Category Archives: Gospel of Mark
30 November 2011
Jesus and Judaism: The Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that existed for approximately three hundred years between the second century BCE and the end of the first century CE. Little is known about the sect; and in fact, the term “Essene” does not even occur in the New Testament. Nonetheless, important Greek and Latin writers such as Josephus, Philo, and Pliny describe the sect in their writings. Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 at the Qumran caves on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea, many scholars have tended to associate the community living at Qumran with the Essenes.
The Jewish historian Josephus provides the most extensive descriptions of the Essenes. In his work The Jewish War, Joseph describe the Essenes as a group living out strictly disciplined lives: “These Essenes reject pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, and the conquest over our passions, to be virtue.” They also seem to prefer solitude and celibacy; so their means of growth is primarily through enlisting “other persons’ children”. They don’t however seem to reject marriage altogether (or at least part of the sect did not). They do reject wealth, choosing to live ascetic lives, and holding their property in common (in fact, this was a law in the community). They seem to also take purity laws seriously, allowing it to affect what substances they come in contact with and how they dress as well. They do not seem to have a centralized location, but are scattered through out various cities, though they do move around from time to time.