The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

138 A STUDY IN SHARED SYMBOLISM AND LANGUAGE
present—and not the far-off future—is the end time, or the latter days. 131
The pesharim (the Qumran biblical commentaries) interpret Scripture so
that ancient prophecies do not point to the future; they explain the past,
present, and near future of the Qumranites. 132 The Thanksgiving Hymns
breathe the air of end-time realization. This is singularly important, since
only in the Fourth Gospel—in stark contrast with the eschatology of the
Synoptics, Paul, 2 Peter, and Revelation—do we find a shift from the
expectation of the eschaton to the exhortation to experience salvation in
the here and now. In his three-volume Die johanneische Eschatologie, Jörg
Frey has amply demonstrated the striking parallels between the Qumran
concept of time and the Johannine concept of time, in which the realizing
dimension of eschatology appears within a dualistic framework. 133
Surely, in light of obvious Essene influence on the Fourth Gospel, it is not
wise to deny that Essene concepts, perspectives, and terms have shaped
the eschatology of the Evangelist.
6. Esoteric knowledge. Both the Essene literature and the Fourth Gospel
stress esoteric knowledge. For approximately two years, and maybe
more, the Qumran initiate was instructed to memorize Essene lore.
During this time he was periodically tested and examined for moral and
mental acceptance—and most likely for the ability to interpret Scripture
using the pesher method. The Fourth Gospel reflects a school in which
teaching, studying, and interpreting the Scriptures proceeded in line with
special, revealed knowledge. Both the Qumran Scrolls and the Fourth
Gospel are first and foremost revelatory compositions. Both highlight the
importance of “knowledge,” an emphasis that makes them exceptional in
early Jewish literature before 135 C.E. This shared emphasis may perhaps
be because of Essene influence on the Fourth Gospel.
7. Salvific and eschatological “living water.” Both in the scrolls and in the
Fourth Gospel we find the technical term “living water” (1QH 8.7, 16;
4Q504; 11QTemple 45.16; 134 John 4:10–11). In both writings this
expression denotes eschatological salvation. In the Biblia Hebraica (and in
rabbinics) the term means “running” or fresh water. In the New
Testament “living water” appears only in the Fourth Gospel (cf. Rev
21:6; 22:1, 17). That is, only the Qumran Scrolls and the Fourth Gospel
131. One of the best studies is by Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn, Enderwartung und gegenwärtiges
Heil (SUNT 4; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1966).
132. See Charlesworth, The Pesharim and Qumran History.
133. Jörg Frey, Die johanneische Eschatologie (3 vols.; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck,
1997–2000), esp. 1:209, 274–75, 400; and 3:77, 200.
134. See James H. Charlesworth, “An Allegorical and Autobiographical Poem by
the Moreh Hasi-Siedeq (1QH 8:4–11),” in “Sha(arei Talmon” (ed. M. A. Fishbane, E.
Tov, and W. W. Fields; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992), 295–307.