Essenes
E48949
The Essenes were an ascetic Jewish sect of the Second Temple period, often linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls and known for their communal lifestyle, strict purity laws, and apocalyptic beliefs.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Qumran community | 2 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Jewish sect
ⓘ
religious community ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Dead Sea Scrolls
ⓘ
Qumran ⓘ
surface form:
Qumran community
|
| countryOfOrigin | Judea ⓘ |
| dissolvedIn | 1st century CE ⓘ |
| eschatology |
belief in final battle between forces of light and darkness
ⓘ
expectation of messianic figures ⓘ |
| hasCharacteristic |
apocalyptic beliefs
ⓘ
asceticism ⓘ celibacy (for at least some members) ⓘ communal lifestyle ⓘ daily communal meals ⓘ dualistic worldview ⓘ emphasis on priestly purity ⓘ expectation of imminent divine judgment ⓘ oath-bound membership ⓘ observance of the Sabbath ⓘ rejection of temple leadership in Jerusalem ⓘ ritual immersion ⓘ shared property ⓘ strict discipline ⓘ strict initiation process ⓘ strict purity laws ⓘ |
| language |
Aramaic
ⓘ
Hebrew ⓘ |
| locatedInTimePeriod |
1st century CE
ⓘ
2nd century BCE ⓘ Second Temple Judaism ⓘ
surface form:
Second Temple period
|
| mainSourceOfInformation |
Flavius Josephus
ⓘ
Philo of Alexandria ⓘ Pliny the Elder ⓘ |
| mentionedInWork |
Antiquities of the Jews
ⓘ
Hypothetica (by Philo) ⓘ Josephus’s work "The Jewish War" ⓘ
surface form:
The Jewish War
|
| possibleInfluenceOn |
Jewish apocalyptic literature
ⓘ
Early Christians ⓘ
surface form:
early Christianity
|
| possibleSettlementAt | Qumran ⓘ |
| religion | Judaism ⓘ |
| religiousBranchOf | Second Temple Judaism ⓘ |
| religiousPractice |
communal prayer
ⓘ
frequent ritual baths ⓘ interpretation of Torah ⓘ strict dietary rules ⓘ |
| socialStructure |
communal ownership of goods
ⓘ
elders as leaders ⓘ graded membership ⓘ |
| viewOnLaw | strict interpretation of Mosaic Law ⓘ |
| viewOnTemple | critical of Jerusalem Temple priesthood ⓘ |
Referenced by (7)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Qumran community
this entity surface form:
Qumran community