Editing Essenes (section)

== Connection to other religious traditions ==

=== Mandaeism ===
{{see also|Mandaeans#Origin}}
[[File:Genesis apocryphon.jpg|thumb|The [[Genesis Apocryphon]], part of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]]]
The [[Haran Gawaita]] uses the name [[Nazarene (sect)#Nasoraean Mandaeans|Nasoraeans]] for the [[Mandaeans]] arriving from Jerusalem, meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.<ref name=RudolphEI>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mandaeans-2-religion |title=Mandaeans ii. The Mandaean Religion |access-date=3 January 2022|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|date=7 April 2008}}</ref> Scholars such as [[Kurt Rudolph]], [[Rudolf Macúch]], [[Mark Lidzbarski]] and [[E. S. Drower|Ethel S. Drower]] connect the Mandaeans with the [[Essenes#Rules, customs, theology, and beliefs|Nasaraeans]] described by [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], a group within the Essenes according to [[Joseph Lightfoot]].<ref>Lidzbarski, Mark, Ginza, der Schatz, oder das Grosse Buch der Mandaer, Leipzig,
1925</ref><ref name=Drower1960>{{Cite book | last =Drower | first =Ethel Stephana | author-link =E. S. Drower | date =1960 | title =The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis | location =London UK | publisher =Clarendon Press | no-pp =true| url=http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306132110/http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf|archive-date=6 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|xiv}}{{sfn|Rudolph|1977|p=4}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Richard |title=The Israelite Origins of the Mandaean People |journal=Studia Antiqua |date=29 January 2016 |volume=5 |issue=2 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua/vol5/iss2/4/ }}</ref><ref>Macuch, Rudolf A Mandaic Dictionary (with E. S. Drower). Oxford: Clarendon Press 1963.</ref><ref>R. Macuch, "Anfänge der Mandäer. Versuch eines geschichtliches Bildes bis zur früh-islamischen Zeit", chap. 6 of F. Altheim and R. Stiehl, ''Die Araber in der alten Welt II: Bis zur Reichstrennung'', Berlin, 1965.</ref><ref name=lightfoot1875/> Epiphanius (29:6) says that they existed before Jesus. That is questioned by some, but others accept the pre-Christian origin of the Nasaraeans.<ref name=Drower1960/>{{rp|xiv}}<ref>The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book I (Sects 1–46) Frank Williams, translator, 1987 (E.J. Brill, Leiden) ISBN 90-04-07926-2</ref>

