Why Was The New Testament Missing From The Dead Sea Scrolls???

Ok, so this is just off the top of my head, so it is not a deep seeded ideological belief.. it is just me asking and throwing something out there.....

I figure most know the story of the Dead Sea scrolls...

Some goat herder found a old library of scrolls containing the some of the earliest known accounts of the Old Testament, a bunch of extra post Jesus books of the Bible not included in the New Testament .. and then some other sectarian documents concerning governing and such..

Ok, so as the mainstream story goes.. at the council of nicea constintine gathered a bunch of pipes and they all say down and figured out which books would be included in the New Testament of the Bible..

So assuming no shinanigans , hypothetically they would have taken all the books everyone agreed on and excluded all the books that were questionable and maybe argued a little over the books some believed but some didn't believe were valid....

Well then shouldn't the Dead Sea scrolls have contained multiple copies of the books later included?? Since hypothetically those were the ones most circulated and that everyone agreed on?????

The Dead Sea scrolls were a library of Hebrew and later Christian texts that spanned hundreds of years BC to like 200ad(?)..

So wouldn't those have definitely been included????

I don't know, and maybe some one will post a totally logical reason why not..

But it seems to me that if the romans compiled the most generally excepted books. Then shouldn't any library good enough to have copies of "the gospel of Tomas" and other hypothetically more obscure pieces, contain those as well????


I just find it perculiar that the only books not found in the Dead Sea scrolls . Were the ones the romans later chose to use...

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The Dead Sea scrolls were a library of Hebrew and later Christian texts that spanned hundreds of years BC to like 200ad(?)..

Most scholars conclude they only cover up to the period of the late Second Temple (70AD).

I hope those scrolls weren't on loan from the library... Imagine the late fees...

Now, for a serious answer to the question... you are asking the wrong question.

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Ask the Roman Catholic Church.
They've got the answers to your questions.

Though they may not be truthful answers.

a reply to: madmac5150

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Uhm... which gnostic texts would you be referring to?

Gnostic literature came from the first and early second and third century... and the gnostic writers were not fans of the OT

why would they be included in the dead sea scrolls which were all hebrew texts?

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Ok, so as the mainstream story goes.. at the council of nicea constintine gathered a bunch of pipes and they all say down and figured out which books would be included in the New Testament of the Bible..

no that would be dan browns version of the events...

the council of Nicea had nothing to do with the compilation of biblical canon...

Please read... www.abovetopsecret.com...

I wrote it for just such an occasion

So assuming no shinanigans , hypothetically they would have taken all the books everyone agreed on and excluded all the books that were questionable and maybe argued a little over the books some believed but some didn't believe were valid....

There really isn't much Christian material in the dead sea scrolls... vague allusions to Christian like aspects but not much more... again, these were jewish writings.... mostly OT

But it seems to me that if the romans compiled the most generally excepted books. Then shouldn't any library good enough to have copies of "the gospel of Tomas" and other hypothetically more obscure pieces, contain those as well????

I think your time line is way off here... the dead sea scrolls were hidden in a time when the romans were destroying anything Christian or hebrew... Its likely the NT wasn't even written yet, and IF it actually was in the late first century Thomas wouldn't have been included in any case...

Tis a gnostic text... not compatible with OT

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: madmac5150

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Uhm... which gnostic texts would you be referring to?

Gnostic literature came from the first and early second and third century... and the gnostic writers were not fans of the OT

why would they be included in the dead sea scrolls which were all hebrew texts?

Because the poor lads confused

There were a number of books found in the Dead Sea Scrolls not in the authorised christian OT section of the bible. Jasher, Enoch, Jubilee and uhm Macabees, these were not included because they are more historical than "prophetical".
More about history than Jesus, as such. Readily available at most religious book shops, not hidden or missing

Anyway, the Dead Sea Scrolls were probably squirreled away long before Jesus birth, maybe after, no one is sure, maybe when Babylon invaded or Rome, assumedly when Jerualem was under threat and they wanted to protect the scriptures.
there is no New Testament information because when the Scrolls were put in the caves, there was no New Testament written yet.

a reply to: Akragon

I think a lot of people conflate the dead sea scrolls with the Nag Hammadi library and that is likely what happened with this thread.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The Dead Sea scrolls were a library of Hebrew and later Christian texts that spanned hundreds of years BC to like 200ad(?)..

Most scholars conclude they only cover up to the period of the late Second Temple (70AD).

Does that effect the question??

The wiki page says this..

"In the larger sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls include manuscripts from additional Judaean Desert sites, which go back as far as the 8th century BCE to as late as the 11th century CE.[1]"

originally posted by: madmac5150
I hope those scrolls weren't on loan from the library... Imagine the late fees...

Now, for a serious answer to the question... you are asking the wrong question.

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

But shouldn't they have existed in both times?

From the late first century, untile they were buried??

Since it includes the more obscure books, why are what should be the more common books missing??

originally posted by: Raggedyman

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: madmac5150

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Uhm... which gnostic texts would you be referring to?

