Two Old Testament manuscripts about 2,000 years old, which were accidently discovered in a Palestine cave by Arab Bedouins have been published in photographic form along with a suitable transcription, it was announced here today. The manuscripts are part of the cache of 10 animal-skin documents found in the cave near the Dead Sea in 1947.
Publication of two of the manuscripts was announced by Carl H. Kraeling, president of the American Schools of Oriental Research. This first volume contains the commentary on the Book of Habakkuk and the oldest known copy of the Book of Isaiah, which is also the oldest complete copy of any book of the Bible.
The two manuscripts plus two others of the original 10 are now in the U.S. in the possession of Metropolitan Athanasius Yeshue Samuel of the Syrian Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem. The remaining six manuscripts are at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The American Schools of Oriental Research by arrangement with the Metropolitan are planning to publish an additional two volumes containing the remaining scrolls held by the Syrian prelate.
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