It is very surprising that the Essenes, whose exemplary Virtues
elicited the unbounded admiration of even the Greeks and Romans, and
whose doctrines and practices contributed so materially to the spread
of Christianity, should be so little known among intelligent
Christians. The current information upon this remarkable sect or order
of Judaism, to be found in ecclesiastical histories and Cyclopædias, is
derived from the short notices of Philo, Pliny, Josephus, Solinus,
Porphyry, Eusebius, and Epiphanius. These seven witnesses—of whom the
first and third are Jewish philosophers, the second, fourth and fifth
heathen writers, and the last two Christian church historians—are all
who, till within a very recent period, have been subpœnaed before the
tribunal of public opinion, to give evidence as to the character of
these very much misunderstood and neglected Essenes.
Not only is this combined testimony insufficient, but it is too much
tainted with the peculiar dogmas of the respective witnesses, to
furnish the general reader with an unbiassed notion of the character
and doctrines of this ancient sect. Philo and Josephus, writing in
Greek and in apology for their Jewish brethren, were too anxious to
represent to the Greeks and Romans every phase and sect of Judaism, as
corresponding to the different systems of Greek and Roman philosophy;
Pliny, Solinus, and Porphyry, again, betray too great an ignorance of
the inward workings of the Jewish religion, and too much prejudice
against the Jews; whilst Epiphanius draws upon his imagination, and
Eusebius simply copies the account of Philo, with the well-known
patristic pen. Nor can the modern descriptions of the Essenes, as given
in the histories of the church and in the popular Cyclopædias, be
always relied upon when they profess to give the results of the
aforementioned garbled scraps of ancient information; since the writers
are either too much afraid of, or too much pleased with, the marked
resemblance between some of the doctrines and practices of Christianity
and Essenism. Hence those who style themselves the true evangelical
Christians are very anxious to destroy every appearance of affinity
between Essenism and Christianity, lest it should be said that the one
gave rise to the other; whilst those who are termed Rationalists
multiply and magnify every feature of resemblance, in order to show
that Christianity is nothing but a development of Essenism—so that the
poor Essenes are crucified between the two.
The design of this essay is to give an impartial statement of the
doctrines and practices of the Essenes; to show their rise and
progress, their relationship both to Judaism and Christianity, their
numbers and localities, to trace the most probable signification of
their name, &c., &c. To do this, I not only appeal to the seven
stereotyped witnesses, but to the information upon this subject
scattered throughout the Midrashim and the Talmud. But not to incur the
charge of partiality, as well as to enable you to test my conclusions,
I have collected all that the ancients have written upon this subject,
and append to this paper the whole account which Philo, Pliny,
Josephus, Solinus, Porphyry, Eusebius, and Epiphanius give of the
Essenes.
The cardinal doctrines and practices of this sect are as follows:—They
regarded the inspired Law of God with the utmost veneration. In fact,
their adhesion to it was such that they were led thereby to pay the
greatest homage to Moses, the lawgiver, and to visit with capital
punishment any one of the brotherhood who blasphemed his name. The
highest aim of their life was to become the temples of the Holy Ghost,
when they could prophesy, perform miraculous cures, and, like Elias, be
the forerunners of the Messiah. This they regarded as the last stage of
perfection, which could only be reached by gradual growth in holiness,
brought about through strictly observing the commandments and the
Levitical laws of purity contained in the Pentateuch, mortifying the
flesh and the lusts thereof, and being meek and lowly in spirit,
inasmuch as this would bring them into closer communion with him who is
the Holy One of Israel. This earnest desire to avoid everything which
involved profanity in the slightest degree and which might interpose
between them and the Deity, made them abstain from using oaths, because
they regarded the invocation, in swearing, of heaven or the heavenly
throne, or anything which represents God’s glory, as a desecration.
Their communication was yea, yea; nay, nay; whatsoever was more than
these came of evil.
Their increased strictness in enforcing the observance of the rigid
Mosaic Jaws of Levitical purity, which were afterwards amplified and
rendered still more rigid by traditional explanations, [1] ultimately
compelled the Essenes to withdraw themselves altogether from the
society of their Jewish brethren, to form a separate community, and to
live apart from the world, since contact with any one who did not
practice these laws, or with anything belonging to such an one,
rendered them impure. This fear of coming in contact with that which is
impure, as well as the desire not to be hindered in their spiritual
communion with their Creator, also made the Essenes abstain from
marriage; inasmuch as women, according to the law, are subject to
perpetual pollutions in menstruum and child-birth (compare Lev. xii,
1–8; xv, 19–31), and as going to one’s wife, even under ordinary
circumstances, is regarded as defiling (vide infra, p. 39, note 19).
There were, however, some weak brethren who could not be like the
angels in heaven, neither marrying nor being given in marriage; these
were allowed to take wives, but they could never advance to the highest
orders of the brotherhood, and had, moreover, to observe laws specially
enacted for married brethren and sisters.
