Dead Sea Scrolls, Nonbiblical Scrolls found among the 11 caves of Qumran by the Dead Sea that are not copies of biblical books. These scrolls date approximately to 250 bc–ad 50.

The nonbiblical Dead Sea Scrolls have had a large impact on our understanding of the language, literature, and history of Judaism in Israel in the first centuries bc and ad. The richness and variety of the collection, despite its fragmentary nature, can hardly be overstated. They can be divided into three major categories:

1. previously known noncanonical texts;

2. previously unknown parabiblical texts;

3. previously unknown sectarian texts.

(For texts and translations of the all the texts, see García Martínez and Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Parry and Tov, Dead Sea Scrolls; for translations and introductions, see Wise, Abegg, and Cook, Dead Sea Scrolls; for the numbering system used for the Dead Sea Scrolls, see Fitzmyer, Guide, 1–4; Tov, Revised Lists.)