This is part 1 of a 3-part series on the Essenes, comparing their teachings and beliefs with those of Yeshua. Throughout this set of 3 articles, I have used ChatGPT. It would have taken me far too long to research through the entire corpus of Qumran literature myself to find what I needed, so I used ChatGPT to analyse them instead, in their entirety, which is something that most human beings would not be able to do. I asked ChatGPT to reference the latest scholarship, and collect together all the similarities, all the differences, and draw a conclusion as to whether Yeshua and James were Essenes, based on its findings.
Part 1: Were Yeshua and Yaakov Essenes? A Comparison of their Similarities
Part 2: The Shocking Similarities between Paul’s teachings and Essene beliefs
Part 3: Why Yeshua was not an Essene – the Vitally Important Differences between Yeshua and the Essenes
Introduction
Were Yeshua and Yaakov Essenes? Short answer: No. They did indeed have quite a few similarities (see below), which are down to Yeshua having had indirect roots to Essenism through Yochanan the Immerser (which I shall explain later). However, the differences are so overwhelming, that it is not possible to conclude that Yeshua and Yaakov the Pious (‘James’) were Essenes. If you wish to ascertain whether someone was a member of a particular sect or not, you need to look at their differences, not their similarities; the similarities simply suggest a shared, Second Temple Jewish ethical, cultural and spiritual environment. Too often, people who favour Yeshua as an Essene only look at their similarities, never at their [frankly quite major] differences.
Shockingly, Paul has more in common with the Essenes theologically than he does with Yeshua (see the second article in this series), which was quite an unexpected discovery! That doesn‘t mean however that Paul was ever an Essene, just that he had somehow been heavily influenced by their beliefs. Furthermore, anyone who insists on self-identifying with Essenism, ironically brings themselves closer to the beliefs of Paul of Tarsus, and distances themselves from the teachings, values and ideals of Yeshua! That is, although Paul diverges quite radically from a lot of Essene beliefs, Paul’s beliefs still coincide more often with Essene beliefs than he ever does with Yeshua’s teachings, whom he never quotes.
Many people still have a kind of fairy-tale, fantasy-like image of the Essenes, and this is mostly down to the writings of Josephus being the only source about them for nearly 2000 years (along with mentions by Pliny and Philo); Josephus seemed to have had a very high opinion of them, portraying them as a near perfect, spiritual and ascetic sect. As a result, a certain mystique has built up around them for 2000 years, and many, many books have been written about them, based on this overloaded fantasy image of the Essenes. Unfortunately, a lot of imagination and unhistorical supposition has gone into creating misleading, inaccurate accounts as to who the Essenes really were, and what their real beliefs were.
However, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has forced writers, historians and archaeologists to study the Essenes and their belief-system more realistically and honestly, with all fantasy and mythology stripped away. For a very long time, people thought that Essenes might have had something to do directly with the early Jewish followers of Yeshua. What we have learnt since the discoveries near Qumran has helped us to see that, while they had a lasting influence on the cultural environment of Judaism as a whole, there were major theological and philosophical differences with Yeshua and his disciples. Any similarities, it turns out, were all indirect.
What the Essenes called themselves
Curiously, the Essenes are not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament, and that must have been for a very good reason. What that reason was, we can only speculate – it might have been for the very same reason why Zealots are not mentioned in the NT: because of their widely-known opposition to the Romans – a fact that the pro-Roman writers of the New Testament could not allow to be made known to Gentile Christians.
The Essenes did not call themselves ‘Essenes’, (‘Essenes’ was their designation in Greek and Latin). In the Dead Sea Scrolls, they refer to their group as, ‘the Community’ (ha-Yachad, היַחַד). When referring to themselves as a collective group of individuals, they called themselves, ‘the Sons of Light’, b’ney Or (בְּנֵי אוֹר), and, ‘the Poor Ones’, ha-ʽAnavim (הענוים).
In The Exhortations, I myself refer to the Essenes as ‘sectaries’, not ‘Essenes’. This is because the Dead Sea Scrolls also refer to them as, ‘the sect of the Poor’ (kat ha-ʽanavim), ‘the sect of the Community’ (kat ha-yachad), or simply ‘the Sect’ (ha-kat). A member of the sect, a ‘sectary’, was simply ben ha-kat, literally, ‘a son of the Sect’, just as a Follower of the Way would simply have been, ben ha-dérekh, ‘a son of the Way’, or bat ha-dérekh, ‘a daughter of the Way’ (ben = son, or bat = daughter, was a simple way of describing your religious allegiance in ancient Hebrew). A Yahwist was therefore ben / bat YHVH (literally, ‘a son / daughter of YHVH‘).