Here, in their separation from the Jewish nation, whatever any one of
them possessed was deposited in the general treasury, from which the
wants of the whole community alike were supplied by stewards appointed
by the whole brotherhood; so that they had all things in common. There
were no distinctions amongst them, such as rich and poor, masters and
servants; they called no one master upon earth, but all ministered to
the wants of one another. They lived peaceably with all men, reprobated
slavery and war, and would not even manufacture any martial instruments
whatever, however great the temptation or the fear might be. They were
governed by a president, who was elected by the whole body, and who
also acted as the judge of the community. Trials were conducted by
juries, composed, not as our juries are, of twelve persons, but of the
majority of the community, or of at least a hundred members, who had to
be unanimous in their verdict. The brother who was found guilty of
walking disorderly was excommunicated, yet was he not regarded as an
enemy, but was admonished as a brother, and received back after due
repentance.
As it was contrary to the laws of Levitical purity to buy anything from
one who did not practice those laws, the Essenes had to raise the
supplies of all their wants among themselves. In this they experienced
no difficulty, as their food and raiment were most simple and very
self-denying, and as each one of the community willingly took his share
of work in the department in which he most excelled. Some were engaged
in tilling the ground, some in tending flocks and rearing bees, some in
preparing food, some in making the articles of dress, some in healing
the sick, and some in instructing the young; whilst all of them devoted
certain hours to studying the mysteries of nature and revelation and of
the celestial hierarchy. They always got up before the sun rose, and
never talked about any worldly matters till they had all assembled
together and, with their faces turned towards the sun, offered up their
national hymn of praise (המאיר לארץ) for the renewal of the light of
the day. This done, every one betook himself to his work, according to
the directions of the overseers, and remained at it till the fifth hour
(or eleven o’clock, a.m.), when the labour of the forenoon regularly
terminated. All of them again assembled together, had a baptism in cold
water, put on their white garments, the symbol of purity, and then made
their way to the refectory, which they entered with as much solemnity
as if it were the temple. The meal was a common one; and each member
took his seat according to the order of age. Those of the brethren who
were the bakers and cooks then placed before each one a little loaf of
bread and a dish of the most simple food, consisting chiefly of
vegetables as they ate very little animal flesh, and the repast
commenced after the priest had invoked God’s blessing upon it. A
mysterious silence was observed during the meal, which had the
character of a sacrament, and may have been designed as a substitute
for the sacrifices which they refused to offer in the temple. The
priest concluded it by offering thanks to the Bountiful Supplier of all
our wants, which was the signal of dismissal. Hereupon all withdrew,
put off their white and sacred garments, and dressed themselves in
their working clothes, resumed their several employments which they had
to do according to the directions of the overseers till the evening,
when they assembled again to partake of a common meal. But though every
thing was done under the directions of the overseers, and the Essenes
had even to receive their presents through the stewards, yet in two
things they were at perfect liberty to act as they pleased, viz., they
could relieve the distressed with as much money as they thought proper,
and manifest their compassion for those who were not of the brotherhood
as much as they liked, and whenever they liked. Such was their manner
of life during the week days.
The Sabbath they observed with the utmost rigour, and regarded even the
removal of a vessel as labour, and a desecration of this holy day. On
this day they took special care not to be guilty of forsaking the
assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some is. Ten
persons constituted a complete and legal number for divine worship in
the synagogue, and in the presence of such an assembly an Essene would
never spit, nor would he at any time spit to his right hand. In the
synagogue, as at meals, each one took his seat according to age, in
becoming attire. They had no ordained ministers, whose exclusive right
it was to conduct the service; any one that liked took up the Bible and
read it, whilst another, who had much experience in spiritual matters,
expounded what was read. The distinctive ordinances of the brotherhood,
as well as the mysteries connected with the Tetragrammaton and the
angelic worlds were the prominent topics of Sabbatic instruction. Every
investigation into the causes of the phenomena both of mind and matter
was strictly forbidden, because the study of logic and metaphysics was
regarded as injurious to a devotional life.
Celibacy being the rule of Essenism, the ranks of the brotherhood had
to be filled up by recruits from the Jewish community at large. They
preferred taking children, whom they educated most carefully and taught
the practices of the order, believing that of such the kingdom of
heaven is best made up. Every grown-up candidate (ὁ ζηλῶν) had to pass
through a noviciate of two stages, which extended over three years,
before he could be finally admitted into the order. Upon entering the
first stage, which lasted twelve months, the novice (νεοσύστατος) had
to cast all his possessions into the common treasury. He then received
a copy of the regulations of the brotherhood (δίαιταν τοῦ τάγματος), as
well as a spade (σκαλίς ἁξινάριον = יתד), to bury the excrement,
(comp. Deut. xxiii, 12–14,) an apron (περίζωμα = זריז), used at the
lustrations, and a white robe (λευκὴν ἐσθῆτα = בגד לבן) to put on at
meals, being the symbols of purity. During the whole of this period he
was an outsider, and was not admitted to the common meals, yet he had
to observe some of the ascetic rules of the Society. If, at the close
of this stage, the community found that he had properly acquitted
himself during the probationary year, the novice was admitted into the
second stage, which lasted two years, and was called an approacher
(προσίων ἔγγιον). During the period which lasted two years he was
admitted to a closer fellowship with the brotherhood, and shared in
their lustral rites (καθαρωτέρων πρὸς τῶν ἁγνείαν ὑδάτων μεταλαμβάνει),
but was still not admitted to the common meals (εἰς τὰς συμβιώσεις),
nor to any office. If he passed satisfactorily through the second stage
of probation, the approacher became an associate, or a full member of
the society (ὁμιλητὴς, ὃς εἰς τὸν ὅμιλον ἐγκρίνεται = חבר), when he
was received into the brotherhood and partook of the common meal
(συμβιωτὴς).
