Dead Sea Scrolls in Singapore

A scroll made of animal skin

Some 60 years ago, fragments of the what is now known as Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 11 caves off the Dead Sea. Scholars have pieced them together to make up some 900 documents - some of which are text from the Bible.

I suppose if I were more of a history buff or more religious, I might have been more interested in the exhibition. Given all the hype, I was a little disappointed.

For one, there were only 4 small fragments of the actual Dead Sea Scrolls that were on display. Having said that, it does give you an idea of the ardous task of piecing all these fragments together to form even one manuscript.


When we arrived, we were the only ones there so I was surprised to learn that they were selling tickets by time slots to control the crowd. I heard the exhibition was popular, I just didn't realise how popular.

After we bought our tickets, we were ushered into a screening room for a short video providing us with some background info.

The exhibition was divided into 3 rooms & once enough people has gathered in one, a guide would come forward to give a commentary.


After my initial disappointment with the 4 fragments, the rest of the exhibits were quite interesting. Think of it as the evolution of the bible. There were many ancient copies written in Hebrew, French, German, English etc.

The activity room