The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
The deserts ... refers to the desolate and forbidding wastelands south of Jericho and along by the Dead Sea. The occasion of his dwelling in such places could have come about through the death of his parents, who were in their old age when he was born; but this is not stated.  This region was not inhabited.  "The Qumran covenanters (had) established their headquarters in this general area"[39] as proved by the Dead Sea Scrolls; but "any definite connection of the Baptist with the Qumranites is pure theory."[40] God certainly would not have brought John the Baptist into the world for his great work and then have turned his education over to such radical sects in the wilderness as the Essenes or the Qumranites!  Besides this, any resemblances based upon the teachings are very superficial; and, as Ash said, "There are marked differences."[41]