BEYOND THE DEAD SEA: THE ESSENES AND THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY.

             To paraphrase the Bobby Darin pop hit, "Somewhere, beyond the Dead Sea, there"s a religion waiting for me." There was a serious lack of documentation on Judaism practices prior to the birth of Christ, which made understanding the reasons behind the emergence of Christianity even more complex. Then, in 1947, while a young Arab boy, Muhammad ed-Dhib, was throwing stones at a cave, breaking a jar with one, therein were contained the complete scrolled texts of the Old Testament, known thereafter as the Dead Sea scrolls. Although theologians are divided as to who actually wrote down the texts, it is widely attributed to the Essene monastic sect, which had lived in the Qumran region.

             The actual origin of the Essenes is unknown, but it is believed that they evolved from the Hasidim of pre-Hasmonean times, approximately 170 B.C. They were first written about by Josephus, who was impressed by their seemingly innate ability to forecast the future. Josephus described how Judas, perhaps the most famous Essene, successfully predicted that the ruler of Judea, Aristobulus, would kill his brother. It is believed that the Essenes were one of the first all-male monastic orders, and it is uncertain whether they were exclusively Jewish in origin, or if the group had roots in Greek philosophy as well. .

             Organizationally speaking, the Essenes were a singular entity, presided over by a president, who was obeyed unconditionally. There were four classes of Essenes, according to Josephus, which consisted of children at the first class, novices occupying the second and third classes, with full members comprising the esteemed fourth class. It was a democratic order, with trials ordered to execute any disciplinary action against a member, requiring the affirmation of one hundred members. Excommunication always resulted in starvation death, as members would not eat food prepared by anyone outside of the group for fear of pollution.