Before, however, he was made a homiletes, or finally admitted into
close fellowship, he had to bind himself by a most solemn oath (this
being the only occasion on which the Essenes used an oath) to observe
three things. 1. Love to God. 2. Merciful justice towards all men;
especially to honor nobody as master, to avoid the wicked, to help the
righteous, to be faithful to every man, and especially to rulers (τοῖς
κρατοῦσιν), for without God no one comes to be ruler. And 3. Purity of
character, which implied humility, love of truth, hatred of falsehood,
strict secrecy towards outsiders, so as not to divulge the secret
doctrines (μυστήρια) to any one, and perfect openness with the members
of the order, and, finally, carefully to preserve the books belonging
to their sect (τὰ τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν βιβλία), and the names of the
angels (τὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὀνόματα) or the mysteries connected with the
Tetragrammaton (שם המפורש) and the other names of God and the angels,
comprised in the theosophy (מעשה מרכבה) as well as with the cosmogony
(מעשה בראשית) which also played so important a part among the Jewish
mystics and the Kabbalists.
The three sections consisting of candidate (ὁ ζηλῶν), approacher
(περουσιῶν ἔγγιον), and associate (ὁμιλητὴς, ὃς εἰς τὸν ὅμιλον
ἐγκρίνεται), were subdivided into four orders, distinguished from each
other by superior holiness. So marked and serious were these
distinctions, that if one belonging to a higher degree of purity
touched one who belonged to a lower order, i.e., if one of the fourth
or highest order came in contact with one of the third or lower order,
or if one of the third touched one of the second order, or if one of
the second order touched one of the first or lowest order, he
immediately became impure, and could only regain his purity by
lustrations. From the beginning of the noviciate to the achievement of
the highest spiritual state, there were eight different stages which
marked the gradual growth in holiness. Thus, after being accepted as a
novice and obtaining the apron (זריז—περίζωμα) the symbol of purity,
he attained (1) to the state of outward or bodily purity by baptisms
(זריזות מביאה לידי נקיות). From this state of bodily purity he
progressed (2) to that stage which imposed abstinence from connubial
intercourse (נקיות מביאה לידי פרישות), or to that degree of holiness,
which enabled him to practise celibacy. Having succeeded in mortifying
the flesh in this respect, he advanced (3) to the stage of inward or
spiritual purity (פרישות מביאה לידי טהרה). From this stage again he
advanced (4) to that which required the banishing of all anger and
malice, and the cultivation of a meek and lowly spirit (טהרה מביאה
לידי ענוה). This led him (5) to the culminating point of holiness
(ענוה מביאה לידי הסידות). Upon this summit of holiness he became (6)
the temple of the Holy Spirit, and could prophesy (חסידות מביה לידי
רה״ק). Thence again he advanced (7) to that stage in which he was
enabled to perform miraculous cures, and raise the dead (רוח הקדש לידי
תחה״מ). And finally, he attained (8) to the position of Elias the
forerunner of the Messiah (תחה״מ לידי אליהו).
The earnestness and determination of these Essenes to advance to the
highest state of holiness were seen in their self-denying and godly
life; and it may fairly be questioned whether any religious system has
ever produced such a community of saints. Their absolute confidence in
God and resignation to the dealings of Providence; their uniformly holy
and unselfish life; their unbounded love of virtue, and utter contempt
for worldly fame, riches or pleasure; their industry, temperance,
modesty and simplicity of life; their contentment of mind and
cheerfulness of temper; their love of order, and abhorrence of even the
semblance of falsehood; their benevolence and philanthropy; their love
for the brethren, and their following peace with all men; their hatred
of slavery and war; their tender regard for children, and reverence and
anxious care for the aged; their attendance on the sick, and readiness
to relieve the distressed; their humility and magnanimity; their
firmness of character and power to subdue their passions; their heroic
endurance under the most agonizing sufferings for righteousness’ sake;
and their cheerfully looking forward to death, as releasing their
immortal souls from the bonds of the body to be for ever in a state of
bliss with their Creator—have hardly found a parallel in the history of
mankind. No wonder that Jews, of different sects, Greeks and Romans,
Christian church historians, and heathen writers have been alike
constrained to lavish the most unqualified praise on this holy
brotherhood. It seems that the Saviour of the world, who illustrated
simplicity and innocence of character by the little child which he took
up in his arms, also showed what is required for a holy life in the
Sermon on the Mount by a description of the Essenes. So remarkably does
this brotherhood exemplify the lessons which Christ propounds in Matth.
chap v., &c.
