The Essenes.
We’re exploring Jewish Religious Sects. Last week we looked at the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the two sects most often mentioned in the Bible. However, there was a third, also very influential, Jewish religious sect at the time called the Essenes.
Fixed dates for the Essenes’ operative years are not known, but it is estimated that the sect was active roughly between 150BC-150AD. The Essenes seem to have occupied a broader geographical territory than the Sadducees, but probably less than that of the Pharisees. Some scholars place them across Palestine and into Syria, but the true extent of their geographic reach has not been determined.
Much of what we now know of the Essenes comes from writers contemporary to their time. Josephus, Pliny the Elder, and Philo each mention them in their dissertations. As with most sects there appear to have been divisions within the broader description, but they held many beliefs and practices in common.
Essene Life.
Like their Christian monastic counterparts that were to arise in the 3rd century AD, they were not to be found in major population centers. Rather, they located in isolated communities away from societal influences which could contaminate or corrupt their strict worship and life practices. They desired to maintain distinct separation from society.
Their lives were highly regulated by their community leaders. Daily activity was largely dedicated to study, prayer, contemplation and worship. Only the worldly practices necessary to sustain the most basic livelihood were allowed. Otherwise members’ time was to be spent in religious activities.
Although there appear to have been some off-shoot communities that allowed female membership and even marriage, most of the Essene communities were male-only. In those male-only communities members practiced strict celibacy.
They practiced farming and followed a strictly vegetarian diet. Neither the sacrifice of animals nor the consumption of meat was allowed.
All property was owned communally and trading among members was prohibited. Goods obtained by trade with the outside were owned and shared in common according to each member’s need.
Essene Religious Beliefs.
Much of what we believe we now know of the Essenes comes from translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were found in the area of Qumran in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Located on the Western side of the Dead Sea, several caves were found to contain writings that most religious scholars attribute to the Essene Community at or around the time of Christ. Many of these texts speak to Essene beliefs and practice. And many of them have been used by scholars to add context and validity to the Bible and other religious writings previously known.
Like other Jewish sects, the Essenes adhered to strict purity laws including ritual purification by water. Such purification was preceded by repentance for sins committed.
Their religious life was centered on the Pentateuch and ritual purity. They believed in the immortality of the soul, but also in retribution for a life lived in conflict with their teachings.
Avoiding all contact with the Jewish Temple, they assiduously observed the Sabbath within their own communities.
New initiates were required to endure a three-year probation and purifying process before they could be admitted to full membership.
To protect themselves from profaning their character, they abstained from swearing oaths, but when they did, the oaths could not be broken.
Later History.
The Essene sect seems to have dispersed by the mid-second century after Christ. Like the other two major Jewish religious sects, it may have fallen prey to the disruptive influence of the Great Revolt that occurred between 63-70 AD. Roman practice at the conclusion of that uprising was to systematically root out any Jewish groups that they saw as having the propensity for subversion of or sedition against Roman law. It is highly probable that Roman persecution of organized Jewish religious sects was at least partially responsible for the sect’s gradual demise and eventual dissolution.
Like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Essenes did not totally die out. Some interpretations have linked the Essenes to the Freemasons. Religious groups existing today claim to have their origin in the ideas, the theology and the practices of the original Essenes. And many scholars see the ideas of the Essenes alive in the theology and philosophy of the Gnostics who rose to theological prominence during the first century AD (and who have adherents today).
Some claim to have linked Jesus and His teachings to Essene ideals and theology. And some have even speculated that some of Jesus’ “lost years” (the time between when he was 12 and 30) may have been spent with the Essenes.
Of course, we have no way to know whether these claims are true or whether they are totally without legitimate foundation. The point is that the Essene ideal was and remains a powerful source of theological discourse.
Legacy of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes.
As previously mentioned, several of the themes central to the Christian religion are shared with sects.
Resurrection and/or life after death (in slightly different variations) were both central to the Pharisee and the Essene theologies. They were also a major part of Jesus’ teachings and survive today as a central theme of modern Christianity.
