Ancient and Modern Essenes

The entire article can be found here.

What I will do is note what I consider to be the most important parts of the article. My own comments will be in ( ).

The Dead Sea Scrolls: More than nine hundred carefully preserved scrolls were eventually unearthed, including early books from the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, providing texts more than a thousand years older than those which had been previously used to provide translations of Jewish Scriptural texts.

(One thing to understand is that the texts that have been found are often not entire texts but only portions of the original texts, the materials on which they were written having decayed or been otherwise damaged. For example, The Gospel of Mary has the first six chapters totally missing and another section missing and this is from something that is already rather short.)

Throughout the centuries historians and theologians have been studying the extensive writings of ancient historians of the early Common Era regarding the Essenes. Writings of the Roman Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, and the historian and mystic philosopher, Philo (Judaeus) of Alexandria, described ancient Essenian life, character, and organizing patterns rather carefully. Both of these writers wrote extensively in antiquity, and the work of both historians agrees on most points regarding the Essenes. The work, The Essenes by Josephus and his Contemporaries, by Dr. Edmond Bordeaux Székely, is a helpful summary focusing on the Essene commentaries by these ancient authors.

(Another thing to keep in mind is that the ancient scrolls not only are often fragmentary but they are also in various languages. Some or perhaps many of them were stolen by cave robbers and put onto the black market in which case they may never been seen again. We are also dealing with writers from different countries who have their own views of what happened back at the time of Jesus.)

(One section notes the positive aspects of the Essenes, showing that there were actually in general a really positive group as in shown in the following portion of the article:)

The doctrine of the Essenes tends to teach all that they confidently may trust their fate in the hands of God…. They say that the soul is immortal, and they aspire to lead a righteous and honest life….Their ‘Yea’ and ‘Nay’ were with them as binding as a sacred oath…on account of the sense of justice that they ever show and the courage and intrepidity that they manifest in ever defending truth and innocence…. They never keep servants….Therefore they serve and assist each other….They are very industrious and enterprising…the third class of philosophers among the Jews, and the class that is most esteemed for their just and moral life…. They willingly adopt the children of other people…. They show great kindness to such children, hold them dear, and teach them all forms of knowledge and science, morals, and religion….none of them seem to live in abundance or need….among them are seen neither haughtiness nor slavish subjection….Everybody having taken his place in supreme silence and stillness….”

In 1917 Dr. Edmond Bordeaux Székely observed, copied, and later translated, The Essene Gospel of Peace, which he reportedly discovered in the Vatican Archives. This work, in four volumes, along with philosophical, practical, healing arts applications, and his poetic offerings, have inspired some extensive movements and activities around the world. More than ten million copies of The Essene Gospel of Peace: Book 1 have been distributed.

(The Gospel of Peace can be found here.)

Connections between Qumran and Amarna

Feather establishes extensive connections between the priestly garments and altar designs and coverings used by King David, King Solomon, and the Egyptians. He demonstrates similarities between Akhenaten’s Temple at Amarna and the temple at Qumran, such as the use of four-part washing areas and ten ablution pools, three-to-one dimensions, and exact degrees of orientation.

(This is not the only writing to link the Essenes to ancient Egypt.)

The Modern Essene Movement

Contemporary Essenes, as they study to understand the ancients, are generally found to focus on health-related teachings for body, soul, and spirit. This generally includes vegetarianism, with a focus on “live foods” (fresh fruits, nuts and legumes, baby greens and sprouts, and other vegetables); and perhaps veganism, peace meditations, and breathing exercises.

(Another example of the Essene system of life.)

Even more clearly, the current Pope writes in his 2007 book, Jesus of Nazareth:

“The earnest religiosity of the Qumran writings is moving; it appears that not only John the Baptist, but possibly Jesus and his family as well, were close to the Qumran community. At any rate, there are numerous points of contact with the Christian message in the Qumran writings. It is a reasonable hypothesis that John the Baptist lived for some time in this community and received part of his religious formation from it.”

(This is very important since you have the leader of the Catholic church agreeing with many writers that John the Baptist and Jesus at least had some knowledge of the Essenes. Some writings say that John the Baptist was there for a while but that Jesus studied there until he was about 30. Other sources I have read, though, say that Jesus worked as a builder during the 'missing years.')


Back to start of Spirituality section

My Index Page