This leads us to consider the question about the origin of this
brotherhood, and their relationship to Judaism and Christianity. The
assertion of Josephus that they “live the same kind of life which among
the Greeks has been ordered by Pythagoras” (vide infra, p. 226, § 4,)
has led some writers to believe that Essenism is the offspring of
Pythagorism. The most able champion for this view is Zeller, the author
of the celebrated History of Philosophy. He maintains [2] “that
Essenism, at least as we know it from Philo and Josephus, has, in its
essence, originated under Greek and especially under Pythagorean
influences,” and tries to support his conclusion by the following
summary of the supposed resemblances between Neo-Pythagorism and
Essenism. (1) “Both strive to attain to superior holiness by an ascetic
life. (2) Both repudiate animal sacrifices, the eating of animal food,
wine and marriage. (3) Both of them are, however, not quite agreed
among themselves about the latter point; for on both sides there are
some who recommend marriage, but restrict connubial intercourse to
procreation. (4) Moreover, both demand simplicity of life. (5) Both
refrain from warm baths. (6) Both wear white garments, especially at
dinner time. (7) Both lay the greatest value upon their purification
and eschew everything unclean. (8) Both prohibit oaths, because a pious
man does not require them. (9) Both find their social ideal in
institutions which it is true were only realized by the Essenes, and in
living together with perfect community of goods and unconditional
subordination of individuals to their overseers. (10) Both insist on
strict secresy about their schools. (11) Both like symbolic
representations of their doctrines. (12) Both support themselves on an
allegorical interpretation of ancient traditions, whose authority they
recognise (13) Both worship higher powers in the elements, and pray to
the rising sun. (14) Both seek to keep everything unclean from their
sight, and for this reason have peculiar prescriptions about the
discharge of the duties of nature. (15) Both cultivate the belief in
intermediate beings between the supreme Deity and the world. (16) Both
devote themselves to magic arts. (17) Both regard above all things the
gift of prophesy as the highest fruit of wisdom and piety, and both
boast to possess this gift in their most distinguished members. (18)
Finally, Both corroborate their peculiar mode of life with a dualistic
view of the relation of the spirit and matter, good and evil. (19) Both
agree especially in their notions about the origin of the soul, its
relationship to the body, and about a future life, only the doctrine of
transmigration of souls seems not to have been known among the Essenes”
[3]
Striking as these resemblances may appear, it will be seen on a closer
examination that some of the points which constitute this comparison do
not exist in Essenism, that others are either due to the coloring of
Josephus or have their origin in Judaism, that the difference between
Pythagorism and Essenism are far more numerous and vital than the
parallels, and that Zeller’s conclusion is therefore not warranted. I
shall examine these points seriatim.
(1) Asceticism is not foreign to Judaism. We meet with individuals who
voluntarily imposed upon themselves ascetic life to be able, as they
thought, to give themselves more entirely to the service of God by
mortifying the lusts of the flesh, at a very early period of Biblical
history; and we need only to refer to the regulations about Nazarites
(Numb. vi. 1–21), to the case of Manoah and his wife (Judg. xiii.), to
the life of Elijah (1 Kings xviii.–xix.) to the practices of the
Rechabites throughout the Scriptures, of persons abstaining from the
good things of this world, to see how the Essenes, without (Jer. xxxv.
2, &c.), and to the numerous instances which occur copying the
Pythagoreans or any other heathen fraternity, would naturally conclude
that asceticism is conducive to a devotional life. (2) As to the
repudiation of animal sacrifice, animal food, wine, &c, to which Zeller
refers in the second point of comparison, I submit that the Essenes did
not repudiate animal sacrifices, but that they could not offer them on
account of the different view which they had about holiness, as
Josephus most distinctly declares (vide infra p. 52), that neither
Philo nor Josephus says a word about their objecting to eat animal
flesh or drink wine, and that their celibacy arose from an extension of
a law contained in the Pentateuch. Besides, it is not quite so certain
that the Pythagoreans did not offer animal sacrifices; Diogenes
Laertius and others positively state that Pythagoras himself sacrificed
a hecatomb upon his discovering what is called the Pythagoric theorem,
i.e. that, in a right angled triangle, the square of the hypothenuse is
equal to the sum of the squares of the sides. [4] (4) The fourth
comparison about simplicity of life is involved in the first. (5) The
statement in the fifth comparison, that the Essenes refrain from warm
baths, is purely imaginary; (6, 7) whilst the white garments and the
purifications mentioned in the sixth and seventh parallels are strictly
Jewish and Biblical. As symbolic of purity the priests were required to
clothe themselves in white linen (Exod. xxviii. 39–42; Levit. vi. 10;
xvi. 4), and the saints in heaven, washed and cleansed from all
impurity, are to be clad in white garments (4 Esdras ii. 39–45; Enoch
lxi. 18; Rev. iii. 4; vi. 11; vii. 9, 14; xix. 8); soiled garments are
regarded as emblematic of impurity (Zech. iii. 3, &c.) Inseparably
connected therewith are the frequent purifications or washings enjoined
on the priests before entering into the presence of God to perform
religious acts (Levit. xvi. 4; 2 Chron. xxx. 19), and on the people
generally after coming in contact with anything impure (Levit. xi. 25,
40; xv. 5–24). The white garments and the frequent purifications of the
Essenes, who strove to live after the highest degree of Levitical
purity, were therefore in perfect harmony with exaggerated Judaism. (8)
As to the assertion in comparison 8 that the Pythagoreans prohibited
oaths, it is well known that they did use oaths on important occasions,
and that they held it to be most sacred to swear by the number four,
which they represented by ten dots in the form of a triangle, so that
each side consisted of four dots, as follows:—
•
• •
• • •
• • • •
The community of goods, the secresy about their institutions, the
symbolic representation of their doctrines, &c., mentioned in
