Essenes

Essene redirects here. For the bread developed by the ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to charity
Essenes, see sprouted bread.
and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were
The Essenes (in Modern Hebrew: , Isiyim; Greek: very mindful of the names of the angels kept in their sacred writings.
, , or , Essnoi, Essaoi, Ossaoi) were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that our- Pliny, also a geographer, located them in the desert near
ished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead
which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite Sea Scrolls were discovered.[8]
priests.[1] 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 com- 1 Name
munal life dedicated to asceticism (some groups practiced
celibacy), voluntary poverty, and daily immersion. Many
Josephus uses the name Essenes in his two main
separate but related religious groups of that era shared
accounts[9][10] as well as in some other contexts (an acsimilar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic becount of the Essenes";[11] the gate of the Essenes";[12]
liefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various
Judas of the Essene race";[13] but some manuscripts read
scholars as the Essenes. Josephus records that Essenes
here Essaion; holding the Essenes in honour";[14] a cerexisted in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout
tain Essene named Manaemus";[15] to hold all Essenes
Roman Judaea.
in honor";[16] the Essenes).[17][18][19]
The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result
In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which
of the discovery of an extensive group of religious docis usually assumed to mean Essene (Judas of the Essaios
uments known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are comrace";[20] Simon of the Essaios race";[21] John the Esmonly believed to be the Essenes libraryalthough there
saios";[22] those who are called by us Essaioi";[23] Siis no proof that the Essenes wrote them. These documon a man of the Essaios race).[24] Josephus identied
ments preserve multiple copies of parts of the Hebrew
the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that
Bible untouched from possibly as early as 300 BCE until
period.[25]
their discovery in 1946. Some scholars dispute the notion
that the Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.[2] Rachel Philos usage is Essaioi, although he admits this Greek
Elior questions even the existence of the Essenes.[3][4][5] form of the original name that according to his etymology
signies holiness to be inexact.[26] Plinys Latin text has
The rst reference is by the Roman writer Pliny the ElEsseni.[6][27]
der (died c. 79 CE) in his Natural History.[6] Pliny relates
in a few lines that the Essenes do not marry, possess no Gabriele Boccaccini implies that a convincing etymology
money, and had existed for thousands of generations. Un- for the name Essene has not been found, but that the
like Philo, who did not mention any particular geograph- term applies to a larger group within Palestine that also
[28]
ical location of the Essenes other than the whole land of included the Qumran community.
Israel, Pliny places them in Ein Gedi, next to the Dead It was proposed before the Dead Sea Scrolls were disSea.
covered 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.[29] Although dozens of etymology suggestions have been published, this is the only etymology published before 1947
that was conrmed by Qumran text self-designation references, and it is gaining acceptance among scholars.[30]
It is recognized as the etymology of the form Ossaioi (and
note that Philo also oered 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

A little later Josephus gave a detailed account of the Essenes in The Jewish War (c. 75 CE), with a shorter description in Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94 CE) and The
Life of Flavius Josephus (c. 97 CE). Claiming rst hand
knowledge, he lists the Essenoi as one of the three sects
of Jewish philosophy[7] 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 Sabbath. He further adds that
the Essenes ritually immersed in water every morning,

of Essaioi/Esseni, the Aramaic equivalent Hesi'im known

from Eastern Aramaic texts has been suggested.[31] Others suggest that Essene is a transliteration of the Hebrew
word chitzonim (chitzon=outside), which the Mishna (e.g.
Megila 4:8) uses to describe various sectarian groups.
Another theory is that the name was borrowed from a
cult of devotees to Artemis in Asia Minor, whose demeanor and dress somewhat resembled those of the group
in Judaea.[32]

RULES, CUSTOMS, THEOLOGY AND BELIEFS

Pliny locates them on the west side of the Dead Sea,

away from the coast [above] the town of Engeda".[27]

