Ho'omana Health Ministries

This is the third installment of a series of seven introductory lessons in Essene studies.

Scripture Reading

Lesson 

My dear friends and fellow Essenes, it has been a bit of a strain continuing to create our Sabbath worship material while in the middle of moving to another state. That is state of Arizona, not state of mind! Well, maybe both. Anyway, it has been difficult to allow the normal amount of preparation time. Usually, I spend time all week long meditating on the subject for the next week service. Then it take approximately 8 hours of actual work on the computer to prepare a regular Sabbath service. It takes about 2 or 3 hours less to create a lesson because I do not spend time searching Youtube for appropriate worship videos.

This week I took a little short cut. I derived much of the material for this lesson from my Essene brother at the website, www.thenazareanway.com.  It is only appropriate as he truly is the expert on the Nazarean Essenes. I encourage you to visit his website sometime. He has an exhaustive amount of Essene research and study material available. He also has links to most of the Holy Scriptures that were not included in our modern Bible.

Today's lesson is quite important. It explores what was meant when the Bible referred to Yeshua as the Nazarean. In John 19:19-20 we read that Pilate, Govenor of Judea, had a sign created to be placed on the cross at Yeshua the Anointed’s execution. There are variations of the wording in different accounts of the incident. Of the four gospels about the event, the phrase in John 19:19-20 is the most informative. It gives the name Yeshua, states that he is of Nazereth, gives him the almost sarcastic title, "King of the Jews" and  tells us that this is written in three languages.

Most bible translations of John 19:19 have: “of Nazareth.” There are variations in the translated spelling and pronunciation of this word (i.e., Natsareth, Nazorean, Notzori, Notsree, etc.). The Interlinear Bible - Hebrew and Greek, by J. Green Sr., Hendirckson Publishers, has the literal Greek: ‘ho nazoraios’ translated into English as ‘the Nazarean’

Little is taught about the place where Yeshua the Anointed was from. The locations where his  ministry took place is recorded in the New Testament. But a reader seldom associates the adjacency of the locations within the two geographic regions of Yeshua’s ministry. Many scholars challenge the assumption that Nazareth was a literal place: a town or city in Gallilee. Here are the facts that challenge the belief that Nazareth was literally just the place where Yeshua grew up.

1) There is no place called Nazareth in the Old Testament.

2) The term Nazarene or Nazarenes is not found in the Old Testament. This can be easily verified by looking in James Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

We know that present-day Nazareth is located in the region called Galilee in Northern Israel. Galilee is the biblical land given to the tribe of Zebulun in Johsua 19:10-16. In those passages there were twelve towns and six villages mentioned, but not Nazareth. This indicates Nazareth did not exist then as a town or village at that time.

Nazareth is not found among in the sixty-three towns of Galilee mentioned in the Talmud which was written much later, about AD 200-300. This might be for a variety of reasons. The Old Testament ends with the death of the last prophet Malachi. It was about 400 years later that the birth of Yeshua occurred. The Rabbinic writers of the Talmud may have not included him or where he was from, because they did not accept him as the prophesied Messiah.  The rabbis heritage is of the Pharisee lineage and did not accept Yeshua's teachings. Nazareth (correctly pronounced ‘Nats-a-reth’) appears 29 times in the New Testament but only in the Gospels and in Acts. The word ‘Nazarene’ and ‘Nazarenes’ appear once. But, most scholars think the first book of the New Testament was not available in Greek until after AD 67.

The Jewish historian, Josephus lived after the death of Yeshua from 37 to 100 AD. He traveled widely, visiting forty-five cities in the first century. He mentions Yeshua only once in his Antiquities of the Jews, but does not mention Nazareth.

Ancient Nazareth has not been identified archeologically. Only a suspected site has been reported in Bible Archeology Review magazine. All these facts has caused at least one author to conclude that the evidence for a first century city, town, or village called Nazareth, does not exist - not literary, historically, or archeologically.