comparisons 9, 10, 11, 12, are the natural result of their manner of
life. (13) That they worshipped the sun is not borne out by fact, (14)
whilst their peculiar manner in performing the functions of nature is
in accordance with the injunction of Scripture (Deut. xxiii. 13, 15),
which the Essenes, as the spiritual host of the Lord, applied to
themselves. (15) As to their very peculiar belief in intermediate
beings between the Deity and the world, mentioned in the fifteenth
point of comparison, I can only say that Philo and Josephus say nothing
about it. (16) Their devotedness to the study of the magic arts was
restricted to miraculous cures, and was not peculiar to them; since
tradition had made Solomon the author of books on magical cures and
exorcisms, and Josephus tells us (vide infra, p. 44, note 35) that he
had seen other Jews performing these magic cures. (17) Neither is there
anything foreign in the opinion, that the power to foretel future
events can only be obtained by leading a life of preeminent holiness,
for this was the common belief of the Jews, though it is true that the
Essenes were the only section of the Jewish community who as a body
strove to obtain the gift of prophecy. It, however, must not be
forgotten that others too laid claim to this gift. Josephus tells us
that when brought as prisoner of war before Vespasian, he addressed the
Roman general as follows:—“Thou, Vespasian thinkest that thou hast
simply a prisoner of war in me, but I appear before thee as a prophet
of important future events. If I had not to deliver to thee a message
from God, I would have known what the Jewish law demands, and how a
general ought to die. Dost thou want to send me to Nero? For what? Will
his successors, who ascend the throne before thee, reign long on it?
No! thou, Vespasian, wilt be emperor and autocrat—thou, and this thy
son.” (Jewish War, iii. 8, § 9). This prophecy of Josephus is also
recorded by the celebrated Roman historian Dion Cassius who says:
“Josephus, a Jew, was taken prisoner by him (i.e. Vespasian), and put
in chains; but he smilingly addressed him: ‘Thou puttest me now in
chains, but thou wilt loose them again, after twelve months, as
emperor’” (lib. lxvi. c. 1); and by Tacitus (lib. v. c. 13). What
Zeller says in comparisons 18 and 19 about their dualistic view of the
relationship of spirit and matter, good and evil, and their notions of
the origin of the soul, is entirely owing to Josephus’ colouring of the
subject, as may be seen from the notes on the extracts from this
historian in the second part of this Essay.
Having thus shown that the parallels between Pythagorism and Essenism
are more imaginary than real, and that the few things which might be
considered as being analogous are unimportant, and are such as will
naturally develop themselves among any number of enlightened men who
devote themselves almost exclusively to a contemplative religious life,
I shall now point out some of the vital differences between the two
brotherhoods. 1. The Pythagoreans were essentially polytheists; the
Essenes were real monotheistic Jews, worshippers of the Holy One of
Israel. 2. The Pythagoreans clustered round Pythagoras as the centre of
their spiritual and intellectual life, and estimated the degree of
perfection of any of the members by the degree of intimacy which he
enjoyed with Pythagoras: the Essenes regarded the inspired Scriptures
as their sole source of spiritual life, and called no man master on
earth, every one having the same right to teach, and being alike
eligible for all the offices in the commonwealth. 3. The Pythagoreans
favored matrimony, and we are told that Pythagoras himself had a wife
and children; whilst celibacy was the rule of Essenism, marriage being
the exception. 4. The Pythagoreans believed in the doctrine of
metempsychosis, which led them to abstain from eating animal flesh,
because human souls migrated into animals, and made Pythagoras once
intercede in behalf of a dog that was being beaten, because he
recognised in its cries the voice of a departed friend: the Essenes
believed no such thing. 5. Scientific studies, such as mathematics,
astronomy, music, &c, formed an essential part of the Pythagorean
system: Essenism strictly forbade these studies as injurious to a
devotional life. 6. Pythagorism was occupied with instigating the
problems of the origin and constitution of the universe: Essenism
regarded such inquiries as impious, and most implicitly looked upon God
as the creator of all things. 7. Pythagorism taught that man can
control his fortune and overrule his circumstances: Essenism maintained
that fate governs all things, and that nothing can befal man contrary
to its determination and will. 8. Pythagorism enjoined ointment to be
used by its followers: the Essenes regarded it as defilement 9. The
Pythagoreans had a sovereign contempt for all those who did not belong
to their ranks: the Essenes were most exemplary in their charity
towards all men, and in their unbounded kindness to those who were not
of the brotherhood. 10. The Pythagoreans were an aristocratical and
exclusive club, and excited the jealousy and hatred not only of the
democratical party in Crotona, but also of a considerable number of the
opposite faction, so much so that it speedily led to their destruction:
the Essenes were meek and lowly in spirit, and were so much beloved by
those who belonged to different sects, that Pharisees and Sadducees,
Greeks and Romans, Jews and Gentiles, joined in lavishing the highest
praise upon them. [5]
As to the relationship which Essenism bears to Judaism, the very fact
that the Essenes, like the other Jews, professed to he guided by the
teachings of the Bible, and that a rupture between them and the Jewish
community at large is nowhere mentioned, but that on the contrary they
are always spoken of in the highest terms of commendation, would of
itself be sufficient to prove it. In doctrine, as well as in practice,
the Essenes and the Pharisees were nearly alike. Both had four classes
of Levitical purity, which were so marked that one who lived according
to the higher degree of purity, became impure by touching one who
practised a lower degree, and could only regain his purity by
lustration. Both subjected every applicant for membership to a
noviciate of twelve months. Both gave their novices an apron in the
first year of their probation. Both refused to propound the mysteries
of the cosmogony and cosmology to any one except to members of the
society. Both had stewards in every place where they resided to supply
the needy strangers of their order with articles of clothing and food.
