The Great Isaiah Scroll, 1QIsa
The facsimile of the Great Isaiah Scroll
The Isaiah Scroll is the only complete biblical book to survive among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Found in Cave 1 at Qumran in 1947, it dates from about 120 BCE.
The text of the scroll hardly differs from the version used today and demonstrates the degree to which the text of the Bible was faithfully transmitted over the centuries.
The Manual of Discipline, 1QS
The facsimile of the Manual of Discipline
The Manual of Discipline (also known as the Rule of the Community) embodies the rules of conduct which are additional to the 613 commandments found in the Pentateuch (Torah).
The rules of conduct regulated interpersonal relationships and matters of personal piety in a Jewish community which had apparently separated itself both geographically and ideologically from the more mainstream sects of Judaism in Jerusalem.
The Habakkuk Commentary, 1QpHab
The facsimile of the Habbakuk Commentary
The text of the Habakkuk Commentary, also discovered in Qumran Cave One, is known by the Hebrew word pesharim, “commentaries.” These explanations often interpret the biblical text with reference to events in the writer’s own time, the recent past, or the near future.
The set of three facsimiles of the most complete Dead Sea Scrolls.
Discovered in Cave 1 above Qumran near the Dead Sea in 1947, they are now in the Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem.
A further three fragments from Cave 4, now in the collection of the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman, are included with the scrolls (below).
Detail of the edge of a scroll which shows not only the precision to which the edges have been cut, faithfully reproducing the original, but also the sewing. In 1948 the scrolls’ stitching was still intact and clearly visible in Trever’s original photographs, but in the years since their discovery, much of the stitching has been lost. The image shows the facsimile’s hand sewing which precisely copies the stitches of the original as they were in 1948.
Once sewn, the scroll’s edges were hand-coloured by artists.
Detail of the edge of a scroll which shows not only the precision to which the edges have been cut, faithfully reproducing the original, but also the sewing. In 1948 the scrolls’ stitching was still intact and clearly visible in Trever’s original photographs, but in the years since their discovery, much of the stitching has been lost. The image shows the facsimile’s hand sewing which precisely copies the stitches of the original as they were in 1948.
Once sewn, the scroll’s edges were hand-coloured by artists.
The Fragments
Jordan Archaeological Museum
Testimonia (4Q175)
13.6 x 22.7cm (5.4″ x 9″)
Pesher Isaiah b (4Q162)
23 x 11.5cm (9″ x 4.5″)
Qohelet (4Q109)
14.5 x 19cm (5.7″ x 7.5″)
Fragment 4Q162, Pesher Isaiah b, mounted in a specially designed museum-quality display. A display frame is provided for each fragment
The quality of the facsimiles of the Scrolls was such that Facsimile Editions was comissioned to produce facsimiles of Jordan’s scroll fragment treasures housed at the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman. Made to the same standard as the Scrolls, the level of realism achieved is truly remarkable.
The fragments are contained in a folder within the box and can safely be displayed in the specially-made three-layer museum quality Lucite frames which are cut to the exact outline of each fragment and engraved with a brief description.
The Edition
In total the edition is limited to 49 copies consisting of 41 complete sets on paper, four complete sets on sheepskin parchment and four consisting of the Great Isaiah Scroll alone.
The sets include fragments from Jordan’s National Museum. All have been produced to the identical quality and specification. A certificate of authenticity signed by the Publishers and the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation accompanies each set.
The images used on this page are © Copyright Facsimile Editions Limited and are all taken from the facsimiles.
The British Library, London
Several major libraries have acquired copies and praised their quality. The British Library commented “… we have not ceased to admire the extraordinary workmanship and skill … reproduced with amazing accuracy … tremendous authenticity”.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
The Bibliothèque nationale wrote “Being scientifically and faithfully reproduced from the original, it enabled everyone to enjoy contemplating the Isaiah scroll as if it were the authentic one whereas it is no longer displayed at the Israel Museum”.
Presentation
The Full Set
Scrolls and fragments are contained within a hand-made cloth-covered archival case made by hand by one of the finest binders in England. Each scroll is rolled and interleaved with archival tissue and safely contained in its own compartment. The fragments are stored in an integral folder in the lid. The Scroll and Fragment titles are gold-blocked on skeepskin parchment labels on the lid.
The Isaiah Scroll
The Great Isaiah Scroll is also available on its own. As in the full set, the scroll is contained within a cloth-covered archival case made by hand by the same binder, one of England’s finest. The scroll is rolled and interleaved with archival tissue and it’s title is gold-blocked on sheepskin parchment on the lid.
