Essenes: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 25:

The '''Essenes''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|s|iː|n|z|,_|ɛ|ˈ|s|iː|n|z}}; [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|אִסִּיִים}}, ''Isiyim''; [[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]]' 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 saw themselves as the genuine remnant of Israel, upholding the true [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] with God, and 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.

Line 105:

{{see also|Mandaeans#Origin}}

[[File:Genesis apocryphon.jpg|thumb|The [[Genesis Apocryphon]], part of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]]]

The [[Haran Gawaita]] uses the name [[Nazarene (sect)#Nasoraean Mandaeans|Nasoraeans]] for the [[Mandaeans]] arriving from Jerusalem, meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.<ref name=RudolphEI>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mandaeans-2-religion |title=Mandaeans ii. The Mandaean Religion |access-date=3 January 2022|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|date=7 April 2008}}</ref> Scholars such as [[Kurt Rudolph]], [[Rudolf Macúch]], [[Mark Lidzbarski]] and [[E. S. Drower|Ethel S. Drower]] connect the Mandaeans with the [[Essenes#Rules, customs, theology, and beliefs|Nasaraeans]] described by [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], a group within the Essenes according to [[Joseph Lightfoot]].<ref>Lidzbarski, Mark, Ginza, der Schatz, oder das Grosse Buch der Mandaer, Leipzig,

1925</ref><ref name=Drower1960>{{Cite book | last =Drower | first =Ethel Stephana | author-link =E. S. Drower | date =1960 | title =The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis | location =London UK | publisher =Clarendon Press | no-pp =true| url=http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306132110/http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf|archive-date=6 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|xiv}}{{sfn|Rudolph|1977|p=4}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Richard |title=The Israelite Origins of the Mandaean People |journal=Studia Antiqua |date=29 January 2016 |volume=5 |issue=2 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua/vol5/iss2/4/ }}</ref><ref>Macuch, Rudolf A Mandaic Dictionary (with E. S. Drower). Oxford: Clarendon Press 1963.</ref><ref>R. Macuch, "Anfänge der Mandäer. Versuch eines geschichtliches Bildes bis zur früh-islamischen Zeit", chap. 6 of F. Altheim and R. Stiehl, ''Die Araber in der alten Welt II: Bis zur Reichstrennung'', Berlin, 1965.</ref><ref name=lightfoot1875/> Epiphanius says (29:6) says that they existed before Jesus. That is questioned by some, but others accept the pre-Christian origin of the Nasaraeans.<ref name=Drower1960/>{{rp|xiv}}<ref>The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book I (Sects 1–46) Frank Williams, translator, 1987 (E.J. Brill, Leiden) ISBN 90-04-07926-2</ref>

Early religious concepts and terminologies recur in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], and ''[[yardna|Yardena]]'' [[River Jordan|(Jordan)]] has been the name of every baptismal water in [[Mandaeism]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=chWcZcYcyeQC}}|title=Iconography of Religions: An Introduction|editor-last=Moore|editor-first=Albert C.|date=1977|publisher=Chris Robertson|isbn=9780800604882|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Rudolph|chapter=Mandaeism|volume=21|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/iconographyofrel0000moor}}</ref>{{rp|5}} ''Mara ḏ-Rabuta'' ([[Mandaic language|Mandaic]] for 'Lord of Greatness', which is One of the names for the Mandaean God ''[[Hayyi Rabbi]]'', ''Mara d-Rabuta'' (Lord of Greatness) is found in the [[Genesis Apocryphon]] II, 4.<ref name="Rudolph 1964">{{cite journal|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|title=War Der Verfasser Der Oden Salomos Ein "Qumran-Christ"? Ein Beitrag zur Diskussion um die Anfänge der Gnosis|journal=Revue de Qumrân|date=April 1964|volume=4|number=16|pages=523–555|publisher=Peeters}}</ref>{{RP|552-553}} Another early self-appellation is ''bhiribhiria zidqa'', meaning 'elect of righteousness' or 'the chosen righteous', a term found in the [[Book of Enoch]] and [[Genesis Apocryphon]] II, 4.<ref name="Rudolph 1964"/>{{RP|552-553}}<ref name=RudolphEI/><ref name="Aldihisi 2008">{{cite thesis|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/|last=Aldihisi|first=Sabah|year=2008|title=The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba|type=PhD|publisher=University College London}}</ref>{{rp|18}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coughenour|first=Robert A.|title=The Wisdom Stance of Enoch's Redactor|publisher=Brill|page=52}}Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period