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
theory, though not yet conclusively proven, has come to
dominate the scholarly discussion and public perception
However, Flavius Josephus born Yosef ben Mattathias of the Essenes.[38]
was the son of a priestly family on both sides and a self- Josephus reference to a gate of the Essenes in his dedescribed Pharisee.[33] From ages sixteen to nineteen, scription of the course of the most ancient of the three
according to his autobiography, Josephus experimented walls of Jerusalem,[12] in the Mount Zion area,[39] perwith the various Jewish sects in order to choose the best, haps suggests an Essene community living in this quarter
nally deciding on the Pharisees as the most attuned to of the city or regularly gathering at this part of the Temple
the people. In an apparent chronological conict, how- precincts.
ever, Josephus also states that he spent these three years
with a desert ascetic named Bannus, a period that ended
when he was nineteen.[33] We come to understand his
true feelings about these so-called Essenes in Chapter 3 Rules, customs, theology and be8 of "The Jewish War" as follows:

liefs

2.(119)For there are three philosophical sects

among the Jews. The followers of the rst of
which are the Pharisees; of the second, the
Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends
(italicized for emphasis) to a severer discipline,
are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth,
and seem to have a greater aection for each
other than other sects have.[34]

Location

The accounts by Josephus and Philo show that the Essenes

led a strictly communal life often compared by scholars
to later Christian monastic living. Many of the Essene
groups appear to have been celibate, but Josephus speaks
also of another "order of Essenes that observed the practice of being engaged for three years and then becoming
married.[40] According to Josephus, they had customs and
observances such as collective ownership,[41][42] electing
a leader to attend to the interests of the group, and obedience to the orders from their leader.[43] Also, they were
forbidden from swearing oaths[44] and from sacricing
animals.[45] They controlled their tempers and served as
channels of peace,[44] carrying weapons only for protection against robbers.[46] The Essenes chose not to possess
slaves but served each other[47] and, as a result of communal ownership, did not engage in trading.[48] Josephus
and Philo provide lengthy accounts of their communal
meetings, meals and religious celebrations.

After a total of three years probation,[49] newly joining

members would take an oath that included the commitment to practice piety towards the Deity ( )
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.[50]
Their theology included belief in the immortality of the
soul and that they would receive their souls back after
Remains of part of the main building at Qumran.
death.[18][51] Part of their activities included purication
According to Josephus, the Essenes had settled not in by water rituals, which was supported by rainwater catchone city but in large numbers in every town.[35] Philo ment and storage.
speaks of more than four thousand Essaioi living in Ritual purication was a common practice among the
Palestine and Syria",[36] more precisely, in many cities peoples of Palestine during this period and was thus not
of Judaea and in many villages and grouped in great so- specic to the Essenes. Ritual baths are found near many
cieties of many members.[37]
Synagogues of the period.[52] Purity and cleanliness was

