Bible Dictionaries
Essenes
Holman Bible Dictionary
Members of a Jewish sect that existed in Palestine during the time of Christ. They are not mentioned in the New Testament. They were ascetics who practiced community of goods, generally shunned marriage, refrained from attending worship in the Temple, and attached great importance to the study of the Scriptures. Many scholars associate the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 with an Essene community. See Dead Sea Scrolls; Qumran .
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Essenes'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/e/essenes.html. 1991.