The relic, which had been too fragile to unwrap, was deciphered by Israeli and US experts using an X-ray scan.
It contains passages from the Book of Leviticus dating back to at least the 3rd or 4th Century AD.
The charred scroll was found in 1970 amid the remains of an ancient synagogue.
Archaeologists found it buried in the ark of the synagogue near the Dead Sea, where it would have been used for prayers.