3
considered so important to the Essenes that they would base for a very long period of time including the 1st
refrain from defecation on the Sabbath.[53]
century so they could not have been inhabited by the
The Church Father Epiphanius (writing in the 4th cen- Essenes; and the large graveyard excavated in 1870, just
tury CE) seems to make a distinction between two main 50 metres east of the Qumran ruins was made of over
groups within the Essenes:[31] "Of those that came before 1200 tombs that included many women and children
his [Elxai, an Ossaean prophet] time and during it, the Os- Pliny clearly wrote that the Essenes who lived near the
saeans and the Nazarean."[54] Epiphanius describes each Dead Sea had not one woman, had renounced all pleasure ... and no one was born in their race. Golbs book
group as following:
presents observations about de Vauxs premature conclusions and their uncontroverted acceptance by the general
The Nazarean they were Jews by naacademic community. He states that the documents probtionality originally from Gileaditis, Bashaniably stemmed from various libraries in Jerusalem, kept
tis and the Transjordan They acknowledged
safe in the desert from the Roman invasions.[56] Other
Moses and believed that he had received laws
scholars refute these argumentsparticularly since Jose not this law, however, but some other. And
phus describes some Essenes as allowing marriage.[57]
so, they were Jews who kept all the Jewish obAnother issue is the relationship between the Essaioi and
servances, but they would not oer sacrice or
Philos Therapeutae and Therapeutrides. He regarded
eat meat. They considered it unlawful to eat
the Therapeutae as a contemplative branch of the Essaioi
meat or make sacrices with it. They claim that
who, he said, pursued an active life.[58]
these Books are ctions, and that none of these
customs were instituted by the fathers. This
One theory on the formation of the Essenes suggests
was the dierence between the Nazarean and
that the movement was founded by a Jewish high priest,
the others[55]
dubbed by the Essenes the Teacher of Righteousness,
whose oce had been usurped by Jonathan (of priestly
After this Nazarean sect in turn comes
but not of Zadokite lineage), labeled the man of lies or
another closely connected with them, called
false priest.[4][5] Others follow this line and a few argue
the Ossaeans. These are Jews like the forthat the Teacher of Righteousness was not only the leader
mer originally came from Nabataea, Ituof the Essenes at Qumran, but was also identical to the
raea, Moabitis and Arielis, the lands beyond
original Jesus [Essa] about 150 years before the time of
the basin of what sacred scripture called the
the Gospels.[38] Fred Gladstone Bratton notes that
Salt Sea Though it is dierent from the other
six of these seven sects, it causes schism only
The Teacher of Righteousness of the
by forbidding the books of Moses like the
Scrolls
would seem to be a prototype of JeNazarean.[54]
sus, for both spoke of the New Covenant; they
If it is correct to identify the community at Qumran with
the Essenes (and claim 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 community) in order to
dierentiate themselves from the rest of the Jews who are
repeatedly labeled The Breakers of the Covenant.

Scholarly discussion

Josephus and Philo discuss the Essenes in detail. Most

scholars believe that the community at Qumran that allegedly produced the Dead Sea Scrolls was an oshoot of
the Essenes; however, this theory has been disputed by
some, for example, Norman Golb argues that the primary
research on the Qumran documents and ruins (by Father
Roland de Vaux, from the cole Biblique et Archologique
de Jrusalem) lacked scientic method, and drew wrong
conclusions that comfortably entered the academic canon.
For Golb, the amount of documents is too extensive and
includes many dierent writing styles and calligraphies;
the ruins seem to have been a fortress, used as a military

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 inuenced by them.[59]
Lawrence Schiman has argued that the Qumran community may be called Sadducean, and not Essene,
since their legal positions retain a link with Sadducean
tradition.[60]
The Saint Thomas Christians (Nasrani) of southwestern
India may have connections with the Essenes, according
to the Manimekalai, one of the great Tamil epic poems,
which refers to a people called Issani.[61]

5 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
HaKanah,[62] to whom the Kabbalistic tradition attributes

Sefer HaBahir and, by some opinions, Sefer HaKanah,

Sefer HaPeliah and Sefer HaTemunah. Some Essene rituals, such as daily immersion in the mikveh, coincide with
contemporary Hasidic practices; some historians have
also suggested that the name Essene is a Hellenized
form of the word Hasidim or Hasid (pious ones).
However, the legendary connections between Essene and
Kabbalistic tradition are not veried by modern historians.

See also

REFERENCES

[6] Historia Naturalis. V, 17 or 29; in other editions V,

(15).73; the passage in question: "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 uctibus 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.". cf. English translation.

Ctistae, celibates in ancient Thrace.

[7] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.119.

Dead Sea scrolls

[8] Barthlemy, D.; Milik, J.T.; de Vaux, Roland; Crowfoot,

G.M.; Plenderleith, Harold; Harding, G.L. (1997) [1955].
Introductory: The Discovery. Qumran Cave 1. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-19-826301-5.
Retrieved 31 March 2009.

Ebionite, early Judaizing Christian group

Ein Gedi
Hellenistic Judaism
Jewish eschatology

[9] Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.119, 158, 160.

[10] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.171-2.
[11] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.298.

Jewish vegetarianism

[12] Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 5.145.

Mount Carmel

[13] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.311.

Qumran

[14] Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.372.

Qumran-Essene Hypothesis

[15] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.373.

[16] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.378.