Professor Yigael Yadin with one of the scrolls and two scroll jars in July 1958.
In rare footge, Professor Yadin describes the discovery of the scrolls and their significance to Judaism and early Christianity. Video courtesy of wysinfo.com
Professor Yigael Yadin with one of the scrolls and two scroll jars in July 1958.
In rare footage, Professor Yadin describes the discovery of the scrolls and their significance to Judaism and early Christianity. Video courtesy of wysinfo.com
The Vatican, Rome
The facsimile of the scrolls were featured at the heart of the Vatican’s Verbum Domini exhibition seen here (entrance at left of the Vatican).
Bibliothèque nationale, Paris
Set among 148 original manuscripts, the Bibliothèque nationale built a 7 metre display case specially for the facsimile of the Great Isaiah Scroll at their exhibition “Les secrets des manuscrits de la Mer morte”. Read the BnF letter
Bibliothèque nationale, Paris
Set among 148 original manuscripts, the Bibliothèque nationale built a 7 metre display case specially for the facsimile of the Great Isaiah Scroll at their exhibition “Les secrets des manuscrits de la Mer morte”. Read the BnF letter
The Museum of the Bible, Washington DC
The facsimiles of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Copper Scroll on permanent display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Watch the MotB interview
Michael Falter, Weston Fields, Linda Falter, and the facsimile of the Great Isaiah Scroll.
Specification
The escarpment above Qumran showing Cave 4, where the largest cache of scroll fragments was found in 1954.
Codicology
ISBN 0 948223 26X
The set of three Cave 1 scrolls and three Cave 4 fragments.
– 1QIsa – The Great Isaiah Scroll: 695 x 27cm (23 feet x 11 inches)
– 1QS – The Manual of Discipline: 186 x 25cm (73 x 10 inches)
– 1QpHab – The Pesher to Habakkuk: main part 143 x 14cm (56 x 5.5 inches) additional fragment 10 x 14cm (4 x 5.5 inches)
– 4Q109 – Qohelet fragments: 14.5 x 19cm (5.7 x 7.5 inches)
– 4Q162 – Pesher Isaiahb fragment: 23 x 11.5cm (9 x 4.5 inches)
– 4Q175 – Testimonia fragment: 13.6 x 22.7cm (5.4 x 9 inches)
Printing
The scrolls were printed on a specially prepared, neutral pH, vegetable parchment paper and four copies on sheepskin parchment.
Sewing
Using archival thread of the same diameter as that still holding parts of the scrolls together today, every stitch on every joint has been faithfully re-sewn and coloured by hand.
Cutting
The scrolls were cut to the precise outline as it was in 1948. All hairline cracks and holes, however small, have also been cut.
After cutting, the edges are coloured by artists by hand. Each stain and variation in colour is carefully matched so that the edges of the facsimile look 2,000 years old.
Edging
All the unprinted edges of the paper are painstakingly coloured by our team of artists using artist’s watercolours.
The Bedouin Shepherds Muhammed edh-Dhib (the Wolf) Ahmad el-Hamid and Jum’a Muhammed Khalil who, together with Khalil Musa, accidentally discovered the first scrolls close to the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in a cave near Khirbet Qumran.
The Bedouin Shepherds Muhammed edh-Dhib (the Wolf) Ahmad el-Hamid and Jum’a Muhammed Khalil who, together with Khalil Musa, accidentally discovered the first scrolls close to the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in a cave near Khirbet Qumran.
Printing
The scrolls were printed on a specially prepared, neutral pH, vegetable parchment paper and four copies on sheepskin parchment.
Sewing
Using archival thread of the same diameter as that still holding parts of the scrolls together today, every stitch on every joint has been faithfully re-sewn and coloured by hand.
Cutting
The scrolls were cut to the precise outline as it was in 1948. All hairline cracks and holes, however small, have also been cut.
After cutting, the edges are coloured by artists by hand. Each stain and variation in colour is carefully matched so that the edges of the facsimile look 2,000 years old.
Edging
All the unprinted edges of the paper are painstakingly coloured by our team of artists using artist’s watercolours.
John Trever set up his “studio” (full technical details) in the basement of the American School of Oriental Research in East Jerusalem on 21 February 1948. Image © John C. Trever PhD
Dedication
Each facsimile set can be personally dedicated by our calligrapher at no extra charge. Whether the facsimile is intended as a gift to an institution or a private individual, our calligrapher can inscribe a gift certificate with an appropriate inscription in any language.
