Waiting for the Messiah: the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity

by Moshe Dann (May 2015)

This provides the first clue of a connection between the Essenes in the Second Temple period and the beginnings of what became Christianity. There are two sources of information about the Essenes: contemporary Roman historians, like Josephus, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

Josephus (The Jewish War, Bk.II, Ch.7) describes the Essenes as “Jews by birth” who lived a communal, pietistic and celibate life. They were, however, stricter than other Jews, “for not only do they prepare their meals the previous day so as to avoid lighting a fire on the Sabbath, they do not remove any utensil, or go and ease themselves.” According to their view, one should not relieve oneself on the Sabbath! This may be based on their interpretation of the Biblical requirement to dig a hole for this purpose outside the encampment and whether it was permitted on Shabbat. (Deut.23:14)

In Judaism, mikveh is a spiritual renewal and primarily a ritual purification for women after menstruation ceases, and is also a required for men as well in certain cases, although today it is usually customary. During the First and Second Temple periods, immersion in a mikveh was required before ascending to the Temple Mount and for other forms of purification. The Essenes believed that ritual washing was essential for repentance and in preparation for purification by the Holy Spirit at the Messianic end of time, and, since they believed in the imminent coming of the messiah, they needed to maintain a constant state of ritual purity. Christians adopted this notion of ritual purity as baptism, a symbol of death and rebirth, and later as a ritual cleansing of the participant from “original sin.”

Rejecting Temple priesthood, which no doubt represented mainstream Judaism of that time, the Essenes also used some form of a solar calendar. This may indicate a break with the way in which Jews determine new months and holidays, or perhaps it was simply a way of calculating precise hourly time. And they believed in predestination, contrary to the fundamental Jewish belief in free will, and an imminent apocalypse.

Were they still practicing Judaism? Although difficult to judge from our perspective, there is no doubt that they believed they were observant Jews. Their strictly literal, “fundamentalist” interpretation of Torah, however, combined with their deviations, placed them on the fringes of Jewish society. This was, indeed, exactly where they wanted to be, for they viewed their society as totally corrupt and on the verge of destruction.

In rejecting the authority of Oral Torah and substituting their own peculiar interpretations and practices from the tradition of legal formulations and procedures established by rabbis, the Essenes intensified the gap between themselves and the rest of their society.

Tefilin found at Qumran, for example, did not conform to rabbinic law. In some cases, the Ten Commandments were included. Contents of tefillin found at Qumran, although incomplete, are the oldest yet discovered, and, quite surprisingly, some appear to contain both the orders according to Rashi and his grandson, Rabbenu Tam. This means the difference of opinion between them did not originate with them, but was at least more than a thousand years older.

The discovery of several sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls at Masada, may indicate that other scroll fragments found there, including some from the Tanach, were written by the Essenes. What are they doing there? Is it possible that Josephus was wrong and that the people who committed murder and suicide at Masada were not really Zealots, or Scarii, but Essenes? Did the Essenes join the defenders at Masada? 

The function of the buildings excavated at Qumran is also controversial. Most scholars believe it was a sort of monastery in which scribes wrote and lived. Members of the sect may also have inhabited caves scattered throughout the surrounding mountains. With destruction by the Romans imminent, they may have hidden their works in caves adjacent to the central complex of buildings and from there, escaped into the desert, or even to Masada. Some believe they made their way to Babylon, where they eventually resurfaced hundreds of years later as Karaites, although this is quite doubtful. Other scholars have found similarities between the Essenes and the Samaritans.

Although the Essenes used a solar calendar, similar to the Julian/Gregorian (Christian) calendar used today, its purpose is not clear. Moslems use a lunar calendar. Jews use one which is intercalated, basically lunar with solar additions.

It is not clear if the Essenes believed in one messiah, or two. Some texts refer to the messiah as a priest, from the family of Aaron, and another from one of the other tribes of Israel. A scroll fragment called the “Messianic Apocalypse,” however, speaks of a single messianic figure, and describes the resurrection of the dead. It is almost word for word parallel with the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. (In contrast, Jews believe that God, not the messiah, will resurrect the dead. There is, however, no reference in the Bible about a messiah raising the dead.) 

Both Essene and Christian texts speak of a messianic personality in very human terms. But unlike the Christian belief that the messiah will bring salvation, or damnation, the Essenes avoided this definition, envisioning, rather, a final clash between the forces of good and evil. In that sense, perhaps, they saw themselves as social revolutionaries, who, by their example, would create a new world order. 

The unique contribution of the Essenes was their introduction of a new concept: a messiah as an eschatological figure, a savior, and themselves as his purified disciples. Depicted as the “Son of Man,” “Prince,” “Judge,” “Teacher of Righteousness,” he would bring about salvation, heal the sick, and raise the dead. His persecution and suffering was atonement for sins. Never before had any group dared to propose such a messianic identity and focus their lives in anticipation of his imminent arrival. 

Was Christianity the spiritual heir of the Essenes? Was Christianity the vehicle by which Jewish messianism was spread throughout the world, albeit in a much different form? And what was the impact of these views on Jewish messianism as it developed subsequently, especially during times of persecution, as in the Middle Ages?

The Dead Sea Scrolls represent a turning point in Jewish history. They challenge us with intriguing questions about the nature and development of Judaism during a period of turmoil. Swept by waves of foreign cultures and armies, influenced by new ideas, Jewish civilization struggled to find stability and authenticity. With the destruction of the Temple and the development of Christianity, directions and distinctions became clearer. One path led towards normative Judaism, the other towards a very different world view.

In the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the devastating Bar Kochba rebellion (135 CE), rabbis led the Jewish people towards the world of here-and-now, good deeds (mitzvoth). The process of writing down the Oral Law, although primarily a scholarly activity, had tremendous implications for the next stage of Jewish history. It provided a structure and purpose to replace Temple rituals. And it occurred at the same time that a new religion was developing based on a messianic figure.

Christianity did not abandon Jewish ethics and morality, but turned toward the primacy of Faith and The Messiah, rather than the life-structure embodied in the Oral Law.

By opening up their new religion to anyone and everyone without conditions, or restrictions, Christianity offered the widest possible appeal. There were few obligations and few clear notions of sin, what was permitted, or prohibited, and even when these were violated, absolution was readily available.

Torah and the rabbis were very careful to avoid any form of a cult of personality. They understood that it could lead to a breakdown of the delicate system of checks and balances and ultimately, totalitarianism.

Rabbinic Judaism, the form of Judaism that survived and prevailed over the last two thousand years, made these distinctions very clear in spite of popular demands and hopes that one figure or another would save them. The rabbis understood that the end of one desperate situation could easily become the beginning of another.  

Moshe Dann is a writer and journalist living in Jerusalem. His new book, As Far As The Eye Can See, is published by New English Review Press.

 

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