Rosicrucianism, a 13th-century philosophical secret

society that associated its lineage back to the Es- [17] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 18.11.
senes.
[18] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 18.18.

Therapeutae, Hellenistic Jewish sect in Egypt

[19] Josephus. The Life of Flavius Josephus. 10.

Vegetarianism and religion

[20] Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. I.78.

[21] Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.113.

References

[22] Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.567; 3.11.

[23] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.371.

[1] F.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956.
[2] Hillel Newman, Ph.D Bar Ilan University : Proximity to
Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period
Brill ISBN 90-04-14699-7.
[3] Ilani, Ofri (13 March 2009). Scholar: The Essenes, Dead
Sea Scroll 'authors,' never existed. Haaretz. Retrieved 17
March 2009.
[4] McGirk, Tim (16 March 2009). Scholar Claims Dead
Sea Scrolls 'Authors Never Existed. Time. Retrieved 17
March 2009.
[5] Rachel Elior Responds to Her Critics. Jim West. 15
March 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.

[24] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 17.346.

[25] 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 rst 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.
[26] Philo. Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75-87.
[27] Pliny the Elder. Natural History. 5.73.
[28] Boccaccini, Gabriele (1998). Beyond the Essene hypothesis: the parting of the ways between Qumran and Enochic
Judaism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 47. ISBN 0-8028-4360-3.
OCLC 37837643.

[29] Goranson, Stephen (1999). Others and Intra-Jewish

Polemic as Reected in Qumran Texts. In Peter W. Flint
and James C. VanderKam. The Dead Sea Scrolls after
Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment 2. Leiden: Brill
Publishers. pp. 534551. ISBN 90-04-11061-5. OCLC
230716707.
[30] 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, 2:487533. 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,
1457.
[31] Lightfoot, Joseph Barber (1875). On Some Points Connected with the Essenes. St. Pauls epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: a revised text with introductions,
notes, and dissertations. London: Macmillan Publishers.
OCLC 6150927. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
[32] Essenes, Lawrence H. Schiman, Reclaiming the Dead
Sea Scrolls, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia,
1994.

surrender of property required at the beginning of the last

year of the novitiate derives from actual social experience
of the diculties 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. Erwgungen zu 1QS VI,20 und der urchristlichen
Gtergemeinschaft', Revue de Qumran 12(1986) 223236; 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.
[50] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.139142.
[51] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.153158.
[52] Kittle, Gerhardt. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 7. pp. 814, note 99.
[53] Dundes, A. (2002). The Shabbat Elevator and other Sabbath Subterfuges: An Unorthodox Essay on Circumventing Custom and Jewish Character. Rowman & Littleeld
Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 9781461645603. Retrieved 27
October 2014.

[33] Whiston and Maier, 1999, Introduction, p.8

[54] Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 378). Panarion. 1:19.

[34] Whiston and Maier, 1999, The Jewish War - Chapter 8,

p.736

[55] Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 378). Panarion. 1:18.

[35] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.124.

[36] Philo (c. 2054). Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75.
[37] Philo. Hypothetica. 11.1. in Eusebius. Praeparatio Evangelica. VIII.
[38] Ellegrd, Alvar; Jesus One Hundred Years Before Christ:
A Study in Creative Mythology, (London 1999).
[39] cf. map of ancient Jerusalem.
[40] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. book II, chap.8,
para.13.
[41] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.122.
[42] Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.20.
[43] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.123, 134.
[44] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.135.
[45] Philo, 75

[56] Golb, Norman (1996). Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?:
the search for the secret of Qumran. New York City:
Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80692-4. OCLC
35047608.
[57] Josephus, Flavius. Jewish War, Book II. Chapter 8, Paragraph 13.
[58] Philo. De Vita Contemplativa. I.1.
[59] Bratton, Fred Gladstone. 1967. A History of the Bible.
Boston: Beacon Press, 79-80.
[60] James VanderKam and Peter Flint, The Meaning of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, p.251.
[61] Manimekalai, by Merchant Prince Shattan, Gatha 27
[62] Kaplan, Aryeh (1997) [1990]. Sefer Yetzirah: The book
of Creation (2nd ed.). York Beach, Maine: Red Wheel
Weiser Conari. xvii. ISBN 0-87728-855-0. OCLC
36017140.

