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The Moses Scroll
In 1878, a Jerusalem antiquities dealer named Moses Wilhelm Shapira acquired a curious biblical manuscript consisting of sixteen leather strips. The manuscript, written in ancient, Paleo-Hebrew contained what appeared to be a form of the Bible’s Book of Deuteronomy but with significant variations. It was allegedly discovered by Bedouin tribesmen around 1865, east of the Dead Sea, in a remote cave, high above the Wadi Mujib (biblical Arnon). Shapira believed that his manuscript was both ancient and authentic. In 1883, he presented his scroll to the leading scholars of Europe. Newspapers around the world covered the unfolding story as scholars debated the genuineness of the leather strips. Ultimately the scroll was deemed a forgery and Shapira the forger. However, beginning in 1947, ancient scrolls discovered in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea lead us to ask—were the critics wrong? The Moses Scroll documents the details of the entire saga based upon what we know today including a chronological telling of the fascinating story based upon 19th-century reports; an assessment of the genuineness of Shapira’s scroll; a new transcription of the manuscript as seen through the eyes of the 19th-century’s best Hebraists; and the author’s own translation of the original sixteen leather strips with a commentary and notes.
218 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2021
70 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Ross K. Nichols
3 books3 followersRoss K. Nichols is an independent biblical researcher, author, and educator. He has published three books through Horeb Press: The Moses Scroll (2021), Fragments of a Leather Manuscript Containing Moses’ Last Words to the Children of Israel (2021), and These Are the Words: Essential Biblical Hebrew Vocabularies (2022). You can find his books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.
Nichols has traveled extensively to Israel and Jordan over the past decade, leading tours and conducting biblical research. His primary research interests include the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing the Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and nineteenth-century explorations and discoveries in the Levant. He has participated in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem and Biblical Tamar south of the Dead Sea and expeditions to identify the locations mentioned in the wilderness itineraries, including the quest for Biblical Horeb/Sinai.
Nichols is a Vice President and an ordained minister of the Hebrew Faith for United Israel World Union, an educational, non-profit organization founded in 1944. Videos of his weekly classes in Biblical studies are live-streamed to a growing global audience on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Audio archives of his biblical teachings are available on Amazon Music/Audible, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and most major podcast directories. Search for United Israel by Ross K. Nichols and subscribe.
To learn more about Ross’s current work, visit his website (http://rossknichols.com) or his Academia Page (https://independent.academia.edu/Ross...). You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/rossknicholsTV) and follow him on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
To learn more about United Israel World Union, see (https://unitedisraelworldunion.com). To learn more about The Moses Scroll or follow the Author’s Blog, visit (https://themosesscroll.com).
You may also directly support Ross’s research projects by becoming a founding member on his Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/rossknichols/...).
Nichols has traveled extensively to Israel and Jordan over the past decade, leading tours and conducting biblical research. His primary research interests include the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing the Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and nineteenth-century explorations and discoveries in the Levant. He has participated in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem and Biblical Tamar south of the Dead Sea and expeditions to identify the locations mentioned in the wilderness itineraries, including the quest for Biblical Horeb/Sinai.
Nichols is a Vice President and an ordained minister of the Hebrew Faith for United Israel World Union, an educational, non-profit organization founded in 1944. Videos of his weekly classes in Biblical studies are live-streamed to a growing global audience on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Audio archives of his biblical teachings are available on Amazon Music/Audible, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and most major podcast directories. Search for United Israel by Ross K. Nichols and subscribe.
To learn more about Ross’s current work, visit his website (http://rossknichols.com) or his Academia Page (https://independent.academia.edu/Ross...). You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/rossknicholsTV) and follow him on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
To learn more about United Israel World Union, see (https://unitedisraelworldunion.com). To learn more about The Moses Scroll or follow the Author’s Blog, visit (https://themosesscroll.com).
You may also directly support Ross’s research projects by becoming a founding member on his Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/rossknichols/...).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 14, 2021
HOT! The Shapira affair is back in the world news! Immerse yourself in one of the most controversial historical-biblical mysteries of all time. Follow Moses Shapira, 19th century book seller and antiquarian as he attempts to have his amazing find validated. Fifteen leather strips, found in a cave near the Dead Sea by Bedouins, covered in a black asphalt like substance, once wrapped in cloth, with paleo-Hebrew writing. Once deciphered, they are found to contain two copies of the Book of Deuteronomy (sound familiar). In his quest to authenticate the strips, Shapira travels from Jerusalem to Berlin, to London and meets with the preeminent scholars of the day. Sounds like Indiana Jones? Except this is not Fiction!
Meticulously researched, with extensive footnotes but written for the historical fiction nut like me.
