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Qumran was located just 10 miles south of Jericho. A radical group of Pharisees, who disliked the religious practices of Jews in Jerusalem, lived in
Qumran. In order to gain membership into the sect, applicants had to go through a period of probation that lasted two years. Members of the group never married, wishing to
remain "ritually pure" until the return of the Lord. Men and women lived separately from one another. Members of this group were certain that the world was coming to
an end.
The accuracy of the Bible was strengthened when in 1947 the Dead Sea scroll were discovered. The scrolls were found in clay jars in a cave near Khirbet
Qumran. In all seven scrolls were found. These scrolls contained every book of the Old Testament in their entirety except for the book of Ester. For years critics claimed
that the book of Isaiah was really two books, but the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls laid that argument to rest. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls three different
variations of the Hebrew Bible existed.
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