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 compares the recorded teachings of Jesus to what is now known about the teaching of rabbis in the first half of the first century. The author looks at three examples: prayer, divorce and earthly rewards. Knowledge of the Rabbinic teachings is used to illuminate the meaning of the recorded words of Jesus.

John 10:16 sheds significant light on Jesus’ messianic consciousness during his earthly ministry. Scholarly treatments, however, focus almost exclusively on John's use of the Old Testament without giving attention to questions regarding the historical Jesus.