A Jewish sect in Eretz Israel in the Second Temple period, composed of collective, semi-monastic groups. They worked commonly held farm plots, supporting themselves from agriculture, cattle grazing and crafts, or by hiring themselves out and giving their wages to the communal fund. Their ideals were economic egalitarianism and opposition to slavery, war, commerce, animal sacrifice and the taking of oaths. They were especially scrupulous about ritual immersion and the laws of purity in general. They wore white garments and, as a rule, were celibate except for the minority who married in order to fulfill the biblical commandment of procreation. Discipline was strict, as were the rules for admission to membership, which is why the members – about 4,000 – were mostly middle-aged and older. There were Essene groups throughout the country, though evidence exists only about the community north of En Gedi, along the Dead Sea. Within the sect there were splinter movements, one of which left the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls.
