Dr. John Bergsma’s
Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls is a historical and theological
investigation on the relationship between the writings of a Jewish sect from
the first century (called the Essenes) and the writings of the Christian New
Testament (Gospels, Letters, and Revelation). In this work, the author does an
excellent job at making archeological and textual findings, as well as theological
speculation, easily accessible to the average lay reader.
The Dead Sea
Scrolls, arguably the greatest archeological discovery of modern times, were
discovered in the late 1940s in several caves beside the Dead Sea. They almost
certainly originated from the library of a nearby Essene community called
Qumran. New Testament scholarship began to evaluate the relationship of the
Scrolls with the New Testament, as it was discovered that they dated from
approximately 150 B.C. to 70 A.D. Bergsma goes on to meticulously compare the scrolls
with the New Testament—the Gospels particularly. The author tells us that “since
the discovery of the Scrolls, many began to realize that the Gospel of John,
out of all the New Testament books, has the most similarities in language and
concepts with these pre-Christian Jewish documents from the Dead Sea!”[1] He also explains that
Johannine scholarship was taken aback at the similarities in phrases that were
assumed, by default, to have been taken from Hellenism. This destroyed the
later dating theories and firmly set John’s Gospel in the first century.[2]
Among the
incredible eureka moments sprinkled throughout the work, the hypothesis that
John the Baptist was an exiled Essene is one of the most fascinating. Bergsma
explains that in the beginning of John’s Gospel, the two disciples of John the Baptist
leave his mentorship to follow Jesus. One of the two is identified as Andrew,
Simon’s brother, while the second one remains unnamed. Later in the Gospel we
see that John the Baptist’s disciples were engaged in a “discussion” with a “Judean”
over “purification.” It is important to keep these two facts in mind as we look
closer at John the Baptist himself.
Bergsma draws
attention to Josephus’ classification of the sects of first century Judaism,
namely, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes.[3] He then goes on to say
that “the Essenes were the only sect of the Jews that produced prophets,
observed strict asceticism, and practiced celibacy,” all of which “describes
John: a celibate, ascetic, prophet preaching repentance before an imminent
judgment—a message also found abundantly in the scrolls.”[4] Finally, focusing on the
Qumranite Essenes (since that is where the Scrolls are agreed to have had their
origin), he adds that “both John and the Qumranites placed great emphasis on
washing with water in conjunction with repentance for sins.[5] Based on these
similarities, and based on the geographical closeness to Qumran of the
Baptist’s ministry, as well as Luke’s words of the Baptist having grown up in
the wilderness/desert (Luke 1:80), Bergsma’s conclusion that John used to be an
Essene is an argument of cumulative power.[6] This brings us back to the
“discussion” concerning “purification” which the Baptist’s disciples were
having with a “Judean.” In light of Scroll 1QMMT on “the works of the law,” we
now know that the Qumranites were engaged with the Pharisees in religious
debates concerning purification. Thus, when the Baptist’s two disciples decide
to follow Jesus in chapter 1, it is safe to assume, as the tradition does, that
the unnamed disciple (later described as the beloved disciple) was John
the evangelist, and that John and Andrew were therefore of Essene
sensibilities. This also explains the attribution of John’s Gospel to John and
the heavy similarities with Essene theology.
Another incredible
eureka moment was the author’s convincing solution to the famous “Passover discrepancy.”
Bergsma explains that the founding of the Essene movement, and of Qumran
specifically, was prompted by the political and religious unrest brought about
by the Hasmonean usurpation of the high priesthood in Jerusalem.[7] The Essenes left Jerusalem
due to the religious corruption and settled in the desert north of the Dead
Sea. The Essene’s had their own priesthood from the Zadokite line, as well as
their own liturgical calendars, and their own Passover.[8] In light of this
information, the famous Passover discrepancy between the synoptics and John
finds a resolution based in good historical scholarship. This also points to
the divisive nature of interpreting the “works of the law,” as we saw above.
The Essene’s did not only consider the pharisees’ interpretation erroneous, but
also the entire liturgical system taking place in Jerusalem to be corrupt.
The author also
argues that the term “the Jews” in John’s Gospel is actually a mistranslation,
and that it should be read as “the Judeans.” Bergsma explains that in the first
century the term ioudaios was not always a religious term, but often a
geographical term, just like Galilean. A “pan-Israelite” attitude is clearly
present in the Scrolls, and they never called themselves ioudaioi (or yehudim
in Hebrew). In John 3:22, John tells us that “after this Jesus and his
disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized.”
The “land of Judea” is a geographical expression and can also be translated “Judean
territory.” Bergsma concludes as follows: “So, in light of the Scrolls, we
should change our translations of the Gospel of John. Everywhere Greek ioudaios
occurs in John, it should be translated ‘Judean’ rather than ‘Jew.’ The issue in
John is not that Jesus is a ‘Christian’ in constant debate with ‘Jews.’ That is
pathetically anachronistic.”[9]
The author goes on
to explain that until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jesus’ actions in
John chapter 9, when he spits on dirt and makes mud to cover a blind man’s eyes,
had long perplexed modern scholars.[10] This
chapter is both an account of Jesus’ actions and a theological treatise on the
sacrament of Baptism, of the new creation it brings about. The author quotes
the Qumranite Community Rule: “Who, indeed, is man among Your glorious
works? […] Kneaded from dust… he is so much spit, mere nipped-off clay,”[11]
then elsewhere in the Scrolls: “You placed knowledge in my frame of dust in
order that I might praise You. And I was formed of spittle. I was molded of
clay and my formation was in darkness.”[12] Now,
Genesis 2:7 reads: “Then the LORD God kneaded (yatzar) the man from the
dust of the ground.” Bergsma explains that “the idea of clay comes from the
verb used here, […] which means ‘to make something of clay,’ whose participle
is the Hebrew word for ‘potter’: yôtzêr.”[13]
This, of course, brings up other verses such as Isaiah 64:8, which Bergsma
translates as: “O LORD… we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the
work of your hand.”[14]
The author concludes that “there was a pious Jewish tradition that God spat on
the dust to make clay to knead the body of Adam, and [this] tradition is
reflected in all these passages of the Scrolls that speak of man as “mere
spit.”[15]
Throughout this
fascinating work Dr. John Bergsma connects one thing after another between the
scrolls and the New Testament. From a similar practice of the Eucharistic celebration
to teachings on sexuality and marriage, from the office of bishop to the
covenantal community as a temple, this work is a must read for anyone who wants
to go back in time and feel like they are rubbing elbows with the Apostles,
and even maybe with the Lord himself.
[1] John Bergsma, Jesus and the
Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, (New York:
Image, 2019), xii. See also Raymond Brown, “The Qumran Scrolls and the
Johannine Gospels and Epistles,” pp.183-207 in The Scrolls and the New
Testament (ed. Krister Stendahl; New York: Harper, 1957), here p. 206.
[2] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 45.
[3] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 6.
[4] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 32.
[5] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 33. See also Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in
English, (London: Penguin Books, 2011), 1QS 4:21, 103.
[6] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 42.
[7] For a full chronology see Geza
Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, (London: Penguin
Books, 2011), xix-xxi.
[8] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 98.
[9] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 56.
[10] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 61.
[11] Bergsma,
Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 61, 1QS 11:20-21.
[12] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 62, 4Q511,
3-4.
[13] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 62.
[14] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 62.
[15] Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 62-63.
No comments:
Post a Comment