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JESUS THE MESSIAH |
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His Life and Times |
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No. 33 The Three Sects of Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes Examination of their Distinctive Doctrines Part 5
(To read the first four parts of this text, go to the Home Page above and then to the Archives of Previous Texts page at my site.)
The Essenes seemed to have a system that had contempt of the body and of everything that was material in any sense. In some manner, they identified the Divine manifestation with the Sun. Because of this, they denied the Resurrection, the Temple-priesthood, and sacrifices. They preached abstinence from meats and marriage, decreed entire separation from everything that they could become defiled by coming into contact with. They agreed that they would perish from hunger rather than join in the meals of the outside world. The things that they believed in could never have been connected with the origins of Christianity. In fact, their belief in angels was derived from Chaldee and Persian sources. Now we will discuss the origin and meaning of the name Essenes in its regard to orthodox Judaism. There were 18 or 19 explanations of the term from Hebrew etymology that all proceed on the idea of its derivation from something which implied praise of the sect. The two least objectionable ones explained that the name was equivalent to either 'the pious' or else to 'the silent ones'. There is the obvious objection to each of these explanations, though, because the Pharisees had the theological moulding of the language at the time. They probably would not have allowed a sect that was so totally different from their own to have the name 'the pious'. They were in the habit of giving the hardest names to those who differed from them, and the sect of the Essenes would have stood entirely outside not only their own views, but of the Synagogue itself. Also the name Essenes seems the Greek equivalent for Chitsonim, 'the outsiders'. It has already been said that there is no direct statement concerning the Essenes in Rabbinic writings. Generally, the Rabbis seemed to have a rule that they would only refer to their opponents in a time of controversy. By the time the Rabbis had started writing things down instead of just passing it orally, the sect of Essenism had ceased to exist. Some of its elements had passed into the Synagogue, though, and had started to influence its teachings - especially in the area of Angelology and magic. This greatly contributed to the mystic direction which afterwards found expression in what is now known as the Kabbalah. Even though the Essenes were considered 'outsiders', they still exerted some influence that stretched Judaism beyond its former bounds. Thus, the Mishnah begins by prohibiting the public reading of the Law by those who would not appear in a colored, but only in a white dress. There is another curious statement that regards the manner in which they were to cover their phylacteries. This doesn't really make sense unless we see in it an allusion to the Essene practice of facing the rising Sun in their morning prayers. The Rabbis denounced the writing of the Essenes to such an extent that they taught that anyone who studied them would be excluded from eternal life. One of the best known facts concerning the Essenes is that they possessed secret, 'outside', holy writings of their own, which they guarded with special care. These writings were called the Sepharim haChitsonim. The Pseudepigraphic literature, such as the Book of Jubilees, was also strongly tainted with Essene views. One thing that we can be sure of: The Essenes could never have been drawn either to the person or the preaching of John the Baptist. The Sadducees would also have turned away from John after they learned of his real character and goals. They would not have wanted to endanger their class by awakening popular enthusiasm or rousing the suspicions of the Romans. As far as the Pharisees were concerned, there were questions of dogmatic, ritual, and even national importance involved. They could not afford to just endorse any person without thoroughly checking them out. After all, they carried much influence among the people. They finally had to recognize the movement of John the Baptist, and define what their relationship to it would be. Then they could decide on their course of action to direct the common people as to the actions they should take. For more information from this book, go to the Archives Page on my site www.cathydeaton.com There are other articles of interest there also. This text is taken from the book Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah written by Alfred Edersheim. This book has been used by permission.
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