The finding of the first of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947 opened a new field of study which has cast new light on Judaism until A.D. 70.

It has been possible to find out a great deal about the life and beliefs of the Jewish monastic community at Qumran which' was destroyed in about A.D. 68, obviously in the Jewish war against the Romans. Amongst thousands of fragments of scrolls and a number of complete ones, about five hundred separate writings have been identified. Nearly every book of the Jewish Scriptures has been identified as well as writings of the community itself, previously unknown to scholars. Two of the most important of the community's writings are those known as the 'Rule of Discipline' and the 'Rule of War'. It is clear from the writings of the community that they believed they were living in the last days of the present evil age and expected God to intervene dramatically in the events of history; they waited for the coming of another great Davidic king. They followed a strictly disciplined life, striving to maintain ritual purity, performing frequent ritual washings, so that they would be ready for the Day of God's imminent Judgement. They wrote commentaries on the Jewish Scriptures and from these it is possible to see how they understood the Old Testament writings; they interpreted them as a direct guide for their immediate life and situation. From excavations carried out at the site of the monastery, it is clear that there was a large complex of buildings and a water supply; between two or three hundred people must have lived there. A writing-room (with ink wells still preserved) and a pottery factory where large jars for storing scrolls were made, have been identified. No scrolls were discovered on the site itself but in nearby caves where the community hid them to protect them from the Romans. In the desert of Qumran these intensely religious Jews waited for God's coming.

It was quickly noticed by some scholars that in some of the writings from Qumran there is distinctive language very similar to that used in some passages of John's gospel; for example, phrases such as 'the sons of light', 'the light of life', 'walking in darkness' are used, which remind us of the language not only of John's gospel but also of the letters of John (1 John 1 :5-6, 2:9-11, and John 1 :4-9, 8 :12 and 12:46), The Qumran community thought of the world in which they lived as a kind of battlefield between good and evil, truth and falsehood, light and darkness, and this same understanding is found in the gospel and letters of John, although in a specifically Christian context which is totally lacking in the Qumran scrolls.

In assessing the importance of the discoveries at Qumran to New Testament study, we can say that they have greatly illuminated the Jewish background against which the ministry of Jesus was carried out. We can understand better the intense religious fervour of the Jews which, for example, made crowds come out into the desert area (not so far from Qumran) to hear John the Baptist preach, and which underlies the fanaticism of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. John the Baptist, and then Jesus, preached at a time of intense religious expectation which made people willing to come out and listen to travelling preachers and, in the case of some, made them very concerned that they should be ready for God's coming. The thought and language of communities such as that at Qumran are likely to have spread amongst many devout Jews, which can explain why phrases such as those just noted can occur in John's gospel. There is no evidence that the writer of the gospel was in any way connected with such a community but it is very likely that he used ideas which were circulating amongst many Jews. We need to be clear that in the Dead Sea scrolls there is no reference to Jesus or to specifically Christian beliefs; the community was totally committed to its reformed kind of Judaism and no Christian influence can be found in its writings. However, it was from such communities that the challenge of repentance and reform was presented to the Jews of Palestine and may have prepared some to listen to John the Baptist and Jesus.

Identification of places in John's gospel, and historical setting

A number of places unknown to the other gospels are mentioned in John's gospel. Archaeological work has now enabled nearly all the places referred to in the gospel to be identified. We may mention particularly the previously unknown pool of Bethzatha or Bethesda with its five entrances, found near the site of the Temple in Jerusalem (John 5:2); the great stone pavement (Gabbatha) where Pilate sat when Jesus was brought to him, in the north-west corner of the Temple area (19: 13); the towns of Sychar (4:5), Aenon (John 3:23) and Cana (2:1). From the identification of all the places named in John's gospel, it is clear that the writer preserved authentic evidence about Jerusalem and southern Palestine in particular. The historical setting of Jesus' ministry is seen to be authentic, perhaps more than in the synoptic gospels. The writer refers to the mutual hatred of Jews and Samaritans (4 :9, 8 :48), contempt for Galileans shown by southern Jews (I :46, 7 :41), crowds looking for a Davidic Messiah (6: 15). Pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the many Jewish Festivals (5: I, 7: 10, 10:22, 11:55, 12:20), the unfinished Temple building project of Herod and his sons (2:20), the separateness of the Pharisees (7:49), Roman rule (II :48, 18 :28, 19: 12-22).