Was John the Baptist an Essene?

Home > Magazines > Bible Review > December 1990

The Dead Sea Scrolls, found between 1947 and 1956 in caves on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, provide us with a picture of a first-century Jewish community that could well have been the home of John the Baptist. At the very least, the possibility is worth exploring. Whether or not the possibility is probable, however, is a question not easily answered. My own view is that the Baptist was raised in this community by the Dead Sea and was strongly influenced by it, but that he later left it to preach directly to a wider community of […]

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Footnotes

Josephus refers to Jesus, but tells us little about him.

See Lawrence H. Schiffman, “The Significance of the Scrolls,” BR 06:05.

Norman Golb of the University of Chicago.

A wadi is a dry river or stream bed that flows briefly, once or twice a year, during the winter rainy season.

In the Gospels, Salome is identified only as the daughter of Herodias (Mark 6:2; Matthew 14:6)

Literally, “Elijah will come to life again.” This refers to God’s promise that he will “send Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5).