Essenes

The Essenes (Greek: Εσσηνοι, Εσσαιοι, or Οσσαιοι; Essēnoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi) were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE that some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priestsF.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts On The Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956. Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time) the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty, and abstinence from worldly pleasures, including marriage and daily baptisms. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Judæa. The Essenes believed they were the last generation of the last generations and anticipated Teacher of Righteousness, Aaronic High Priest, and High Guard Messiah, similar to the Prophet, Priest and King expectations of the Pharisees.
The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, commonly believed to be their library. These documents include preserved multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible untouched from as early as 300 BCE until their discovery in 1946. Some scholars, however, dispute the notion that the Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.Hillel Newman, Ph.D Bar Ilan University : Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period Brill ISBN 9004146997 One scholar, Rachel Elior, even argues that the group never existed.
== Contemporary ancient sources ==
The earliest mention of the Essenes is by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (). Philo told his readers that there were more than 4,000 Essenes (Essaioi) living in villages throughout Palestinian Syria Every Good Man is Free 75. Among their neighbours they were noted for their love of God and their concerns with piety, honesty, morality, philanthropy, holiness, equality, and freedom. The holy Essenes did not marry and lived a celibate life, and practiced communal residence, money, property, food and clothing. They observed the Sabbath according to all the strictest instructions and spent much of their time studying the Law according to philosophical and allegorical interpretations. They cherished freedom, possessed no slaves, and rejected the use of weapons or participation in commerce. Philo did not mention any names or places, nor any background to the origins of this group.
The next reference is by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (died ) in his Natural History. Pliny relates in a few lines that the Essenes do not marry, possess no money, and had existed for thousands of generations. Unlike Philo, who did not mention any particular geographical location of the Essenes other than the whole land of Israel, Pliny places them in Ein Gedi, next to the Dead Sea.
A little later Josephus gave a detailed account of the Essenes in The Jewish War () with a shorter description in Antiquities of the Jews () and The Life of Flavius Josephus (). Claiming first hand knowledge, he lists the Essenoi as one of the three sects of Jewish philosophyJosephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.119 alongside the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He relates the same information concerning piety, celibacy, the absence of personal property and of money, the belief in communality and commitment to a strict observance of the Sabbath. He further adds that the Essenes ritually immersed in water every morning, ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to charity and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were very mindful of the names of the angels kept in their sacred writings.
Pliny, also a geographer and explorer, located them in the desert near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the year 1947 by Muhammed edh-Dhib and Ahmed Mohammed, two Bedouin shepherds of the Ta'amireh tribe.
==Name==
Josephus uses the name Essenes in his two main accountsJosephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.119, 158, 160Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 13.171-2 as well as in some other contexts ("an account of the Essenes";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 13.298 "the gate of the Essenes";Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 5.145 "Judas of the Essene race";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 13.311 but some manuscripts read here Essaion; "holding the Essenes in honour";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.372 "a certain Essene named Manaemus";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.373 "to hold all Essenes in honour";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.378 "the Essenes";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.11Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.18Josephus (). The Life of Flavius Josephus. 10). In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race";Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. I.78 "Simon of the Essaios race";Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.113 "John the Essaios";Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.567; 3.11 "those who are called by us Essaioi";Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.371 "Simon a man of the Essaios race"Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 17.346). Philo's usage is Essaioi, although he admits this Greek form of the original name that according to his etymology signifies "holiness" to be inexact.Philo (). Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75-87 Pliny's Latin text has Esseni.Pliny the Elder (). Natural History. 5.73. Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period.And when I was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to make trim of the several sects that were among us. These sects are three: - The first is that of the Pharisees, the second that Sadducees, and the third that of the Essenes, as we have frequently told you - The Life of Josephus Flavius, 2
Gabriele Boccaccini implies that a convincing etymology for the name Essene has not been found, but that the term applies to a larger group within Palestine that also included the Qumran community.
