Bible Concepts

The Essenes were a Jewish “sect” or school with two branches: some were celibate, disdained marriage and adopted children; others believed that marriage and procreation were needed if the group was to continue. Their community was hierarchical, structured, and disciplined. They cared for the elderly and the ill, and they shared their belongings with each other. They studied the holy books of Judaism, notably prophecy, and were very exacting in their observance of Jewish law, especially as regards purity and sabbath laws. They wore white linen, renounced pleasure, and regarded continence as a virtue. 

The Essenes practiced a form of prophecy that involved the prediction of the fate of political figures. One Essene named Manaemus prophesied that the boy Herod would one day become king of the Jews, and as a result, the Essenes were spared the requirement to take an oath of loyalty to him. Some think that this favor was the reason there was an “Essene Gate” in the first wall of Herod's Jerusalem.

Most of the Essenes lived life within Judaean society. Like other Jews, they relied on God and venerated Him as lawgiver. They also held other beliefs that distinguished them from other Jews, believing in fate, the resurrection of the flesh and the immortality of the soul. Unlike all others in the ancient world, they were opposed to slavery, condemning slave-ownership as both unjust and ungodly.

The Essenes are not directly mentioned in Scripture, although some believe they may be referred to in Matthew 19:11, 12 and in Colossians 2:8, 18, and 23. Modern people developed renewed interest in the Essenes following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were likely recorded and stored by the them.

Some scholars claim that John the Baptist was an Essene. There are some similarities between John and the Essenes: John was in the desert (Luke 1:80), as were the Essenes. Both John and the Essenes used Isaiah 40:3 to describe themselves as the voice in the wilderness. Finally, the baptism practiced by John and the Essenes required a change of heart, (repentence).

However, there are significant differences between John the Baptist and the Essenes:  The Essenes hid themselves from society while John was a very public figure. John preached Jesus as the Messiah while the Essenes did not recognize him.