Editing Dead Sea Scrolls (section)

==Ownership==
[[File:DSS ad.jpg|thumb|right|Advertisement in ''The Wall Street Journal'' dated 1 June 1954 for four of the "Dead Sea Scrolls"]]

Upon their discovery in 1947 in what was then [[Mandatory Palestine]], the Dead Sea Scrolls were first moved to the Palestine Archaeological Museum. Following the [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank]] (including [[East Jerusalem]]) in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the museum's management become the responsibility of Jordan.

Following the [[Six-Day War|1967 Arab–Israeli War]], Jordan was defeated and Israel began to [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem]]. The Palestine Archeological Museum (renamed the Rockefeller Archeological Museum) fell under Israeli administration, and the Dead Sea Scrolls collection held there was moved to the Shrine of the Book.{{r|EC}} Israel claims ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection currently housed at the Israel Museum. This claimed ownership is contested by both Jordan and the [[Palestinian Authority]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Allen|first=Charlotte|date=14 December 2017|title=Who Owns the Dead Sea Scrolls?|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-owns-the-dead-sea-scrolls-1513293988|access-date=9 April 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Parties involved !! Party role !! Explanation of role
|-
| style="width: 150px;" | Jordan || style="width: 150px;" |Disputant; minority owner || Alleges that the Dead Sea Scrolls were stolen from the Palestine Archaeological Museum (now the Rockefeller Museum) operated by Jordan from 1966 until the Six-Day War when advancing Israeli forces took control of the museum, and that therefore they fall under the rules of the 1954 [[Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jordan Claims Ownership of Dead Sea Scrolls |url=http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/January/Jordans-Claims-to-Dead-Sea-Scrolls-Ridiculous/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021075551/http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/January/Jordans-Claims-to-Dead-Sea-Scrolls-Ridiculous/ |archive-date=21 October 2011 |access-date=14 June 2012 |publisher=CBN}}</ref> Jordan regularly demands their return and petitions third-party countries that host the scrolls to return them to Jordan instead of to Israel, claiming they have legal documents that prove Jordanian ownership of the scrolls.<ref>{{cite web |date=2 January 2010 |title=Arabs Claim Dead Sea Scrolls |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135318 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206165815/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135318 |archive-date=6 February 2013 |access-date=14 June 2012 |work=Arutz Sheva}}</ref>
|-
| Israel || Disputant; current majority holder || After the Six-Day War Israel seized the scrolls and moved them to the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum. Israel disputes Jordan's claim and states that Jordan never lawfully possessed the scrolls since it was an unlawful occupier of the museum and region.<ref>{{cite news |last=El-Shamayleh |first=Nisreen |date=3 November 2010 |title=Anger over Dead Sea Scrolls (video) |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/11/201011294521445917.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103184943/http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/11/201011294521445917.html |archive-date=3 November 2010 |access-date=3 November 2010 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McGregor-Wood |first=Simon |date=14 January 2010 |title=Who Owns the Dead Sea Scrolls? |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/israel-jordan-fighting-dead-sea-scrolls/story?id=9558941 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702072212/https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/israel-jordan-fighting-dead-sea-scrolls/story?id=9558941 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |access-date=27 June 2020 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Khatib |first=Ahmad |date=11 January 2010 |title=Jordan wants the Dead Sea Scrolls back from Israel |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4Lm1ed__c-wKiQ_t-9Af70OIMSw |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525113615/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4Lm1ed__c-wKiQ_t-9Af70OIMSw |archive-date=25 May 2012 |access-date=20 February 2016 |publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref>
|-
| Palestine || Disputant || The Palestinian Authority also claims ownership of the scrolls.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Oakland |date=9 April 2009 |title=Dead Sea Scrolls stir storm at ROM |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/616059 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404102932/http://www.thestar.com/article/616059 |archive-date=4 April 2012 |access-date=26 August 2017 |work=Toronto Star}}</ref>
|}

===Forgeries and claimed private ownership===
Arrangements with the Bedouins left the scrolls in the hands of a third party until a profitable sale of them could be negotiated. That third party, George Isha'ya, was a member of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], who soon contacted [[Saint Mark Monastery of Jerusalem|St Mark's Monastery]] in the hope of getting an appraisal of the nature of the texts. News of the find then reached [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, better known as Mar Samuel. After examining the scrolls and suspecting their antiquity, Mar Samuel expressed an interest in purchasing them. Four scrolls found their way into his hands: the Isaiah Scroll ([[1QIs-a|1QIsa<sup>a</sup>]]), the Community Rule, the Habakkuk Pesher (a commentary on the [[book of Habakkuk]]), and the Genesis Apocryphon. More scrolls soon surfaced in the antiquities market, and Professor [[Eleazer Sukenik]] and Professor [[Benjamin Mazar]], archaeologists at Hebrew University, soon found themselves in possession of three, The War Scroll, Thanksgiving Hymns, and another, more fragmented, Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa<sup>b</sup>).

