What the Dead Sea Scrolls Settled

Before 1947, the oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts were medieval. Scholars could see differences between the Masoretic text, the Hebrew behind the Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch - but they could not tell whether those differences were ancient or late.
Then the Dead Sea Scrolls appeared. The scrolls settled it: "The same text-families (MT, LXX, and SP) that showed themselves in the medieval manuscripts were present in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This proved that a plurality of texts existed as early as 300 B.C."
So the differences were not medieval drift. Jewish communities were using more than one edition of the Torah almost from the moment transmission resumed after the exile.
And as he notes, solving that question raised another: why did such textual plurality exist in the first place?
Scripture links:
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable."
- Psalm 12:6 - "The words of the LORD are pure words."
- Isaiah 40:8 - "the word of our God will stand forever."
One question answered. A better one opened.