How do these facts fit with what is commonly understood in the New Testament? Was there an ancient town of Nazareth? If so, where was it located? If not, who were the Nazarenes? Why were Yeshua the Anointed and his followers called a ‘sect’ by the religious establishment? Why was it said of Yeshua: “what good can come from a Nazarene? Why did Nazareth not grow and become more well known with the normal increase in population?

The Essenes, however, were radically different from the Sadducees and Pharisees and openly opposed their theology and doctrines. They also questioned the spiritual integrity of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Bible is silent on the Essene sect and most people did not know they existed until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. Yet, there is reliable information about when they came into prominence, their traditions, deeply rooted convictions, beliefs, writings, and specific locations where they existed.

The word Essene is a collective term. At the time of Yeshua there existed three distinct Essene groups. They were: The Theraputae of Egypt, the Essenes of Qumran, and the Essenes of Mount Carmel. Josephus and other classic writers tell of the Essenes and their intense appreciation for the inspired Law of Yahweh, and that they: “strove to be like the angels of heaven.”

There were certain attributes that all Essenes had in common. All opposed slavery and believed in the equality of all humankind. As a general rule, Essenes opposed the sacrificing of animals and the eating of flesh. Their highest aim was to become fit temples in which Holy Spirit of God could dwell and florish, to be healers and to perform cures, especially spiritual cures.

There is much evidence that Yosef and Miriam belonged to the Northern Essene sect and Yeshua was raised within this sect. Certainly it is hard to refute that Yeshua the Anointed had at least regional exposure to the Essenes of Mount Carmel in Northern Israel. It is clearly the area where Yeshua lived and studied. While the Northern Essenes had ongoing contact with their brethren in the South, Yeshua was not raised and trained at Qumran as some in the modern Essene movement want to believe. A map provides confirmation of this point.

The location of present day Nazareth is near the foot of Mount Carmel and not far from Lake Galilee, whereas the location of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Qumran is in southern Israel. Further, the travels of Yosef, Miriam, and Yeshua is reasonably well documented:

Prior to the birth of Yeshua, Yosef and Miriam are said to have lived in a place identified as Nazareth which is in Northern Israel. If this identification is a place name, it must have been a small, little known, settlement. If it had been a city, town, or even a large village surely its presence would have been recorded. At the end of a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the Feast Days (Atonement, Trumpets, Tabernacles, Great Last Day) in the autumn, Miriam gave birth to  Yeshua. Rome utilized these holy convocations, which occurred after the harvest, as an occasion to collect taxes. But that year Rome also required a registry of allegiance to the Emperor by those with linage to the royal family. Miriam was of the house of David.

Being warned that Herod was going to kill baby Yeshua, Yosef took Miriam and fled southwest into Egypt. Specifically where they went is not recorded in the scriptures. After the death of Herod, the family returned to Nazareth. Yeshua apparently grew up in Nazareth but scripture records he visited the Temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old.

Yeshua launched his public ministry in Capernaum near Lake Galilee in northern Israel. As a grown man, Yeshua journeyed to southern Israel to a place not far from Qumran where he was immersed in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. After his baptism, Yeshua returned to northern Israel. There, in the region between Lake Galilee and Mount Carmel, he conducted his ministry.

Yeshua again journeyed to southern Israel when he knew the time had come for a confrontation with the authorities in Jerusalem, and it was during this visit that he was arrested, tried and crucified. It is a long journey from the area near Mount Carmel to Jerusalem. It is nearly the entire length of the nation of Israel, to travel on foot from Lake Galilee to the Salt Sea. There were no paved roads, the climate was hot half of the year, and the elevation varied. All things considered, a journey from northern to southern Israel for religious observance was no easy thing two thousand years ago.

