Who were the Essenes?

Since the archaeological discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946, the
the word 'essenes' has traveled around the world, frequently arising
many questions.

Many people have been amazed to discover that two thousand years ago
For years, a brotherhood of holy men and women lived together in a
community and they carried the seeds of Christianity and future civilization
western.

This brotherhood --which was more or less persecuted and kept in ostracism--
there would be people who would change the face of the world and the course of history. Without

doubt, almost all the main founders of what was later called the
Christianity was Essenes: Saint Anne, Joseph and Mary, John the Baptist, Jesus, John
the Evangelist, etc.

The Essenes considered themselves separated, not by external causes,

like the color of skin, hair, etc., but because of the lighting of their internal life
and their knowledge of the hidden mysteries of nature was unknown
for other men. They also considered themselves a group at the center of everyone,
because anyone could be part of their Brotherhood as soon as they passed with
success in the selective tests.

They thought, with very good reasons for it, that they were heirs of the
ancient sons and daughters of God, heirs of his ancient and great civilization.
They possessed advanced knowledge and worked hard in secret for the
triumph of light over darkness in the human mind.
They felt that they had been entrusted with a mission, which would eventually be the

foundation of Christianity and Western civilization, and they were supported in this
efforts by highly evolved beings who led the fraternity. They were
true saints, Masters of wisdom, hierophants of the ancient arts
teachers.

The Essenes did not limit themselves to a single religion, but studied all to
able to extract from them the great scientific principles. They considered that each
Religion was a different state of the same manifestation. They gave it great
importance of the teachings of the ancient Chaldeans, of Zoroaster, of Hermes
Trismegistus, to the secret instructions of Moses and one of the founders of
his order, which had transmitted techniques similar to those of Buddhism, as well as to the
revelations of Enoch.
They possessed the living science of these revelations and, in this way, knew how to
communicate with angelic beings and had resolved the question of origin of the
bad on earth.

One of her biggest concerns was to protect herself from any contact with
evil spirits, in order to preserve the purity of their souls. They knew that
they would be on earth for a short period of time and did not want to prostitute their
eternal souls. It was this attitude, this strict discipline, this absolute refusal to
to lie or to commit, which made them the object of numerous persecutions
through time.

The Essenes considered themselves guardians of the Divine Teachings. They possessed a
a large number of very ancient manuscripts, some of which date back to the beginning
of the times. A large part of the members of the School spent their time
deciphering their codes, translating them into various languages, reproducing them to
to perpetuate and preserve this advanced knowledge, and they considered this work
as a sacred task.
 The Essenes considered their Brotherhood, made up of men and women,
like the presence on earth of the teachings of the sons and daughters of
God. They were the light that shines in the darkness, inviting the darkness to
to become light. Thus, for them, when a candidate applied to be
admitted to the School, it meant that within him a had been placed in
a complete process of the awakening of the soul. A soul like that was
ready to ascend the stairs of the sacred temple of humanity.

The Essenes knew how to distinguish between the souls that were still asleep,
those who were only half awake, and the awake ones. Their task was to help,
to console and relieve the sleeping souls, to try to awaken those that were
halfway, and welcome and guide the awakened souls. Only the souls
Those who were considered awake could receive initiation into the mysteries.
of the Essene Brotherhood, made up of men and women. Then
the path of evolution was beginning for them, which would no longer stop.
through the cycle of their incarnations.

Everyone knew the 'brothers and sisters dressed in white'.

Hebrews called them 'The School of the Prophets'; for the Egyptians, they
They were 'the Healers, the Doctors'. They had properties in almost all the
big cities, and in Jerusalem there was even a gate that led to it
The Door of the Essenes.

