Who were the ESSENES? The Jews, long before the time of Jesus, were divided into three sects, THE SADDUCEES, THE PHARISEES, and the ESSENES. I dont know if many of you are familiar with this sect of Jews because they are not mentioned anywhere in the bible. It is almost impossible to reading of the last not to be forcibly struck with the remarkable resemblance between their doctrines, precepts and practices, and those of Jesus and the early Christians. Jesus is recorded to have frequently rebuked and denounced both the Sadducees and Pharisees, and talked harshly about them, but never once did he talk about the ESSENES. How can this be a authentic source of history if the bible fails to mention major groups of people that centered their culture? How is it that not one time did he once mentioned the Essenes by name? Yet we are informed by both Philo and Josephus that at the period in which John the Baptist and Jesus were born the Essenes were scattered over Palestine, and that they numbered about four thousand souls. It should be mentioned that peculiar importance is to be attached to the testimony of both Philo and Josephus respecting the mode of life pursued by the Essenes, as these authors were fully acquainted with it. They speak also with great respect and reverence of this sect, as surpassing all others in virtue. Josephus informs us that they led the same kind of life as the Pythagoreans in Greece, and that by their excellent virtue they were thought worthy even of divine revelations, while Philo says they were honoured with the appellation of Essenes because of their exceeding holiness. This is from a article where I was reading up on this.. As regards the word Essene, we are informed that there is hardly an expression the etymology of which has called forth such a diversity of opinion as this name. The Greek and the Hebrew, the Syriac and the Chaldee names of persons and names of places, have successively been appealed to, to yield the etymology of this appellation, and to tell the reason why it has been given to this sect, and there are no less, if not more, than nineteen different explanations of it. The same authority says that the term Essene was coined by Philo and Josephus for the benefit of the Greeks. 1 The words Therapeuts and Essenes are convertible terms, and refer primarily to the art of healing which these devotees professed, as it was believed in those days that sanctity was closely allied to the exercise of this power, and that no cure of any sort could be imputed simply to natural causes. Additional value belongs to the records of these two historians, because they describe the life of the Essenes as it was in the time of Jesus. Philo was about sixty-two years old when the Great Teacher commenced his short but important career, and he survived the latter between ten and fifteen years, the exact period of his death being unknown. He lived chiefly at Alexandria, though he mentions having once visited Jerusalem. He does not appear to have met Jesus, for, being an ardent admirer of virtue himself, he would probably in that case have left us some record of his excellencies and sufferings. If he did hear of him, he may possibly have regarded him simply as a peculiarly enthusiastic member of that sect which he has described so minutely. Josephus was contemporary with Philo, but lived to a somewhat later period. There is a reference to the Jesus of Scripture in the pages of this historian, but it is considered by many p. 3 to have been interpolated and fathered upon this Jewish writer by some early Christian copyist. The passage stands thus:—Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works,—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, but he appeared to them again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named after him, are not extinct at this day. 1 Renan says of the foregoing allusion to Jesus, I believe the passage respecting Jesus to be authentic. It is perfectly in the style of Josephus, and if this historian has made mention of Jesus, it is thus that he must have spoken of him. We feel only that a Christian hand has retouched the passage, has added a few words, without which it would almost have been blasphemous, 2 has perhaps retrenched or modified some expressions. It must be recollected that the literary fortune of Josephus was made by the Christians, who adopted his writings as essential documents to their sacred history. They made, probably in the second century, an edition according to Christian ideas. 3 Another French writer of distinction says, No one in our day maintains any longer the entire authenticity of the chapter which Josephus devotes to p. 4 [paragraph continues] Christ in his Antiquities. My opinion on the passage: I agree on the opinion that Christians interpolated most of Josephuss writings. Because even in the same book he speaks of JOSHUA stopping the sun. Plus he speaks of Abraham and Moses. So anyone with scholarly expertise and has devoted any time in research, you will know that the biblical characters are as about as likely to been authentic as Fred Flintstone. If they were actual people, they attached stories of other gods and saviors to them to make people remember them. But either way, I understand now why all of the sects seemed so divided.. #NomoreFukzareGiven
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 22:47:49 +0000
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