When Joshua led some 600,000 Israelites into the promised land (ca 1170 BCE), all were "holy to the Lord," that is all were Hasidim (Essenes).

At the time the Community Rule Scroll was written, shortly before the emergence of the Sadducees (175 BCE), all Israelis from the High Priest to the lowest peasant were members of the Community of God, that is Essenes.

The Effect of the Emergence of Other Sects

1. Effects of the organization: The ruler might be called High Priest of king and be a Sadducee or a Pharisee, but the functions and powers of the office remained unchanged. Similarly the Secretariat might be dominated by the Pharisees of Sadducees, but its functions and powers remained unchanged. The political organization of the country was not affected by the emergence of other sects.

2. The Effect on the Numbers of Essenes.

a) Josephus stated that in Herod's time (37 BCE to 7CE) there were 6,000 in the sect of the Pharisees. At about the same time (30 CE), Philo stated members of the Essene sect "dwell in many cities of Judea and in many villages and in great societies of many numbers" and that 4,000 lived in communes. It must be emphasized that both these members refer to Sect members only: the scribes, rabbis and priests, and does not include adherents of the sects.
 

b) Also about the same time during Jesus' ministry (ca 31-34 CE), he preached in a large number of synagogues, only of of which was Phariseean.
 

c) When Essenes made their pilgrimages to the temple, they entered by a gate that, because of their numbers, became known as the Gate of the Essenes.
 

d) The estimates I have seen of the total number of Sadducees and their adherents during Herod's reign, range between 10,000 and 15,000, while those of the Pharisees and their adherents range from 16,000 to 25,000 (with 20,000 living in Jerusalem). If it is assumed there were five adherents for each sect member during Herod's reign, the total number of Pharisees would have been 30,000.

Josephus stated that the "Pharisees were extremely influential among the townsfolk (Loeb Classical Library), while a classical Greek scholar translated the phrase as "they were very persuasive among the city folk."

As the Sect of the Sadducees attracted "only the rich" who also lived in the cities, the membership of these Sects and adherents was confined, almost exclusively, to Jerusalem.

As the population of Israel at the time was some 2.5 million, it would appear the emergence of the other sects had little effect on the number of Essenes and would explain why Philo devoted more than 90% of his descriptions of the Sects to the Essenes.

e) The Revolt against the Romans in 67 CE

Habakkuk, the prophet, writing in the troubled time prior to the Chaldean invasions (597 BCE) cries to God, "Oh Lord, how long shall I cry for help and thou wilt not hear me?" "Or cry to Thee of violence and Thou wilt not save?" The writer of the Commentary on the Habakkuk Scroll interprets this as Habakkuk asking God "How long must we suffer invasions before the beginning of the final generation?" In reply God describes (according to the writer of the Scroll) all the invasions of the people will have to endure before that time is reached.

1st "The Kittim [enemy] who are quick and valiant in war, causing many to perish--they shall march across the plain, smiting and plundering the cities of the earth. This is the Chaldean invasions, ca 597 BCE.

2nd "The Kittim who inspire all nations with fear and dread, All their evil-plotting is done with intention and they deal with all the nations in cunning and guild." These are the Persians, ca 538 BCE.

3rd "The Kittim who trample the earth with their horses and beasts, they come from afar, from the islands of the sea to devour all the people like an eagle that cannot be satisfied." These are the Greeks, ca 333 BCE.

4th "The commanders of Kittim, who despise the fortresses of the people, and laugh at them with derision. To capture them and encircle them with a mighty host, and out of fear and terror, they deliver themselves into their hands." These were the Egyptians, ca 312 BCE.

5th "The commanders of the Kittim, who on the council of the house of Guilt, pass one in front of the other, their commanders come to lay waste the earth." These are the Seleucids, ca 200 BCE. [The house of Guilt refers to the house of Tobias, "who fled to Antiochus and besought Him to make use of them for his leaders to make an expedition into Judah."]

6th "The Kittim shall gather in their riches, together with all their booty--they sacrifice to their standards and worship the weapons of war--they divide their yoke and their tribute over all the people year by year ravaging many lands." These are the Romans, ca 63 BCE.