It is not commonly realized, but nearly every major event recorded in New Testament about the life of Yeshua the Anointed - except for his birth, baptism, and death, occurred in northern Israel, in the region between Mount Carmel and Lake Galilee. This is the area where the vast majority of Yeshua's verbal teaching occured. For instance, one of Yeshua's most famous set of teachings, the sermon on the Mount, occured on Mount Carmel. Here are a few of the other well known events that occured in the Northern region of Israel:

1) The miraculous feeding of 5,000

2) The wedding at Cana where Yeshua turned water into wine

3) The anointing with oil by Mary Magdalene

4) The calling of Andrew and Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and Matthew

5) The sending forth of the twelve and the sending of the seventy-two disciples

6)  The healings of the leper and the man with palsy

7)  The teaching of the Lord's prayer to the Apostles

The scriptures show that Yeshua the Anointed lived most of his known life in northern Israel. Yet the scriptures do not give a specific link with the Essenes of Mount Carmel. Perhaps this link was not necessary because at that time it was a well understood fact that those who came from the small communities around Mount Carmel were of Essene heritage? Some scholars postulate that the small community identified as Nazareth was not so much a place name as an identification of the type of people at that site. Nazareth is derived from a word meaning "set apart". Perhaps the community of people at the foot of Mount Carmel were identified as Nazoreans because as Essenes they were "set apart" from the traditional Jewish sects of Pharisees and Saducees. Perhaps they were given this identification because they were a special set apart group of Essenes - the sect of Nazarenes. 

The word Nazarene bears some resemblance as well to Nazarite as in the "Vow of the Nazarite" described in Numbers 6:1-27. The vow of the Nazarite was a voluntary vow made by those wishing to separate themselves to the Lord. The length of the vow was determined by the person making the vow. There were three requirements: dietary restrictions, no cutting of hair and set apart from unclean. Perhaps many of the devout Essenes that settled at the foot of Mount Carmel took upon themselves a special and more set apart lifestyle than the average Essene? 

Yeshua certainly taught a religion that went beyond the parameters of the Law. He taught love, mercy and forgiveness.  That set him apart from the religious establishment of the day.  Certainiy these teachings are in keeping with all Essene doctrines.  There is an important fact, however, which shows Yeshua was not a Qumran Essene. That fact is: John the Baptist did not recognize Yeshua. This non-recognition by John has been widely pondered because Yeshua was John’s cousin. It is commonly assumed their families had fellowship, and surely fellowship would have occurred at the feast days. But it seems not so.

There is near unanimity amongst scholars that John the Baptist was an Essene from Qumran. Why would they conclude this? Scholars point out that the Essenes at Qumran often raised or adopted orphaned male children. The New Testament informs us that after Herod had John the Baptist’s father, Zachariah, murdered, John “went to live in the desert.” Obviously, a small child could not survive alone in the desert, so it is concluded that John was raised by the Essenes at Qumran. The Essenes at Qumran choose to be a cloister because of their religious differences with the Sadducees and Pharisees. The community did not participate in the affairs at the Temple.

There is other circumstantial evidence that John the Baptist was from Qumran. Qumran is not far from where the Jordan River connects with the Salt (Dead) Sea. Tradition tells us John performed his baptisms near this location. John lived in the desert southwest of the Jordan where Qumran is located. John’s dress and diet was plain. He is alleged to have been a vegetarian. The ‘locust’ he ate are said to have been the fruit of the Locust tree. The Locust tree is also known as the carob tree. Its edible seed pods are also known as St John's fruit. John's method of baptism (immersion) was similar to the Qumran Essene’s ritual bathing several times a day. The Qumran Essenes were called ‘Baptists' because of this ritual.

John’s prophetic theology also matches what is known of the Essenes at Qumran. In the ‘Community Rule’ of the Essenes of Qumran, one of the writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, it states their goal as: “To prepare the way for the Messiah in the desert wilderness... to prepare a people to meet the Master.” Similarly, in the New Testament, John the Baptist declares in John 1:23 “I am a voice crying out in the desert wilderness, make straight the way of Yahweh.”

