Who Were the Essenes?
What social archaeology tells us about the Essenes of Qumran
In a recent study about the Essenes of Qumran, archaeologist Eyal Regev used the tools of social archaeology to answer the question, “Who were the Essenes?” (credit: Zev Radovan/www.biblelandpictures.com)
The study by Eyal Regev of Bar-Ilan University examines the architectural plan of Qumran and applies so-called “access analysis” to map the site’s spatial organization in order to uncover the social ideology of the Essenes of Qumran.
Regev characterizes this approach to studying the Qumran community as social archaeology, “now an established field of research which uses archaeological records to reconstruct the belief system and social organization of past societies.”
By physically dividing up and demarcating spaces—walls, doorways and entrances that are used on an everyday basis—the architecture thereby classifies and controls the movement of people and the spaces they inhabit. Studying these spaces can help archaeologists answer the question “Who were the Essenes?”
The eBook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future, brings together articles and interviews with the world’s leading experts on the scrolls. Receive your free copy today!
In a detailed analysis of the physical spaces of the Qumran community, Regev finds the occupied area is divided into different space segments, “each connected to a controlling central passage with minimal connections between segments.” The spaces within segments are also “minimally connected.” Access to most spaces is therefore “limited, and several boundaries must be crossed to reach most spaces from any starting point on the site.”
The large rooms (such as the dining room and the so-called scriptorium) used by the Essenes of Qumran “were not easily accessible and were out of view of casual entrants.” This, says Regev, means that “social encounters between the inhabitants were quite uncommon.”
From such analyses, Regev concludes that the spaces of the Qumran community reflect “an ethos of social segregation, not only between the inhabitants themselves, but, more importantly, between the inhabitants and the outside world.”
Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!
Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more
The organization of space at Qumran thus “reflects sectarian organization and ideology.” Moreover, all this is consistent with the ideology of the famous Community Rule, one of the original intact scrolls. While this does not prove that the sectarian Qumran community was Essene, together with much other evidence, both from the architecture and the finds from the excavation, the Essene identification, says Regev, is “extremely plausible.”
Based on “Moving About at Qumran,” sidebar to Sidnie White Crawford, “A View from the Caves,” Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 2011. This feature was first republished in Bible History Daily on February 7, 2013.
Related reading in Bible History Daily
Where Were the Dead Sea Scrolls Found and Who Put Them There?
All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library
Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.
Related Posts
Must-Read Free eBooks
Want more Bible history?
Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update.
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Become an All-Access Member to explore the Bible's rich history. Get Biblical Archaeology Review in print, full online access, and FREE online talks. Plus, enjoy special Travel/Study discounts. Don't miss out—begin your journey today!
So, what happen to the Essenes? is their religion still exist?
I disagree with many of the above comments connecting Jesus with the Essene community. For one, this sect originated prior to the time of Christ, at least 80 years prior. Its not unusual for writers to parallel their ideals with that of a contemporary. This does not mean that they totally agreed or arrived at the same conclusion to their own purposes. If the early followers of Jesus were connected, what good did it do them to follow Jesus? Irregardless if Pope Benedict concluded a connection, this alone does not validate the non-canonical writings much less the intent. The Essene community ceased to exist in its entirety at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. So how does this connect with Christianity if it was already a religion??
The Jesus story is a complete fabrication, written by Eusebius of Cesaria together with Lactancius, under orders of Constantine , in the CE year 303, It is as valid as Superman, or Batman stories that fill our XXieith Century imaginations. For confirmation of the Fraudulence of the Scriptures, read authors Fernando Conde Torrens; Llegari Pujol; Joseph Atwell; Bart Erhman; Ricardo Zavala Toia; Claudio Fantini; etc:.
Joseph Smith was way ahead of you folks, what took you so long to find other sources and writings of Moses we have had for 200yrs?
shmoo , is like taking him out to look at the Sun at high noon and he will say,” I dont see it!”
After reading more from the book, WHO ARE THE ESSENES? about the Savior and the Essenes, I am Certain he did not take his Teachings from the Essenes as some suggest. He may have Visited, but some accounts say He acted out of charactor around the essenes.
”The students had also to take the Nazarite vow not to eat meat or drink fermented drinks anymore. The Master said that, if a human being ate meat, he could not receive his word.”
This is utterly False and not the Words of Christ taken from Josephus account. Those who were told to abstain from meats and practice the old law was asured by Paul it was not of God. Further Revelation on this was given to Joseph Smith. 89 th section of Doctrine and Coventants and 48th section verse 18
My new book, Secret of the Savior: The Myth of the Messiah in Mark, shows how the Essenes led to Christianity. The Gospel of Mark is an allegory of the history of Israel from the Essenic point of view written in response to the fall of Jerusalem. Chapter 3 of Mark, in which Jesus founds the church, is based on the Teacher of Righteousness founding the Essenic community. Check it out.
Amazon link: http://amzn.to/14XwpHt
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this,
like you wrote the book in it or something. I
think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home
a bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog. An excellent read.
I’ll certainly be back.
What about The Egyptian Book of the dead with resembling stories yet a few thousand years (carbon dated) older than the bible?
Greetings to all of you,
Jesus was an Essene and A Gnostic. Jesus wrote part of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Nag Hammadi & the Dead Sea Scrolls, to date, are the only found scriptures that are unedited or tampered with by man and are PURE spiritual scriptures that remain UNCHALLENGED TRUTHS REGARDING OUR TRUE TRUE HISTORY!!!
I challenge anyone to prove me wrong because I am not!!! However, I am looking forward to your “PHYSICAL PROOF” that I am wrong!!!
Let the validation begin…
Sincerely, Tracey
Research all things and keep that which is good. Never believe or be led to believe, because the truth comes in knowing. To many of our people are destroyed for thier knowledge. In the beginning there was the word, and the word was with god and god was the word. the bible is just words, nobody saw anything, but look how powerful the word are. everything boils down to words.In hebrew they tell a very different story if you start looking up the meanings. the spirit of words make doctors, lawyers ect and ect. Mans words make god of little effect.