Essenes
A Jewish movement of the Second Temple period known from Josephus, Philo, and Pliny, often linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What the sources say, and how sure we are
- The text says
The Essenes are not named in the New Testament.
- Outside evidence
Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder describe the Essenes as a disciplined community that shared property and observed strict purity. Pliny places them near the western shore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls, found from 1947 in caves near Qumran, include a rule for a community and the oldest known copies of books of the Hebrew Bible.Josephus, War 2.119–161; Philo, Every Good Man Is Free 75–91; Pliny, Natural History 5.73; Dead Sea Scrolls
- Debated
Many scholars hold that the people of Qumran were Essenes. Others propose that they were Sadducean priests or another group, or that Qumran was a villa or pottery works. The question is still debated.