Despite some fears and jokes, mainly due to the rejection of

that which is unknown, people generally felt respect and
estimation by the Essenes, for their honesty, their pacifism, their kindness, their
discretion, and their talent as healers, dedicated both to the poor as
to the rich. People knew that many great Hebrew prophets
they came from the lineage of the Essene School.
Moreover, even when the Brotherhood was very strict about the secret laws.
in relation to their internal doctrine, they cultivated many points of contact
with people, primarily through the places where they gave
accommodation for pilgrims of all horizons, providing help in the
difficult times, and especially through the healing of the sick.
These places where basic teachings were imparted and practiced the
healing were located in places that had public access to
that all people could attend.

Essenes

General Information

The Essenes were members of an ascetic Jewish sect from the 1st century BC and the
1st century AD. Most of them lived on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
has been identified by many scholars with the community of Qumran that wrote
the documents popularly called the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were about
4,000 members. Admission requires two or three years of preparation, and the
new candidates took an oath of piety, justice, and truthfulness.

According to Philo of Alexandria and other writers of the 1st century AD, the Essenes

they shared their possessions, they live from agriculture and craftsmanship, rejected
slavery, and they believed in the immortality of the soul. Their meals were matters
of the solemn community. The main group of the Essenes opposed the
marriage. They had prayer and study sessions, especially on the day of
rest. The offenders were excluded from the sect.

The similarity between a number of the Essenes and the concepts and practices
Christians (kingdom of God, baptism, sacred meals, the position of
a central teacher, the titles of officials, and the organization of the
community) has led some to assume that there was a kinship
close among the Essenes and the groups around John the Baptist and
Jesus Christ. It is possible that after the dissolution of the Essene community
some members followed John the Baptist or joined one of the first
Christian communities, but any other direct connection seems little.
probable.

Bibliography
Beall, Todd S., descriptions of Josephus on the Essenes Illustrated by the Scrolls of
Dead Sea (1988), Davies, Philip, Behind the Essenes (1987); Larson, Martin,
The Essenian-Christian Faith (1980), Simon, Marcel, The Jewish sects in the time of
Jesus, trans. by James Farley (1980).

Essenes

Advances in information

The Essenes were an important Jewish group that flourished in Palestine from the late
from the 2nd century BC to the end of the 1st century AD

Sources

Our understanding of the Essenes is largely determined by the way in

let's delimit our sources. Certainly, the sources that mention
explicitly the Essenes are relevant. The most valuable among them is the
Apology of Philo of the Jews (now lost, but preserved in part by)
Eusebius, Evangelical Preparation 8.2) and Good Each man is free, written in
the first half of the 1st century AD; Flavius Josephus The Jewish War and The Antiquities
of the Jews, dating from around the year 75 and 94, respectively, and the largest
of Natural History by Pliny, completed around the year 77. Also some
of independent value is Philosophumena by Hippolytus, written in the 3rd century AD

Although the Essenes are explicitly mentioned, these sources present several
problems. None of them provide a firsthand view, inside the
Essenians. Furthermore, these sources generally cater to Greek readers.
Helenaized and, therefore, in some points, distorting Essene practices, doctrines,
and reasons. Finally, it is doubtful that any of these sources has anything to say,
as a description, about the Essenes as they existed before the reign of
Herod the Great (37-4 BC).

In the last thirty years, scholars have tried to alleviate these difficulties.
through the use of information derived from the Dead Sea Scrolls. This
the approach has its own problems, however. The relationship between the Essenes and
the sectarians of Qumran is uncertain. The name 'Essene' never appears in the
Qumran literature, and viable cases have been made for identification of
the sectarians of Qumran with Pharisees, Zealots, Sadducees, and other Jewish groups
Christians. However, based on archaeological and literary evidence
most scholars now believe that the sectarians of Qumran were the
Essenes, although not necessarily the Essenes. The inhabitants of Qumran.
they could have been the leaders, or maybe just a small branch, of a wide
Essenian movement. In any case, it is impossible to know how and to what extent.
the Qumran documents reflect the standard practices of the Essenes and
beliefs. For this reason, it seems wise to make at least one distinction
provisional between what Philo and Josephus claim to know about the Essenes and the
potentially relevant evidence from Qumran. From the Qumran documents
the Manual of Discipline, the Damascus Document, the War Scroll, the
recently published Temple Scroll, and the comments of various types
the pesher in the Minor Prophets is proving to be the most useful in the debate of
the life of the Essenes, the doctrine, and the history.

