Denzer, Pam. "Odes of Solomon: Early Hymns of the Jewish Christian Mystical Tradition". {{ cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= ( help) Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity by Walter Bauer, translated by Robert Kraft and Gerhard Krodel, (Philadelphia, 1971)

Martinez, Florentino Garcia. The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996.

The hiding of the scrolls in earthern jars in the caves surrounding Qumram proved prescient, considering the destruction of Qumram by Rome in 68 AD. Barthélemy, D.; Milik, J.T.; de Vaux, Roland; Crowfoot, G.M.; Plenderleith, Harold; Harding, G.L. (1997) [1955]. "Introductory: The Discovery". Qumran Cave 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.5. ISBN 0-19-826301-5 . Retrieved 31 March 2009.

Beyond classical academic subjects, surviving documents reveal the vast science the Essenes possessed in angelology. Included are prayer rituals, devotions and evidence of a strong collaboration between the Essenes and angels. Other parallels strike me as less compelling. A discussion on the laws for the Sabbath in chapter 4 (“The Eschatological Teacher”) is a good illustration of the problems involved in interpreting the evidence: in Matthew 12:11 and Luke 14:5, Jesus argues that since people would labor on the Sabbath to rescue their household animals, they should also accept that healing humans is permissible. 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 11.13-14). Joseph sees this as a sign that Jesus was familiar with the Essene law and “explicitly contradicted” it (114). However, there are at least two further possibilities, both more plausible to my mind. First, the decree in the Damascus Document could be proof of an alternate practice that the Essenes decried. Jesus could simply refer to the more widespread practice with no awareness that some group opposed it. More importantly, the text does not necessarily mean that Jesus considers this the correct practice. The rhetoric in these verses might be compared to Jesus’s statement in John 8:7. Jesus does not condone adultery there, nor does he reject the decree that adulteresses should be stoned. He merely protests the hypocrisy of those who seek to punish others rather than attending to their own sins (in keeping with Matthew 7:1-5 and Luke 6:41-42). Read this way, the text, at least in Luke 14:5, may not even claim that it is legitimate to rescue an animal on the Sabbath, but rather to underscore the hypocrisy of his critics. McGirk, Tim (16 March 2009). "Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed". Time. Archived from the original on 20 March 2009 . Retrieved 17 March 2009.

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Essenes in Judaean Society: the sectarians of the Dead Sea Scrolls At the conclusion of his book, Joseph determines that the Essenes are “a missing link in the study of early Christian origins” (169). The idiom suggests an “A” and a “C” that are known to us, with the Essenes providing the “B” that explains how history developed from point A to C. The parallels can be understood this way, but I am not persuaded that they should be. Rather than a link in a chain, I find it more useful to borrow an imagery that would resonate with the Essenes: that of shedding light. We know for a fact that Jesus was a Second Temple Jew, and that his ideas were forged and shaped by the circumstances of this tumultuous period. 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. The introduction ( “Rediscovering the Essenes in the Study of Christian Origins”) and the epilogue ( “Beyond the Essenes”) each emphatically argue in favor of an influence of the Essenes on the early Christian movement. Chapter 1 highlights some of the prominent similarities between the two, such as the significance of Isaiah 40:3 in the Essene text known as the Community Rule and in all four gospels (14), a text reminiscent of the Beatitudes (4Q525, on 17), and the mention of a Son of God (17-18). Joseph supplements these similarities with a caution against “parallelomania” (16), offering reservations concerning how one should proceed to interpret these similarities while keeping in mind the paucity of evidence (23). The epilogue, however, unequivocally proclaims that these claims have been established: Jesus was influenced by the Essenes, as was his movement, which was in ideological proximity to the Essenes, but cannot be defined as Essenic (164). In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race"; [17] "Simon of the Essaios race"; [18] "John the Essaios"; [19] "those who are called by us Essaioi"; [20] "Simon a man of the Essaios race"). [21] Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period. [22]