[46] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.125.

[47] Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.21.
[48] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.127.
[49] Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.137138.
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

8 Further reading
Alexander, David; Alexander, Pat (1983). The Lion
handbook to the Bible. Tring: Lion Hudson. ISBN
0-86760-271-6.
Baldwin, James (1995) [1963]. The re next time.
New York City: Modern Library. ISBN 0-67960151-1.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Bauer, Walter; Kraft, Robert A. (1996) [1971].

Orthodoxy and heresy in earliest Christianity.
Miintown, Pennsylvania: Sigler Press. ISBN 09623642-7-4.

Larson, Martin Alfred (1977). The story of Christian origins: or, The sources and establishment of
Western religion. Washington: J.J. Binns. ISBN 088331-090-2. OCLC 2810217.

Bennett, Chris; Osburn, Lynn; Osburn, Judy (1995).

Green gold the tree of life: marijuana in magic & religion. Frazier Park, California: Access Unlimited.
ISBN 0-9629872-2-0.

Larson, Martin Alfred (1967). The Essene heritage:

or, The teacher of the scrolls and the gospel Christ.
New York City: Philosophical Library. OCLC
712416.

Bergmeier, Roland (1993). Die Essener-Berichte

des Flavius Josephus: Quellenstudien zu den Essenertexten im Werk des judischen Historiographen.
Kampen, Germany: Kok Pharos Publishing House.
ISBN 90-390-0014-X.

Lillie, Arthur (1887). Buddhism in Christendom, or,

Jesus, the Essene. 1 Paternoster Square, London:
Kegan Paul & Co.,.

Bultmann, Rudolf (1987). Signicance of the Historical Jesus for the Theology of Paul. Faith and
understanding. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.
ISBN 0-8006-3202-8.
Burns, Joshua Ezra (2006). Essene Sectarianism and Social Dierentiation in Judaea After 70
C.E. Harvard Theological Review 99 (3): 24774.
doi:10.1017/S0017816006001246.
Durant, Will (1993). Caesar and Christ. MJF
Books. ISBN 5-552-12435-9.
Eisenman, Robert H. (1997). James, the brother of
Jesus: the key to unlocking the secrets of early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York City:
Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-86932-5.
Ewing, Upton Clary (1994) [1963]. The prophet
of the Dead Sea scrolls: the Essenes and the Early
Christians, one and the same holy people: their seven
devout practices. Tree of Life Publications. ISBN
0-930852-26-5. OCLC 30358890.
Ewing, Upton Clary (1961). The Essene Christ.
New York City: Philosophical Library. OCLC
384703.
Legge, Francis (1964). Forerunners and rivals
of Christianity, from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D. New
Hyde Park, New York: University Books. LCCN
64024125. OCLC 381558.

Sanders, E. P. (1992). Judaism: practice and belief, 63 BCE66 CE. London: SCM Press. ISBN
1-56338-015-3. OCLC 243725142.
Savoy, Gene (1980) [1978]. The Essaei Document:
Secrets of an Eternal Race : Codicil to The Decoded
New Testament. Reno, Nevada: International Community of Christ. ISBN 0-936202-03-3. OCLC
13952564.
Schiman, Lawrence H. (1991). From text to tradition: a history of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. New York City: Ktav Pub. House. pp. 113
116. ISBN 0-88125-372-3. OCLC 23733614.
Schoneld, Hugh J. (1984). The Essene Odyssey:
The Mystery of the True Teacher and the Essene Impact on the Shaping of Human Destiny. Tisbury:
Element Books. ISBN 0-906540-49-6. OCLC
12223220.
Schoneld, Hugh J. (1991) [1968]. Those Incredible Christians. Tisbury: Element Books. ISBN 0906540-71-2. OCLC 13536522.
Shaw, George Bernard (2004) [1912]. Androcles
and The Lion. Faireld, Iowa: 1st World Library
- Literary Society. ISBN 1-59540-237-3. OCLC
63203922.
Smith, Enid S. (October 1959). The Essenes Who
Changed Churchianity. Rays from the Rose Cross.

