Essenes

The Essenes were a Jewish ascetic movement that flourished approximately from 150 B.C. to A.D. 70, characterized by communal living, ritual purity, celibacy (in some groups), shared property, and intense study of Scripture and law. They are not mentioned by name in the New Testament but are known from the Jewish historians Josephus and Philo and from the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran, which most scholars associate with an Essene or Essene-related community. The Essenes rejected the Jerusalem temple establishment as corrupt and anticipated a coming messianic age. Possible New Testament allusions include passages addressing asceticism and angel worship (Colossians 2:8, 18, 23) and sayings about celibacy (Matthew 19:11–12). John the Baptist's desert ministry and lifestyle has often been compared to Essene practice, though a direct connection is debated.