SBTS buys 3 DSS fragments

THREE DEAD SEA SCROLLS FRAGMENTS have been acquired by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary:

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary obtains 3 fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

By CHRIS VAUGHN (Star-Telegram)

cvaughn@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — Only eight months after the Kimbell Art Museum purchased an exceedingly rare Michelangelo painting, the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary dropped its own antiquities bombshell Wednesday — the school has acquired three fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the world’s most important archaeological and spiritual discoveries.

The fragments — appearing to carry verses from the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus and Daniel — are admittedly tiny, measuring only a few square inches each and protected in a sheath of glass. But because the scrolls are the oldest version of the Hebrew Bible ever discovered, it would be impossible to overstate their importance to religious scholars, not to mention the leadership of the Baptist seminary.

"This is an occasion of considerable consequence," said Paige Patterson, president of the seminary.

The seminary bought the pieces for an undisclosed price from a private collector who had them in a Swiss bank.

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SBTS is looking to buy more Scroll fragments. Last September, Azusa Pacific University also bought some Scroll fragments.