It was proposed before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered that the name came into several Greek spellings from a Hebrew self-designation later found in some Dead Sea Scrolls, 'osey hatorah, "observers of torah." Though dozens of etymology suggestions have been published, this is the only etymology published before 1947 that was confirmed by Qumran text self-designation references, and it is gaining acceptance among scholars.For example, James C. VanderKam, "Identity and History of the Community." In The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment, ed. Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam, 2:487–533. Leiden: Brill, 1999. The earlies known proposer of this etymology was P. Melanchthon, in J. Carion, Chronica, 1532, folio 68 verso. Among the other proposers before 1947, e.g., 1839 Isaak Jost, "Die Essaer," Israelitische Annalen 19, 145–7. It's recognized as the etymology of the form Ossaioi (and note that Philo also offered an O spelling) and Essaioi and Esseni spelling variations have been discussed by VanderKam, Goranson and others. In medieval Hebrew (e.g. Sefer Yosippon) Hassidim ("the pious ones") replaces "Essenes". While this Hebrew name is not the etymology of Essaioi/Esseni, the Aramaic equivalent Hesi'im known from Eastern Aramaic texts has been suggested 
== Location ==
According to Josephus, the Essenes had settled "not in one city" but "in large numbers in every town".Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.124 Philo speaks of "more than four thousand" Essaioi living in "Palestine and Syria",Philo (). Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75 more precisely, "in many cities of Judaea and in many villages and grouped in great societies of many members".Philo. Hypothetica. 11.1. in Eusebius. Praeparatio Evangelica. VIII
Pliny locates them "on the west side of the Dead Sea, away from the coast… [above] the town of Engeda".
Some modern scholars and archaeologists have argued that Essenes inhabited the settlement at Qumran, a plateau in the Judean Desert along the Dead Sea, citing Pliny the Elder in support, and giving credence that the Dead Sea Scrolls are the product of the Essenes. This view, though not yet conclusively proven, has come to dominate the scholarly discussion and public perception of the Essenes.Ellegård, Alvar; Jesus – One Hundred Years Before Christ: A Study In Creative Mythology, (London 1999).
Josephus' reference to a "gate of the Essenes" in his description of the course of "the most ancient" of the three walls of Jerusalem, in the Mount Zion area,cf. map of ancient Jerusalem perhaps suggests an Essene community living in this quarter of the city or regularly gathering at this part of the Temple precincts.
== Rules, customs, theology and beliefs==
The accounts by Josephus and Philo show that the Essenes led a strictly celibate and communal life often compared by scholars to later Christian monastic living although Josephus speaks also of another "rank of Essenes" that did get married.Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.160–161 According to Josephus, they had customs and observances such as collective ownership,Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.122Josephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.20. elected a leader to attend to the interests of them all whose orders they obeyed,Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.123, 134 were forbidden from swearing oathsJosephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.135 and sacrificing animals,Philo, §75 controlled their temper and served as channels of peace, carried weapons only as protection against robbers,Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.125 had no slaves but served each otherJosephus (). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.21 and, as a result of communal ownership, did not engage in trading.Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.127 Both Josephus and Philo have lengthy accounts of their communal meetings, meals and religious celebrations.
After a total of three years' probation,Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.137–138. Josephus' mention of the three year duration of the Essene probation may be compared with the phased character of the entrance procedure in the Qumran Rule of the Community [1QS; at least two years plus an indeterminate initial catechetical phase, 1QS VI]. The provisional surrender of property required at the beginning of the last year of the novitiate derives from actual social experience of the difficulties of sharing property in a fully communitarian setting, cf. Brian J. Capper, 'The Interpretation of Acts 5.4', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 19 (1983) pp. 117-131; idem, '"In der Hand des Ananias." Erwägungen zu 1QS VI,20 und der urchristlichen Gütergemeinschaft', Revue de Qumran 12(1986) 223-236; Eyal Regev, “Comparing Sectarian Practice and Organization: The Qumran Sect in Light of the Regulations of the Shakers, Hutterites, Mennonites and Amish”, Numen 51 (2004), pp. 146-181. newly joining members would take an oath that included the commitment to practice piety towards "the Deity" (το θειον) and righteousness towards humanity, to maintain a pure lifestyle, to abstain from criminal and immoral activities, to transmit their rules uncorrupted and to preserve the books of the Essenes and the names of the Angels.Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.139–142 Their theology included belief in the immortality of the soul and that they would receive their souls back after death.Josephus (). The Wars of the Jews. 2.153–158 Part of their activities included purification by water rituals, which was supported by rainwater catchment and storage.
The Church Father Epiphanius (writing in the fourth century CE) seems to make a distinction between two main groups within the Essenes: "Of those that came before his [Elxai, an Ossaean prophet] time and during it, the Ossaeans and the Nazarean.".Epiphanius of Salamis (). Panarion. 1:19 Epiphanius describes each group as following:
If it is correct to identify the community at Qumran with the Essenes (and that the community at Qumran are the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls), then according to the Dead Sea Scrolls the Essenes' community school was called "Yahad" (meaning "unity") in order to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Jews who are repeatedly labeled "The Breakers of the Covenant".