The requirement for purity of mind, body and spirit to establish a viable relationship with God were represented in all three sect ideologies. This theme is reiterated in many parts of the Christian New Testament, albeit that absolute purity without a belief in and relationship with Jesus Christ is not possible. One of the purposes of Jesus’ coming, death, and resurrection was to allow for the perfection of the human soul so that it could enjoy life everlasting.
Revelation was important to the Pharisees and the Essenes, just as it is to Christians today. The ancient sects recognized the importance of revelation to the understanding of humanity’s relationship with and response to God. Christianity’s acceptance of and dependence upon revelation may well have its roots in the ancients’ veneration of revelation.
That God deserves, expects, and demands our obedience to and worship of Him was a part of all three sects’ beliefs. This belief was reiterated time and again by Jesus, Himself. It is echoed in much of the New Testament and in many subsequent Christian writings.
All three sects preached that one’s life changes after discovering God and establishing a relationship with Him. One’s life after finding God is not the same as one’s life before the discovery or the revelation of Him. The believer lives differently in the world than the non-believer. As Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
The Pharisees demonstrated this by stressing a life lived in purity. The Sadducees demonstrated this by attempting to live life in harmony with the Law of Moses. And the Essenes demonstrated their commitment by separating from society and focusing the whole of their life on their relationship to God. Much of Christian thought is drawn from these three themes.
They all venerated Scripture. While the Pharisees and the Essenes recognized Scripture beyond the Pentateuch, all three relied primarily on the Five Books of Moses for the foundation of their beliefs. Christians also revere these books and account them as holy, along with the rest of the Old and the New Testaments.
A Special Relationship.
Among the three sects, the Essenes seem to share the most with Christianity. While the Pharisees and the Sadducees are more apparent as the “villains” of the Passion Story, the Essene beliefs presage much of Christian thought and perspective.
One example is their mutual belief that their believers were (are) able to recognize the Messiah’s appearance and to participate with Him as He begins to draw history to a close. The Essenes saw themselves in preparation for these events, as do most Christians. Both the Essenes and Christians saw/see themselves among the “Elect.”
Also, they do not appear to have seen Jesus as the threat that the other two sects do. Some Essenes were members of the Sanhedrin, but we do not know whether they participated in the call for His arrest and execution. They may not have recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but we have no record of their having made vociferous objections to His claims as such. Some may have even become believers.
It would be hard to conceive that Jesus was not familiar with the Essene sect and its beliefs. Some have observed that John the Baptist, who lived in the desert away from society, seemed to have close affinity with many of the Essene teachings, and could have been a member of that sect himself.
And, as mentioned above, some have speculated that Jesus may have purposefully spent time with the sect and influenced their ideas.
Summary and Conclusion.
We can see that at least some knowledge of these three sects is important to our understanding of our own Christian faith and heritage.
The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes helped to shape the culture and society into which Jesus stepped. And, it helps us to understand why Jesus aimed so much of His teaching at their hypocrisy and elitism.
Finally, we need to realize that although no longer recognized as organized sects, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes are still with us today. Upon close examination I suspect that most of us bear at least some resemblance to at least one of these three groups.
Pharisees were over concerned with purity and “doing the right thing.” Know anyone who fits that description?
Sadducees were overly concerned with interpreting their Scripture literally and worshiped their Scriptures more than they did their God. They looked down on anyone who did not know the Scriptures word for word. Many of us have looked down in judgment on someone we felt was ‘beneath’ us.
And Essenes were so repulsed by the excesses they saw practiced by other believers in their religion, they abandoned much of it altogether. They retreated from society in order to protect themselves as the only “true” believers. There are sects of Christians today who see themselves in this light.
I think that it’s worth asking, “How might others describe each of us when looked at against the background of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes?” I know the answer I’m afraid I might get.
God’s Blessings on You All.
Richard
February 15, 2019
