sect of approx. 4,000 Jews in Palestine at the time of Christ, but not mentioned in the NT. The Essenes led a simple life, having everything in common. They practiced strict rules of conduct and were generally single. Most lived together in colonies but some lived in cities.
Apparently they kept up the number of the group by adopting others’ children. They did not participate in temple worship but had their own purification rites. They observed the Sabbath very strictly and greatly revered Moses. They did not take any oaths but new members were required, after a three-year probationary period, to take a series of strong oaths that they would co-operate in every way with the organization and never reveal to outsiders any of the affairs or beliefs of the organization. of the sect.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran Khirbet monastery where the scrolls were written show an organization very similar to that of the Essenes. The structure was occupied from the end of the second century BC. by JC
until 135 AD JC, the period of prominence of the Essenes.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Jewish sect. The Essenes lived in a monastic regime and had their property in common. They were based in the area west of the Dead Sea. They were Orthodox Jews and lived a strict life, for which they prepared themselves through a novitiate.
It is probable that the origins of the sect date back to the second century BC César Vidal Manzanares and other historians consider them, together with Sadducees and Pharisees, as one of the three great Jewish religious movements of the time of Jesus. Information about them is found in the works of Pliny, Philo and Flavius Josephus.
Some scholars have claimed that they worshiped the sun and some attribute beliefs in ® METENSYCHOSIS to them, but all of that is highly debatable.
Many studies identify them with members of the ® QUMRí N community. They were exterminated in the Jewish wars against Rome.
Source: Dictionary of Religions Denominations and Sects
See JEWISH SECTS.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
(holy, silent).
One of the three most important religious groups among the Jews at the time of Christ, along with the Pharisees and Seducees.
Many took vows of chastity, and even of poverty and obedience, when they lived in community. The Bible does not mention them, but they are described by Josephus, Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls: (many of them from the Essenes). Pliny and Philo also describe their life and customs: They observed the Law, abstained from the pleasures of the flesh, and some renounced marriage, despised wealth, were workers, preferably from the countryside, did not trade, and supported the doctrine of the immortality of the soul: (strange doctrine to Judaism).
– John the Baptist and Jesus lived like the Essenes.
– The Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph were going to get married, but with vows not to have marital relations. That is why Mary’s question to the angel in Luke 1:34: “How can I have a son, if I do not know, nor do I intend to know a man?
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
They are not mentioned in the Bible, but their teachings and customs draw the attention of scholars because they flourished from the second half of the 2nd century BC to the end of the 1st century AD Therefore, this sect existed in the days of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus and principles of the Church. The news about them comes to us in the writings of Josephus, Philo and Pliny the Elder. Recently, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at †¢Qumran has shed more light on them. Josephus considers them one of the three “philosophies” of the Jews, along with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Philo reports that they were never very numerous, reaching about four thousand members.
I know. He lived in monastic communities, especially in the NW region of the Dead Sea. Women were only accepted exceptionally. Their lives were extremely austere and they supported themselves with manual work, mainly agriculture, practicing the community of goods. They hated slavery. They dedicated themselves meticulously to the study of the law and demanded of their members an attitude of total ritual cleanliness, practicing different ablutions and baptisms, some of them daily.
religious terms e. they were closer to the Pharisees than the Sadducees, emphasizing personal piety and separation from things in life that might damage purity. They believed, like the Pharisees, in the immortality of the soul. But, unlike these, they rejected the idea of the resurrection of the body. They considered themselves the chosen people, the true Israel, underestimating the cults of the temple, where the Sadducees were more influential. That’s why they went to the deserts. His discipline was very rigid. Meals were made in complete silence and no one could have an initiative of their own, unless it was to do charity work, since everyone was subject to the orders of a superior.