Both regarded office as coming from God. Both looked upon their meal as
a sacrament. Both bathed before sitting down to the meal. Both wore a
symbolic garment on the lower part of the body whilst bathing. Amongst
both the priest began and concluded the meal with prayer. Both regarded
ten persons as constituting a complete number for divine worship, and
held the assembly of such a number as sacred. Amongst both of them none
would spit to the right hand in the presence of such an assembly. Both
washed after performing the functions of nature. Both would not remove
a vessel on the Sabbath. And both abstained from using oaths, though it
is true that the Essenes alone uniformly observed it as a sacred
principle. The differences between the Essenes and the Pharisees are
such as would naturally develope themselves in the course of time from
the extreme rigour with which the former sought to practise the
Levitical laws of purity. As contact with any one or with anything
belonging to any one who did not live according to the same degree of
purity, rendered them impure according to the strict application of
their laws, the Essenes were in the first place obliged to withdraw
from intercourse with their other Jewish brethren, and form themselves
into a separate brotherhood. Accordingly the first difference between
them and the others was that they formed an isolated order. The second
point of difference was on marriage. The Pharisees regarded marriage as
a most sacred institution, and laid it down as a rule that every man is
to take a wife at the age of eighteen (Comp. Aboth v. 21), whilst the
Essenes were celibates, which, as we have seen before, also arose from
their anxiety to avoid defilement. Hence the declaration in Aboth d. R.
Nathan—“there are eight kinds of Pharisees; ... and those Pharisees who
live in celibacy are Essenes” (c. xxxvii.). [6] The third difference
which existed between them and the Pharisees, and which was also owing
to the rigorous application of the Levitical laws of purity, was that
they did not frequent the temple and would not offer sacrifices. And
fourthly, though they firmly believed in the immortality of the soul,
yet, unlike the Pharisees, they did not believe in the resurrection of
the body.
The identity of many of the precepts and practices of Essenism and
Christianity is unquestionable. Essenism urged on its disciples to seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: so Christ (Matt. vi.
33; Luke xii. 31). The Essenes forbade the laying up of treasures upon
earth: so Christ (Matt. vi. 19–21). The Essenes demanded of those who
wished to join them to sell all their possessions, and to divide it
among the poor brethren: so Christ (Matt. xix. 21; Luke xii. 33). The
Essenes had all things in common, and appointed one of the brethren as
steward to manage the common bag; so the primitive Christians (Acts ii.
44, 45; iv. 32–34; John xii. 6; xiii. 29). Essenism put all its members
on the same level, forbidding the exercise of authority of one over the
other, and enjoining mutual service; so Christ (Matt. xx. 25–28; Mark
ix. 35–37; x. 42–45). Essenism commanded its disciples to call no man
master upon the earth; so Christ (Matt. xxiii. 8–10). Essenism laid the
greatest stress on being meek and lowly in spirit; so Christ (Matt. v.
5; xi. 29). Christ commended the poor in spirit, those who hunger and
thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the
peacemakers; so the Essenes. Christ combined the healing of the body
with that of the soul; so the Essenes. Like the Essenes, Christ
declared that the power to cast out evil spirits, to perform miraculous
cures, &c., should be possessed by his disciples as signs of their
belief (Mark xvi. 17; comp. also Matt. x. 8; Luke ix. 1, 2; x. 9). Like
the Essenes, Christ commanded his disciples not to swear at all, but to
say yea, yea, and nay, nay. The manner in which Christ directed his
disciples to go on their journey (Matt. x. 9, 10) is the same which the
Essenes adopted when they started on a mission of mercy. The Essenes,
though repudiating offensive war, yet took weapons with them when they
went on a perilous journey; Christ enjoined his disciples to do the
same thing (Luke xxii. 36). Christ commended that elevated spiritual
life, which enables a man to abstain from marriage for the kingdom of
heaven’s sake, and which cannot be attained by all men save those to
whom it is given (Matt. xix. 10–12; comp. also 1 Cor. viii.); so the
Essenes who, as a body, in waiting for the kingdom of heaven (מלכות
השמים) abstained from connubial intercourse. The Essenes did not offer
animal sacrifices, but strove to present their bodies a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which they regarded as a
reasonable service; the Apostle Paul exhorts the Romans to do the same.