The origin and early history of the Essenes
In the writings of the Qumran sect, they opposed someone they called, ‘the Wicked Priest’. This priest is never named, which has led some scholars to think that he wasn’t just one priest, but a whole successive line of priests – likely to have been the Hasmoneans, given when these documents date back to (determined through handwriting style, linguistic analysis, how individual scrolls were physically made, and carbon-dating). The earliest documents date to the mid-2nd century BCE.
In Torah, a priest cannot be a king, and a king cannot be a priest (since priests are Levites and kings are Judahites). However, the Hasmoneans (who, as descendants of Aaron were born priests) made themselves the kings of Judea, beginning with Jonathan Apphus (153-143 BCE). He was probably the first ‘Wicked Priest’. When the Hasmoneans took on the kingship, they were opposed by the Essenes and the first Pharisees.
When the dynasty of Hasmonean High Priests came to an end in 37 BCE, the line that took over – the Sadducees – were not viewed in any better light by the Essenes, so the title of ‘Wicked Priest’ was probably extended to them as well. With the Sadducees as high priests, the Essenes continued their opposition, living in quiet retreat in their desert community.
The first Essenes felt that, by taking the title of king, the non-Judahite Hasmoneans had corrupted the Aaronic priesthood, and thereafter the Essenes would have nothing to do with the Temple or its functions. In the mid-2nd century BCE, the ‘Teacher of Righteousness’ was likely their very first Essene leader, an anonymous priest who decided that they would take themselves off into the Judean desert, and thereafter live apart from the rest of Jewish society. This teacher of righteousness cannot possibly have been James the Just, given the dating of the documents in which this Teacher is first mentioned (mid-2nd century BCE).
The things that Essenes and Followers of the Way had in common
There are a number of practices that Essenes and the very first Followers of the Way had in common. This does not automatically mean that Yeshua’s community were Essenes, because they had some major differences (see third article here). The similarities can be explained through the common fulcrum of Yochanan the Immerser (‘John the Baptist’). The most reasonable and logical explanation, is that Yochanan was originally an Essene, being brought up since childhood in a community in the desert. At some point, and for unknown reasons, he founded his own movement, Nazorayism – perhaps his calling as a prophet necessitated him leaving the Essenes, or maybe he had developed some philosophical differences with them.
We can assume that he carried over some Essene practices into Nazorayism (the Mandaeans, alleged descendants of the followers of John the Baptist, record in their ancient history that they used to be called ‘Nazorayyans’).
Yeshua was, for a time, a Nazorayyan himself, being a disciple of Yochanan. Throughout the gospels, Yeshua has a very high opinion of Yochanan, especially at Mt 11:9-10; see also Mt 10:24-25, & G.Thom. 6:40 – “Is a servant above his master? In the same way, a disciple isn’t greater than his master. It’s enough for a disciple to be like his master, and for a servant to be like the one whom he serves“). Yochanan was the master in this saying, and Yeshua was the disciple. After Yochanan’s arrest, Yeshua then carried some of Yochanan’s values and teachings over into his own, separate and distinctive movement of ’the Way’.
We don’t know much about Yochanan the Immerser, apart from what is written about him in the gospels (and therefore has been heavily tainted by Paullist theology), and in the writings of Josephus. Nevertheless, it is logical to conclude that since Yochanan likely came from the Essenes, and since Yeshua was formerly a disciple of Yochanan, that whatever Yeshua and the Essenes have in common, must therefore have been what Yeshua got from Yochanan. We can therefore assume that these commonalities were practised and believed in by Yochanan as well.
Below are the main points of convergence and similarity, with careful caveats and distinctions where needed.
1. Radical Ethical Righteousness
Essene belief
- Emphasised strict moral purity, truthfulness, humility, and justice.
- Condemned greed, violence, and exploitation.
- Valued inner righteousness over mere ritual compliance.
Yeshua:
- Repeatedly taught inner righteousness and inner holiness over external observance (e.g. Sermon on the Mount).
- Condemned religious hypocrisy, material greed, and social injustice.
- Emphasised mercy, humility, and truth.
Similarity
Both prioritised ethical transformation of the heart and mind, not just legal conformity; however, the Essenes practised a strict ritual purity as well, which Yeshua did not.
2. Critique of the Jerusalem Priesthood
Essene belief
- Rejected the Temple leadership as corrupt and illegitimate.
- Viewed the priesthood as morally compromised.
