ESSENES OR ESSAEANS NNvv, Aboth R. Nathan, c. xxxvi;'Ecrcrnvot Joseph.; Esseni Pliny ; 'Bo-era/ex, Joseph. Bell. yeed. i. 3. 5, etc. ; Philo), a very remarkable Jewish sect or order of Judaism, which, by virtue of the exemplarily holy and self denying life of its followers, exercised a most bene ficial influence upon the Jewish community, and prepared the way for Christianity.
i. The name of the sect and its signification.— 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 a'rf ferent explanations of it. I. Philo (Quad anznis prob. lib., sec. xii.) derives it from the Greek tkrzos, holy. 2. Josephus, according to Jost (Geschichte d. thanes, i. 207), seems either to derive it from the Chaldee Nvri, to be quiet, to be mysterious, because he renders the high priest's breastplate, for which the Sept. has Xo-yelop by ecrolv, or directly from pri, in the sense of Noyciov or Xbycov, endowed with the gift of prophecy.* 3. Epiphanius (Haer. xix.) takes it to be the Hebrew p1l----01-tpapby ryivos, the stout race. 4. Suidas (s. v.) and Hilgen feld (Die filo: Apokal., p. 278) make it out to be the Aramaic form rri = seers, and the latter maintains that this name was given to the sect because they pretended to see visions, and to prophesy. 5. Josippon ben Gorion (lib. iv., secs. 6, 7, pp. 274 and 27S, ed. Breithazept) takes it for the Hebrew Tort, the pious, the puritans. 6. De Rossi (Afeor Enaim, c. Gfrorer (Philo, ii. p. Mime (Ersch a. Gruber's Encyklop., s. v.), Nork (Real-Werterbuch, s.v.), Herzfeld (Geschichte d. V. Israel, 11. p. 395), and others insist that it is the Aramaic WON. = b-cpareorns, physician, and that this name was given to them because of the spiritual or physical cures they performed. 7. Aboth R. Nathan (c. xxxvi.) and a writer in Jost's Annalen (i. 145), derive it from rIV.If, to do, to per ; the latter says that it is the Aramaic from Nmv, and that they were so called because of their endeavours to perform the law. 8. Rappa port (Erech 1Jnlin, p. 41) says that it is the Greek laos, an associate, a fellow of the frrternity. 9. Fran kel (Zeitschrij?,1846, p. 449, etc.) and others think that it is the Hebrew expression O'VVY, the retired. so. Ewald (Geschichte d. V, Israel, iv. p. 420) is sure that it is the Rabbinic itn, servant (of God), and that the name was given to them because it was their only desire to be -Eparcurat 9€00. Graetz (Geschichte d. 2vden, iii. 525) will have it that it is from the Aramaic Non, to bathe, with aleph prostheticum, and that it is the shorter form for N15Y inhepoProrrurral, he merobaptists, a name given to this sect because they baptized themselves early in the morning. 12. Di. Low (Ben Chananja, i. 352) never doubts but that they were called Essenes after their founder, whose name he tells us was +V, the disciple of Joshua b. Perachja. 13. Others again say that it alludes to ,7esse, the father of David. 14. Others again sub
mit that it is derived from the town Essa, or the place Vadi Ossiss (comp. Ewald, Geschichte d. V I., iv. p. 420). 15. Dr. Adler (Volkslehrer, vi. p. 5o), again, derives it from the Hebrew 1CM, to bind together, to associate, and says that they were called because they united together to keep the law. 16. Dr. Cohn suggests the Chaldee root in to be strong, and that they were called ')'V.1), because of their strength of mind to endure sufferings and to subdue their passions (Frankel's Nonalsch. vii. 272). 17. Oppenheim thinks that it may be the form )illy, and stands for It'll) ertpn niriu, or nt4zon rririn rnr, observers of the laws of purity and holiness (ibid.) i 8. Jellinek (Ben Chananja, iv. 374), again, derives it from the Hebrew )Sri, sinus, alluding to the in'n= mentioned in the Talmud (Beehoroth, 3o, a), i.e., The apron which the Essenes wore ; whilst, 19. Others again derive it from N41:In pious. The two last-mentioned explanations seem to have much to recommend them, and both of them are natural and expressive of the characteristics of this sect. We, however, incline towards the last, because it plainly connects the Essenes with the Chasidim, from which they originated. [CHAsIDIM.] 2. The tenets and practices of the sect.—The car dinal doctrine of this sect was the sacredness of the inspired Law of God. To this they adhered with such tenacity that they were led thereby to pay the greatest homage to Moses the Lawgiver, and to consider blasphemy of his name a capital offence. They believed that to obey diligently the commandments of the Lord, to lead a pure and holy life, to mortify the flesh and the lusts thereof, and to be meek and lowly in spirit, would bring them in closer communion with their Creator, and make them the temples of the Holy Ghost, when they would be able to prophesy and perform miracles, and, like Elias, be ultimately the fore runners of the Messiah. This last stage of perfec tion, however, could only be attained by gradual growth in holiness, and by advancement from one degree to another. Thus, when one was admitted a member of this order, and had obtained the rtr = ircp(Pcop.a, apron, which, from its being used to dry oneself with after the baptisms, was the symbol of purity, he attained—J. To the state of outward or bodily purity by baptisms (riN'Zn mrnt ni% 4-6). 2. From bodily purity he progressed to that stage which imposed abstinence from con nubial intercourse (-1r41n MN= 3. From this stage, again, he attained to that of inward or spiritual purity (416 rit.ozn n4,v4-1n nirc). 4. From this stage, again, he advanced to that which required the banishing of all anger and malice, and the cultivation of a meek and lowly spirit 0-1nt 4-6 ;mu). 5. Thence he advanced to the stage of holiness (rit,rmn nny nrrari 6. Thence, again, he advanced to that wherein he was fit to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, and to prophesy uwzn p711). 7. Thence, again, he advanced to that state when he could perform miraculous cures and raise the dead ()]"rirn 4-6 ripri nro ; and S. Attained finally to the position of Elias, the forerunner of the Messiah (1rp9N tYnrin).