Fantastical find (1st Dead Sea Scroll?) or fraud? And where are they today? Join 21st century scholars as they once again debate the issue.
Meticulously researched, with extensive footnotes but written for the historical fiction nut like me.
Fantastical find (1st Dead Sea Scroll?) or fraud? And where are they today? Join 21st century scholars as they once again debate the issue.
October 25, 2021
Read this book for a beautifully written human story and exceptionally accessible work of scholarship! The pathos and mystery surrounding antiquities dealer Moses Shapira and his controversial manuscript made it hard to put the book down. Tight editing and content organization move the reader through a multitude of characters and details of scholarship without losing the book's narrative appeal.
The manuscript is named "The Moses Scroll," not after the dealer Moses Shapira, but after the historic Moses to whom authorship is ascribed in the opening line: "These are the words that Moses spoke." The text of the Moses Scroll, presented at the back of the book in Hebrew and in English, is recognizable from the Book of Deuteronomy 1-11 and 27-31. Readers will learn why these sections of Deuteronomy are distinct from the rest of the Pentateuch.
Discovery of the Moses Scroll preceded discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls by more than seven decades. In 1878 the scholars examining the scroll had no reference points with which to authenticate this unique artifact. They did not believe leather scrolls could survive thousands of years in a cave above the Dead Sea. No one was willing to risk their professional reputation; it was a much safer application of their expertise to find reasons why the Moses Scroll was a fraud. Seventy years later, their analysis would have a much different context. Unfortunately, by the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the Moses Scroll had been lost. All that remains are scholars' notes and drawings. The text of the Moses Scroll is provided at the back of the book in Hebrew and in English.
Also at the back of the book is one of the most interesting features of the book for me, the Ten Words or Ten Commandments harmonized with the blessings and cursings of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. I find this harmony highly compelling! The Moses Scroll version of the Ten Commandments is numbered differently than versions in Exodus and Deuteronomy and includes an "11th commandment" (the tenth in the Moses Scroll): "You shall not hate your brother in your heart."
For scholars the book is thoroughly annotated. What I miss is AN INDEX! Especially for a book of this detail, an index is so important! Otherwise how can one retrieve this or that piece of information recalled from the book but needing clarification or documentation? This is my only criticism of this otherwise impressive and compelling work.
The manuscript is named "The Moses Scroll," not after the dealer Moses Shapira, but after the historic Moses to whom authorship is ascribed in the opening line: "These are the words that Moses spoke." The text of the Moses Scroll, presented at the back of the book in Hebrew and in English, is recognizable from the Book of Deuteronomy 1-11 and 27-31. Readers will learn why these sections of Deuteronomy are distinct from the rest of the Pentateuch.
Discovery of the Moses Scroll preceded discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls by more than seven decades. In 1878 the scholars examining the scroll had no reference points with which to authenticate this unique artifact. They did not believe leather scrolls could survive thousands of years in a cave above the Dead Sea. No one was willing to risk their professional reputation; it was a much safer application of their expertise to find reasons why the Moses Scroll was a fraud. Seventy years later, their analysis would have a much different context. Unfortunately, by the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the Moses Scroll had been lost. All that remains are scholars' notes and drawings. The text of the Moses Scroll is provided at the back of the book in Hebrew and in English.
Also at the back of the book is one of the most interesting features of the book for me, the Ten Words or Ten Commandments harmonized with the blessings and cursings of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. I find this harmony highly compelling! The Moses Scroll version of the Ten Commandments is numbered differently than versions in Exodus and Deuteronomy and includes an "11th commandment" (the tenth in the Moses Scroll): "You shall not hate your brother in your heart."
For scholars the book is thoroughly annotated. What I miss is AN INDEX! Especially for a book of this detail, an index is so important! Otherwise how can one retrieve this or that piece of information recalled from the book but needing clarification or documentation? This is my only criticism of this otherwise impressive and compelling work.
December 7, 2022
Amazing Detail
This is a scholarly work that reads like a novel. I was on edge throughout the read to know what the scrolls said. Nichols does not disappoint. He not only details the differences between the Moses scrolls and later versions of Deuteronomy, he actually includes a line by line Hebrew script. If you are serious Bible student this book is a must have.
This is a scholarly work that reads like a novel. I was on edge throughout the read to know what the scrolls said. Nichols does not disappoint. He not only details the differences between the Moses scrolls and later versions of Deuteronomy, he actually includes a line by line Hebrew script. If you are serious Bible student this book is a must have.
March 14, 2021
This book is essential reading for all who seek the way as to how the book of Deuteronomy was compiled. The Scroll of Moses was the original Torah Moses, a Covenant made between God and Moses some 3500 years ago and faithfully transmitted by Levites priests over the Biblical period. Barry Page
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews