364 Day Calendar in Dead Sea Scrolls
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The scrolls — which contain Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic writing — include several of the earliest known texts from the Bible, including the oldest surviving copy of the Ten Commandments.
According to the university, the new findings offer insight into the fanatical Qumran sect’s 364-day calendar — as opposed to the lunar calendar used in Jewish religious practice today, the International Business Times reported.
The scroll that was pieced together uses the name the sect gave to the “special days marking the transitions between the four seasons,” a name that experts had never before seen.
That name is “Tekufah,” which translates to “period.”
The special occasions included festivals of New Wheat, New Wine and New Oil, which were related to the Jewish festival of Shavuot.
The researchers said they were helped in deciphering the code by annotations discovered in the margins made by a scribe correcting omissions made by the author.
“What’s nice is that these comments were hints that helped me figure out the puzzle. They showed me how to assemble the scroll,” Ratzon told the Israeli Haaretz newspaper.
It is not known who wrote the scrolls, although some scholars have credited an ascetic desert sect called the Essenes.
“The researchers are now turning their attention to the last remaining scroll that has yet to be deciphered,” the university said.
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