From the desert to the web

This isn't the blog entry I planned to post this week, that one will have to wait until next time.  As of today, September 27 2011, as the new year approaches on the Hebrew calendar, five of the Dead Sea Scrolls can be viewed online.  Up until now a visit the Israel's national museum would have been required to see the scrolls but now a new website, developed in partnership between the museum and Google gives users around the world access to searchable, fast-loading images of the scrolls, as well as short videos and background information on the texts and their history.  The images can be zoomed in and out for better viewing and the most minute details can be seen thanks to the high resolution photographs which are almost 200 times clearer than those taken with the average consumer camera.  There is an option to select from the various chapters and verses and an English translation tool is available.  The five scrolls that have been digitized so far are the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll and the War Scroll. 

Source: The Christian Science Monitor website

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0927/Dead-Sea-Scrolls-online-a-window-on-Judaism-in-the-time-of-Jesus-VIDEO

Check out the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rYj_0foJYA&feature=player_embedded

In my next post I will  write about the transition of the scrolls from the desert to the rest of the world.