February 9, 2010

Better for Publicity Than Scholarship? Dead Sea Scroll Purchases Stir Debate

Scholars Try to Piece Together What's Best Done With the Dead Sea Scrolls 1

Azusa Pacific U'

An infrared image of a fragment of Deuteronomy 27, part of Azusa Pacific U.'s Dead Sea Scrolls acquisition.

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close Scholars Try to Piece Together What's Best Done With the Dead Sea Scrolls 1

Azusa Pacific U'

An infrared image of a fragment of Deuteronomy 27, part of Azusa Pacific U.'s Dead Sea Scrolls acquisition.

By Jennifer Howard

What are the oldest known fragments of the Hebrew Bible worth? On the antiquities market, pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls might go for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars—or more. In spiritual and publicity value, such artifacts may seem priceless, especially if the buyer is an educational institution with a religious orientation.

But for some scholars, the purchases are more a cause for concern than for celebration. Will such acquisitions by academic institutions, even

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