Gnostic literature came from the first and early second and third century... and the gnostic writers were not fans of the OT

why would they be included in the dead sea scrolls which were all hebrew texts?

Because the poor lads confused

There were a number of books found in the Dead Sea Scrolls not in the authorised christian OT section of the bible. Jasher, Enoch, Jubilee and uhm Macabees, these were not included because they are more historical than "prophetical".
More about history than Jesus, as such. Readily available at most religious book shops, not hidden or missing

Anyway, the Dead Sea Scrolls were probably squirreled away long before Jesus birth, maybe after, no one is sure, maybe when Babylon invaded or Rome, assumedly when Jerualem was under threat and they wanted to protect the scriptures.
there is no New Testament information because when the Scrolls were put in the caves, there was no New Testament written yet.

I thought the ded Sea scrolls included Jesus stories?

It says they were buried in 68 ad , which is very early for books absolutely is early for books to have been circulated.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

There is no reason why Gnostic texts would be found in anything related to the people of the OT or the NT or believers of for that matter.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The Dead Sea scrolls were a library of Hebrew and later Christian texts that spanned hundreds of years BC to like 200ad(?)..

Most scholars conclude they only cover up to the period of the late Second Temple (70AD).

Does that effect the question??

The wiki page says this..

"In the larger sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls include manuscripts from additional Judaean Desert sites, which go back as far as the 8th century BCE to as late as the 11th century CE.[1]"

You do realize that anyone can create a "wiki page" and troll the hell out of anyone gullible enough to believe it right?

a reply to: JoshuaCox

You do realize those were jewish texts from a jewish community. They were not christians and there would be no reason for them to have christian texts. Means they have no requirements to have christian text. And wouldnt even have the same books as a christian community.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Raggedyman

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: madmac5150

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Uhm... which gnostic texts would you be referring to?

Gnostic literature came from the first and early second and third century... and the gnostic writers were not fans of the OT

why would they be included in the dead sea scrolls which were all hebrew texts?

Because the poor lads confused

There were a number of books found in the Dead Sea Scrolls not in the authorised christian OT section of the bible. Jasher, Enoch, Jubilee and uhm Macabees, these were not included because they are more historical than "prophetical".
More about history than Jesus, as such. Readily available at most religious book shops, not hidden or missing

Anyway, the Dead Sea Scrolls were probably squirreled away long before Jesus birth, maybe after, no one is sure, maybe when Babylon invaded or Rome, assumedly when Jerualem was under threat and they wanted to protect the scriptures.
there is no New Testament information because when the Scrolls were put in the caves, there was no New Testament written yet.

I thought the ded Sea scrolls included Jesus stories?

It says they were buried in 68 ad , which is very early for books absolutely is early for books to have been circulated.

An Arab shepherd boy discovered the greatest archeological finds in history in 1947. When the ancient Hebrew scrolls from these caves were examined by scholars they found that this Qumran site contained alibrary with hundreds of precious texts of both biblical and secular manuscripts that dated back before the destruction of the Second Temple and the death of Jesus Christ.
www.grantjeffrey.com...

Quotes from the New Testament in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Finally, after a public relations campaign demanded the release of the unpublished scrolls to other scholars, the last of the unpublished scrolls were released to the academic world. To the great joy and surprise of many scholars, the scrolls contain definite references to the New Testament and, most importantly, to Jesus of Nazareth. In the last few years several significant scrolls were released that shed new light on the New Testament and the life of Jesus. One of the most extraordinary of these scrolls released in 1991 actually referred directly to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.


There you go, I was wrong

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Aside from the fact that the majority of things recovered from the caves were pre-Christian, and that the dating is approximate, even if everything was post Christian, it wouldn't matter if they were not a Christian group.

They just wouldn't have Christian texts if they weren't Christian.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: madmac5150

Why were the early Gnostic texts included in the Dead Sea scrolls excluded from the New Testament? Those codices predate the New Testament writings by centuries.

Uhm... which gnostic texts would you be referring to?

Gnostic literature came from the first and early second and third century... and the gnostic writers were not fans of the OT

why would they be included in the dead sea scrolls which were all hebrew texts?

But the Gnostics say they were pre-Christian... and they wouldn't lie, would they?

Why isn't the Gospel of Thomas in the Bible ? he was a disciple of Jesus.

a reply to: chr0naut

they were pre-Christian... they tended to adopt other religions beliefs it seems

Before the Christian era they seemed to be more greek mythology based

Keep in mind also "the gnostics" were not a religion... they were writers who had followers

Gnostic writers had a lot of varying beliefs, and in this case and most were talking about christian gnostic writers which would not have been involved with OT literature unless they were trying to show its falsities

originally posted by: mazzroth
Why isn't the Gospel of Thomas in the Bible ? he was a disciple of Jesus.

Thomas isn't like the rest of the "gospels"... its a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus

Many of which align with the rest of the gospels in the bible...

Some of the ideas mentioned go directly against Christian teaching though... which is likely why it wasn't included, like the rest of the gnostic texts... or even considered