4. New light on the Hebrew Bible
‘New light on the Hebrew Bible’ investigates what the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell us about the textual diversity and canonicity of the Hebrew Bible. Before the scrolls were discovered, Hebrew manuscripts generally dated back to the medieval period. The Qumran texts, dating to between 250 bce and 100 ce, tell us what the Bible was like before its standardization. Errors from copying gave rise to different text-types, and the Dead Sea Scrolls showed that there were far more text-types than previously thought. Variations in readings of the Hebrew Bible and other ancient sources show there was greater diversity in biblical texts than previously realized.