Presentation
The scrolls and fragments are contained within a hand-made cloth-covered archival case made by hand by one of the UK’s finest binders.
The titles of the case labels are gold-embossed on parchment.
Each scroll is rolled and interleaved with archival tissue and housed in its own compartment.
The fragments are contained in a folder within the box and can safely be displayed in the specially-made museum quality Lucite frames.
Shipping, Packaging & Insurance
Price includes robust protective packaging, worldwide courier delivery by UPS and insurance.
International overnight service usually available at no extra charge.
Edition
The strictly limited edition of 49 copies comprises 41 numbered sets of the full facsimile and fragments on neutral pH vegetable parchment, four numbered sets on sheepskin parchment and four numbered copies of the single Isaiah Scroll.
A signed and numbered certificate, certified by Facsimile Editions and the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation accompanies each copy.
Parchment Edition
Each fine parchment skin was selected from many hundreds to match the original. However, while each animal is unique and the colours may vary very slightly, the result is as close as possible to the original and should last as long! In order to get four perfect copies, many skins were lost.
Historical Background
Discovered inadvertently by Bedouins in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls are the most important archaeological find of the twentieth century. Mystery and intrigue surrounded their acquisition and there are many accounts of their subsequent ‘wanderings’ as they continued to change hands after their discovery.
While many of the manuscripts have suffered the ravages of time the ancient people who hid the scrolls in the caves sealed some of them in clay jars, often wrapped in linen covers to help preserve them. The skins of most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are leather or parchment, light brown or yellowish in colour. The finest scrolls are almost white. The scrolls are believed to have been treated with salt and flour to remove the hair, and tanned with gall-nut liquid that was lightly brushed on or sprinkled over both surfaces of the skin. Most of the scrolls were written with carbon ink (powdered charcoal) which was fairly easy to erase. Yigael Yadin established that the Dead Sea scrolls generally conform to the later Talmudic rules for the writing of sacred scrolls.
The first seven scrolls came into the hands ofantiquities dealers who offered them to scholars. The first to recognise their antiquity was Professor Eleazar Sukenik, father of Yigael Yadin, who succeeded in acquiring three of them for the Hebrew University. Between 1948 and 1950 he published specimens from them.
Sukenik recollected, “My hands shook as I started to unwrap one of them. I read a few sentences. It was written in beautiful biblical Hebrew. The language was like that of the Psalms, but the text was unknown to me. I looked and looked, and I suddenly had the feeling that I was privileged by destiny to gaze upon a Hebrew scroll which had not been read for more than 2,000 years.”
Four other scrolls, sold by the Bedouin to the Bethlehem antiquities dealer Kando (who in turn sold them to Mar Athaniasius Samuel, the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Christian community), were independently recognized as ancient and photographed by Dr John Trever and Dr William Brownlee in Jerusalem in 1948. Mar Samuel brought them to the United States where they were exhibited first in 1949. Photographs of two were published in 1950: the Great Isaiah Scroll and the Commentary on Habakkuk. Photographs of the Manual of Discipline were published in 1951. After being offered for sale in the Wall Street Journal on 1st June 1954, the Government of Israel, with the help of a donation from Samuel Gottesman, purchased the scrolls which are now housed in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem.
In 1949 Gerald Lankester Harding and Father Roland de Vaux excavated Qumran Cave 1 and found fragments from seventy more original scrolls. Between 1951 and 1962 tens of thousands of additional scroll fragments were discovered, mostly by Bedouin, in ten more caves near Qumran and in several other locations in the Judaean Desert. It has taken 60 years to publish this vast collection.
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Yadin obtained the Temple Scroll. Subsequently, the major collections from Qumran Caves 2-11 and the Rockefeller Museum came under the control of the Israel Department of Antiquities. The only major scroll not in Jerusalem was the Copper Scroll and other scroll fragments which are displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Jordan.
Kando, the antiquities dealer
The story behind the first, and only, full-size, museum quality facsimiles of the three most important Dead Sea Scrolls
On the 8th November 2006, we received an email from Dr Weston Fields (obituary), Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation in Jerusalem with a conundrum. An exhibition centred on the Dead Sea Scrolls was to open in Seoul. The organisers had hoped that the Israel Antiquities Authority would be willing to loan their most treasured scrolls and fragments for this exhibition but their negotiations had been unsuccessful. The Koreans were facing the prospect of an exhibition without any scrolls. Could Facsimile Editions help?