(Rom. xii. 1). It was the great aim of the Essenes to live such a life
of purity and holiness as to be the temples of the Holy Spirit, and to
be able to prophesy: the apostle Paul urges the Corinthians to covet to
prophesy (1 Cor. xiv. 1, 39). When Christ pronounced John to be Elias
(Matt. xi. 14), he declared that the Baptist had already attained to
that spirit and power which the Essenes strove to obtain in their
highest stage of purity. [7] It will therefore hardly be doubted that
our Saviour himself belonged to this holy brotherhood. This will
especially be apparent when we remember that the whole Jewish
community, at the advent of Christ, was divided into three parties, the
Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes, and that every Jew had to
belong to one of these sects. Jesus who, in all things, conformed to
the Jewish law, and who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate
from sinners, would therefore naturally associate himself with that
order of Judaism which was most congenial to his holy nature. Moreover,
the fact that Christ, with the exception of once, was not heard of in
public till his thirtieth year, implying that he lived in seclusion
with this fraternity, and that though he frequently rebuked the
Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, he never denounced the Essenes,
strongly confirms this conclusion. There can be no difficulty in
admitting that the Saviour of the world, who taught us lessons from the
sparrows in the air, and the lilies in the field, and who made the
whole realm of nature tributary to his teachings, would commend divine
truth wherever it existed. But whilst Christ propounded some of the
everlasting truths which were to be found less adulterated and
practised more conscientiously among the Essenes than among the rest of
the people, he repudiated their extremes. They were ascetics; he ate
and drank the good things of God (Matt., xi. 19). They considered
themselves defiled by contact with any one who practised a lower degree
of holiness than their own; Christ associated with publicans and
sinners, to teach them the way to heaven. They sacrificed the lusts of
their flesh to gain spiritual happiness for themselves; Christ
sacrificed himself for the salvation of others.
It is now impossible to ascertain the precise date when this order of
Judaism first developed itself. According to Philo, Moses himself
instituted this order; Josephus contents himself with saying that they
existed “ever since the ancient time of the fathers;” whilst Pliny
assures us that, without any one being born among them, the Essenes,
incredible to relate, “have prolonged their existence for thousands of
ages.” [8] Bating, however, these assertions, which are quite in
harmony with the well known ancient custom of ascribing some
pre-Adamite period to every religious or philosophical system, it must
already have become apparent, from the description of it, that the very
nature of the Essenes precludes the possibility of tracing its date.
The fact that the Essenes developed themselves gradually, and at first
imperceptibly, through intensifying the prevalent religious notions,
renders it impossible to say with exactness at what degree of intensity
they are to be considered as detached from the general body. The first
mention we have of their existence is in the days of Jonathan the
Maccabæan, B.C. 166. (Joseph. Antiq. xiii. 5, 8). We then hear of them
again in the reign of Aristobulus I., B.C. 106, in connection with a
prophecy about the death of Antigonus, uttered by Judas an Essene, of
which Josephus gives the following account. “Judas, an Essene, whose
predictions had up to this time never deceived, caused great
astonishment on this occasion. When he saw at that time Antigonus pass
through the temple, he called out to his disciples, of whom he had no
small number—‘Oh! it would be better for me to die now, since truth
died before me, and one of my prophecies has proved false. Antigonus,
who ought to have died this day, is alive; Strato’s Tower, which is six
hundred furlongs distance from here, is fixed for his murder, and it is
already the fourth hour of the day [ten o’clock]; time condemns the
prophecy as a falsehood.’ Having uttered these words, the aged man sunk
into a long, dejected, and sorrowing silence. Soon after, the report
came that Antigonus was murdered in the subterranean passage which,
like Cesarea on the sea side, was also called Strato’s Tower. It was
this circumstance that misled the prophet.” (Jewish War, i. 3, § 5;
Antiq. xiii. 11, § 2). The third mention of their existence we find in
the well known prophecy of the Essene Manahem, uttered to Herod when a
boy. [9] Now these accounts most unquestionably show that the Essenes
existed at least two centuries before the Christian era, and that they
at first lived amongst the Jewish community at large. Their residence
at Jerusalem is also evident from the fact that there was a gate named
after them (Ἐσσηνῶν πύλη Joseph. Jewish War, v. 4, § 2). When they
ultimately withdrew themselves from the rest of the Jewish nation, the
majority of them settled on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea,
sufficiently distant to escape its noxious exhalations, and the rest
lived in scattered communities throughout Palestine and Syria. Both
Philo and Josephus estimated them to be above four thousand in number.
This must have been exclusive of women and children. We hear very
little of them after this period (i.e. 40 A.D.); and there can hardly
be any doubt that, owing to the great similarity which existed between
their precepts and practices and those of the primitive Christians, the
Essenes as a body must have embraced Christianity.
