Reading Albright’s Mail: A Dead Sea Scrolls Story

I love great action films. Sarah Connor escapes the asylum; Jack Ryan boards a submarine in open ocean; the Man-with-No-Name stands alone.

More please. A naysayer may drop the all-too-familiar “That would never happen!” But these stories show a time (real or not) it did happen.

Sometimes, extraordinary circumstances yield remarkable outcomes. Heroes can emerge in these stories not because of coincidence or choice, but because they were prepared to meet the moment.

Figure 2: Second century BC Hebrew manuscript on papyrus, containing the Ten Commandments and the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). In the Cambridge University Library collection (MS.Or.233).

After his extensive research on the Nash Papyrus, Albright was uniquely prepared to assess writing styles in ancient Hebrew. His skill would be called upon a decade later.

John C. Trever’s Phone Call

In February 1948, the then-acting director of ASOR in Jerusalem, Dr. Trever, received a phone call. It was Father Butros Sowmy of St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Convent in Jerusalem inquiring about some “ancient Hebrew manuscripts.” In the days that followed, around February 18–21, Trever handled and photographed the Great Isaiah Scroll and four other Dead Sea Scrolls, mere months after their initial discovery in the Judean Desert. Recalling Albright’s article on the Nash Papyrus, Trever could hardly contain his excitement as he printed film negatives of the Isaiah scroll and airmailed them to Professor Albright at Johns Hopkins University.  

Albright’s Reply

March 8, 1948—Albright opened his address to Trever with, “My heartiest congratulations on the greatest MS [manuscript] discovery in modern times!” Albright was certain the Isaiah scroll was a little older than the Nash Papyrus, though he was careful to date it within a range that placed both manuscripts around 100 BC. Decades later, radiocarbon dating would confirm Albright’s assessment.

We should take care not to miss what happened here. Albright invested much time and energy into the writing style of the Nash Papyrus in 1935–1937, honing his craft and training his eye for evolutions in ancient Hebrew scripts. No shortcuts. It was not luck. When the narrative arc of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery bent towards him, as he sat in Baltimore, Maryland, in early March 1948, Albright was prepared for the moment. Within days, he airmailed his assessment to Trever and accurately dated the Great Isaiah Scroll.

Albright’s storied legacy continues to this day. The ASOR in Jerusalem was renamed the William Foxwell Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in 1970, and Johns Hopkins University established the William Foxwell Albright Chair in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in 1984. His methodical approach is stilled called the “Albright School.”

P. S. The Circumstances

Albright included a postscript in his letter to Trever, “I shall keep the business of this manuscript very quiet.”

Why?

The world was in turmoil. World War II, the holocaust, the British withdrawal from their mandate of Palestine (early 1948), and the creation of the state of Israel (May 1948)—the region was plunging into war. Amidst this chaos, Trever and Albright encountered the greatest Hebrew manuscript discovery of their time.

Albright’s letter to Trever in March 1948 captures this dual emotion, containing his great excitement with a respect for dangers hidden in the volatility of the moment. The extraordinary circumstances almost make the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery unbelievable.

Some scholars criticized Albright (like Solomon Zeitlin) and called the Dead Sea Scrolls a “hoax,” another way of saying, “That would never happen!” But this is the time it did happen.  

Come see Dead Sea Scrolls from Israel’s collections of the National Treasures, alongside William F. Albright’s letter to John C. Trever in March 1948. The exhibition is on view at Museum of the Bible until September 7, 2026.