AI study suggests Dead Sea Scrolls are decades older, reshaping biblical scholarship

A new artificial intelligence analysis has dated many of the Dead Sea Scrolls as significantly older than previously believed, potentially reshaping the timeline of early Jewish history and biblical authorship.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, suggest that some scrolls were written just years after the original composition of the texts, marking the first time researchers have linked biblical writings so directly to surviving manuscripts.

Developed by researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, the AI tool—named Enoch—combines radiocarbon data with handwriting analysis to refine the dating of the scrolls. The system was trained on 24 carbon-dated samples and then applied to 135 undated fragments.

“With the Enoch tool, we have opened a new door into the ancient world—like a time machine—that allows us to study the hands that wrote the Bible,” said Mladen Popović, director of the Qumran Institute and lead researcher on the project.

The AI’s results consistently suggested older dates than those previously assigned by human paleographers. Fragments of the Book of Daniel and Ecclesiastes, once believed to date to around 50 BCE, were reassigned to the 160s BCE—aligning closely with estimated periods of original composition.

Implications for Biblical and Historical Studies

This breakthrough addresses a longstanding gap in biblical scholarship: the lack of securely dated manuscripts from between the 4th century BCE and 1st century CE. Previous estimates relied largely on paleographic analysis—comparing handwriting styles—without a consistent empirical foundation.

“For most Dead Sea Scrolls, a calendar date is not known,” the study notes. “There are no other date-bearing manuscripts from the period available for paleographic comparison.”

If accurate, the AI-generated dates could place some scrolls within entirely different historical contexts. Texts thought to reflect the religious thought of the Hasmonean or early Roman periods may now be understood as products of earlier Jewish communities under Hellenistic rule, forcing a reevaluation of how and when key religious ideas and institutions emerged.

Skepticism and Debate

Not all scholars are convinced. Some caution that the AI model, while promising, may still carry biases from the limited training data or overfit to known patterns. Yet even skeptics acknowledge the approach could strengthen future manuscript dating if combined with traditional methods.

The study is part of a decade-long project titled The Hands That Wrote the Bible, funded by the European Research Council, and marks a significant step forward in merging computational analysis with ancient scholarship.

“Scholars in the field will now have to rethink historical reconstructions,” Popović told IFLScience, noting the potential to redraw aspects of early Jewish and Mediterranean history.

As researchers continue to refine AI-assisted dating techniques, the findings may lead to further revelations about the origins and transmission of some of the world’s most influential religious texts.

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