essene

The Essenes were a Jewish religious group that emerged in the late Second Temple period and endured into the early Roman era. They are mentioned by ancient sources such as Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder, who describe a disciplined, ascetic community with strict rules and communal living. The name Essene comes from Greek and Latin translations; their own self-designation is not attested in surviving inscriptions, and the exact etymology remains debated.

Many scholars associate the Essenes with the community that inhabited Qumran near the Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The scrolls contain sectarian texts such as the Rule of the Community and the Damascus Document, which depict a tightly organized group devoted to ritual purity, scriptural study, and a shared way of life. The Qumran site appears to have housed a community with regulated property, disciplined daily life, and a focus on copying and interpreting sacred writings.

Beliefs attributed to the Essenes emphasize purity, observance of purity laws, and an apocalyptic or eschatological outlook. They revered a “teacher of righteousness” who guided the community and looked for divine intervention in history. Their practices reportedly included regular worship, communal meals, and strict adherence to ritual rules, with some texts reflecting messianic expectations and belief in the resurrection of the dead.

Scholarly consensus linking the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Essenes is widespread but not unchallenged; the scrolls may reflect a broader Jewish milieu as well as a single sect. The Essenes are regarded as a distinct, ascetic stream within Second Temple Judaism, with the Qumran community offering the most substantial textual record associated with them.