Our approach to challenges has always been “the answer is yes – whatever the question”. We readily offered our expertise and began researching the new techniques and materials that would be needed to produce museum quality facsimile scrolls of unquestioned realism so as not to disappoint the anticipated two million visitors to the exhibition.
The Great Isaiah Scroll is approximately seven metres (23 feet) long and is made up of 17 parchment sheets, sewn end to end. The scroll’s edges are damaged, some of the sewing is missing and there are many hairline cracks and holes. The complex matter of reproducing material written some 2,100 years earlier was about to lead us on a fascinating adventure.
Dr Fields explained that the scrolls had been photographed in 1948 in Jerusalem soon after their discovery by John Trever, an accomplished photographer, and William Brownlee, both young American post-doctoral fellows at the American School of Oriental Research.
The knowledge of the existence of these images was especially important since it meant that if they could be obtained it would be possible to reproduce the Scrolls exactly as they were when they were found in 1947.
The original photographs, now owned by John Trever’s family and stored in a vault in the USA, were taken by hand to Milan, Italy, where they were scanned and immediately returned to the USA. As the scrolls were moved frequently and handled and stored in less than ideal conditions in the early years after their discovery, most of the original stitches have been lost. Crucially, however, while every detail of the text was clearly apparent, the original sewing was also still discernible.
Making the facsimile
Once scanned, the painstaking work of colour separation, colour correction and printing could begin and preparations began on formulating a special paper to closely replicate the feel and texture of the scrolls’ parchment.
Once printed, lasers cut the scrolls’ precise outlines, tiny holes and hairline cracks. The parchment is buckled. Over the millenia, holes and blemishes have appeared in the scrolls and the parchment has reacted to the many changes in temperature and humidity. Reproducing the cockling was challenging but a process was developed that buckled the paper so realistically that it is hard to tell the facsimiles from the originals. To complete the process, the edges of the scrolls were meticulously coloured by hand by our artists. A magnifier is required to distinguish these printed scrolls from the originals!
Seeing the scrolls’ stitches in perfect detail presented us with an irresistible challenge to precisely copy the stitches too. Each stitch is sewn by hand using a specially dyed linen thread, further enhancing the accuracy, authentic feel and appearance of the facsimile scrolls.
Facsimile Editions’ copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls have drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to numerous exhibitions around the world. While the originals are safely stored and never on display in their entirety, let alone in sufficiently brightly lit displays, the facsimiles are made to be used, displayed and studied.
The imaginative display of The Great Isaiah Scroll at the Vatican’s Verbum Domini exhibition where a column-by-column translation was displayed above the facsimile.
Trever first photographed the scrolls in black and white, using Panchromatic film which was all that he could find. He rephotographed them between 6 and 11 March 1948 with sheets of Ansco colour negative film.
The camera used was a Kodak “Medalist II” equipped with an Ektar f/3.5, 100mm coated lens and ground glass back for use with 6.5 x 9cm cut-film holders. The exposures were made at f/14-f/16.
As Trever was using artificial light (two tungsten photoflood lamps with a colour temperature of 3400°. Kelvin), he had to correct his exposures by means of a blue filter over the lens to compensate for his film which was manufactured for use in daylight conditions.
Dr. Weston Fields, 1948 – 2023
On Thursday, May 25th, 2023, Dr. Weston Fields passed away on his beloved Bear Island in Alaska. Weston was born on January 16, 1948 in Long Beach, California to De Witt and Wanda Fields. In 1949 the family moved to Kodiak, Alaska so that De Witt and Wanda could work as house parents in a Baptist Mission. De Witt and Wanda continued to live in Kodiak for the rest of their lives. Weston’s brothers, Duncan and Wallace, continue to live and work in Kodiak. When Weston was twelve, the family purchased a fishing business on a small island, in Uyak Bay. They began to spend their summers fishing commercially for salmon. Throughout his whole life, Weston returned to Bear Island every summer to fish, even while pursuing scholarship and his other work during the winter months. Weston shared the fishing venture with his children when they were younger, with his parents until their death, and with his brothers and their families until the day he died. Weston’s family built Fields and Sons Inc. from a tiny operation with two skiffs, two sets and one cabin into a one of the larger set-net operations on Kodiak. When Weston died this past Thursday, he was sitting in his house on Bear Island, looking out over the ocean.
