Texts in Conversation
The Dead Sea Scrolls Community Rule connects washing with repentance and forgiveness, describing ritual cleansing through water and repentance. Mark introduces John the Baptist proclaiming a similar baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1QS 3:7
Community Rule
Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts
6 God, so as not to be disciplined in the community of his counsel. For it is by the spirit of the true counsel of God that the ways of a man are atoned for, all 7 his iniquities, so that he may look on the light of life. And by the spirit of holiness, which joins him to his truth, he is purified from all 8 his iniquities, and by the spirit of uprightness and humility his sin is atoned for. And by the humbling of his soul to all the statutes of God his flesh is purified, 9 to be sprinkled with waters of cleansing and sanctified with waters of purification. Let him then set his steps to walk perfectly
Date: 160–100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Mark 1:4
New Testament
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4 In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Date: 60–75 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... With the discovery of the Scrolls, however, things began to change, and since 1948 many scholars have linked John directly or indirectly with the Qumran sect. The strong form of this claim - which this study shares - is that John started out as a member of the Qumran community. This is a controversial assertion, and it is based on circumstantial evidence, but there is a lot of that, including the following ... the water rites practiced by the Baptist and by the Qumran sect had a similar meaning, including their connection with repentance and forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4; 1QS 3:4–12). Elsewhere in ancient Judaism, washing ceremonies were not connected with repentance and atonement but with the recovery of ritual purity ..."
Joel Marcus, John the Baptist in History and Theology (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2018), 28.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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Could Acts 2:38-39 also be connected to this as it deals with a washing ritual that signfies sin-forgiveness/entrance into the community?
Could Acts 2:38-39 also be connected to this as it deals with a washing ritual that signfies sin-forgiveness/entrance into the community?