Rise up, rise up, God of gods,
Raise Thyself in might, King of Kings.
May all the sons of Darkness scatter before Thee.
The light of Thy greatness shall shine forth
On Google and men.
Yes, on Google. The above passage, from the Scroll of War, is part of Google’s latest effort to digitize the world’s cultural treasures and make them available to people everywhere. In a collaborative effort with the Israel Museum, Google has now posted high-res images of five of the most important Dead Sea Scrolls for aficionados and scholars alike to peruse.
“We hope to make all existing knowledge in historical archives and collections available to all, including helping to put additional Dead Sea Scroll documents online,” said Professor Yossi Matias, Managing Director of Google’s R&D Center in Israel.
The Scrolls, which were unearthed in the caves above the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956, include a variety of texts, including the oldest known biblical texts in the world. The (almost) complete Isaiah scroll is one of the scrolls that will be available, as well as some lesser known scrolls including the Scroll of War (from which the above passage was taken), and a commentary on the Book of Habakkuk.
This is the most recent of Google’s collaborations with museums. Other museums which have partnered with Google include the Prado, with its unrivaled collection of works by Velázquez and Goya, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum, which, like the Israel Museum, is also located in Jerusalem.
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