Weston graduated as valedictorian with the Kodiak High School class of 1966. He attended Faith Baptist Bible College in Omaha, Nebraska, majoring in Bible Studies. During his undergraduate degree, he met his first wife, Beverly Butrin. Weston had a love of aviation and earned his pilot’s license while going to school. After graduation, he and Beverly moved to Winona Lake, Indiana, where Weston pursued first an M.Div. and then a Th.M. at Grace Theological Seminary. His children, Tamie and DeWitt (who is now Fr. Herman) were born in Indiana during the time he taught at Grace. During his studies, Weston began to teach Bible, Greek and Hebrew at Grace while finishing his ThD Summa Cum Laude. His thesis on the Genesis creation narrative was published as a book in the 1980s under the title “Unformed and Unfilled: A Critique of the Gap Theory.”
While working on his doctorate at Grace, Weston was increasingly drawn to the emerging scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Weston mastered speaking Hebrew and in 1985 he moved to Jerusalem, Israel, with his family in order to pursue a Ph.D. in Old Testament at Hebrew University. While in Jerusalem he studied with such internationally notable Old Testament scholars as Shemaryahu Talmon and Emanuel Tov. His thesis on biblical literary motifs was published under the name “Sodom and Gomorrah: History and Motif in Biblical Narrative.” While studying at the Hebrew University, Weston heard his professors decrying limited funding for Dead Sea Scrolls analysis and publication. In 1991, working with Emanuel Tov, Weston initiated and chartered the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation. Weston served as the Managing Director of the foundation to jumpstart funding Dead Sea Scrolls research and publication for scholars around the world to use. This project became Weston’s life work and legacy. Weston brought a unique combination of practical business skills and a qualified scholarly appreciation for the finer details of the research. As a public speaker, Weston was riveting to listen to, and he had the ability to combine just the right number of facts with just the right amount of story-telling and charm to hold his listeners captive.
Over the next 30 years, Weston raised millions of dollars to support the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation in its completion of the 40-volume series named “Discoveries in the Judaean Desert.” One volume in the set, the Kodiak Volume, was entirely paid with donations from friends here in Kodiak. Weston continued to coordinate the research and publication of more scholarship in the same field until his death. His work with the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation took him all over the world, both fundraising and managing the ongoing scholarly work involved with the publications. He also arranged to borrow scrolls from Israel, Jordan, Russia, Norway and private collectors to develop Dead Sea Scrolls exhibits for museums all over the world. One exhibit, of which he was most proud, was in Seattle where many of his friends from Kodiak and the fishing community were able to see the Scrolls and some of his work. Studying at the Hebrew University, and working with the Scrolls community was one of the great honors of his life, and his family wishes to thank that community for their collaboration and friendship with Weston.
Weston married Diane Gould, a friend from Kodiak High School, in 1995. Diane and Weston traveled together, mostly on Foundation business, spending many months living in Jerusalem, and, in later years, living in Cape Town, South Africa during the winter months. While Weston was working with the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, Diane also founded the Dead Sea Scrolls Collection, offering a line of souvenirs designed with a Dead Sea Scrolls theme.
Weston’s final academic work was focused on the story of the discovery, preservation and initial interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Over the past 20 years he interviewed all the original Scrolls scholars and collected any information available regarding the Bedouin discovery of the Scrolls and their journey to museums and private collections. “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History, Volume 1,” was published in 2009, which chronicles the discovery of the Scrolls, the continuing archaeological excavations and various projects, from 1947 until the present. At his death, Weston was just about to finish his second volume of this work. It is hoped that, in his memory, the publisher will finalize the project.
Weston was extremely active and lived life to its fullest. He was involved in myriad projects, including improving fish quality by buying one of the first ice machines for fishermen, marketing canned salmon around the world and advocating for the government purchase of salmon, a shelf stable protein, long before the current USDA sales were in place. Despite his global reputation and accomplishments, he still considered his first identity to be a Kodiak Salmon Set-net Fisherman.
Weston worked with his father, and Burnie Lindsey, and others to build the current Berean Baptist Church in 1962. When he was in town Weston enjoyed visiting with his friends at Berean.
Weston’s legacy is his stalwart work ethic, his courage, his steady and unflappable leadership, his hunger for learning, an ability to form friendships with people from anywhere in the world and any walk of life, his humor, and love for God and for his family. Weston was a teacher and a story-teller, which is why his book that received the most attention was the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was masterful with his words and practical with his hands. The most beautiful things he could make were a spliced rope and the written word.
He is survived by wife, Diane; children Tamie and Fr. Herman; step-son Cullan; brother Duncan and sister-in-law Leslie, their children Naphtali, Noah, Isaac, Elisha, Abraham and Micah; brother Wallace and sister-in-law Beth and their children Ryan and Rachelle.