Having ascertained the character of the Essenes, we shall be better
prepared to investigate the origin of their name, which has been the
cause of so much controversy, and which was not known even to Philo and
Josephus. There is hardly an expression the etymology of which has
called forth such a diversity of opinion as this name has elicited. The
Greek and the Hebrew, the Syriac and the Chaldee, names of persons and
names of places, have successively been tortured to confess the secret
connected with this appellation, and there are no less, if not more,
than twenty different explanations of it, which I shall give in
chronological order. Philo tells us that some derived it from the Greek
homonym ὁσιότης holiness, because the Essenes were above all others
worshippers of God; but he rejects it as incorrect (vide infra, p. 32)
without giving us another derivation. 2. Josephus does not expressly
give any derivation of it, but simply says, “the third sect who really
seem to practise holiness (ὁ δὴ καὶ δοκεῖ σεμνότητα ἀσκεῖν) are called
Essenes.” (Vide infra p. 41). From the addition, however, “who really
seem to practise holiness or piety,” Frankel [10] argues that the word
must mean holiness or piety, because it appears to justify the name,
and hence concludes that Josephus most probably took it to be the
Hebrew חסידים or צנועים. Whilst Jost [11] is of opinion that
Josephus derived it from the Chaldee חשא to be silent, to be
mysterious, because חשן the high priest’s breast-plate, for which the
Septuagint has λογεῖον or λόγιον is translated by him ἐσσην, or that he
might have deduced this idea from חשן itself, and traced it to
λογεῖον or λόγιον as endowed with the gift of prophecy. [12] In Aboth
of R. Nathan [13] it is written עשאני from עשה to do, to perform,
and accordingly denotes the performers of the law. 4. Epiphanius again
calls them Ὀσσαῖοι and Ὀσσηνοι and tells us that it etymologically
signifies στιβαρὸν γένος the stout or strong race, evidently taking it
for חסין or עזים. 5. In another place Epiphanius affirms that the
Essenes borrowed their name from Jesse the father of David, or from
Jesus, whose doctrines he ascribes to them; explaining the name Jesus
to signify in Hebrew a physician; and calls them Jesseans. [14] In this
he is followed by Petitus who makes them so related to David that they
were obliged to take the name of his father Jesus or Jesse; [15]
although Jesus does not signify physician but God-help. 6. Suidas (Lex
s. v.) and Hilgenfeld (Die jüdische Apokal. p. 278), make it out to be
the form חזין = θεωρητικοί seers, and the latter maintains that this
name was given to them because they pretended to see visions and to
prophesy. 7. Josippon b. Gorion [16] (lib. iv. sects. 6, 7, p.p. 274
and 278, ed. Breithaupt), and Gale (Court of the Gentiles, part ii., p.
147), take it for the Hebrew חסידים the pious, the puritans. 8. De
Rossi [17] (Meor Enaim, 82 a), Gfrörer (Philo, ii. p. 341), Herzfeld
(Geschichte d. V. Israel ii. p. 397), and others, insist that it is the
Aramaic אסיא = θεραπευτής physician, and that this name was given to
them because of the spiritual or physical cures they performed. Indeed,
De Rossi and Herzfeld will have it that the sect Baithusians ביתוסים
mentioned in the Talmud is nothing but a contraction of בית אסי the
school or sect of physicians, just as בית הילל stands for the school
of Hillel. 9. Salmasius affirms that the Essenes derived their name
from the town called Essa, situated beyond the Jordan, which is
mentioned by Josephus (Antiq. xiii. 15, § 2), or from the place Vadi
Ossis. [18] 10. Rappaport (Erech Milln, p. 41), says that it is the
Greek ἰσος an associate, a fellow of the fraternity. 11. Frankel
(Zeitschrift, 1846, p. 449, &c.), and others think that it is the
Hebrew expression צנועים the retired. 12. Ewald (Geschichte d. Volkes
Israel, iv. p. 420), is sure that it is the Rabbinic חזן servant (of
God), and that the name was given to them because it was their only
desire to be θεραπευταὶ θεοῦ. 13. Graetz (Geschichte der Juden iii. p.
468, second ed.) will have it that it is from the Aramaic סחא to
bathe, with Aleph prostheticum, and that it is the shorter form for
אסחאי צפרא = טובלי שחרית ἡμιερβαπτισταί hemerobaptists; the Greek
form Ἐσσαῖος, Ἐσσαῖοι being nothing but Assaï or Essaï with ח elided.
14. Dr. Löw (Ben Chananja vol. i. p. 352) never doubts but that they
were called Essenes after their founder, whose name he tells us was
ישי, the disciple of Rabbi Joshua ben Perachja. 15. Dr. Adler
(Volkslehrer, vi. p. 50), again submits that it is from the Hebrew
אסר to bind together, to associate, and that they were called אסרים
because they united together to keep the law. 16. Dr. Cohen suggests
the Chaldee root עשן to be strong, and that they were called עשיני
because of their strength of mind to endure sufferings and to subdue
their passions. (Comp. Frankel’s Monatschrift viii. p. 272). 17.
Oppenheim thinks that it may be the form עושין and stand for עושין
טהרת הקדש or עושין טהרת חטאת observers of the laws of purity and
holiness. (Ibid). 18. Jellinek (Ben Chananja iv. 374), again derives it
from the Hebrew חצן sinus, περίζωμα, alluding to the apron which the
Essenes wore; whilst, 19, Others again derived it from חסיא pious.
The two last-mentioned explanations seem to have much to recommend
them, they are natural and expressive of the characteristics of the
brotherhood. I, however, incline to prefer the last, because it plainly
connects the Essenes with an ancient Jewish brotherhood called
Chassidim חסידים the pious, who preceded the Essenes, and from whom
the latter took their rise. Those who wish to trace this connection,
will find an article on the Chassidim in Dr. Alexander’s edition of
Kitto’s Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature.