Muhammed edh-Dhib

Who is Muhammed edh-Dhib?

Muhammad Ahmed al-Hamed, better known by his nickname Muhammed edh-Dhib, was a Bedouin shepherd from the Ta'amireh clans residing in Bethlehem, who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in winter 1946/47.

According to the account of an interview conducted by J.F. Docmac and Anton Kiraz, edh-Dhib's cousin Jum'a Muhammad noticed some holes while shepherding, and threw a rock in to find out how big they were. He discovered they were big enough to fit a human, and told his cousin what he had found. edh-Dhib fell into one of the holes later, retrieved some scrolls from a pot, and went to show them to Jum'a. In 1960 edh Dhib changed his name to Abu Dahoud which means "David's father" after a Bedouin custom of changing ones name after the birth of the first son.