Early religious concepts and terminologies recur in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], and ''[[yardna|Yardena]]'' [[River Jordan|(Jordan)]] has been the name of every baptismal water in [[Mandaeism]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=chWcZcYcyeQC}}|title=Iconography of Religions: An Introduction|editor-last=Moore|editor-first=Albert C.|date=1977|publisher=Chris Robertson|isbn=9780800604882|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Rudolph|chapter=Mandaeism|volume=21|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/iconographyofrel0000moor}}</ref>{{rp|5}} ''Mara ḏ-Rabuta'' ([[Mandaic language|Mandaic]] for 'Lord of Greatness', which is One of the names for the Mandaean God [[Hayyi Rabbi]]) is found in the [[Genesis Apocryphon]] II, 4.<ref name="Rudolph 1964">{{cite journal|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|title=War Der Verfasser Der Oden Salomos Ein "Qumran-Christ"? Ein Beitrag zur Diskussion um die Anfänge der Gnosis|journal=Revue de Qumrân|date=April 1964|volume=4|number=16|pages=523–555|publisher=Peeters}}</ref>{{RP|552-553}} Another early self-appellation is ''bhiria zidqa'', meaning 'elect of righteousness' or 'the chosen righteous', a term found in the [[Book of Enoch]] and [[Genesis Apocryphon]] II, 4.<ref name="Rudolph 1964"/>{{RP|552-553}}<ref name=RudolphEI/><ref name="Aldihisi 2008">{{cite thesis|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/|last=Aldihisi|first=Sabah|year=2008|title=The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba|type=PhD|publisher=University College London}}</ref>{{rp|18}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coughenour|first=Robert A.|title=The Wisdom Stance of Enoch's Redactor|publisher=Brill|page=52| journal=Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period|volume=13|issue=1–2|date=Dec 1982|doi=10.1163/157006382X00035 }}</ref> As Nasoraeans, Mandaeans believe that they constitute the true congregation of ''bnia nhura'', meaning 'Sons of Light', a term used by the Essenes.<ref name=BSN>{{cite web|author=Brikhah S. Nasoraia|title=Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion|year=2012|url=http://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D201813/2012_I/2012_I_NASORAIAB.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|50}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-War-of-the-Sons-of-Light-Against-the-Sons-of-Darkness|title=The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> Mandaean scripture affirms that the Mandaeans descend directly from [[John the Baptist]]'s original Nasoraean Mandaean disciples in Jerusalem.<ref name=HG>{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa|publisher=Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana|year=1953}}</ref>{{rp|vi, ix}} Similar to the Essenes, it is forbidden for a Mandaean to reveal the names of the angels to a gentile.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran|publisher=Oxford at the Clarendon Press|year=1937}}</ref>{{rp|94}} Essene graves are oriented north–south<ref>{{cite book|last=Hachlili|first=Rachel|title=Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land of Israel|publisher=E. J. Brill|place=Leiden, The Netherlands|year=1988|page=101|isbn=9004081151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JswUAAAAIAAJ&dq=essene+burial&pg=PA101}}</ref> and a Mandaean's grave must also be in the north–south direction so that if the dead Mandaean were stood upright, they would face north.<ref name="auto2"/>{{rp|184}} Mandaeans have an oral tradition that some were originally vegetarian<ref name=Drower1960/>{{rp|32}} and also similar to the Essenes, they are [[pacifist]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newman|first=Hillel|title=Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period|date=2006|publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV|isbn=9789047408352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhJYEAAAQBAJ&q=Proximity+to+Power+and+Jewish+Sectarian+Groups+of+the+Ancient+Period}}</ref>{{rp|47}}<ref name="DEUTSCH2">{{cite web|last=Deutsch|first=Nathaniel|date=6 October 2007|title=Save the Gnostics|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/opinion/06deutsch.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref>

The ''bit manda'' ([[beth manda]]) is described as ''biniana rba ḏ-šrara'' ("the Great building of Truth") and ''bit tušlima'' ("house of Perfection") in [[Mandaean texts]] such as the ''[[Qulasta]]'', ''[[Ginza Rabba]]'', and the ''[[Mandaean Book of John]]''. The only known literary parallels are in Essene texts from [[Qumran]] such as the ''[[Community Rule]]'', which has similar phrases such as the "house of Perfection and Truth in Israel" (''Community Rule'' 1QS VIII 9) and "house of Truth in Israel."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=607cb5ef1eb49|title=About the Links between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mandaean Liturgy|last=Hamidović|first=David|journal=ARAM Periodical|volume=22|year=2010|pages=441–451|doi=10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131048}}</ref>

=== Christianity ===
[[File:Saint John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness by Anton Raphael.png|thumb|John the Baptist was possibly an Essene.<ref name=":0" />|190x190px]]
Rituals of the Essenes and [[Christianity]] have much in common; the Dead Sea Scrolls describe a meal of bread and wine that will be instituted by the [[messiah]], both the Essenes and Christians were eschatological communities, where judgement on the world would come at any time.<ref name="jpost.com">{{Cite news |title=The Essenes and the origins of Christianity |url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-essenes-and-the-origins-of-christianity-562442 |access-date=2022-04-12 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The New Testament also possibly quotes writings used by the Qumran community. Luke 1:31-35 states ''" And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High&nbsp;... the son of God"'' which seems to echo [[4Q246|4Q 246]], stating: ''"He will be called great and he will be called Son of God, and they will call him Son of the Most High&nbsp;... He will judge the earth in righteousness&nbsp;... and every nation will bow down to him".''<ref name="jpost.com"/>

