Fragments from 25 Dead Sea Scrolls have been made available to the public for the first time.
The newly published fragments contain sections from biblical texts including: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Nehemiah.
The scrolls are currently undergoing scientific tests to confirm their authenticity.
Nehemiah
One of the most significant fragments is from the Book of Nehemiah.
The fragment, of chapter 2:13-16, records how Nehemiah, a Jewish servant of Persian king Artaxerxes in the fifth century B.C. visited and inspected the gates of Jerusalem, before rebuilding its walls.
In another fragment from Leviticus 26, God promises blessings for the people of Israel if they obey his commands.
It includes verse six where God says: “I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”
King Jehu
The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered at Qumran between 1947-1956.
Discoveries were more recently made at the Tel Lachish National Park in Israel to support the biblical account of King Jehu’s destruction of Baal worship in Israel.
The record in 2 Kings 10 tells how Jehu ordered his soldiers to destroy the temple of Baal, demolishing the sacred stone and using it as a latrine.
Excavation Director for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) Sa’ar Ganor spoke of the importance of the 2 Kings discoveries, saying: “It means we have the evidence. The Bible and the archaeology are matching.”