Erwägungen zu 1QS VI,20 und der urchristlichen Gütergemeinschaft', Revue de Qumran 12(1986) 223–236; Eyal Regev, "Comparing Sectarian Practice and Organization: The Qumran Sect in Light of the Regulations of the Shakers, Hutterites, Mennonites and Amish", Numen 51 (2004), pp. In 1991, through the efforts of Herschel Shanks, the editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, as well as many other scholars, the possession and authority over the scrolls was taken over by the Israeli Antiquities Authority where they are now preserved in a special museum, The Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. Joseph contrasts this with a statement in the Essene text known as the Damascus Document which explicitly prohibits delivering an animal who fell into a ditch (CD 11. The process of writing down the Oral Law, although primarily a scholarly activity, had tremendous implications for the next stage of Jewish history by providing a structure to replace Temple rituals.

To give it prominence would be denying one’s responsibility; to avoid it altogether might lead to the abandonment of hope.This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, probably Essenes, 390 years after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (d. xvi] Without a trace of irony, Szekely accuses the earliest Christians of forgery and fraud while asserting that “for me, a historian, fraud is just plain fraud. but some manuscripts read here Essaion ("holding the Essenes in honour"; [11] "a certain Essene named Manaemus"; [12] "to hold all Essenes in honor"; [13] "the Essenes"). They believed, perhaps, that in structuring their lives as part of a well-defined elite community, they would ensure their survival and create a model of perfection that would prepare them for Redemption. Consequently, the Essene hypothesis served several historical and ideological purposes for Jewish scholars: it boosted Jewish self-esteem in light of Christianity’s success, de-stabilized normative definitions of Judaism and Christianity, and supported revisionist readings of Jesus in a Jewish context.

Qirqisani's omission of the Essenes from his list of Jewish sects, which can be explained if he considered the Magharians to be synonymous with the Essenes. I have been thinking about the “Essenes” as an historical problem and theoretical tool for many years now. 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. And so, they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, but they would not offer sacrifice or eat meat.Another theory is that the name was borrowed from a cult of devotees to Artemis in Anatolia, whose demeanor and dress somewhat resembled those of the group in Judea. The scrolls help us illuminate the stage when this transpired, but these movements may have existed as independent scenes rather than partners in a direct dialogue.

It was not belief that marked Judaism’s path, but engaging in the interaction between human effort and divine presence, a life of purpose and meaning, a commitment to Torah.These documents preserve multiple copies of parts of the Hebrew Bible along with deuterocanonical and sectarian manuscripts, including writings such as the Community Rule, the Damascus Document, and the War Scroll, which provide valuable insights into the communal life, ideology and theology of the Essenes. According to Cayce, the Essenes not only expected and anticipated the arrival of the Messiah, they also “prepared the way” for Jesus. Here there was continued preparation and dedication of those who might be channels through whom the chosen vessel could enter through choice – into materiality. At the conclusion of his book, Joseph determines that the Essenes are “a missing link in the study of early Christian origins” (169).