Was any of the New Testament found in the DSS?

by blkremote

Were there any New Testament documents found in the Dead Sea Scrolls? I was told that the book of Matthew was found in cave 1 and it was written in the Hebrew language. A friend saw it years ago (1985-ish) in an article of BAR magazine. He specifically he remembers that the magazine was interviewing a Jesuit priest and it was revealed there. I have searched Google and people say that the new testament was not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. I welcome any information regarding the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls pertaining to the question.

husky54

No. The NT was composed between 55-120 CE while the DSS were composed between the 4th-1st centuries BCE. There is absolutely no overlap between the Qumran community and the composition of the NT.

You might want to take a look at the Anchor Bible Dictionary entries on the various books of the NT as well as the entry on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The work of John Collins, Geza Vermes, Jodi Magness, and Bart Ehrman will be helpful as well.

gnorrn

There is a theory, by now completely discredited, that one papyrus contained a fragment of Mark. This may be the source of the story you heard.

The theory is described in some detail here.