7th "The Kittim who cause many to perish by the sword--youth, grown men, the aged, women and children--and who even take no pity on the fruit of the womb." These are the Parthians, ca 42 BCE.

So God has told Habakkuk (according to the writer of the Commentary) that the Parthians will be the last invaders and their expulsion will mark "the beginning of the final generation." But He did not make known when time would come to an end. "When God would execute the judgment of the nations by the hands of His elect, and through their chastisement all the wicked of His people shall expiate their guilt." So the faithful should start preparing themselves for the final battle against the wicked.

The men of Qumran drew up a very imaginative description of how the battle would be fought and won, which is contained in the so-called War Scroll. In it the writer sees the "wicked" as Parthians (called Assyrians in the Scroll), and the Romans (called Japeth in the Scroll). It is the Essenes who will fight this final battle "the people of the saints and the Covenant. Now all that was needed was a signal from God to start the battle. Jesus assured his disciples the signal would come during the lifetime of his generation.

There were a number of insurrections against the Roman occupation before the final conflagration in 67 CE, which were probably engineered by the Zealots and Sicarri (sects of the Essenes, according to Hippolytus), but the Romans seem to have had little trouble in suppressing them.

In Wars, Josephus states before the revolt "there were also such omens observed as were understood to be forerunners of evil, for such as loved peace, but by those that kindled the war interpreted as to suit their own inclinations."

These omens, whatever they were, were taken by the Essenes as the long-awaited signs from God to start the final battle and they raised the Israeli army to fight it.

According to Josephus, both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were against the revolt.

Therefore, it was the Essenes who instigated the revolt, provided the leadership and the men for the armies. Even the Sect members (except for the priests) joined the battle. John, an Essene scribe, was given command of an army.

f) After the Revolt. Josephus, writing after the revolt in 67 CE says, "The Sadducees attract only the rich" and "the cities give great attestation to the Pharisees," while "the Essenes occupied not one city but settle in large numbers in every town." In addition, some 4,000 of the sect live in agricultural communities. Support for the Sadducees and Pharisees was still confined largely to the cities while the Essenes still had support in the cities. Outside the cities, the population was virtually all Essenes, as Israel's economy was based on agriculture.

The revolt seems to have little impact on the number of Essenes. Their predominance is reflected in Josephus devoting over 90% of his description of the sects to that of the Essenes. Hippolytus, writing about 210 CE devoted half a chapter to a description of the Pharisees, one chapter to the Sadducees, and nine and a half chapters to the Essenes, which indicates the Essenes were still the predominant sect.

Number of Essenes Outside Israel

g) Fragments of the Scroll, called the Zadokite fragments, have been found in Egypt and Masada. Philo states there were Essenes in Syria. The letters of Paul, addressed to congregations of "saints" outside Israel indicate there were Essenes. It would seem that virtually all, if not all, Jews outside Israel were Essenes.

Their Importance

1. The Army

Israel had no permanent army. Each time one was required, it had to be mustered from the general population. As shown previously, this could only be done with the consent of the National Assembly, where the Essenes were dominant and whose philosophy forbade active opposition to an invading or occupation army and to the ruler.

The Result: When the Greeks invaded Israel (333 BCE) it must have surprised Alexander the Great to be greeted, not with opposition, but a warm welcome from the High Priest. After the Egyptian invasion (312 BCE), an amazed Egyptian observer wrote "there is a nation of the Jews who inhabit a city strong and great, named Jerusalem. Those men take no cares, but let it come into the hand of Ptolemy, as not willing to take up arms and thereby submitted to be under a hard master by reason of their unreasonable superstition."

When Alcinus, accompanied by a foreign army, entered Israel to enforce his claim to the High Priesthood in 162 BCE, he was met, not by an Israeli army, but by a group of Essene scribes who tried to persuade him to retreat. They were unsuccessful.

Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE), a Sadducee ruler, had no trouble getting the National Assembly to agree to raise an army to reclaim lost Israeli territory. He was very successful, but later, his personal conduct became so obnoxious, the Pharisees decided he should be replaced.