Four of the Dead Sea Scrolls eventually went up for sale in an advertisement on 1 June 1954, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Dead Sea Scrolls – Discovery and Publication|url=https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/discovery-and-publication?locale=en_US|publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614023049/http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/discovery-and-publication?locale=en_US|archive-date=14 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 1 July 1954, the scrolls, after delicate negotiations and accompanied by three people including Mar Samuel, arrived at the [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]] in New York. They were purchased by Professor Mazar and the son of Professor Sukenik, Yigael Yadin, for $250,000 (approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|250000|1954|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}), and brought to Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/deadsea.html|title=History & Overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008223510/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/deadsea.html|archive-date=8 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2002, many forgeries of Dead Sea Scrolls have appeared on black markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/dead-sea-scrolls-scam-dozens-of-recently-sold-fragments-are-fakes-experts-warn/|title=Dead Sea Scrolls scam: Dozens of recently sold fragments are fakes, experts warn|work=The Times of Israel|date=3 October 2017|access-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026015958/https://www.timesofisrael.com/dead-sea-scrolls-scam-dozens-of-recently-sold-fragments-are-fakes-experts-warn/|archive-date=26 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, the [[Museum of the Bible]] in the United States (also known as [[Green Collection]]) reported that all 16 purported "Dead Sea Scroll fragments" they had acquired between 2009 and 2014{{r|history.com}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.museumofthebible.org/museum-of-the-bible-releases-research-findings-unpublished-dead-sea-scrolls-fragments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924145720/https://www.museumofthebible.org/museum-of-the-bible-releases-research-findings-unpublished-dead-sea-scrolls-fragments|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2016|title=Museum of the Bible Releases Research Findings on 13 Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments}}</ref> were in fact modern forgeries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gannon |first=Megan |date=22 October 2018 |title=Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in Museum of the Bible Are Fake |url=https://www.livescience.com/63895-dead-sea-scroll-fakes.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711035121/https://www.livescience.com/63895-dead-sea-scroll-fakes.html |archive-date=11 July 2019 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Live Science]] |access-date=2 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Greshko |first=Michael |title='Dead Sea Scrolls' at the Museum of the Bible are all forgeries |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/museum-of-the-bible-dead-sea-scrolls-forgeries/ |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |date=13 March 2020 |access-date= 13 March 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200314005637/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/museum-of-the-bible-dead-sea-scrolls-forgeries/ |archive-date= 14 March 2020 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ List of claimed private ownerships of Dead Sea Scroll fragments
|-
! Claimed Owner !! Year Acquired !! Number of Fragments/Scrolls Owned
|-
| [[Azusa Pacific University]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.apu.edu/media/news/release/25415 | title=Publication of Azusa Pacific University's Dead Sea Scrolls to Enhance Biblical Scholarship | access-date=15 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115175606/https://www.apu.edu/media/news/release/25415/ | archive-date=15 November 2019 | url-status=dead }}</ref> || 2009 || 5
|-
| [[Oriental Institute, Chicago|Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/HIGH/OIM_A30303_72dpi.html | title = Fragment of a scroll (Palestine: Qumran, Cave 4, 6.4&nbsp;cm H, 4.2&nbsp;cm W) |access-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520075115/https://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/HIGH/OIM_A30303_72dpi.html |archive-date=20 May 2013 }}</ref> || 1956 || 1
|-
| [[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/13/3882403/fort-worth-seminary-unveils-newly.html | title = Fort Worth seminary unveils newly acquired Dead Sea Scrolls fragment | date = 14 April 2012 |access-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115114307/http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/13/3882403/fort-worth-seminary-unveils-newly.html |archive-date=15 November 2012 }}</ref> || 2009; 2010; 2012 || 8
|-
| Israel Museum – Government of Israel<ref>{{cite web |author=Drori |first=Amir |title=The Completion of the Publication of the Scrolls |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=523#MMMas |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523092819/http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=523#MMMas |archive-date=23 May 2012 |access-date=14 June 2012 |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=522#MMMas|title=Conservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls|publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority|author=Pnina Shor|access-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523101658/http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=522#MMMas|archive-date=23 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> || 1967 || > 15,000
|-
| The [[Schøyen Collection]] owned by Martin Schøyen<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schoyencollection.com/dsscrolls.html|title=12. Dead Sea Scrolls|publisher=The Schoyen Collection|access-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610152451/http://www.schoyencollection.com/dsscrolls.html|archive-date=10 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> || 1980; 1994; 1995 || 115<ref name="history.com">
{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/secrets-of-new-dead-sea-scrolls-come-to-light|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013130409/http://www.history.com/news/secrets-of-new-dead-sea-scrolls-come-to-light |title=Secrets of New Dead Sea Scrolls Come to Light|date=11 October 2016|access-date=31 January 2018|first1=Sarah|last1=Pruitt|archive-date=13 October 2016|website=history.com|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| The Jordan Museum – Government of Jordan{{r|The new Jordan Museum}} || 1947–1956 || > 25
|-
| Syrian Orthodox Church's eastern U.S. archdiocese<ref name="Live Science">{{cite news|last1=Jarus|first1=Owen|title=28 New Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments Sold in US|url=http://www.livescience.com/58507-new-dead-sea-scrolls-sold-in-us.html|access-date=4 April 2017|work=Live Science|date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409071412/https://www.livescience.com/58507-new-dead-sea-scrolls-sold-in-us.html|archive-date=9 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> || || 1
|-
| [[Ashland Theological Seminary]]{{r|Live Science}} ||  || 1
|-
| [[Lanier Theological Library]]{{r|Live Science}} ||  || 1
|-
| Pasadena Private Collection{{r|Live Science}} ||  || 1
|}