Name

"Essenes" in English is a transcription of the Greek Essenoi. The derivation and the
The meaning of the Greek word has been a mystery since the 1st century AD Philo.
our earliest source (c. 40) speculated that 'Essenes' is derived from Greek
hosios, which means "saint." Modern scholars have preferred to return to the
Semitic originals. The two most likely etymologies offered to date are
of 'asen, "the Aramaic hasayya," healers, and from the hasen This Aramaic, hasayya,
the pious. The first etymology suggests a link between the Essenes and the
therapists (gr. "healers"), a similar flourishing Jewish group in Egypt. The
The second etymology would imply a historical relationship between the Essenes and the
Hasidim (in Hebrew: 'pious'), the faithful Jews who stood out during the
Maccabean revolt (c. 167 BCE). Existing evidence does not allow for a
firm decision between the two etymologies, although it seems that the latter
currently enjoys more credit. In any case, there is no reason to assume
that 'Essenes' or its Semitic equivalent was a self-designation. It may have been
a label applied to the group of strangers. As such, it is the point to the form in
that the Essenes were perceived by their contemporaries.

Life and Doctrine

Philo, Josephus, Pliny, and Hippolytus generally agree very closely.

about the main characteristics of the group. Asceticism was a central triad.
Essenes Many dedicated themselves to the celibate ideal, although Josephus mentions a

group that got married. They abstained from luxury items, such as oil, and avoided
any unnecessary social and economic contact with non-Essenes. Their life
highly regimented centered on prayer, rigorous work, polishings
frequent, and the study of the Scriptures.

There was also a communal life. It was not only common property, but it seems
that many, if not all, of their meals are also taken together. A
Essene traveler could always be sure to find free accommodation where
Essenian companions lived. Essenian communities were very structured, with
four different classes of members divided according to seniority.
It seems that the priests occupied the last rung of the Essene ladder.
social; Joseph explicitly mentions that those who manage the finances
communal were priests. The internal social structure of the communities of
the Essenes maintained themselves through careful and demanding discipline. A procedure
of entry that requires a three-year novitiate and solemnly guarantees a
quality of a committed member.

There is a certain disagreement between Philo and Flavius Josephus regarding the attitude towards the

temple rituals and sacrifices. Philo states that the Essenes abstained from
animal sacrifices in total, while Josephus reports that, due to
his opinions about purity, the Essenes were excluded from the courtyards of the
temple and sacrificed among themselves.

Lastly, Josephus says that the Essenes were profound predestinarians, and that along
with the belief in the immortality of the soul that celebrated a doctrine of the
preexistence.

This image of the life and doctrine of the Essenes is, in general, corroborated by the
information derived from Qumran and its documents. As expected, without
embargo, the agreement is not perfect, there are some simple contradictions.
for example, the Discipline Manual of the two-year mandates, not one of three
years, novitiate. According to Philo, the Essenes avoided oaths, but the
The Damascus Document prescribes several oaths for the sectarians of Qumran.
These and other relevant inconsistencies highlight the uncertainties of the use of the
Dead Sea Scrolls to illuminate Essenism. Even if it is supposed that Philo and
Flavius Josephus is mistaken in some aspects (and this is very likely), still
It must be taken into account that the Dead Sea Scrolls do not reflect
universal essence characteristics.

However, with this possibility in mind, one can still appreciate the enormous
value of the Qumran essene rolls studies. The scrolls provide a clear
evidence that at least some of the Essenes followed a solar calendar of
364 days compared to official Judaism, which used a lunar.
part, the couple that moves the Essenes of Qumran (if there are no others) were
relentless enemies of the Hasmonean high priests. In fact, it seems that
many leaders were essene sadducees, the members of the family
sacerdotal displaced by the Hasmoneans. This information has in turn,
shed light on the thorny issue of the Essenes and the temple sacrifices.
It seems that the Qumranians abstained from temple sacrifices due to a
dispute with the priests in Jerusalem, not because he repudiated the system of
sacrifices, as Philo implies. Finally, the scrolls expose an Essenism that
delved into the eschatological perspective. The writers of the scrolls believed themselves to be

true remnant of Israel who live in the last days. They have waited for the
appearance of a political Messiah and an eschatological high priest.