There are parallels between Eliyah and John the Baptist. Isaiah, who lived hundreds of years before John and Yeshua, prophesied that before the ‘Messiah of Peace’ would manifest himself to Israel, two things had to occur. First, a group of people must “prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Then, Eliyah must return to earth to prepare the way and announce the coming of the Messiah. An astute reader of the New Testament is aware that Yeshua the Anointed declared that John the Baptist is the returned Eliyah.

Even an astute reader, however, is probably unaware of this interesting and not widely known fact. The place on the east bank of the Jordan River where it empties into the Salt Sea and where John performed his baptisms, is the same place where, about 800 years previous, Elijah ascended into heaven in a ‘chariot of fire.’ Eliyah is also said to have worn a camel hair robe and was unshaven.

If indeed John the Baptist was raised in the cloistered monastery at Qumran, isolated for years from family members, it could explain why he did not recognized his cousin Yeshua. This would not have been the case if Yeshua had ever stayed at the Essene community at Qumran. The Essenes at Qumran and the Essenes at Mount Carmel had distinct differences in practice.

The Essenes at Qumran were a strict monastic commune for celibate males. Most other Essene Communities - such as at the foot of Mount Carmel  consisted of families. Essenes were ecumenical and naturally had different rules. It would be logical to conclude that Yosef and Miriam would have been influenced by the Northern Essenes at Mount Carmel, therefore it would be expected that the life and teachings of Yeshua would be similar. Being from Nazareth and in an area inhabited by Northern Essenes can explain why Yeshua would be called a ‘Nazarene.’ It would identify him as being from this distinct group of Essenes.

Before further considering Nazareth, the Essene community at Mount Carmel, and the name given to the Essenes from there, one must be aware of other related information. It is known from the writings of Philo, a Jewish Philosopher who lived about 2000 years ago, there was an Essene community of “Theraputae” or “healers” at Lake Mareotis in Egypt. It is thought almost certainly this community provided a sanctuary for Yosef, Miriam and baby Yeshua when they fled Southwest into Egypt. Yosef surely would have known about the Theraputae. It would have been the logical place to go because it was a commune with like-type Essene beliefs, and because it was beyond Herod’s jurisdiction.

After Herod died, the family returned to Northern Israel and settled again in Nazareth. According to The Armageddon Script the word ‘Nazarene’ came to be applied to Northern  Essenes in general and to those from that area. The Northern Essene’s settlement near the foot of Mount Carmel where Yeshua lived probably later became known as Nazereth because of its distinction of being the hometown of the most prominent Nazarene, Yeshua. Perhaps this is the site where modern-day Nazareth is located.

Thus, a ‘Nazarene’ is a ‘Northern Essene’ associated with Mount Carmel, and Yeshua the Anointed being from Nazareth became known as‘Yeshua the Nazarene’ in John 19:19-20. In the New Testament book of Acts, the early converts from Judaism are called “the sect of the Nazarenes.”

From the statement in the New Testament: “nothing good comes from Nazareth” the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jerusalem apparently held Nazarenes in low regard. This may have been because they were collectively grouped with the Essenes who had refused to make animal sacrifices at the Temple. It may have been because Nazarenes were from a remote rural area. Also, they tended to be independent of the dictates of the religious establishment in Jerusalem who prohibited the using the name of the Father Yahweh in prayer, as Yeshua the Anointed did  in his prayers.

In Luke 4:16 there is mention of Yeshua entering a synagogue in Nazareth on the Day of Sabbaths (Weeks, Pentecost). That day would have been the ‘First of the Sabbath,’ now called Sunday. It was the fiftieth day and the morrow, counting inclusively with the day of the Elevated (Wave) Offering made during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua read from the scroll of Isaiah:

“The spirit of Yahweh is upon me, because he appointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh...”

The reading was recognition of the fulfilment of the prophecy in Yeshua the Anointed. But after the reading his ‘chastisement teaching’ caused him to be put out of the synagogue, led out of Nazareth, and almost thrown over the brow of a hill.