Golb, Norman (1995). Who wrote the Dead Sea

scrolls?: the search for the secret of Qumran. New
York City: Scribner. ISBN 0-02-544395-X. OCLC
31009916.

Vaclavik, Charles P. (1986). The vegetarianism of

Jesus Christ. Three Rivers, California: Kaweah Publishing Company. ISBN 0-945146-00-0. OCLC
26054343.

Lewis, Harvey Spencer (1997) [1929]. Mystical Life

of Jesus. San Jose, California: Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis. ISBN 0-912057-46-7. OCLC
43629126.

Vermes, Geza; Goodman, Martin. The Essenes According to the Classical Sources. JSOT on behalf of
the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studie:
Sheeld, 1989.

Koester, Helmut (1971). The Theological Aspects of Primitive Christian Heresy. In James McConkey Robinson. The Future of our religious past:
essays in honour of Rudolf Bultmann. New York
City: Harper & Row. OCLC 246558.

9 External links
Historical Facts on Essene Culture

7
Encyclopdia 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.
Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the
Essene, Stephen Goranson, identities of Wicked
Priest and Teacher of Righteousness, relevant to history of the Essenes.
(Thematically compiled comparison of the parallels
in the ancient sources) Dead at 2009/09/22.
The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls/ Essenes

10

10
10.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Essenes Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes?oldid=676577543 Contributors: Slrubenstein, RK, SimonP, Olivier, IZAK, Irmgard, Goblin, Ineuw, Vargenau, Charles Matthews, Will, Wik, Zoicon5, DJ Clayworth, Nv8200pa, Optim, Zestauferov, Carbuncle, Slawojarek, Robbot, ChrisG, Rursus, Sunray, Michael Snow, Wayland, Unfree, Tom harrison, Michael Devore, Per Honor et Gloria, Ferdinand
Pienaar, Eequor, Gyrofrog, James Crippen, Manuel Anastcio, Quadell, Antandrus, Loremaster, Kabra~enwiki, Karl-Henner, Neutrality, Neale Monks, Jayjg, Rich Farmbrough, Themusicking, Wclark, Dbachmann, Paul August, Bender235, Mashford, El C, Kwamikagami, Jpgordon, Robotje, John Vandenberg, BrokenSegue, Viriditas, Jguk 2, Flammifer, MPerel, Pearle, Ociallyover, Kuratowskis
Ghost, Alansohn, Eric Kvaalen, Craigy144, Goodoldpolonius2, Bart133, Velella, SidP, RainbowOfLight, Bsadowski1, Axeman89, Kazvorpal, Bhairava~enwiki, Throbblefoot, Stemonitis, Linas, Mindmatrix, Jpers36, Canaen, GalaazV, JohnJohn, Palica, Cuchullain, Rjwilmsi,
Tizio, Vary, Josiah Rowe, Noon, Cfortunato, Kyle.Mullaney, FlaBot, Nivix, Str1977, Codex Sinaiticus, King of Hearts, Chobot, Antiuser,
Whosasking, Mississippifred, Awbeal, Vmenkov, EamonnPKeane, The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Chris Capoccia, Hellbus, Pvasiliadis,
Hydrargyrum, Shell Kinney, Pseudomonas, Big Brother 1984, NawlinWiki, Complainer, Mkbnett, Nirvana2013, Badagnani, Aaron Brenneman, Brandon, Ari89, Tomisti, Avraham, Show no mercy, Alemily, Kungfuadam, Paul Pieniezny, SmackBot, PiCo, Reedy, Shan,
Gilliam, Hmains, Kurykh, MalafayaBot, Ikiroid, Edivorce, Hoof Hearted, Archibald Tuttle, Lowell Boggs, Only, Wwwdlhow27, Bdiscoe, Adnanmuf, Nmpenguin, Treelzebub, Ohconfucius, LarsRK, Nrgdocadams, Eliyak, Sophia, WilliamBarrett, VirtualDave, Aleenf1,