a life with these characteristics, it was necessary to make a careful scrutiny of those who aspired to be members of the sect, who went through a trial period of about three years. It is thought that they also recruited orphaned children. Some believe that †¢John the Baptist, who preached and baptized very close to the region where the e. were more popular, he may have had contacts with that sect, in view of their ascetic attitudes and their baptisms. Some also suggest that the early Church may have been influenced by the e. and that perhaps that was the origin of the Christian monastic movement. Although there are many things in common between this sect and the one that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, at †¢Qumran, the two should not be considered the same.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, RELI ARQU
see, JUDAIZERS, QUMRí N
vet, Jewish sect about which there is little clear historical information. Josephus speaks of them (Ant 13:5, 9; 18:1, 5; Wars 2:8) in the Greek version of his writings, but these details appear neither in his Jewish work (“Yessipon”) nor in the Christian Latin version. The Talmudic treatises are also totally silent on this, as are the Gospels and the entire NT (despite the fact that these writings frequently mention the other Jewish sects). Philo also mentions the Essenes. From these authors we can ascertain the following: This sect seems to have had its beginning in the second century BC, and seems to have disappeared with the destruction of Jerusalem. At the time of Christ, it was made up of men who were given to asceticism to a greater or lesser degree. Hoping to escape ritual impurities, they formed separate colonies. The desert of Judah, in the vicinity of En-gedi, was their favorite place of residence, although they were also established in different towns in Judah. Each grouping had its own synagogue, a refectory for communal meals and assemblies, with a facility for daily baths in running water. Whoever entered the community abandoned all his possessions. They constantly read the law of Moses and endeavored to observe it in every detail of their existence. They lived, dressed and ate simply. They engaged in agriculture and other useful work. The Essenes provided for their own needs, and could practically live without using money. When they traveled, they were housed and fed for free by members of the community in other places. They did not own slaves, since they did not recognize differences in condition, except on the moral plane, in which they distinguished between clean and impure. The Essenes did not despise marriage, but they refrained from it, except for a few among themselves. Their moral standards were of the ascetic type, with many demands on themselves. They promised to “honor God, be just towards others, hurt no one even when provoked, detest evil, encourage good, be loyal, especially to authorities, love the truth, expose hypocrites, not steal nothing, refrain from all illicit gain.” ARCHEOLOGY A. Within the framework of the archaeological discoveries of the desert of Judah. After research on the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, excavations began at Khirbet Qumran (Ruins of Qumran), on a marly plateau of limestone cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea to the northwest. It is believed that the important remains discovered can be identified with the habitat of the Essenes. A. González Lamadrid does not hesitate to affirm that we find ourselves in Qumrán with a true Essene monastery, the same as G. Vermes and M. Dupont-Sommer, who affirm that among the mss. discovered, the “Manual of Discipline” and the “Habakuk Commentary” have a direct relationship with this sect (cp. “Aperçus sur les mss. de la mer Morte”, 1950; and “Les écrits esséniens découverts près de la mer Morte ”, 1959). The latter author claims that the “Master of Justice” of the Essenian community was the prototype of Jesus Christ and that Essenism was the source of inspiration for Christianity. In this way, the Christ would lose his unique and divine character, and Christianity would lose its uniqueness as a revealed religion. It is not surprising that M. Dupont-Sommer and the Israeli scholar Sukenik proposed this hypothesis, but what is surprising is that baseless as this hypothesis is, it has been accepted by professed Catholic and Protestant believers. This position is effectively refuted by Del Medico (“L’Enigme des mss. de la mer Morte”, 1957; and “Le mythe des esséniens”, 1958) and by A. González Lamadrid (“The discoveries of the Dead Sea”, 1973 ). Indeed, there is nothing to suggest that the Essenes were anything other than an extremely legalistic Jewish movement, to the point that it can be fairly described as a “superlative form of Pharisaism.” Close examination of the Qumran writings throws up a sharp contrast to the entire New Testament body, except for the obvious parallels with the Dead Sea Scrolls’ points of contact with the Old Testament and all its background of messianic hope. The divergences between Qumran and the New Testament are such that the supposition that the latter has its inspiration in the former is impossible. Both the radiant person of the Lord Jesus Christ and his liberating and authoritative teachings, above all his redeeming death and his glorious resurrection, bar the way to the idea that all this could have arisen from the Essene legalistic system, from a bill so different. (See JUDAIZANTES, QUMRí N.) Bibliography: González Lamadrid, A.: “The discoveries of the Dead Sea” (BAC, Madrid 1973); Estrada, D. and Willian White, Jr.: “The First New Testament” (Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville-New York, 1978); Vermes, G.: “The Dead Sea Scrolls in English” (Pelikan…