John the Baptist and the Dead Sea Scrolls Reloaded. Some Observations on Analogies and Differences

This article reviews some similarities and differences between what we know about John the Baptist and the evidence of Qumran literature. The hypothesis that John the Baptist was connected to the Qumran community must offer more compelling analogies than differences to be tenable. However, the alleged analogies between the two parties are weaker than the undeniable differences, making it difficult to sustain them as analogies. Arguing that John the Baptist was part of the Qumran community is risky methodologically because it is just one hypothesis stacked on top of another. Rather than assuming a connection, it is more reasonable to view the few and weak anal ogies as resulting from a shared cultural background between the two, which developed differently in each instance.