The Dead Sea Scrolls Scribe was an ESSENE, a member of a Jewish religious sect that lived in the Judean Desert during the Second Temple period. They wrote on papyrus and LEATHER scrolls in Aramaic, a language spoken by Jews in the ancient Near East. The scrolls contained HYMNS, psalms, and other religious texts. The scribes were responsible for copying and preserving these texts, which are now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.