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The Scrolls and the New Testament (1957) is a collection of essays edited by Krister Stendahl.

Abstract

"The Scrolls and the New Testament, edited by Krister Stendahl, is one of the earliest collective scholarly attempts to assess the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for New Testament studies. Conceived as a symposium, the volume brings together contributions from leading specialists of the time, offering a range of perspectives on the relationship between Qumran literature and early Christianity ... The essays focus primarily on issues of interpretation, examining parallels between the Scrolls and the New Testament in areas such as communal organization, liturgical practices, scriptural exegesis, and theological vocabulary. Particular attention is given to shared conceptual frameworks—especially dualism (e.g., light and darkness), covenantal identity, and eschatological expectation—which suggest that both corpora emerge from a common Jewish religious milieu rather than from direct literary dependence ... A central contribution of the volume lies in its methodological caution. While acknowledging striking similarities, the contributors generally resist claims of direct influence or derivation, emphasizing instead the importance of situating both Qumran and early Christianity within the broader diversity of Second Temple Judaism. The book thus represents an early move away from sensationalist interpretations toward a more controlled comparative approach ... Methodologically and historiographically, the volume is significant as a foundational synthesis in the first decade of Scrolls research. It reflects both the excitement and the limitations of the period—working with a still incomplete corpus—while establishing key questions and categories that would shape subsequent scholarship. As such, it remains an important milestone in the development of a more disciplined and historically grounded understanding of the relationship between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament."--

Editions and translations

Published in New York, NY: Harper, 1957. Reissued in New York, NY: Crossroad, 1992; edited by James H. Charlesworth.

Table of contents

• Scrolls and the New Testament: an introduction and a perspective / Krister Stendahl
• Significance of the Qumran texts for research into the beginnings of Christianity / Oscar Cullmann
• John the Baptist in the new light of ancient scrolls / W.H. Brownlee
• Two messiahs of Aaron and Israel ; Lord's Supper and the communal meal at Qumran ; New light on temptation, sin, and flesh in the New Testament / Karl Georg Kuhn
• "Peace among men of God's good pleasure" Lk. 2:14 / Ernest Vogt
• Sermon on the mount and the Qumran texts / Kurt Schubert
• Dead Sea manual of discipline and the Jerusalem church of Acts / Sherman E. Johnson
• Constitution of the primitive church in the light of Jewish documents / Bo Reicke
• Paul and the Dead Sea scrolls: flesh and spirit / W.D. Davies
• Qumran scrolls and the Johannine gospel and epistles / Raymond E. Brown
• Qumran scrolls, the Ebionites, and their literature / Joseph A. Fitzmyer
• Hillel the Elder in the light of the Dead Sea scrolls / Nahum N. Glatzer

External links