== Scholarly discussion ==
The Essenes are discussed in detail by Josephus and Philo.
Most scholars believe that the community at Qumran that allegedly produced the Dead Sea Scrolls was an offshoot of the Essenes; however, this theory has been disputed by some, for example, by Norman Golb. 
Golb, for instance, uses arguments claiming that the primary research on the Qumran documents and ruins (by Father Roland de Vaux, from the École Biblique et Archéologique de Jérusalem) lacked scientific method, and drew wrong conclusions that comfortably entered the academic canon. For Golb, the amount of documents is too extensive and includes many different writing styles and calligraphies; the ruins seem to have been a fortress, used as a military base for a very long period of time including the 1st Century so they could not have been inhabited by the Essenes; and the large graveyard excavated in 1870, just 50 metres east of the Qumran ruins was made of over 1200 tombs that included many women and children Pliny clearly wrote that the Essenes that lived near the Dead Sea "had not one woman, had renounced all pleasure ... and no one was born in their race". Golb's book presents observations about de Vaux's premature conclusions and their uncontoverted acceptance by the general academic community. He states that the documents probably stemmed from various libraries in Jerusalem, kept safe in the desert from the Roman invasions.
Other scholars refute these arguments.
 
Another issue is the relationship between the Essaioi and Philo's Therapeutae and Therapeutrides. It may be argued that he regarded the Therapeutae as a contemplative branch of the Essaioi who, he said, pursued an active life.Philo. De Vita Contemplativa. I.1.
One theory on the formation of the Essenes suggested the movement was founded by a Jewish high priest, dubbed by the Essenes the Teacher of Righteousness, whose office had been usurped by Jonathan (of priestly but not Zadokite lineage), labeled the "man of lies" or "false priest". Others follow this line and a few argue that the Teacher of Righteousness was not only the leader of the Essenes at Qumran, but was also identical to the original Jesus about 150 years before the time of the Gospels.
==Connections with Kabbalah==
According to a Jewish legend, one of the Essenes, named Menachem, had passed at least some of his mystical knowledge to the Talmudic mystic Nehunya ben ha-Kanah, to whom the Kabbalistic tradition attributes Sefer ha-Bahir and, by some opinions, Sefer ha-Kanah, Sefer ha-Peliah and Sefer ha-Temunah. Some Essene rituals, such as daily immersion in the Mikvah, coincide with contemporary Hasidic practices; some historians had also suggested, that name "Essene" is a Hellenized form of the word "Hasidim" or "Hasin" ("pious ones"). However, the legendary connections between Essene and Kabbalistic tradition are not verified by modern historians.
== Modern Essenes ==
The modern pseudo-Essene movement "is directly derivative of two occult bestsellers, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, by Levi H. Dowling; and The Mystical Life of Jesus, by Rosicrucian author H. Spencer Lewis, and possesses no authentic ties to the ancient Essene movement,J. Gordon Melton, The Encyclopedia of American Religions" Other pseudo-Essene writers include the Rev. Gideon Ousely and Dr. Edmund Bordeaux Szekely, both of whom assert that the Essene teachings had been hidden and assimilated into many mystical spiritual traditions around the world, where the teachings were hidden within ancient libraries. Before all of these the Theosophists brought a bit of focus on the Essenes/Nazareans, and Theosophy influenced some Rosicrucians and much of modern occultism as well as agreed with some principles common to both the ancient and so-called hidden teachings.
==See also==
*Dead Sea scrolls
*Ein Gedi
*Qumran
*Therapeutae
*Hellenistic Judaism
==References==
==Further reading==
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* Vermes, Geza and Martin Goodman. The Essenes According to the Classical Sources. JSOT on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studie: Sheffield, 1989.
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==External links==
* Historical Facts on Essene Culture
*Encyclopedia Britannica: Essenes
*Catholic Encyclopedia: Essenes
*Jewish Encyclopedia: Essenes
*Scholar: The Essenes, Dead Sea Scroll 'authors,' never existed - Haaretz, 13 March 2009.
*Essenes and Others: argues that the Hebrew original form of the name later spelled "Essenes" is in some Qumran scrolls as a self-designation.
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