R. Bauckham

Abstract: "The Early Jerusalem Church, the Qumran Community, and the Essenes"

Richard J. Bauckham

Recent theories about Qumran origins, notably the Groningen hypothesis and the hypothesis of G. Boccaccini, show that we cannot assume, as much discussion of the relationship between the early Jerusalem church and the Qumran community has, that the latter was at all representative of the wider Essene movement. We must distinguish clearly between the Qumran community's own compositions, which reflect its own ideology and terminology, and other works in the Qumran library which derive from the parent movement from which it separated. This paper examines the arguments that relate the Jerusalem church closely to an Essene community located near to its headquarters in Jerusalem, and, while admitting the geographical proximity to be probable, disputes that in itself this is a basis for postulating influence. It then discusses the most significant self-designations of the early Jerusalem church in order to assess whether they have been borrowed from or influenced by Qumran or other Essenes. Four terms are considered: (1) 'the Way'; (2) 'the holy ones (saints)'; (3) 'the Church of God'; (4) proposed equivalents in Acts 2 for the Qumran term Yahad. The results show no reason for supposing Essene influence that is not Qumran influence, but no very strong reason for supposing the latter. At least in (2) and (3), probably also in (1), the basis for the designations lies in the Jerusalem church's own exegesis of Scripture in light of its eschatological consciousness of representing the renewed Israel of the end time.

(c) 2001
Reproduction beyond fair use only on permission of the author.