In general, it can be said that the Dead Sea Scrolls have preserved a place
for Essenism within the mainstream of Judaism. Josephus and Philo of
accounts show that it is difficult to fit the Essenes into what is known about the
late Judaism second temple. The Essenes were often considered as
syncretist monks, imbued with Hellenistic asceticism. Recent studies on
the Qumran scrolls, however, have revealed a way of life
ascetic and community-oriented is not based on a Greek philosophical ideal, but on a
overwhelming concern for ritual purity. Regardless of identity
from the sectarians of Qumran, it is now possible to understand the Essenes as one of
the numerous groups conscious of purity that flourished in Judaism before the
year 70.

History and influence

Our explicit sources contain very little historical information.

The Qumran documents are filled with historical allusions, but they are very
ambiguous. On the other hand, the history of the Qumran community does not reflect with
precision the history of esenism as a whole. By using a
combination of sources, however, scholars have developed the following
tentative outline of the history of the Essenes. The Essenes seem to have
arisen after the Maccabean revolt (circa 167-160 BC). At some
moment between 152 and 110 BC at least some of the Essenes, perhaps only the
leaders withdrew to Qumran, on the shores of the Dead Sea. There they remained until
the invasion of the Parthians in 40 BC or the earthquake of 31 BC
forced to abandon. At that moment they settled in the regions around
Jerusalem. Shortly after the death of Herod the Great (4 BC) at least
some of the Essenes returned to Qumran. About seventy years later Essenes
they participated in the revolt against the Romans. The survival and persistence
of the Essenes as a separate group after the year 70 is still the subject of
debate. Many scholars have found traces of Essenism within such
sects later such as the Ebionites, the Mandeans, and the Karaites.

Likewise, the importance and influence of Essenism in pre-70 AD is still the

Judaism and early Christianity. It has often been dismissed as a sect.
peripheral Jew or the highly acclaimed as a seedbed of the Christian faith. Both
positions are very extreme. It is more likely that the Essenes were a
expression of a generalized pietist reaction to the pragmatic and lukewarm spirit of
official Judaism. From the ranks of this reaction of the early church, foundations have been established.

to a large extent.

S Taylor
Evangelical Elwell Dictionary

Bibliography
G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English; A. Dupont-Sommer, the sect
Jew of Qumran and the Essenes, M. Burrows, the Dead Sea Scrolls, FF Bruce,
Reflections on the Second Scrolls of the Dead Sea; It Was LaSor, The Scrolls of
Dead Sea and the NT; deVaux R., Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls; JH
Charlesworth, "The origin and later history of the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls"
Dead: Four Phases of Transition among the Essenes of Qumran,
CD Ginsburg, The Essenes, 33.

Its origin

The origin of the Essene community dates back to around 170 B.C. when
a group of Jews fled to the desert of Judea, by the shores of the Dead Sea, where
they established the first settlement which they later expanded with houses
simple stone structures, a square, a community dining room, storage for aggregates and
drinking water, as well as a library with some sacred texts that they had
managed to get out of Jerusalem.

That first emigration to Qumran originated because the king of Syria,

Antiochus Epiphanes, from the Seleucid dynasty, upon entering Jerusalem seeking the
extermination of both the Jews and their religion, desecrated the altar of the Temple
pouring pig's blood over the altar. The pig was an unclean animal for the
Israelites and it was not suitable for ritual sacrifice nor for human consumption. But
the definitive establishment of the Essene community took place during the course of
the second emigration, which took place around the year 160 BC, after the
Maccabean revolt, whose results did not support the Essenes of Jerusalem. The
The Maccabees or Hasmoneans liberated Judea from Greek hegemony, but
they usurped the position of High Priest and this caused a group of people
they were to join the existing Essene community in Qumran, and thus
prepare the way of the Lord under the leadership of a new leader: the Master of
Justice.

