holy Temple. Are we close to discovering the true Temple site?
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