Jesus and the Essenes

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The Essene movement likely originated as a distinct group among Jews during Jonathan Apphus' time, driven by disputes over Jewish law and the belief that Jonathan's high priesthood was illegitimate. [3] Most scholars think the Essenes seceded from the Zadokite priests. [4] They saw themselves as the genuine remnant of Israel, upholding the true covenant with God, and attributed their interpretation of the Torah to their early leader, the Teacher of Righteousness, possibly a legitimate high priest. Embracing a conservative approach to Jewish law, they observed a strict hierarchy favoring priests (the Sons of Zadok) over laypeople, emphasized ritual purity, and held a dualistic worldview. [3] And when I was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to make trial 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. Some modern scholars and archeologists 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. [35] This theory, though not yet conclusively proven, has come to dominate the scholarly discussion and public perception of the Essenes. [36] Rules, customs, theology, and beliefs [ edit ] Biblical Archeology Society Staff (8 May 2022). "Who Were the Essenes?". Biblical Archaeology Society. Biblical Archeology Society . Retrieved 9 May 2022. 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 earliest known proposer of this etymology was P. Melanchthon, in Johann Carion, Chronica, 1532, folio 68 verso. Among the other proposers before 1947, e.g., 1839 Isaak Jost, "Die Essaer," Israelitische Annalen 19, 145–7.

but shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgment to those who have chosen the Way [unto God],”* would be the intent of both divisions of Essene—by the Nazarenes at the arrival of Messiah and the new revelation that would set men free, essentially what we know today as the “Good News,” and by the Osseaens through more purity laws and strictness to the law. Is it righteous to do good on the sabbath (Matt. 12.10-14), or is it more important to obey the law, this is perhaps the best biblical example of the two differing mentalities. *Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule IX Although the work of The Enoch Seminar challenges and expands the definition of the “Essenic/Enochic” movement, it seems that today, with few notable exceptions, the “Essenes” continue to be marginalized in biblical scholarship – often demoted from being a powerful socio-political force within first-century Judaism to being the isolated, misanthropic, and ultra-legalistic recluses of “the Qumran community” or the literary-ideological fantasies of Josephus, Philo, and Pliny. As Susannah Heschel points out, the Essene hypothesis seemed to heighten a Christian “anxiety of influence” – an anxiety based on the fact that Christianity originated within Judaism. Consequently, the Essene hypothesis served several historical and ideological purposes for Jewish scholars: it boosted Jewish self-esteem in light of Christianity’s success, de-stabilized normative definitions of Judaism and Christianity, and supported revisionist readings of Jesus in a Jewish context.

window, document, "script", "https://95662602.adoric-om.com/adoric.js", "Adoric_Script", "adoric","9cc40a7455aa779b8031bd738f77ccf1", "data-key"); Lawrence Schiffman has argued that the Qumran community may be called Sadducean, and not Essene, since their legal positions retain a link with Sadducean tradition. [68] Connection to other religious traditions [ edit ] Christianity [ edit ] John the Baptist was possibly an Essene. [69] In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race"; [17] "Simon of the Essaios race"; [18] "John the Essaios"; [19] "those who are called by us Essaioi"; [20] "Simon a man of the Essaios race"). [21] Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period. [22] The Essenes and early Christians also shared apocalyptic beliefs, that is a belief in the imminent end of the world, which influenced the way in which they chose to live. The Essenes ( / ˈ ɛ s iː n z, ɛ ˈ s iː n z/; Hebrew: אִסִּיִים‎, Isiyim; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi) were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. [2]

Rachel Elior Responds to Her Critics". Jim West. 15 March 2009. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009 . Retrieved 17 March 2009. a b Pliny the Elder. Historia Naturalis. Ab occidente litora Esseni fugiunt usque qua nocent, gens sola et in toto orbe praeter ceteras mira, sine ulla femina, omni venere abdicata, sine pecunia, socia palmarum. in diem ex aequo convenarum turba renascitur, large frequentantibus quos vita fessos ad mores eorum fortuna fluctibus agit. ita per saeculorum milia—incredibile dictu—gens aeterna est, in qua nemo nascitur. tam fecunda illis aliorum vitae paenitentia est! infra hos Engada oppidum fuit, secundum ab Hierosolymis fertilitate palmetorumque nemoribus, nunc alterum bustum. inde Masada castellum in rupe, et ipsum haut procul Asphaltite. et hactenus Iudaea est. {{ cite book}}: |work= ignored ( help) cf. English translation. The Qumran priests and scribes considered their main task to copy, or multiply, scriptures. Scribes would be very well-versed in the law, and the lawyers themselves would be higher-ranking priests who would provide commentary. It is within this legal formalism the Scribal Authority emerges, later developing into a legitimate sect (scribes), later designated as the Essene. The formalism of Ezra’s Second Temple’s legal sway contends with what will later become the Nazarene theology. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for each other than other sects have. [31] Location [ edit ] Remains of part of the main building at Qumran.Goodman, M. (1994), "Sadducees and Essenes after 70 CE", Judaism in the Roman World, Brill, pp.153–162, doi: 10.1163/ej.9789004153097.i-275.38, ISBN 978-90-474-1061-4 , retrieved 2 August 2023

This odd mixture of strict adherence to legalism, which predominates the Essene pathway, counterposed to the soaring and superlative understanding of Messiah, seems incongruent. A person might think that the legal prescription well followed would lead to the next level of revelation. This ascension from words to realization does not seem to have occurred. The extension into legalism, now added to by the Pharisaic purity rituals, does not fit well with Messiah and the messianic message, by whom the final interpretation of the Law and the Prophets was to be given. The Osseaen-Essene scribes believed this message would be a dissertation on the law, with a few advancements upon the law or higher level commentaries and the return of themselves to Temple control. a b "The Essenes and the origins of Christianity". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com . Retrieved 12 April 2022. Essenes in Judaean Society: the sectarians of the Dead Sea Scrolls The Community, as it is written, established its group around strictness in obedience to the law. As mentioned, they would become the ‘lawyers’ who would write the commentaries, an effort to provide what they considered deeper clarity. By contrast, Nazarenes would interpret law much as Jesus did, by the nature of enlightened understanding, or by the effusion of the spirit of God. Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vatican.

H. Stegemann, The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Grand Rapids MI, 1998 The two following chapters aim to establish this relationship. In chapter 3 (“The Anointed Prophet”), Joseph makes some astute observations concerning claims of literary dependence. Similarities do not necessitate a literary dependence. Such claims “face formidable burdens of proof” (93). Joseph rightly notes that the question “is not whether these texts can be understood as ‘parallel’ developments but whether they should be” (93n129). When a verbatim quote appears across different texts (as often occurs in the Synoptic Gospels), the case for literary dependence is stronger, and the debate over the direction of the dependence can begin. When the similarities are thematic rather than formulaic, the argument is shakier. Thus, one of the more compelling examples Joseph advances is the use of Isaiah 61 in Matthew 11:4-5, Luke 7:22, and 4Q521. Relying on George Brooke, Joseph notes that nowhere else in Jewish texts of the Second Temple period is Isaiah 61 associated with resurrection (90). Qirqisani's omission of the Essenes from his list of Jewish sects, which can be explained if he considered the Magharians to be synonymous with the Essenes. The Teacher of Righteousness of the Scrolls would seem to be a prototype of Jesus, for both spoke of the New Covenant; they preached a similar gospel; each was regarded as a Savior or Redeemer; and each was condemned and put to death by reactionary factions... We do not know whether Jesus was an Essene, but some scholars feel that he was at least influenced by them. [67]