Initiation and way of life

The Rules of Life and the strict discipline they implied did not constitute a
brake for the Essenes, but a free acceptance of a means to forge the
character and develop the highest part of their being. Therefore, if someone wished to
being a member of the Essene community had to be accepted, to be instructed during a
year and then undergo a probationary period of another two years before entering
definitely in the community. After the initial acceptance, the candidate
I had to practice a kind of meditation in which, in complete calm,
he examined his past life in order to make an objective and sincere account of it
the same. I had to discern between the heavenly mandates that I had received
since his childhood and analyze the way he had responded to them
After his acceptance and after having taken the oath, the newly
received, along with his white linen clothes, a mission that he had to
to perform for the rest of his life. The mission had a purpose, a
guidance that he should never abandon and that was a way to unite him with Yahweh
and make it useful for their community. They should never separate from the guiding thread of

that mission. This was what gave a positive meaning to his life and turned him into
in a true human being.

They were also required to have a life dedicated to the study of the Law, humility and

discipline, forced to always tell the truth. Their belongings became part of
the whole community and, just like the fruits of personal labor, were distributed
according to the needs of each one, leaving a part to assist the poor,
widows, orphans, single women, elderly, unemployed, and for those
outsiders who, without being part of the community, required temporary help. In their
the new Essene swore to respect the land as a living being
to honor her and care for her healthy evolution, for which he must always have
their feet in contact with the earth, so they always walked barefoot.

He was imposed the observance of a strict discipline, the basis of which was the
mutual fraternal correction. Women were not accepted within the community.
Esenia and only the men could be part of it. The purification.
constantly washing their feet, hands, and body was very important for the
Essenes. They purified themselves physically and spiritually before entering any house.
as well as at the beginning of the day and even before meals and prayer.
They washed each other's feet as a sign of friendship and nurtured the idea.
that they had to take care of one another, just as Yahweh took care of them.
They also blessed one another by laying their hands on each other's heads.
to preserve unity and strengthen the love that flowed between them.
The Essenes regularly admitted the sick into hospitals for this purpose.
they had simple buildings but specially constructed for that
purpose. The way they healed the sick is the origin of existence
from our modern hospitals. The Essenes learned from a very young age to see
the divine part of each person, since it was Yahweh himself who visited the
sick in the person of the Essene. By caring for the individual, the Essene cared for
the spiritual part that inhabited the sick person. This is the deep
meaning of true medicine and of each therapeutic process. The body and the
the spiritual soul of the person was, for the Essenes, the garment of the spirit
universal and divine. Without it, there would be no true hospitality, and unfortunately in
In our days, money has replaced the vision of the Supreme.

Every Essene was required to respect the privacy of others. Solitude was
considered sacred because when a person is alone with themselves, they
find in the presence of God. The life of the couple was also considered
sacred, as well as community life. For the Essenes, there were three degrees of
individual life: the private life, which corresponded to the interior of the physical body,
our temple; the external life, which corresponded to the community; the internal life,
what it is of the couple. The Essene had to observe those three levels of life and
always remain honest, authentic, and morally upright and pure.

The Essenes were considered guardians of the divine teachings, which did not
could reveal to people who were not prepared to receive them. The law of
silence and discernment were imposed strictly. Thus, an Essene never
was trying to convert another person to their beliefs, as expressed in the
warning of Jesus: Do not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast your pearls
in front of the pigs, lest they trample on you, turn around and shred you to pieces
(Matthew 7:6).
The Essene doctrine strongly condemned slavery and any other form of
servitude. No Essene could have a servant; that was a sin. It was also
the fact of working to make money, because it also becomes a
form of slavery. Anyone who affiliated with the Essene community had
to free their slaves and also to refrain from eating meat. For them the
slavery was also linked to the carnivorous aspect, because he who does not
you can stop eating animal meat you cannot control the passions of your
animal nature and, therefore, cannot think clearly and is reduced to
slavery by its very nature.

