Occult \Oc*cult"\, a. [L. occultus, p. p. of occulere to cover up, hide; ob (see Ob-) + a root prob.akin to E. hell: cf. F.
occulte.] Hidden from the eye or the understanding; inviable; secret; concealed; unknown.
*Occult sciences, those sciences of the Middle Ages which related to the supposed action or influence of occult qualities, or
supernatural powers, as alchemy, magic, necromancy, and astrology.
The 2 Dead Sea scrolls of Isaiah, already mentioned, have proved to be of major importance in confirming the Masoretic text
of the OT. They provide conclusive evidence of the reliability of the OT text as it has come down to us, and show that, for
all practical purposes, it is identical with the text as it existed in Christ's day. 1QIs is complete but contains a number
of scribal errors and is not as well written as other scrolls from the collection. 1QIs-b is far less complete than 1QIs-a,
but superior in quality. Chapters 37 to 41 and 43 to 66 are fairly well preserved. It contains remarkably few scribal errors,
and is practically identical with the Masoretic text. Of the relatively few variant readings the more important ones occur in
chs 38:13; 41:11; 43:6; 53:11; 60:19, 21; 63:5; 66:17. Another, and even more fragmentary, text of Isaiah found in Cave 4 at
Khirbet Qumran resembles the text of the LXX more closely than it does the Masoretic text. See Scrolls, Dead Sea.