Vol. 13, No. 1/2 (DECEMBER 1982), pp. 47-55</ref> As Nasoraeans, Mandaeans believe that they constitute the true congregation of ''bnaibnia nhura'', meaning 'Sons of Light', a term used by the Essenes.<ref name=BSN>{{cite web|author=Brikhah S. Nasoraia|title=Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion|year=2012|url=http://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D201813/2012_I/2012_I_NASORAIAB.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|50}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-War-of-the-Sons-of-Light-Against-the-Sons-of-Darkness|title=The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> Mandaean scripture affirms that the Mandaeans descend directly from [[John the Baptist]]'s original Nasoraean Mandaean disciples in Jerusalem.<ref name=HG>{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa|publisher=Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana|year=1953}}</ref>{{rp|vi, ix}} Similar to the Essenes, it is forbidden for a Mandaean to reveal the names of the angels to a gentile.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran|publisher=Oxford at the Clarendon Press|year=1937}}</ref>{{rp|94}} Essene graves are oriented north–south<ref>{{cite book|last=Hachlili|first=Rachel|title=Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land of Israel|publisher=E. J. Brill|place=Leiden, The Netherlands|year=1988|page=101|isbn=9004081151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JswUAAAAIAAJ&dq=essene+burial&pg=PA101}}</ref> and a Mandaean's grave must also be in the north–south direction so that if the dead Mandaean were stood upright, they would face north.<ref name="auto2"/>{{rp|184}} Mandaeans have an oral tradition that some were originally vegetarian<ref name=Drower1960/>{{rp|32}} and also similar to the Essenes, they are [[pacifist]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newman|first=Hillel|title=Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period|date=2006|publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV|isbn=9789047408352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhJYEAAAQBAJ&q=Proximity+to+Power+and+Jewish+Sectarian+Groups+of+the+Ancient+Period}}</ref>{{rp|47}}<ref name="DEUTSCH2">{{cite web|last=Deutsch|first=Nathaniel|date=6 October 2007|title=Save the Gnostics|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/opinion/06deutsch.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref>

The ''beitbit manda'' ([[beth manda]]) is described as ''biniana rabrba ḏ-srarašrara'' ("the Great building of Truth") and ''bit tušlima'' ("house of Perfection") in [[Mandaean texts]] such as the ''[[Qulasta]]'', ''[[Ginza Rabba]]'', and the ''[[Mandaean Book of John]]''. The only known literary parallels are in Essene texts from [[Qumran]] such as the ''[[Community Rule]]'', which has similar phrases such as the "house of Perfection and Truth in Israel" (''Community Rule'' 1QS VIII 9) and "house of Truth in Israel."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=607cb5ef1eb49|title=About the Links between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mandaean Liturgy|last=Hamidović|first=David|journal=ARAM Periodical|volume=22|year=2010|pages=441–451|doi=10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131048}}</ref>▼

▲The ''beit manda'' ([[beth manda]]) is described as ''biniana rab ḏ-srara'' ("the Great building of Truth") and ''bit tušlima'' ("house of Perfection") in [[Mandaean texts]] such as the ''[[Qulasta]]'', ''[[Ginza Rabba]]'', and the ''[[Mandaean Book of John]]''. The only known literary parallels are in Essene texts from [[Qumran]] such as the ''[[Community Rule]]'', which has similar phrases such as the "house of Perfection and Truth in Israel" (''Community Rule'' 1QS VIII 9) and "house of Truth in Israel."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=607cb5ef1eb49|title=About the Links between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mandaean Liturgy|last=Hamidović|first=David|journal=ARAM Periodical|volume=22|year=2010|pages=441–451|doi=10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131048}}</ref>

===Magarites===

The Magharians or [[Magarites]] ({{Lang-ar|Al-Maghariyyah}}, 'people of the caves')<ref name=dss>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/|isbn=978-0-19-508450-4|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls|title=Magharians|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-first=Lawrence H.|editor-last=Schiffman|editor2-first=James C.|editor2-last=VanderKam}}</ref> were, according to [[Jacob Qirqisani]], a [[Judaism|Jewish]] sect founded in the [[1st century BC|1st century BCE]].