The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran

DEAD SEA SCROLLS / ANCIENT EGYPT "Robert Feather has been able to uncover the first link between Akhenaten and the Qumran community, through the Copper Scroll. This new evidence will completely change our understanding of the relationship between biblical Moses and historical Akhenaten." --Ahmed Osman, author of Moses and Akhenaten "Empowered with technical expertise and tenacious research, Robert Feather stimulates excited debate with The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran." --Christopher Dunn, author of The Giza Power Plant The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise the oldest collection of biblical documents ever discovered. Of the Dead Sea Scrolls, none has baffled experts more than the Copper Scroll, discovered in 1952 by a team of Bedouin led by Henri de Contenson of the ecole Biblique in East Jerusalem. Appearing to be a list of buried treasure engraved on copper pieces, the Copper Scroll has long been considered to be the work of a devout, secretive Jewish sect, the Essenes, who lived by the Dead Sea around the time of Jesus. Metallurgist Robert Feather demonstrates, however, that the weights and numbering systems used in the Copper Scroll are actually Egyptian in origin. He further shows how Greek characters inserted into the text of the Copper Scroll make clear references to the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Feather's findings support theories that the original priests of Akhenaten continued to pass on his religious teachings of monotheism and that those teachings directly impacted the theological evolution of ancient Judaism. Decoded, the Copper Scroll also indicates the existence of a completely independent sect of pious Hebrew priests that preserved the original practices of Ahkenaten-influenced Judaism. This fascinating study takes the reader on a journey from ancient Mesopotamia, through Canaan, into Egypt, and back to the shores of the Dead Sea in order to explore the wide-reaching implications of the Copper Scroll. The author suggests the locations of most of the treasures listed on the scroll; explores further links between the Essenes of Qumran and other Jewish sects, such as the Ethiopian Jews; and provides a fresh understanding of the origins of monotheism--the basis of the three great religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ROBERT FEATHER is a metallurgist, journalist, and scholar of world religions. He is the founding editor of The Metallurgist and editor of Weighing and Measuring. He lives in London.

Acknowledgements

Foreword to the New Edition

Foreword to the First Edition

1--The Copper Scroll: Two Thousand Years in Hiding

2--Bullion by the Billion

3--Metallurgy and Metrology

4--The Hebrew Tribes and Egypt

5--The Cocooned Cauldron of Egypt: Hotbed of Civilization

6--The Amenhotep Family Continuum

7--Abraham: Father of Three Religions, Founder of None

8--Abraham at Pharaoh's Palace

9--Pharaoh Akhenaten – The King Who Discovered God

10--Joseph: Prophet of Destiny

11--The Long Trek South

12--Moses: Prince of Egypt

13--The Exodus: Moses Does a Schindler

14--Towards Qumran

15--The Lost Treasures of Akhenaten

16--The Legacy of Akhenaten

17--Physical, Material and Technological Links Between Qumran and Akhetaten

18--Egypt, Israel and Beyond: The Overlaying Commonalities

19--Final Clues from the Copper Scroll: Elephantine Island and the Falashas of Ethiopia

20--Academic and Scholarly Reaction


Appendix: Translation of the Copper Scroll

Notes

Glossary

Illustration Credits

Index