The Essenes considered themselves guardians of the divine teachings. They possessed a
a large number of very ancient manuscripts, some of which dated back to
the beginning of time. A part of the Essene community was fully dedicated to
decipher the codes of the manuscripts, translating them and reproducing them for
perpetuate and preserve that advanced knowledge. The Essene movement does not
it was limited only to Qumran and its surroundings, just as not everyone lived in caves
or caves, but rather a part resided in simple constructions. It is known that in
In the 1st century B.C., there was an Essene neighborhood in Jerusalem. According to Flavius Josephus, some...

four thousand Essenes lived in the cities, although they followed and practiced the way
of the life of the Essenes who were in Qumran.

Some essential considerations

The source on which this topic is based is the scrolls or manuscripts found in
Qumran and, especially, those that contain what the Essenes
they called The Manual of Discipline and the Hymnal or Psalms of action
Thank you. The belief that due to the usurpation of the position of High Priest
Priest in the times of the Maccabees, the temple rite was impure and invalid, it is
the one that accommodates all the Essene theological positions. Accordingly, the
the following are the beliefs of that community:
· The Essenes believed they were part of the true Congregation of Israel, faithful to
Covenant with Yahweh.

· They were considered the successors of the Israelites from the Exodus times of
Moses, since the Essenes went to the desert and settled there. They believed
that through that exit to the desert they continued ritually pure and that there
they would await the promised Messiah, who would manifest among them due to
precisely to that purity of life.

· The Essenes referred to themselves as the chosen just.

referring to the election of Israel at Mount Sinai.

· They were also known as Sons of Zadok due to assimilation to the family of
Zadok, the faithful priest of King David (1 Samuel 8:17), considers himself
as the priestly caste of Ezekiel.

Over time, some Essenes gave up on the expectation of the New Covenant.
and they were regarded as true holders of the true Law or the Torah.
But other Essenes turned to faith in Jesus, the Messiah.

The Essenes and Christianity

The in-depth study of the content and meaning of the manuscripts found in
the Dead Sea and later in Nag-Hammadi reaffirms in depth the
close connection that existed between the Essenes and the primitive Christians, still
when we cannot and must not confuse these latter with the Essenes authors
of the manuscripts. The spiritual current and the testimony of life of the Essenes
they were a source of early Christianity and a preparation of the way for
Jesus. The very life of John the Baptist in the vicinity of Qumran could lead to
to be interpreted as an element that prepared the way for the message of Christ
Jesus. Due to the messianic interpretation of the Scriptures, the Essenes believed that a
The Messiah would come to deliver Israel from its afflictions, and even when
it has never been explicitly or historically proven the belonging of Juan
Baptist of Jesus to the Essenes, the evidence in the New Testament indicates
a very close ideological connection. It is enough to say that the Apostles
they waited until the last moment for Jesus to declare himself the liberating Messiah of
the Roman oppressors, and not the Messiah that he really turned out to be. One thing is certain

Clara, and it becomes increasingly evident the contribution of the Essenes to

primitive Christianity.

The end of the Essenes

Such was the importance that the Essenes had acquired that already in the year 152 B.C.
the High Priest of Jerusalem, Jonathan Maccabee, organized a violent
expedition against Qumran, where they assassinated the Minister of Justice while
he was officiating a ceremony.

But the Essene community remained united despite that action, and even strengthened.
more in their convictions. Therefore, the Essene community was destroyed during the
repression led by Tito in the year 68 AD. Qumran was devastated and many
Assassinated Essenes. Those who could escape took refuge in others.
essenian communities away from Qumran.