Piercetp, Neddyseagoon, Armon, Peyre, Iridescent, Zeusnoos, , GiantSnowman, JoannaSerah, Nolewr, Kurtan~enwiki, Peter1c, CmdrObot, TheEditrix, Aherunar, StarlitGlitter, Pseudo-Richard, Keithh, Gregbard, Cydebot, Jonathan Tweet, Dadofsam, AriellaMeira, Hebrides, Dusty relic, Miguel de Servet, Michael C Price, Tawkerbot4, Doug Weller, Kugland, Thijs!bot, Tobermory, Marek69, Ileanadu,
Edwin Hale, Mentisto, Opelio, SummerPhD, JAnDbot, Davewho2, Hanina, Viriathus, Xact, VoABot II, Essenenetzarim, Bryanpeterson, Gwern, Globle one, MartinBot, Quatreryukami, Rettetast, DBlomgren, Trusilver, Henriknordmark, Numbo3, Eliz81, Laplandian,
Johnbod, Ihutchesson, Purpledogstar, Naniwako, Alexb102072, Belovedfreak, Robertgreer, Darkfrog24, Ariobarzan, Hugo999, Deor,
ECKnibbs, Dampinograaf, Link zz, Philip Trueman, Dchmelik, TXiKiBoT, John Carter, Metasailor, Mr. Absurd, Humjewharmony,
Lisa, Madhero88, Eubulides, Nightcrawlersa, Synthebot, Fustigate314159, Wolf2191, Bvrly, DionysiusThrax, StAnselm, PeterCanthropus, WereSpielChequers, Nemain7, Revent, JohnManuel, Yesai, Wilson44691, Phil Bridger, Kosack, Polarloch, Fratrep, Anchor Link Bot,
Gr8opinionater, XKV8R, ClueBot, SuperHamster, Piledhigheranddeeper, ShekinahLove, John J. Bulten, Dboatsupreme, Ernstblumberg,
Drawn Some, Iohannes Animosus, Carl Francis, Traveller108, Catalographer, Greychr, Susan M Miner, Editor2020, Alastair Carnegie,
Vanished User 1004, XLinkBot, Asfkjhsfkjshf, Tameamseo, Addbot, MrOllie, LaaknorBot, Debresser, AnnaFrance, Coralapus, LinkFABot, Numbo3-bot, Lightbot, Zorrobot, Rafael fraga pt, Djwilms, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, TaBOT-zerem, Amirobot, Angel ivanov
angelov, AnomieBOT, Jim1138, Mervyn Emrys, Hhcaas, Citation bot, QaBobAllah, Bob Burkhardt, Quebec99, Xqbot, Spiros71, Stuthehistoryguy, Cureden, Ekwos, Omnipaedista, Kyng, Sayerslle, PICmeUp, FrescoBot, K8ey333, TDM89034, Citation bot 1, Osprey9713,
Adamgold33, Jro571, Jonesey95, Jandalhandler, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, In ictu oculi, EmausBot, John of Reading, Orphan Wiki, WikitanvirBot, Vischroni, Lucas Thoms, Evanh2008, ZroBot, F, Wbeer, Donner60, ChuispastonBot, Aerialrose, ClueBot NG, -sche, Helpful
Pixie Bot, Voldemort175, Mykkkola, Frze, CitationCleanerBot, BattyBot, ChrisGualtieri, SD5bot, Tahc, Hatasamadder, Dexbot, Art336,
Mogism, A.Aboumrad, Fady Lahoud, Essaios, Shearyer, Boneless Watermelon, Fannyash, Monkbot, Vieque, Laschuetz, BrightonC,
Oldjohn444, Armand.Su, DaoXan, Quinto Simmaco and Anonymous: 314

10.2

Images

File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

File:People_icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/People_icon.svg License: CC0 Contributors: OpenClipart Original artist: OpenClipart
File:QumranLivingQuarters.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/QumranLivingQuarters.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Wilson44691
File:Star_of_David.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Star_of_David.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zscout370
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau

10.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0