refers to him by the slightly different title "John the Baptizer". The word baptist is also somewhat controversial. To Anabaptists the correct translation is "John the Immerser". The wilderness The wilderness of Judea mentioned in this verse is generally taken to refer to the region of Judea sloping down from the highlands to the Dead Sea. This was an arid area not well suited to habitation. The term is occasionally translated as desert, but there was enough moisture to allow for pastoralism, so some consider this translation incorrect. According to Pliny this region was home to the Essenes; it was also home to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Many feel that John the Baptist was influenced by these groups. The phrase "in Judea" does not exist in the comparable verse in Mark, and is an addition by the author of Matthew. Matthew previously used the same qualifier for Bethlehem in Matthew 2:5 and 2:6. While John may have been in Judea in this period, it is clear he was on the other side of Jordan River at a later date when he was captured and executed by Herod Antipas who ruled Galilee and Perea. It could also be that Matthew is vague, and referring to the immediate east side of the Jordan as also being Judea. The wilderness had other connotations to the early readers of Matthew. Guthrie notes that at this time the wilderness was considered much closer to God in contrast with the corruption of the cities. An exile to the wilderness also links to Exodus, and later prophets such as Hosea predicted that the Israelites would one day be forced back to the wilderness. It was thus widely accepted that new prophets and religious leaders would come out of the wilderness. Other scholars disagree and see the wilderness as desolate and forbidding. In Matthew 4:1 the wilderness will be introduced as the location where Jesus encounters the devil. Commentary from the Church Fathers Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Sun as he approaches the horizon, and before he is yet visible, sends out his rays and makes the eastern sky to glow with light, that Aurora going before may herald the coming day. Thus the Lord at His birth in this earth, and before He shows Himself, enlightens John by the rays of His Spirit's teaching, that he might go before and announce the Saviour that was to