The Gospel Of John And The Dead Sea Scrolls

Abstract

The most important impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls on Johannine scholarship is their contribution to a general shift in the current estimation of the religious character of the Gospel of John. It may be possible to gain some insight into the workings of the Gospel if we examine what happened to what may have been the heritage of the Scrolls, however indirect, in the Johannine mix. This chapter focuses on a few cases where significant parallels have been suggested. The focal point of comparison between the dualistic elements of John and the Scrolls remains the passage on the Two Spirits from the Rule of the Community . The major parallels between the Scrolls and the Fourth Gospel remain what they were at the start of the discussion some fifty years ago. The Scrolls do illuminate the Jewish background to the Gospel. Keywords: Dead Sea Scrolls; Gospel of John; Johannine community