Image Details

CONSULTING THE ULTIMATE EXPERT. William Foxwell Albright of The Johns Hopkins University was the doyen of Biblical archaeology. In the 1930s he had studied and redated the Nash Papyrus to the first century B.C.E. As John Trever scanned the Hebrew text of the newly discovered Isaiah Scroll, he recognized the similarity of the letter forms to those of the Nash Papyrus. With his photographs enclosed, Trever wrote to Albright seeking his expert opinion on the new manuscript. Albright quickly replied, confirming both the authenticity of the scrolls and Trever’s comparison to the Nash Papyrus. In the obviously enthusiastic letter, Albright congratulated Trever on “the greatest MS [manuscript] discovery of modern times … What an absolutely incredible find!”