What question did this study set out to answer?

The volume aims to explore the relationship between the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament ideas, particularly regarding messianic concepts.

March 15, 2026Open Access

John J. Collins and Craig A. Evans, eds. Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Key Points

The volume aims to explore the relationship between the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament ideas, particularly regarding messianic concepts.
Eight essays by American scholars addressing aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their connection to New Testament themes.
Critical discussions of recent publications on messianic interpretations.
Comparative analysis of figures like the Teacher of Righteousness and Jesus within Jewish contexts.
Collins argues against the notion that the Teacher of Righteousness was considered a messiah in the DSS.
Differences highlighted between the roles of Jesus and the Teacher of Righteousness in eschatological beliefs.
The essays collectively emphasize terminological precision in discussing messianism in late Hellenistic Judaism.

Abstract

The eight essays presented in this volume by renowned American scholars take up an issue that has attracted experts and the interested public ever since the Dead Sea Scrolls hit the headlines.Although the fundamental aspects of the relationship between DSS and NT seem settled (both are specific parts of the complex and colorful world of late Hellenistic Judaism without being dependent upon each other), many issues remain controversial. 2.After a brief and quite general preface by the editors (pp.9-14), the first two articles, authored by John J. Collins, address concepts of messiah in both literary corpora.For that matter, Collins critically discusses two recent books that triggered considerable debates.In his first article ("A Messiah before Jesus?", pp.15-35) Collins argues against Michael Wise's "The Messiah before Jesus": While some DSS passages indeed stylize the Teacher of Righteousness according to the Suffering Servant in Is 40-55, little evidence exists according to Collins that the Teacher was considered messiah: Nowhere in the Scrolls is a living figure called messiah.Three crucial differences between Jesus and the Teacher (the function of their respective sufferings, their roles in the eschatological future and the different characters of their teaching) should make one extremely cautious.Judaism obviously had different ways of creatively developing messianic concepts which were not necessarily related to each other nor compatible.Collins' pledge for terminological and conceptual accuracy and restraint is symptomatic for the overall approach of the book and worth following. 3.The second article "An Essene Messiah?Comments on Israel Knohl, The Messiah Before Jesus" (pp.37-44)-a revised version of a review originally published elsewhere-emphasizes the importance of the Roman connotations of the "son of God" title and texts like the Oracles of Hystapes, but remains rightly sceptical about Knohl's confidence to see events and persons from around the turn of the era reflected in these traditions.

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