Essenes
The Essenes (es'-eenz) were followers of a religious way of living in Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. Many scholars today argue that there were a number of separate but related groups that had in common mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs that were referred to as the "Essenes". There are also contemporary movements which identify themselves as Essenes, including the "Orthodox" Christian Essenes.
Contemporary ancient sources
The main source of information about the life and belief of Essenes is the detailed account contained in a work of the 1st century Jewish historiographer Josephus entitled The Jewish War written about 73-75 CE (War 2.119-161) and his shorter description in his Antiquities finished some 20 years later (Ant. 18.11 & 18-22). Claiming first hand knowledge (Life §§10-11), he refers to them by the name Essenoi and lists them as the followers of one of the three "choices" in "Jewish Philosophy'" (War 2.119) alongside the Pharisees and the Saduccees. The only other known contemporary accounts about the Essenes are two similarly detailed ones by the Jewish philosopher Philo (fl. c. 20 BCE - c. 54 CE; Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit XII.75-87, and the excerpt from his Hypothetica 11.1-18 preserved by Eusebius, Praep. Evang. Bk VIII), who, however, admits to not being quite certain of the Greek form of their name that he recalls as Essaioi (Quod Omn. Prob. XII.75), and the brief reference to them by the Roman equestrian Pliny the Elder (fl. 23 CE - 79 CE; Natural History, Bk 5.73).
The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in caves at Qumran, are widely but not universally believed to be the work of Essenes or to reflect Essene beliefs. See below.
Name
Josephus uses the name Essenes in his two main accounts (War 2.119, 158, 160; Ant. 13.171-2) as well as in some other contexts ("an account of the Essenes", Ant. 13.298; "the gate of the Essenes", War 5.145; "Judas of the Essene race", Ant. 13.311, but some mss read here Essaion; "holding the Essenes in honour", Ant. 15.372; "a certain Essene named Manaemus", Ant. 15.373; "to hold all Essenes in honour", Ant. 15.378; "the Essenes", Ant. 18.11 & 18; Life 10). In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race", War I.78; "Simon of the Essaios race", War 2.113; "John the Essaios", War 2.567; 3.11; "those who are called by us Essaioi", Ant. 15.371; "Simon a man of the Essaios race", Ant. 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 (NH XII.75). Pliny's Latin text has Esseni.
The origin of the name Essenes is debated. Some credible possibilities are either a version of the Greek word for "holy", or an Aramaic dialect term for "pious". Geza Vermes, a scholar and writer on religious history, traces the word to the Aramaic "Esaoin", meaning "followers of Esa". Vermes identifies this with Isa, an early name for Jesus; other scholars disagree with this etymology.
Hitherto no ancient texts have been discovered where their authors admit to being themselves followers of the Essene way of religious living, or claim to commit Essene thoughts and doctrine to writing. If, however, the inhabitants of the settlement at Qumran had indeed been Essenes, and if certain scrolls discovered in the caves near Qumran have Essenes for their authors, or at least contain Essene texts, then it may be said from those scrolls that the Essenes referred to themselves as "Sons of Light".
Location
According to Josephus the Essenes had settled "not in one city" but "in large numbers in every town" (War 2.124). Philo speaks of "more than four thousand" Essaioi living in "Palestinian Syria" (Quod Omn. Prob. XII.75), more precisely, "in many cities of Judaea and in many villages and grouped in great societies of many members" (Hyp. 11.1).
Some modern scholars and archeologists have argued that Essenes inhabited the settlement at Qumran, a plateau in the Judean Desert along the Dead Sea. While Pliny's location ("on the west side of the Dead Sea, away from the coast ... [above] the town of Engeda") tends to be cited in support of this identification, there is as yet no conclusive proof for this hypothesis. Nevertheless, it has come to dominate the scholarly discussion and public perception of the Essenes; and this article therefore takes it for its premise.
History
It has been suggested that the Essenes have come into existence as a protest following the purchase by Yehoshua Ben-Shimon II (Jason son of Simon) of the high priesthood from Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 175 BC. Subsequently the Essenes referred to Yehoshua ben Shimon and his genealogically unqualified successors as The Wicked Priest (Kohein ha-Resha lit. bad priest, instead of Kohein ha-Gadol). However, others have suggested that Queen Salome Alexandra's son Hyrcanus II (63 BC-?) and the other Roman collaborators that succeeded to him are the best qualified for the Wicked Priest appellation. Either way the new illegitimate priesthood became known as the Sadducees.
It is thought that the memories of a certain Yeshu (110-70) in the Talmud may refer to one who the Essenes called Matif ha-Kaza (the babbling preacher of lies). Likewise the "man of lies" (Ish ha-Kazav) has been identified variously as his contemporary Shimeon ben Shetah (80-50) or the later R. Shammai (40 BC-AD 20). It is thought that to secure the position of Av Beth Din, Shammai drove his predecessor Menahem, his and Hillel's followers to become Essenes. The aged Shammai attained complete ascendancy until AD 30 after Hillel died in AD 20 and Shammai passed the 18 measures. That day is compared to the day when the golden calf was built (Shabbat 17A).
