The title of this online book is Jeremiah's Wheelbarrow: The First Temple Treasure of the Copper Scroll of Qumran and the Land of Redemption. Readers familiar with current theories regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls will notice the phrase `First Temple Treasure,' because it is almost universally held that the scrolls originated between 200 BC and the destruction of the Second Temple, in 70 AD. (This is why many scroll scholars are debating the possible connection Jesus might have had with the scrolls, as His ministry took place until approximately 30 AD.) This may be true for other scrolls, but I believe that the copper scroll originated at the time of the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC, during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. This copper scroll is a listing of literally tons of gold and silver, buried in places in and around Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. What I try to prove is this:
That the Qumran community was founded by Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, just after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonian armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The book of Jeremiah indicates that the prophet bought a field in his home city of Anathoth just prior to the invasion, as well as other fields, in and around Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Jeremiah 32). The prophet is then taken to Egypt for a brief period with members of the family and court of the Jewish king, Zedekiah, who is deposed and blinded by the Babylonians.He returns to Judea, and here the Biblical account ends.
In the books of the Maccabees, which are apocryphal (noncanonical) but presumably historical, the prophet is said to be involved in hiding things in the caves around the Dead Sea, particularly on Mount Nebo. It also indicates that items had been stored in hidden, underground cisterns, as are listed in the copper scroll.
The prophet Ezra is related to Jeremiah. He and Nehemiah are the prophets of the return from the exile in Babylon, about 70 years after 586 BC. My conjecture is that if Jeremiah had hidden items in caves, and underground in fields, then there must have been someone acting as caretaker of this information, most likely in the Qumran hills, where they would be able to hide from the occupying armies. Upon the return of the Jews, they should have released information and pointed out the lands bought by Jeremiah. The Bible doesn't relate that they did.
What may have happened is that there was a schism at this time. The priesthood was very unpopular after the return. The Books of Maccabees are not recognized as canon, text scrolls from Qumran indicate a great resentment and hostility towards the Jerusalemite priesthood, and when Jesus and John the Baptist arrive on the scene, they both censure the existing hierarchy as well. If this is true, then the Qumran community which penned the Dead Sea Scrolls never gave up their treasures, or gave up only some. The rest may have been looted by the Crusaders 1000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman armies. The scrolls managed to remain hidden until 1947, one year before the establishment of the State of Israel. The copper scroll was found in 1952, 4 years after the War of Independence.
My belief is that the cycle of this prophecy is now nearing completion. The book is written from a point of view accepting the veracity of the Bible. However, I invite the reader to investigate all the information, and the sources are all major primary and secondary historical sources, as well as some modern scroll scholarship: the Bible, the Books of Maccabees, Eusebius, scroll scholars John Allegro, Theodor Gaster, Manfred Lehmann, P. Kyle McCarter, Hershel Shanks, and Yigael Yadin, as well as Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception.
Here is a brief chronology of the time period covered by the book:
- 1003-970 BC- Reign of King David
- 970-931 BC- Reign of King Solomon. Temple in Jerusalem built.
- 627-586 BC- Jeremiah prophesies in Judah
- 586 BC- Destruction of Temple by Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.
- 539 BC- Fall of Babylon to Medo-Persian Empire.
- 538 BC- Edict of Cyrus, King of Persia , which allows Jews toreturn to homeland and rebuild Temple.
- 515 BC- Temple reconstruction completed.
- 458 BC- Ezra returns to Judah.
- 445 BC- Nehemiah restores walls of Jerusalem.
- 331 BC- Fall of Medo-Persia to Alexander the Great.
- 323-198 BC- Judah remains largely autonomous, but under the strong influence of the Ptolemaic line which ruled Egypt following death of Alexander.
- 198-65 BC- Judah under thumb of Seleucid Empire which ruled Syria.
- 167-134 BC- First Book of Maccabees chronicles Jewish revolt against Seleucid emperor Antiochus Epiphanes.
- 175-160 BC- Second Book of Maccabees covers approximately the same events as First Book.
- 63-41 BC- Palestine brought under Roman control by Pompey, and Judea (Roman name for Judah) reduced in size.
- 40-4 BC- Rule of Idumaeans- Antipater and sons, Herod and Phasael, under Roman grant.
- From 6 to 2 BC- Births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Greek Iesos, from Hebrew Yeshua, English Joshua), cousins.
- Approximately 26 AD- Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
- 1947- First Dead Sea Scrolls discovered.
- 1948- Establishment of State of Israel.
- 1952- Discovery of Copper Scroll.
- 1967- Capture of Jerusalem by Israel.