Becker Bible Teacher Resources

A Jewish social-religious sect whose members, like the Sadducees, considered themselves to be the true descendants of Sadok, the high priest of Solomon. They rejected the temple priests as corrupt; only priests affiliated with their sect were deemed pure. Founded by a man they refer to as the "Teacher of Righteousness," they established a semi-monastic community near the Dead Sea. In 1947, leather scrolls sealed in hermetically sealed jars, in the Essene community of Qumran were discovered by a shepherd boy. The Wady Qumran Manuscripts, known as the "Dead Sea Scrolls", dated between c. 200 B.C. and A.D. 66-70, contain the oldest extant Hebrew manuscripts as well as documents unique to the Essene sect. The Essenes belief in the immediate coming of God's Kingdom was connected to their confidence in the physical resurrection of the body. They were preoccupied with the end-of-days, the nearness of God and the need for repentance. The Essenes thought they were the first generation of God's people, preparing to meet the prophesized Jewish Messiah in their lifetime.