A Day Finding the Oldest Bible on Earth, 1947
Time Surfing: Graphic History
Time Surfing: Experience History Firsthand.
Historical Backdrop
In early 1947, the land was the British Mandate of Palestine, a tense and poor place still recovering from the Second World War. Along the barren northwest shore of the Dead Sea — the lowest spot on Earth — Bedouin of the Ta’amireh tribe grazed goats among limestone cliffs near a ruin called Qumran. Our subject is Muhammed edh-Dhib Hasan (”Muhammed the Wolf”), a shepherd of about fifteen. He could not read, owned almost nothing, and spent his days chasing strays across the cliffs.
Pre-dawn — Ta’amireh Bedouin encampment, hills above the Dead Sea cliffs, near Qumran — c. 5:10 AM
You wake in the cold dark under a low black goat-hair tent. Your breath fogs. You smell smoke, goat dung, and damp wool. An older man stirs the embers and sets a battered coffee pot on the coals. Your stomach is empty. You pull your headcloth tighter, rub your stiff hands, and listen to the goats shifting in their pen outside.
Dawn — Edge of the encampment, releasing the herd — c. 5:55 AM
You drive the goats out of the thorn pen as the sky turns pale orange. The animals bleat and push past your legs. You grip your worn staff and a goatskin water bag slung over your shoulder. The ground is sharp gravel under your bare feet. A skinny dog trots ahead. Cold wind comes off the great flat sea below, silver in the early light.
Mid-morning — Marl terraces and limestone cliffs below Qumran — c. 9:30 AM
You follow the goats along the foot of crumbling cliffs. The sun is high and hot now. White marl dust coats your feet and ankles. You chew a piece of dry flatbread you saved. The goats scatter to nibble dry thornbushes. You squint up at the cliff face, pocked everywhere with holes, caves and cracks, and then turn back to count your animals.
Late morning — Steep scree slope below a high cave mouth — c. 11:00 AM
One goat has climbed too high, leaping up the cliff. You scramble after it, hands and feet on hot loose rock. Stones slide and clatter beneath you. Sweat stings your eyes. You stop, breathing hard, and notice two small dark openings in the rock above you — too narrow for a goat. You wonder what is inside.
Late morning — At the narrow cave opening — c. 11:20 AM