So alive was the faith of the Essenes that they did not fear death, which caused the
admiration of the Romans themselves when they attacked Qumran. The historian Josephus
it is stated verbatim in book II, chapter VII of his writing The Jewish War, to the
refer to the Essenes at the time of the Roman attack:

They underestimate the dangers, triumph over pain for the elevation of their soul and
they consider death, when it comes with glory, as preferable to a life
mortal. The Roman war has tested its character strength in every circumstance:
the beaten, tortured, burned, and subjected members to all
instruments of martyrdom, in order to extract some blasphemy against him
Roman legislator or to make them eat foods prohibited by them. But not
has been able to force them neither one thing nor the other; not even their torturers have been able to

to boast of having made them shed a single tear. Smiling during the
tortures and mocking their executioners, they expired with joy as if suddenly
they would come back to life.

The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1945, three Bedouin shepherds from the Ta'amireh tribe, who lived in the desert of
Judea, they discovered a cave in Qumran, inside which they found ten jars.
cylindrical and remains of others that had broken due to the stones falling from the ceiling.

Some were empty, but from one of them, they took out a strange package of color
greenish that contained scrolls. It would later be discovered that the writings
they corresponded to the manuscript of Isaiah (it is the oldest text that today
we have the Old Testament), to the commentary on Habakkuk and to the Rule of
that community that some researchers thought could be the
Essenios. On April 11, 1948, the news was made public to the world of
finding of these manuscripts whose antiquity was dated around the 2nd or 3rd century
before our Era. Between 1945 and 1966, Bedouins and archaeologists searched in the
interior of hundreds of caves along the desert that runs parallel to the Sea
Dead.
In about twenty of those caves, writings from different eras were found, which
they make up a set of texts of biblical, apocryphal type, documents from the
essentials, letters and documents of a legal-administrative nature, as well as coins,
remnants of utensils, etc.
Thanks to these findings, we can see that they valued the Mosaic law and the ancient
will, as well as observing its strange written language since
Some of their writings have been made in symbols for only them to be able to
understand them.

Beginnings
Around 150 B.C., they emerged as a true religion. The name means 'the
"pious" and they were given by the people who knew them, since they themselves
they were called 'Order of the Sons of Light'. There is no reference to them nor the
It is not in the Old or in the New Testament, but it does exist; through the historian and

chronicler Flavius Josephus (The Jewish War II, 119-161), from Philo, Pliny and many others
others, all agreeing in praise of their Rule and the spirit that it gives them
inspired. Pliny says; "they are solitary people and far superior to the rest of Humanity"
and that were nourished thanks to the incessant flow of people who came to them
in large numbers. To Philo, they inspired his Treatise to prove that every man
good is also free. For Joseph who at nineteen years old had
having already belonged to the Pharisees, to the Sadducees, and to the Essenes, tells us that

they constitute a brotherhood similar to the Pythagoreans and had renounced

pleasure and the riches of life.
They had all their belongings in common; everyone had to contribute with their work and in

compensation, they should never lack for the essentials.

They used to live more than a hundred years. There were neither slaves nor lords among them, for

they bet on brotherhood.

They studied the Scriptures trying to increase in deep knowledge of the
Indeed, they always wore white, and their lives were always presided over by a high.
level of discipline.
The Essenes inhabited the so-called "City of Salt," an inhospitable place in the
Judean Desert, alongside the Dead Sea.

The so-called master of justice

The community was reorganized by a figure named Master of Justice and
continued in the desert until the earthquake that caused severe damage throughout the.
zone, in the year 31 B.C. some groups returned to the Dead Sea to then
disappear in history.
The documents found in Qumran have brought to the table their
very important role in which primitive Christianity was inspired. The community
reflected in these documents is messianic awaiting the restoration of the
Davidic line on the throne of Israel. In the manuscript of the War, found in a
From the caves to that Davidic Messiah, he is called 'the Scepter'. They were dualists and with the

apocalyptic mindset as reflected in the New Testament.

