What Is the Psalms Scroll?
Among the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran are many manuscripts of Psalms. Some of these manuscripts are very close to the version of the book of Psalms found in Jewish Bibles today, but others differ in both order and content. The best preserved of these scrolls is the Psalms Scrolla (114QPsa), found in Cave 11. The psalms in this scroll are arranged in a different order from those in the standard biblical book, and there are also additional psalms, including Hebrew versions of several “apocryphal” or “noncanonical” psalms previously known only from Greek and Syriac translations. Toward the end of the scroll is a passage describing King David as the author of 4,050 psalms—many more than than the 150 in the Jewish Bible, or in any known version of the book of Psalms. Some scholars believe that the Psalms scroll was a liturgical text, a sort of prayer book for the Qumran community.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
The Praise of the Righteous
Psalms Scrolla 18:1–20 (Psalm 154:3–19)
Primary Source
Hymn to the Creator
Psalms Scrolla 26:9–15
Primary Source
Prayer for Instruction and Deliverance
Psalms Scrolla 24:3–17 (Psalm 155)
Primary Source
David as Author and Prophet
Psalms Scrolla 27:2–11
Related Guide
What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Found in caves in the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea Scrolls preserve the writings of an ancient Jewish sect.