Rejection of the Jerusalem cultus
Presuming the identification of the Essenes as the inhabitants of Qumran and as authors of the texts in certain scrolls found in the caves nearby, the Essenes were the followers of a group of priests who had essentially rejected the Second Temple. They argued that the Essene community was itself the new Temple, although they did not reject the notion of the temple outright. Eventually, they believed, they would be triumphant, gaining control of the temple and remaking it according to their own ideals. Accordingly, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 was for them a symbol of imminent victory. With this came the end of the Sadducees and the end of the house of Shammai. They also believed strongly in the end-times and wrote an entire scroll on that subject. The "Rule of War" detailed the battle plans for the "final" battle.
Rules, customs and theology
The accounts by Josephus and Philo show that the Essenes (Philo: Essaioi) led a strictly celibate but communal life − often compared by scholars to Christian monastic living −, although Josephus speaks also of another "rank of Essenes" that did get married (War 2.160-161). According to Josephus, they had customs and observances such as collective ownership (War 2.122; Ant. 18.20), elected a leader to attend to the interests of them all whose orders they obeyed (War 2.123, 134), were forbidden from swearing oaths (War 2.135) and sacrificing animals (Philo, §75), controlled their temper and served as channels of peace (War 2.135), carried weapons only as protection against robbers (War 2.125), had no slaves but served each other (Ant. 18.21) and, as a result of communal ownership, did not engage in trading (War 2.127). Both Josephus and Philo have lengthy accounts of their communal meetings, meals and religious celebrations. From what has been deduced, the food of the Essenes was not allowed to be altered (by being cooked, for instance); and they may have been strict vegetarians, eating mostly bread, wild roots and fruits. After a total of three years probation (War 2.137-138), newly joining members would take an oath that included the commitment to practise piety towards the Deity and righteousness towards humanity, to maintain a pure life-style, 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 (War 2.139-142). Their theology included belief in the immortality of the soul and that they would receive their souls back after death (War 2.153-158, Ant. 18.18).
Dissolution
When the Romans overran Jerusalem in 70 CE, the authors of the writings found at Qumran assumed to have been Essenes believed this to be the time to fight the great and final battle with the Sons of Darkness, as prophesied. They had prepared for it and apparently threw everything they had into it. They may have thought they were unbeatable, according to prophecy; but they were not strong enough to withstand the Romans. The inhabitants of Qumran, presumed to have been the greater number of the Essenes, were destroyed by the Roman legions in 68 CE as part of the Roman movements to take back Judea. It has been suggested that, consequently, the few remaining Essenes elsewhere were no longer able to maintain their identity, and that some of them merged with the Hillelite Pharisees, out of which was born the tradition of Rabbinical Judaism.
Scholarly discussion
The Essenes are discussed in detail by Josephus and Philo. Many 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 Norman Golb and other scholars. Some suggest that Jesus of Nazareth was an Essene, and that Christianity evolved from this sect of Judaism, with which it shared many ideas and symbols.
According to Martin A. Larson, the now misunderstood Essenes were Jewish Pythagoreans who lived as monks. As vegetarians, celibates, and self-reliant communists who shunned marriage and family, they preached a coming war with the Sons of Darkness. As the Sons of Light, this reflected a separate influence from Zoroastrianism via their parent ideology of Pythagoreanism. According to Larson, both the Essenes and Pythagoreans resembled thiasoi, or cult units of the Orphic mysteries. John the Baptist is widely regarded to be a prime example of an Essene who had left the communal life (see Ant. 18.116-119), and it is thought they aspired to emulate their own founding Teacher of Righteousness who was probably crucified.
Another issue is the relationship between the Essaioi and Philo's Therapeutae and Therapeutrides (see De Vita Contemplativa). It may be argued that he regarded the Therapeutae as a contemplative branch of the Essaioi who, he said, pursued an active life (Vita Cont. I.1).
Modern and contemporary Essenes
Several new religious movements claim spiritual descent from the ancient Essenes and describe themselves as Essenes. These groups believe that the canon of the Bible, and even some translations of books considered "canonical," were changed by various hands to censor Essene beliefs in the scriptures, such as transmigration, the feminine aspect of Divinity and a preference for vegetarianism. The Dead Sea Scrolls form the basis for much of their beliefs.
Essenes in fiction
The Essenes are an important part of H. Rider Haggard's Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. [1]
References
- Bergmeier, Roland. 1993. Die Essener-Berichte des Flavius Josephus. Kok Pharos, Kampen, ISBN 90 390 0014 X.
- Briggs, Curtis. 1998. The Dead Sea Scrolls (VHS). Discovery Channel Video
- Falk, Harvey R. 1985
- Francis Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, From 330 B.C. to 330 A.D. (1914), reprinted as two volumes bound as one, University Books New York, 1964. LC Catalog 64-24125.
- Golb, Norman. 1985. "Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Search for the Secret of Qumran". Scribner
- Sanders, E.P., 1992. "Judaism: Practice & Belief 63BCE - 66CE" Minneapolis: Fortress
- Schiffman, Lawrence H. 1991. "From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple & Rabbinic Judaism". Ktav Publishing House
- Smith, Enid S., Ph.D., 1959, The Essenes Who Changed Churchianity