The community of Qumran
Qumran, about 17 kilometers south of Jericho and north of Ain Gedi, was their place.
mainly in Palestine, but they were all over the country, and also in Egypt where
They had their main headquarters in the vicinity of Alexandria; close to the
Mount Moriah or Heliopolis according to others.

The sectarians of Qumran recognized themselves as the pure "group" of

Israel, like the New Covenant. Its members practiced rites similar to the
baptism of the primitive Christian community and marked the foreheads of their
begun with the sign of the X (cross of St. Andrew) was believed to represent the
initial letter of the Greek word Xristos, but the effective practice of pointing to the
initiated "chosen" was the same.
Arnauld de Saint-Jacques in his work The Templars and the Gospel of Saint John:
Moses' source was Egypt and the Essene initiates learned from this same source.
source, apart from collecting the Hebrew Tradition in its purity through texts
hidden from the profane and the Roman invaders. There is no doubt that the
Order of the Sons of Light was a monastic order, and an initiatory order that
He practiced cabala, astrology, and alchemy. His main mission was to prepare the
coming of the Messiah, forming a certain number of initiates and saints that
they will help Christ in His Redemptive Mission and the apostles.

Jesus Christ and the Essenes

Surely the Essene Order fulfilled its mission, preparing for the birth of
Jesus, for which they took under their protection the families of Mary and Joseph
they received esoteric training as Jesus and John would receive it.
Bautista.
After Christ died, the Essenes continued to provide their services to the apostles and
disciples with such effectiveness and discretion that only after centuries has it been
recognized for his immense work by some historians.

Relationship between the Jews and Essenes

The hatred of the Jewish leaders against the Essenes was atrocious, let us take as an example the

the fact that the High Priest of Jerusalem carried out a violent expedition
against Qumran where the Teacher of Righteousness was killed while he was officiating a
ceremony.
The Essenes, heirs of the Order of Melchizedek, accused the Jewish leaders.
of usurping the priesthood and contaminating the sanctuary as they rejected the
animal sacrifices. Even the calendar was a subject of discussion since
Qumran was governed by the solar calendar, while Jerusalem used the lunar one.
so the liturgies did not coincide. While the Essenes believed in the essence of
the Tradition of the Solar Verb of Ram, the Jews; had adopted the Principle
Jonic, symbolized by the Moon, feminine principle and reflection of the solar.
The Essenes were aware, not only did they believe in a New Covenant, but that
they already lived this New Alliance.

The end
Their faith was so alive that they did not fear death, which caused the admiration of the
the same Romans when they attacked Qumran.
Joseph said to us: 'They underestimate dangers, triumph over pain through elevation of
their soul and consider death, when it comes with glory, as preferable to
a mortal life. The Roman war has tested its strength of character throughout
circumstance: the beaten, tortured, burned, and subjected members
the instruments of martyrdom with the aim of extracting some blasphemy against him
legislator or to make them eat prohibited foods, has not been able to force them to
neither this nor that, not even their torturers have been able to brag about having them.
made to shed a single tear. Smiling during the tortures and mocking
"their executioners expired with joy as if they would soon come back to life again." (War of
the Jews, Book 2, chapter VII.
The Order of the Sons of Light was destroyed during the repression of the year 70.
Qumran was devastated and many Essenes were killed. Those who escaped...
they took refuge with their brothers in the Christian communities. The latter
Essenios would be one of the three groups of initiates that formed the mysterious
Priory of Sion, hidden extension of the Order of the Temple.

The temple and the Essenes

It is curious the similarity, in its significance and rigor, between the liturgies.
of both orders. To enter the Essene sect, as well as in the order
Templarism was not easy, involving complex admission rituals.

The Christic Enigma

If the figure of John the Baptist has raised doubts about his Essene origin,
Jesus himself has not been any less. The central figure of Christianity has
suggested; all kinds of legends to explain its message. From theories that
they take you to the Himalayas, even secret trips to Egypt or India. The lack of
information about Jesus allows all kinds of speculation.
One thing is clear, and that is that the contribution of is becoming increasingly evident.

the Essenes to Christianity.