- Withdrew from Temple worship while awaiting the day of divine restoration.
Yeshua:
- Harshly criticised Temple authorities (Sadducees, priests).
- Cleansed the Temple, symbolically condemning its corruption.
- Predicted its destruction.
Similarity
Both saw mainstream institutional religion as morally compromised, and expected divine judgement and renewal. However, while the Essenes would not go near the Temple, Yeshua and his disciples still venerated it as a holy place of God’s indwelling Presence.
3. Apocalyptic Worldview
Essene belief
- Lived with an intense expectation of a final, apocalyptic “end of days”.
- Believed in a cosmic war between light and darkness, between the good and the wicked.
- Expected imminent divine intervention.
Yeshua
- Proclaimed the Kingdom of God as near.
- Used the same tribulationist imagery and language used by previous Hebrew prophets
- Spoke of judgement, renewal, and reversal of power.
Similarity
Both understood that there was a time of great trial and suffering coming. However, while the Essenes saw this as a cosmic apocalypse and as a military confrontation (which they actually participated in, against the Romans), Yeshua told his followers not to participate in such conflict. There is a distinct difference between an apocalypse and a tribulation (a ’Day of YHVH’); while the Essenes saw this literally as the end of the world, Yeshua understood it as a tribulation which most people would survive (the end of an Age, just like former biblical exile prophets, not the end of the world).
4. Communal Ethos and Care for the Poor
Essene belief
- Practised communal ownership of goods.
- Cared for the poor and sick within the community.
- Rejected excessive wealth.
Yeshua
- Taught radical generosity and care for the poor.
- Warned strongly against love of wealth.
- Early Yeshua-following communities adopted communal sharing (Acts reflects this ethos).
Similarity
A communal, anti-materialistic ethic centred on compassion and social justice.
5. Emphasis on Repentance and Moral Renewal
Essene belief
- Practised ritual washings as signs of repentance and inner cleansing.
- Believed repentance was required to join the community.
Yeshua
- Preached repentance as central to entering God’s Kingdom.
- Associated closely with John the Baptist, whose baptism strongly resembles Essene purification themes.
Similarity
Both stressed repentance as a moral and spiritual transformation, not merely ritual. While Yochanan practised frequent ritual immersion as a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, Yeshua did not ever practise this type of immersion himself. The Essenes also had a strict system of examination and probation before anyone could join them; in contrast, all someone had to do to self-identify as a Follower of the Way was to repent and accept Yeshua’s teachings.
6. Use of Hebrew Scripture in an Interpretive, Ethical Way
Essene belief
- Interpreted all Scripture as speaking directly to their own time.
- Read the prophets as ethical and apocalyptic guides.
- Applied Scripture dynamically rather than rigidly.
Yeshua
- Interpreted Torah ethically and prophetically.
- Prioritised mercy, justice, and compassionate love as the heart of Scripture.
Similarity
A living, interpretive approach to Scripture, rather than a purely legalistic reading. However, while the Essenes applied virtually everything in prophecy to their own time, Yeshua seems to have been more selective.
Key Differences (Important for Balance)
Despite similarities, most reputable scholars agree that Yeshua was not an Essene:
- Essenes withdrew from society; Yeshua actively engaged in it.
- Essenes enforced strict community boundaries; Yeshua welcomed sinners and outsiders.
- Essenes focused on ritual purity; Yeshua internalised purity in favour of a transformation of the heart and mind.
- Essenes taught their followers to hate their enemies; Yeshua taught his followers to love their enemies
- Essenes awaited two Messiahs (one priestly and one Davidic); Yeshua emphasised the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Summary
The strongest similarity lies in the following shared vision:
A Judaism centred on ethical transformation, divine compassion, critique of corrupt power, future hope, and faithfulness to YHVH’s character and will.
This resonance helps explain why Yeshua’s message feels both recognisably Jewish and deeply challenging – he was speaking within a tradition already questioning mainstream institutional religion, yet radicalising it through universal compassion, mercy, and a direct relationship with God.
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Next, I want to show you some surprising similarities between Paul and the Essenes. Paul seems to have had much more in common with the Essenes, with their strict sectarian ideology, than he ever did with the teachings of Yeshua. I will look at these similarities, and the possible reasons for them:
Part 2: The Shocking Similarities between Paul’s teachings and Essene beliefs
Part 3: Why Yeshua was not an Essene – the Vitally Important Differences between Yeshua and the Essenes
Addendum: A Deeper Dive into the Parallels between Paul’s Theology and Essene Beliefs