This article discusses some things about the Dead Sea Scrolls, namely, what they are, who wrote them, whether they discredit or support Christianity, and if you should go see them.

For the understanding of the New Testament in its original setting, the New Testament theologian needs to appreciate the value of intertestamental Jewish literature as the given background.

This article concerns itself with the interpretation of prophecy in the Qumran commentaries. Interpretation of older Scriptures was a major factor in the intertestamental period. For the first time, systematic commentaries on Old Testament books are produced. The commentaries of Philo originate from this period. The interpretation of the prophecy of Daniel marks a shift in Hebrew interpretation of prophecy.

A development took place in the Jewish messianic expectation during the intertestamental period that can be found in apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings. The idea that developed was that the Messiah would be a Levitical priest. This essay surveys the relevant passages.

Hurtado wants to show in this paper that the Qumran sect was a group that had a combined belief that history was significant, with a strong hope for the future. This attitude can be demonstrated to be similar to that of the Gospels. This gives strong support for believing that the earliest Christians could have had both strong apocalyptic hopes and an interest in the historical Jesus.

This article provides a bibliography on relevant resources for the study of literature from the intertestamental period, which is useful for an understanding of the background to the New Testament. Specific attention is given to the Dead Sea Scrolls, but also authors like Philo and Josephus, as well as rabbinic literature and the Talmud.

This article briefly discusses the dating of the Targums. Next, it examines the synagogue tradition common to both to the Targums and the New Testament. The final section of the essay looks at specific examples of similar exegetical practice as applied to messianic texts.

The field of Jewish literature can be difficult to the non-specialist. Knowing where to go for texts, translations, concordances, and bibliography is a great help. Even seasoned researchers more familiar with these materials often fail to take advantage of the best critical texts, translations, and helps currently available.