Because of their philosophy, the Essenes would support neither side and therefore neither side was able to get the support of the army and both had to rely on foreign and Israeli mercenaries. Alexander eventually retained his power when his supporters, "the rich Sadducees", were able to entice the Pharisee Jewish mercenaries to switch sides, presumably by offering higher pay.

No Israeli army was mustered to defend the Country from the time of return from exile (538 BCE) until the attempt to overthrow Roman rule (67 CE).

During this same period, only once did the Essenes attempt to overthrow a ruler and expel an occupational army. In 166 BCE, the Maccabees and their followers attempt both against the Seleucids. They were successful, but they were still excommunicated and, as shown earlier, formed a sect of their own, the Pharisees.

Because of their numbers and philosophy, an Israeli army could not be raised without the consent of the Essenes.

2. Political Power

a) Within Jerusalem, a ruler had his own law courts and militia to enforce his decrees. Outside the city, however, the tribal chiefs ruled. They controlled the law courts and the law enforcement bodies and they were Essenes, as were their appointees. Therefore, when considering legislation, a ruler had to be sure the Essenes would obey it. If they didn't they would simply ignore it and the ruler, being unable to raise an army, was powerless to enforce it. Even a mercenary army would be powerless in the face of massive disobedience.

Herod increased the taxes and required an oath of fealty from the Pharisees, they rebelled unsuccessfully and suffered severe casualties. He did not impose the same laws on the Essenes, not, as Josephus said, "Because they were his friends (they actually hated him as a foreign, Idumean, ruler of their country), but because he knew he was powerless to enforce them. Thus, to include the Essenes in the laws would gain him nothing and only increase their animosity.

b) In 66 CE, the dispute over who should be king between Hyrcanus, supported by the Pharisees, and Aristobolus, supported by the Sadducees, was referred to the Roman Pompey for arbitration. He heard delegates from both sects, plus one "from the nation against them both," who did not want a kingly government, but a priestly one like their forefathers."

The Essene sect that wanted a priestly form of government, "could not dispute with those in authority" because of the oath the members had taken, and sent instead "representatives of the nation," which consisted of leading adherents, probably the tribal leaders. In 63 BCE, Pompey installed Hyrcanus as ruler--but as a High Priest as the Essenes had requested, not as King as requested by the Pharisees.

Because of their numbers and philosophy, the Essenes were greatly able to influence the enactment of legislation.

Contra Evidence

1. There were only about 4,000 Essenes.

Almost invariably the number of Essenes is said to be "about 4,000" with the source cited as Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Ch. 1 Para 1.

That paragraph begins by extolling the virtues of all Essenes. "They exceed all other men that addict themselves to virtue and thus in righteousness--this is demonstrated in that institute of theirs, which will not suffer anything to hinder them from having common ownership."

I believe that Josephus is not referring to all Essenes, but only to a particular institution with the organization. Just as, when the Roman Catholic Church is discussed, monasticism is referred to as "That institution of theirs which will not suffer..."

He then goes on to discuss their lifestyle (not much different from some monasteries today) and says "about 4,000 live in this way." Ein Feshkha, described by Pliny, was one of these communes.

Aside from living and working communally, "none of them differs from others of the Essenes in their way of living." How many "others"? "They lived in cities and settled in large numbers in every town," according to Josephus.

Philo also refers to "that sect of the Essenes" that lives communally. Although the communes he describes are different from those described by Josephus in that the members work for wages in the nearby villages, which they deposit into the common treasury. He says about 4,000 Essenes live this way while the rest "dwell in many cities of Judea, and in many villages and in great societies of many numbers."

Josephus and Philo did not say there were "about 4,000 Essenes". They said about 4,000 Essenes lived in communes.

2. Qumran could only accommodate a few hundred, therefore the Sect was very small.

Rejoinder:

Qumran was home to only the most holy Essenes, the Rabbis (members of the Community in Israel). When Jesus and John the Baptist, "went out into the wilderness" it was to their home in Qumran.

The fact the graveyard contains skeletons of a few females and children seems to have been a matter of controversy. The men of Qumran required looking after--cleaning, washing, cooking etc. I suggest it was the bodies of these servants and their children who died while in service that were buried in the Qumran graveyard.

