Editing Essenes (section)

{{Short description|Jewish sect during the Second Temple period}}
{{Redirect|Essene|the bread sometimes attributed to the Essenes|sprouted bread|the village in Belgium|Affligem}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Essenes, Essenians
| native_name      = {{Script/Hebrew|אִסִּיִים}}
| colorcode        = #22A0DD
| leader1_title    = Historical leader
| leader1_name     = {{Plainlist|
*[[Teacher of Righteousness]]}}
| foundation       = 2nd century BCE 
| dissolution      = 1st century CE
| headquarters     = [[Qumran]] (proposed)<ref name="HE-he">אשל, חנן, "תולדות התגליות הארכאולוגיות בקומראן", בתוך: מנחם קיסטר (עורך), מגילות קומראן: מבואות ומחקרים, כרך א', ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי. 2009, עמ' 9. (Hebrew)</ref>
| ideology         = {{Plainlist|
*[[Asceticism]]
*[[Communality]]
*[[Ritual washing in Judaism|Daily Ritual Baptism]]
*[[Mysticism]]
*[[Predestination]]}}
| religion         = [[Judaism]]
| country          = Judea
}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|history}}

The '''Essenes''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|s|iː|n|z|,_|ɛ|ˈ|s|iː|n|z}}; [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|אִסִּיִים}}, ''ʾĪssīyīm''; [[Koine Greek|Greek]]: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or '''Essenians''' were a [[Mysticism|mystic]] [[Jews|Jewish]] [[Jewish religious movements#Sects in the Second Temple period|sect]] during the [[Second Temple period]] that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cyprus)|first=Saint Epiphanius (Bishop of Constantia in|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKyxt9kyys8C&pg=PA32|title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Book I (sects 1-46)|date=2009|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-17017-9|page=32|language=en}}</ref>

The Essene movement likely originated as a distinct group among Jews during [[Jonathan Apphus]]'s time, driven by disputes over Jewish law and the belief that Jonathan's [[High Priest of Israel|high priesthood]] was illegitimate.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism |date=2020 |publisher=T&T Clark |isbn=978-0-567-66144-9 |editor-last=Gurtner |editor-first=Daniel M. |series= |volume=2 |location= |pages=250–252 |chapter= |editor-last2=Stuckenbruck |editor-first2=Loren T.}}</ref> Most scholars think the Essenes seceded from the [[Zadok|Zadokite]] priests.<ref>F. F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956.</ref> They attributed their interpretation of the Torah to their early leader, the [[Teacher of Righteousness]], possibly a legitimate high priest. Embracing a conservative approach to Jewish law, they observed a strict hierarchy favoring priests (the [[Sons of Zadok]]) over laypeople, emphasized ritual purity, and held a [[Dualism in cosmology#Theistic dualism|dualistic worldview]].<ref name=":2" />

According to Jewish writers [[Josephus]] and [[Philo]], the Essenes numbered around four thousand, and resided in various settlements throughout [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]]. Conversely, Roman writer [[Pliny the Elder]] positioned them somewhere above [[Ein Gedi]], on the west side of the Dead Sea.<ref name="Pliny1">{{Cite book |author=Pliny the Elder |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/5*.html |title=Historia Naturalis |volume=V, 17 or 29; in other editions V, (15).73 |quote=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 fluctibus 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. [https://archive.org/stream/plinysnaturalhis00plinrich#page/n281/mode/2up English translation].</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barthélemy |first1=D. |title=Qumran Cave 1 |last2=Milik |first2=J.T. |last3=de Vaux |first3=Roland |last4=Crowfoot |first4=G.M. |last5=Plenderleith |first5=Harold |last6=Harding |first6=G.L. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-19-826301-5 |location=[[Oxford]] |page=5 |chapter=Introductory: The Discovery |author-link2=Józef Milik |author-link3=Roland de Vaux |author-link5=Harold Plenderleith |access-date=31 March 2009 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVa8BQGO0PIC&pg=PA5 |orig-year=1955}}</ref> Pliny relates in a few lines that the Essenes possess no money, had existed for thousands of generations, and that their priestly class ("contemplatives") [[Celibacy|did not marry]]. Josephus gave a detailed account of the Essenes in ''[[The Jewish War]]'' ({{c.|75 CE|lk=no}}), with a shorter description in ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' ({{c.|94 CE|lk=no}}) and ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus]]'' ({{c.|97 CE|lk=no}}). Claiming firsthand knowledge, he lists the ''Essenoi'' as one of the three sects of Jewish [[philosophy]]<ref>[[Josephus]] ({{c.|75|lk=no}}). ''[[The Wars of the Jews]]''. 2.119.</ref> alongside the [[Pharisees]] and [[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 [[Shabbat|Sabbath]]. He further adds that the Essenes [[Ritual purification|ritually immersed]] in water every morning (a practice similar to the use of the [[mikveh]] for daily immersion found among some contemporary [[Hasid|Hasidim]]), ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to [[Charity (practice)|charity]] and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were very mindful of the names of the [[Angels in Judaism|angels]] kept in their sacred writings.

The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], which are commonly believed to be the Essenes' library. The scrolls were found at [[Qumran]], an archaeological site situated along the northwestern shore of the [[Dead Sea]], believed to have been the dwelling place of an Essene community. These documents preserve multiple copies of parts of the [[Hebrew Bible]] along with [[Deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] and sectarian manuscripts, including writings such as the [[Community Rule]], the [[Damascus Document]], and the [[War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness|War Scroll]], which provide valuable insights into the communal life, ideology and theology of the Essenes.

According to the conventional view, the Essenes disappeared after the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], which also witnessed the destruction of the settlement at Qumran.<ref name=":2" /> Scholars have noted the absence of direct sources supporting this claim, raising the possibility of their endurance or the survival of related groups in the following centuries.<ref>{{Citation |last=Goodman |first=M. |title=Sadducees and Essenes after 70 CE |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789047410614/Bej.9789004153097.i-275_014.xml |work=Judaism in the Roman World |pages=153–162 |year=1994 |access-date=2023-08-02 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004153097.i-275.38 |isbn=978-90-474-1061-4|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some researchers suggest that Essene teachings could have influenced other religious traditions, such as [[Mandaeism]], [[Jewish Christianity]], and small group of [[Assyrians]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hamidović |first=David |year=2010 |title=About the Links between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mandaean Liturgy |url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=607cb5ef1eb49 |journal=ARAM Periodical |volume=22 |pages=441–451 |doi=10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131048}}</ref><ref name=":3" />