The publication of the deciphered parts of the Dead Sea Scroll known as the “Apocryphal Book of Genesis,” together with photographs of the document, will throw “revolutionary” new light on apocryphal literature philologically and topographically, Prof. Yigal Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, scholar and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Army of Defense, told a press conference here today.
Prof. Yadin told newsmen that a clue to the actual age of the scroll, which will be published in three months, would be found in its topographical references. The Aramaic in which the scroll is written, he continued, is not that of the Babylonian Talmud but is similar to that of the Bible, but with quite a number of Hebrew words interwoven. It might be the equivalent of the Aramaic of the Jews of the time of the destruction of the Second Temple, some 1,900 years ago.
The archaeologist also reported on the diggings at Hatzor, where archaeologists working under his direction have unearthed a series of cities built one on top of the other The last one appears to have been destroyed about 2,700 years ago. At one time, Prof. Yadin continued, the city probably had a population of 40,000 to 50,000 making it the largest in Palestine–some 15 times larger than Jerusalem was when David was King.
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