This incident prompted Yeshua to note that "a prophet is not acceptable in his own homeland." He continued to preach and teach in the surrounding area, however, and the area is still identified by the "set apart" sect of Nazarenes. The Nazarenes came to the Holy Mount of Carmel to live holy lives that would prepare the way for the Messiah. Their efforts were rewarded when Yeshua, the Anointed One arrived. These Essenes, as keepere of the true faith and seekers of the Way, were privileged to bring into the world the One who guided us all to the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Some other interesting facts

Is it known how long the ‘Nazarenes’ existed?

In the fourth century Epiphanius, the Catholic Bishop of Constantia, wrote a book called Panarion. In it he mentions there were then ‘Nazarenes’ related to the ancient order of Essenes, that the followers of Yeshua the Anointed “were known as Nazarenes,” and that “the sect of the Nazarenes” existed prior to Yeshua’s birth. But rather than admit that the Nazarenes were the true custodians of the teachings of Yeshua, Epiphanius denounced them as heretics because what they taught was not then according to Catholic dogma. The Nazarene remnant seems to have been hunted down and killed before and during this time.

What is known of Mount Carmel?

The literal meaning of Carmel in Hebrew is ‘garden paradise.’ In The Religion of the Semites by  W. Robertson Smith, Mount Carmel was considered so holy that spilling of human or animal blood, or harm to a tree, or to natural life there, was forbidden. These rules applied not only to the Northern Essenes, but also to anyone who climbed the mountain. Permanent dwellings were not permitted on the mountain. Those who lived there are said to have stayed in temporary dwellings or tents.

In The Life of Pythagoras written in the 2nd century by Jambichus, we learn that the young seeker,  Pythagoras visited an Essene sanctuary on Mount Carmel:

Pythagoras then climbed Mount Carmel where he evidently received powerful teachings from the Northern Essenes; for when he returned to the ship, the sailors, who had hatched a secret plan to sell young Pythagoras into slavery, were mesmerized by his spiritual luminosity and unable to harm him. The sailors, according to Jamblichus, believed Pythagoras had become “supernatural.” Pythagoras went on to become an exponent of vegetarianism, fasting and other Essene practices. Thereafter he and his followers wore only white linen garments, as did the Essenes on Mount Carmel.

As mentioned earlier, the Northern Essenes held to certain religious practices which did not agree with the Sadducees and Pharisees at Jerusalem. What likely most offended other Jews was the steadfast refusal of the Essenes to offer animal sacrifices at the Temple...so adamant were the Essenes on this point it eventually led some to separate themselves and to establish of a kind of sanctuary on Mount Carmel.

One of the reasons the Essenes chose Mount Carmel was because of its connection with Eliyah the prophet. Many years earlier Eliyah had a school for prophets in a cave there. The cave could have been the ‘sanctuary’ of the Essenes. The location of what is said to have been Eliyah’s cave is known and can be visited today. As Eliyah was the sole true remnant of Israel, so too did the Essenes believe of themselves as they made their way to Mount Carmel. And, just as Eliyah had built the altar on Mount Carmel with twelve stones - one for each tribe of Israel, so the Essenes likewise could hope to restore true worship there.

A few miles from the base of Mount Carmel the Essenes apparently had a settlement of permanent structures for their families, and perhaps it was, or came to be called, Nazareth. It is in the “hill country” where apparently only few choose to live. One of the reasons Nazareth did not grow significantly over centuries is because the only reliable water supply was one small spring, until modern times.

The Catholic monastic order of “White Friars” currently established on Mount Carmel moved there in the 12th century. They adopted vegetarianism and the white robes of the Essene monks that still survived when the friars arrived. The Catholic “Carmelites” assert that Yeshua was an Essene and he was raised on Mount Carmel. Such information is available from various sources including The Essene Christ by Upton Ewing, the Catholic Carmelites’ own history books, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, vol. 5., pg. 358.