Qumran's Secrets

Qumran is best known as the place near the Dead Sea where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found by Bedouin shepherds in 1947. 

It is thought that a religious group called the Essenes lived here. The Essenes were an ascetic, self-sufficient group. Displeased with the religious corruption in Jerusalem, they formed a tightly structured settlement complete with an aqueduct, a cistern, ritual baths, a kitchen, dining room, and a special room for scribes to do their meticulous work. 

There is speculation that John the Baptist spent time in Qumran but there is no biblical record of this.

In the future, I will blog more extensively about Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.