What were the beliefs of the Essenes?

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The Essenes were an ancient Jewish sect living in biblical Israel long before the birth of Jesus. Information about this very separate and mysterious sect comes from external contemporary sources, such as the writings of Josephus and Pliny, and from the only known direct source, the Dead Sea Scrolls. Through the various sources of information and the fragmented Dead Sea Scrolls, much of what is known about the Essenes is also the source of dispute among scholars.

The Essenes separated from mainstream Judaism in the second century B.C. when the office of the high priest was taken by the ruling family, an act that the Essenes saw as a corruption. The Essenes left Jerusalem to live in various isolated communities throughout the Judean Desert.

Because the Essenes physically separated into many small communities throughout the desert, different rituals and emphasis of belief likely developed. This fragmentation of the Essenes often explains the sometimes contradictory information about their lifestyles and beliefs.

The key constants of all descriptions of the Essenes are their strict adherence to a literal reading of Jewish law, extreme asceticism and communal living. Like mainstream Judaism, Essenes believed in the immortality of the soul and the corruptibility of the body. However fears of the corruptibility of the body led to many of their extreme ascetic practices. For example, most Essene communities required celibacy as they believed women were corrupting influences as causes of jealously and the enslavers of men. There is some evidence that there were Essene communities that did provide for marriage, although they also had an extreme separation of men and women, often living separately. The Essenes also practiced frequent cleanliness and purity rituals as a means of protecting the physical body.

Because of this celibacy, the Essenes recruited converts, who joined the community for three years on probationary status before they became full members. While avoiding oaths in all other circumstances, converts would take an oath to join the sect. Their basic commitments made during this oath were love of God, love of virtue and love of man. As sect members, they were also compelled to study the secret Essene texts, pass on the proper teachings of their sect and live the communal life.

The Essenes’ lifestyle was entirely communal. Prayers and meals were taken together, and they all dressed in the same manner. They did not believe in slavery and would not own slaves. The Essenes believed in communal property and any wages that might have been earned would go to the community. They worked from dawn to dusk, with breaks for prayers, meals and ablutions. They did not engage in commerce as they believed trade encouraged covetousness. They were pacifists and only carried weapons for personal protection when leaving the safety of their community. However, they generally avoided the cities and non-Essene communities as they believed them to be corrupt and corrupting.

Communities were built around the synagogue and its library, where the Essenes read and studied their secret texts. They elected their leaders, whom they were obligated to follow. They did impose judicial decisions for those seriously transgressing Essene beliefs. As expulsion from the community was a potential sentence, judgments were rendered slowly and after much deliberation with no fewer than 100 judges sitting on the panel of a single decision.

Resource by A.Moore

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