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The Essenes (in Modern Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Εσσήνοι, Εσσαίοι, or Οσσαίοι, ''Essḗnoi, Essaíoi, Ossaíoi'') were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests.〔F.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956.〕 Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time), the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism (some groups practiced celibacy), voluntary poverty, and daily immersion. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Roman Judaea. The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are commonly believed to be the Essenes' library—although there is no proof that the Essenes wrote them. These documents preserve multiple copies of parts of the Hebrew Bible untouched from possibly as early as 300 BCE until their discovery in 1946. Some scholars dispute the notion that the Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.〔Hillel Newman, Ph.D Bar Ilan University : ''Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period'' Brill ISBN 90-04-14699-7.〕 Rachel Elior questions even the existence of the Essenes. The first reference is by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (died ) in his ''Natural History''.〔 cf. (English translation ).〕 Pliny relates in a few lines that the Essenes do not marry, possess no money, and had existed for thousands of generations. Unlike Philo, who did not mention any particular geographical location of the Essenes other than the whole land of Israel, Pliny places them in Ein Gedi, next to the Dead Sea. A little later Josephus gave a detailed account of the Essenes in ''The Jewish War'' (), with a shorter description in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' () and ''The Life of Flavius Josephus'' (). Claiming first hand knowledge, he lists the ''Essenoi'' as one of the three sects of Jewish philosophy〔Josephus (). ''The Wars of the Jews''. 2.119.〕 alongside the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He relates the same information concerning piety, celibacy, the absence of personal property and of money, the belief in communality and commitment to a strict observance of Sabbath. He further adds that the Essenes ritually immersed in water every morning, ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to charity and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were very mindful of the names of the angels kept in their sacred writings. Pliny, also a geographer, located them in the desert near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. == Name == Josephus uses the name ''Essenes'' in his two main accounts〔Josephus. ''The Wars of the Jews''. 2.119, 158, 160.〕〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 13.171-2.〕 as well as in some other contexts ("an account of the Essenes";〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 13.298.〕 "the gate of the Essenes";〔Josephus. ''The Wars of the Jews''. 5.145.〕 "Judas of the Essene race";〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 13.311.〕 but some manuscripts read here ''Essaion''; "holding the Essenes in honour";〔Josephus (). ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 15.372.〕 "a certain Essene named Manaemus";〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 15.373.〕 "to hold all Essenes in honor";〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 15.378.〕 "the Essenes").〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 18.11.〕〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 18.18.〕〔Josephus. ''The Life of Flavius Josephus''. 10.〕 In several places, however, Josephus has ''Essaios'', which is usually assumed to mean ''Essene'' ("Judas of the ''Essaios'' race";〔Josephus. ''The Wars of the Jews''. I.78.〕 "Simon of the ''Essaios'' race";〔Josephus. ''The Wars of the Jews''. 2.113.〕 "John the ''Essaios''";〔Josephus. ''The Wars of the Jews''. 2.567; 3.11.〕 "those who are called by us ''Essaioi''";〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 15.371.〕 "Simon a man of the ''Essaios'' race").〔Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. 17.346.〕 Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period.〔''And when I was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to make trim of the several sects that were among us. These sects are three: - The first is that of the Pharisees, the second that Sadducees, and the third that of the Essenes, as we have frequently told you'' - (The Life of Josephus Flavius, 2 ).〕 Philo's usage is ''Essaioi'', although he admits this Greek form of the original name that according to his etymology signifies "holiness" to be inexact.〔Philo. ''(Quod Omnis Probus Liber )''. XII.75-87.〕 Pliny's Latin text has ''Esseni''.〔〔Pliny the Elder. ''Natural History''. 5.73.〕 Gabriele Boccaccini implies that a convincing etymology for the name Essene has not been found, but that the term applies to a larger group within Palestine that also included the Qumran community. It was proposed before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered that the name came into several Greek spellings from a Hebrew self-designation later found in some Dead Sea Scrolls, osey hatorah'', "observers of torah." Although dozens of etymology suggestions have been published, this is the only etymology published before 1947 that was confirmed by Qumran text self-designation references, and it is gaining acceptance among scholars.〔For example, James C. VanderKam, "Identity and History of the Community." In The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment, ed. Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam, 2:487–533. Leiden: Brill, 1999. The earliest known proposer of this etymology was P. Melanchthon, in Johann Carion, ''Chronica'', 1532, folio 68 verso. Among the other proposers before 1947, e.g., 1839 Isaak Jost, "Die Essaer," Israelitische Annalen 19, 145–7.〕 It is recognized as the etymology of the form ''Ossaioi'' (and note that Philo also offered an O spelling) and ''Essaioi'' and ''Esseni'' spelling variations have been discussed by VanderKam, Goranson and others. In medieval Hebrew (e.g. Sefer Yosippon) ''Hassidim'' ("the pious ones") replaces "Essenes". While this Hebrew name is not the etymology of ''Essaioi''/''Esseni'', the Aramaic equivalent ''Hesi'im'' known from Eastern Aramaic texts has been suggested.〔 Others suggest that Essene is a transliteration of the Hebrew word ''chitzonim'' (chitzon=outside), which the Mishna (e.g. Megila 4:8) uses to describe various sectarian groups. Another theory is that the name was borrowed from a cult of devotees to Artemis in Asia Minor, whose demeanor and dress somewhat resembled those of the group in Judaea.〔(Essenes, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1994. )〕 However, Flavius Josephus – born Yosef ben Mattathias – was the son of a priestly family on both sides and a self-described Pharisee.〔Whiston and Maier, 1999, Introduction, p.8〕 "From ages sixteen to nineteen, according to his autobiography, Josephus experimented with the various Jewish sects in order to choose the best, finally deciding on the Pharisees as the most attuned to the people. In an apparent chronological conflict, however, Josephus also states that he spent these three years with a desert ascetic named Bannus, a period that ended when he was nineteen."〔 We come to understand his true feelings about these so-called "Essenes" in Chapter 8 of "The Jewish War" as follows: :"2.(119)For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which ''pretends'' (italicized for emphasis) to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for each other than other sects have."〔Whiston and Maier, 1999, "The Jewish War" - Chapter 8, p.736〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Essenes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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