3. Qumran could not have been a religious building because there was no altar.

Rejoinder:

The men of Qumran were so holy that they "could obtain loving kindness for the land without the flesh of holocausts and the fat of sacrifice. And prayers rightly offered would be an acceptable fragrance of righteousness and perfection of the way as a delectable free-will offering." Qumran therefore did not need an altar for sacrifices.

4. The lifestyle of the Essenes, as described by Josephus is so restrictive it could be followed by a few, very dedicated men.

Rejoinder:

That lifestyle was only followed by the men of the Council of the Community (scribes) and not by the adherents of the Sect and it does not seem that much different from life in a rectory today.

5. Josephus does not mention the Essenes during the political struggles and invasion because they were to few and insignificant.

Rejoinder:

The Essenes philosophy forbade their opposition to invaders and taking part in any attempts to overthrow the rulers of the country.

When Josephus recounts these events, he does not mention them, not because they were insignificant, but because they never participated in them, in keeping with their philosophy.

6. The Essenes are not mentioned in the Gospels because they were insignificant.

Rejoinder:

It seems obvious the writers of the Gospels were not Sadducees or Pharisees but Essenes, who believed in Jesus Christ. (Those who do not are referred to as Herodians.)

For example, when a Catholic is writing about the Catholic Church, the denominations of the Churches and priests in the narrative are not mentioned unless they are non-Catholic.

Similarly, when the Gospel writers refer to synagogues, scribes, etc., they do not mention the sect unless it is not Essene. Jesus' enemies are "the Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes." The scribes are Essene scribes who disapproved of Jesus' teachings. (The Pharisees had their own scribes).

Similarly, the synagogues Jesus preached in were all Essene, except one which is identified as Phariseean.

The Essenes are not mentioned in the Gospels because the writers themselves were Essene.

7. The evidence of the number of Essenes provided by Philo, Josephus and the scrolls cannot be ruled on.

Rejoinder:

"The number of Essenes cannot be established with the certitude that Philo and Josephus attest." Why not? There is no other source that gives numbers to compare with. It would seem the reason they are judged unreliable is because they are contrary to the current theory.

Similarly, "when the Scrolls refer to the 1,000s, 100s, 50s and 10s", these amounts are "nothing more that a figure of speech." Again, the only reason for saying so seems to be, in my opinion, that if they weren't they would contradict the current theory.

8. Josephus gives far more prominence to the Essenes' beliefs and practices, not because they were most important, but "because he thought his readers would be fascinated by a group exhibiting such a curious and exotic lifestyle."

Rejoinder:

Without knowing the lifestyle of members of the other two sects, it is impossible to know if it was more or less "exotic" than that of the Essenes. It is not just Josephus (75 CE) who gave far greater prominence to the Essene sect than both Philo (30 CE) and Hippolytus (ca 210 CE). That all three writers would devote over 90% of their descriptions of the sects to that of the Essenes because they thought the readers would be interested in their lifestyle seems highly unlikely.

Normally such prominence would lead one to conclude that it was the largest and most important sect, but because this does not fit the current theory, another reason was needed, which is that it must have been the "exoticness" of their lifestyle.

9. After the fall of Jerusalem (70 CE) the Sadducees disappear as did the Essenes. "The name Pharisee fell into disuse because it had never been used by the group itself."

Rejoinder:

But they are mentioned (in) writing some 130 years after the fall of Jerusalem. Hippolytus devoted nine and a half chapters to the Essenes and one to the Sadducees, a total of 10 and a half chapters, to sects that, it is claimed, had disappeared, and devoted one half chapter--even less than that devoted to Sadducees--to the sect of the Pharisees whose adherents, it is claimed, included all Israelis.

10. The Sects and their adherents are all relatively few and the great majority of the population had no religious affiliation at all.

Rejoinder:

Given the devotion to their religion the Jews have exhibited throughout their history, I cannot believe there was a period when more than 95% of the population had no religious affiliation at all.

Conclusion

I believe that, on balance, the evidence strongly supports the claim of the early writers, that the numbers of Essenes was very large, rather than that of the current theory to the contrary.