===Copyright disputes===
{{Expert needed | law |2=section |reason=Complexity of copyright law surrounding historical documents in the United States and other nations |date=June 2012 }}

There are three types of documents relating to the Dead Sea Scrolls in which copyright status can be considered ambiguous; the documents themselves, images taken of the documents, and reproductions of the documents. This ambiguity arises from differences in [[copyright]] law across different countries and the variable interpretation of such law.

In 1992 a copyright case ''[[Qimron v. Shanks]]'' was brought before the Israeli District court by scholar Elisha Qimron against Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeology Society for violations of United States copyright law regarding his publishing of reconstructions of Dead Sea Scroll texts done by Qimron in ''A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls'' which were included without his permission. Qimron's suit against the Biblical Archaeology Society was done on the grounds that the research they had published was his intellectual property as he had reconstructed about 40% of the published text. In 1993, the district court Judge [[Dalia Dorner]] ruled for the plaintiff, Elisha Qimron, in context of both United States and Israeli copyright law and granted the highest compensation allowed by law for aggravation in compensation against Hershel Shanks and others.<ref name="houstonlawreview.org">{{cite web |last=Nimmer |first=David |work=Houston Law Review |title=Copyright in the Dead Sea Scrolls |url=http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/38-1_pdf/HLR38P1.pdf |access-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923111121/http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/38-1_pdf/HLR38P1.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In an appeal in 2000 in front of Judge [[Aharon Barak]], the verdict was upheld in [[Israeli Supreme Court]] in Qimron's favour.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 October 2018 |title=Dead Sea Scrolls |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/d/dead_sea_scrolls/index.html?query=SHANKS,%20HERSHEL&field=per&match=exact |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213235332/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/d/dead_sea_scrolls/index.html?query=SHANKS,%20HERSHEL&field=per&match=exact |archive-date=13 February 2012 |access-date=15 June 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, New York}}</ref> The court case established the two main principles from which facsimiles are examined under copyright law of the United States and Israel: authorship and originality.

The court's ruling not only affirms that the "deciphered text" of the scrolls can fall under copyright of individuals or groups, but makes it clear that the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves do not fall under this copyright law and scholars have a degree of, in the words of U.S. copyright law professor [[David Nimmer]], "freedom" in access. Nimmer has shown how this freedom was in the theory of law applicable, but how it did not exist in reality as the IAA tightly controlled access to the scrolls and photographs of the scrolls.{{r|houstonlawreview.org}}