Other similarities include high devotion to the faith even to the point of martyrdom, communal prayer, self denial and a belief in a captivity in a sinful world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Lost and Hidden Christianity |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/losthiddenchristianity_article_01.shtml |access-date=2022-05-11 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[John the Baptist]] has also been argued to have been an Essene, as there are numerous parallels between John's mission and the Essenes, which suggests he perhaps was trained by the Essene community.<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=St. John the Baptist - Possible relationship with the Essenes {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Baptist/Possible-relationship-with-the-Essenes |access-date=2022-04-12 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

In the early church a book called the [[Odes of Solomon]] was written. The writer was likely a very early convert from the Essene community into Christianity. The book reflects a mixture of mystical ideas of the Essene community with Christian concepts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Denzer |first=Pam |title=Odes of Solomon: Early Hymns of the Jewish Christian Mystical Tradition |url=https://www.academia.edu/4440268}}</ref>

Both the Essenes and Christians practiced voluntary celibacy and prohibited divorce.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Essenes and the origins of Christianity |url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-essenes-and-the-origins-of-christianity-562442 |access-date=2022-06-19 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Both also used concepts of "light" and "darkness" for good and evil.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fitzmyer |first=Joseph A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlwB8K0hiLIC&dq=Paul+and+Essenes+Habakkuk&pg=PA101 |title=The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls |date=2009 |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=978-0-8091-4615-4 |language=en}}</ref>

A few have claimed that the Essenes had an idea of a pierced Messiah based on [[The War of the Messiah|4Q285]]; however, the interpretation of the text is ambiguous. Some scholars interpreted it as the Messiah being killed himself, while modern scholars mostly interpret it as the Messiah executing the enemies of Israel in an eschatological war.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stuckenbruck |first1=Loren T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1E6_DwAAQBAJ&dq=4Q285+Christianity&pg=PT507 |title=T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volume One |last2=Gurtner |first2=Daniel M. |date=2019-12-26 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-65813-5 |language=en}}</ref>

Both the Essenes and Christians practiced a ritual of immersion by water, however the Essenes had it as a regular practice instead of a one time event.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Charlesworth |first=James H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axIMoFf-D5YC&dq=Baptism+Essenes&pg=PA450 |title=The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The scrolls and Christian origins |date=2006 |publisher=Baylor University Press |isbn=978-1-932792-21-8 |language=en}}</ref>

===Magarites===
The Magharians or [[Magarites]] ({{Langx|ar|Al-Maghariyyah}}, 'people of the caves')<ref name=dss>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/|isbn=978-0-19-508450-4|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls|title=Magharians|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-first=Lawrence H.|editor-last=Schiffman|editor2-first=James C.|editor2-last=VanderKam}}</ref> were, according to [[Jacob Qirqisani]], a [[Judaism|Jewish]] sect founded in the 1st century&nbsp;BCE.
[[Abraham Harkavy]] and others identify the Magharians with the Essenes, and their author referred to as the "Alexandrinian" with [[Philo]] (whose affinity for the Essenes is well-known), based on the following evidence:{{r|dss}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Abraham|last=Harkavy|chapter=Le-Ḳorot ha-Kittot be-Yisrael|editor-link=Heinrich Graetz|editor-first=Heinrich|editor-last=Grätz|title=Geschichte der Juden|volume=iii|page=496|language=he}}</ref>
* The sect's name, which, in his view, does not refer to its books but to its followers who lived in caves or desert areas—an established Essene lifestyle;
* The sect's founding date coinciding with that of the Essenes;
* The theory that God interacts with humans through an angel aligning with Essene beliefs, as well as Philo's concept of the ''[[Philo#Logos|Logos]]'';
* Qirqisani's omission of the Essenes from his list of Jewish sects, which can be explained if he considered the Magharians to be synonymous with the Essenes.