OVERVIEW

THE SECTARIANS OF QUMRAN AND THEIR PREPARATIONS FOR THE WORLD TO COME

In 1947, two Bedouin shepherds found a small collection of ancient scrolls in a cave in the Judean desert. This led to the discovery of intact scrolls and fragments of over 900 scrolls written by Jews at the end of the Second Temple period. Among these scrolls were the oldest extant copies of parts of the Hebrew Bible, as well as sectarian literature describing the beliefs and practices of an unusual Jewish sect. The discovery of the “Dead Sea Scrolls” placed in the caves around Qumran for safekeeping, or possibly to hide them from the Romans, has been one of the most important discoveries in modern Biblical research. About five decades after the scrolls were discovered, the home of the sectarians who authored them was excavated in nearby Qumran. 

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, there were three main groups of Jews at the end of the Second Temple period — Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. The Pharisees were Sages whose ideas and rulings were based on the Jewish oral tradition. These were recorded in the Mishnah and Talmud and form the basis of Rabbinic Judaism.

The Sadducees did not accept the Jewish oral tradition and based their practices on their understanding of the written Bible. They rejected key doctrines accepted by the Pharisees, such as the concepts of an afterlife, messianic redemption, and resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees were very influential politically and for a time controlled the high priesthood in the Temple. 

The Essenes were an ascetic sect that lived in Jerusalem and other cities, and they numbered about 4,000 people. Most researchers believe that a group of Essene priests, who were probably an extreme group, came to Qumran in the late Hellenistic-Roman period. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder writes, "On the west side of the Dead Sea, but out of range of noxious exhalations of the coast, is the solitary tribe of the Essenes..." He goes on to describe a group of celibate men living together, focusing on their interpretation of spirituality, renouncing material comforts, and pooling their resources as an economic collective. 

What motivated these people to leave Jerusalem and live in the desert?

This was a time of heightened messianic expectations among the Jewish people, and this Qumran sect believed that a final apocalyptic battle between the forces of light and darkness was imminent and this would usher in the perfection of the messianic era. They viewed the priesthood in Jerusalem as corrupt and they broke away to lead a holy and ascetic existence in preparation for the End of Days. 

Based on what we know from the descriptions in their scrolls, they ate their meals together in a communal dining hall in total silence. Meals were preceded by ritual immersion, just as food from the Temple was eaten by priests in a state of ritual purity. This would explain the large number of ritual baths found at Qumran. They also donned special white clothing for their meals, which may have been regarded as a substitute for the sacrificial service in the Temple. They spent much of their time in prayer and studying Jewish texts, and they supported themselves with scribal work and agriculture. Agriculture would have been done at nearby Enot Tsukim. The Essene calendar for the Jewish festivals was different from that of the Pharisees and Sadducees, in that it was based solely on the solar calendar and not a solar-adjusted lunar calendar used by other Jews.

The first detected fortified settlement here was in the 8th century BCE and it continued until the end of the First Temple period. An oval water cistern is the only remnant from this period. Qumran was first settled by Essenes at the time of the Hasmonean kings, John Hyrcanus or Alexander Jannaeus, towards the end of the second century BCE. The site was abandoned during the time of Herod following an earthquake, but was resettled after about a quarter of a century. It remained in use until it was destroyed by the Romans during the Great Revolt of 68 CE. 

In general, Judaism does not value asceticism, and the ideas of the Essenes had little influence on mainstream Judaism. Jesus was not an Essene, but early Christians may have been influenced by the asceticism and messianic ideas of this sect. The movie shown here suggests that John the Baptist visited Qumran, and some believe he spent as long as two years here. John the Baptist baptized Jesus, and according to the Christian gospels, this was when Jesus was proclaimed as the Messiah. Both John and Jesus believed in an immanent Kingdom of God.