The Essenes / Herodians
A Jewish monogamous and misogynist mouvement of the time of Jesus
If you're convinced that monogamous movements or legislation in ancient times were respectful of women or in any way favourable to gender equality, then you have most probably never given the matter any serious consideration. I will dedicate over 10 pages of my book to this movement, as their misogyny stands in stark contrast not only to the Old Testament, but also to Jesus and the apostles. The Messiah could never have been an Essene, because everything he did and said about women was antithetical to the Essene community's view.
The Essenes were known for their prophetic gift to predict the future. Menahem, their leader had prophesied that Herod the Great would become King over Judaea. When this materialized Herod greatly honoured the Essenes and gave them gifts. They even had their own gate in Jerusalem called “Gate of the Essenes” that led into Herod’s complex on the western side of Jerusalem into the Temple. The Essenes themselves did not approve of Herod’s reign, but they believed that Herod was the fulfilment of Genesis 49:10, announcing thus the coming of the Messiah. Based on some documents found in the Qumran caves some believe that Menahem proclaimed himself Messiah. The Link between Genesis 49:10 is extremely interesting, because it was indeed Herod the Great who ordered the slaughter of all male babies in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. It is surprising that none of the Gospels explicitly links Jesus’ coming to Genesis 49:10. Contrary to the Essenes’ view that it was necessary for Herod to be King of Judea, even though he was ethnically a Gentile, there were without any doubt many others who seriously disbelieved that a divine hand lay behind his brutal rule, and who referred to the Essenes therefore as ‘Herodians’, a pejorative and sarcastic Judean term. And this is actually how they are called in the Gospel of Matthew and Marc.
The Essenes were a community that separated itself from society (they had their own legal system) and opposed the Mosaic service in the Herodian temple in Jerusalem, considered impur. the Essenes were extremists, more rigid than the Pharisees. They were highly fastidious in terms of living priestly duty, while their asceticism was due to lifelong Nazarite practices. On shabbat the Essenes were stricter than all Jews in refraining from work. They prepared the food the day before to avoid lighting a fire, did not pick up any object, or even defecate. In a nutshell, Essenism was a superlative of Pharisaism. They did not object in principle to the Temple, but only to laxer purity standards than those they practised. The Essenes were fundamentally close to the Pharisees, but considered themselves a ‘higher grade’ of piety, not alien to Judaism but purer than those around them. Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE), the most famous Hellenistic Jewish philosopher of the first century, lived in Egypt, and estimated their number at 4,000 (this estimation was confirmed later by Josephus). The Essenes were not only against polygamy, many of them did not marry at all. And if they did, then only for reproduction. Sex for pleasure was sin. So Essenes were monogamous, if they married at all, not because they held women in high esteem. They were so for the very opposite reason! I quote here a paragraphe from the 'Apology for the Jews' written by Philo. He writes about the Essenes (Apology 11:14-17):
The Essenes were a community that separated itself from society (they had their own legal system) and opposed the Mosaic service in the Herodian temple in Jerusalem, considered impur. the Essenes were extremists, more rigid than the Pharisees. They were highly fastidious in terms of living priestly duty, while their asceticism was due to lifelong Nazarite practices. On shabbat the Essenes were stricter than all Jews in refraining from work. They prepared the food the day before to avoid lighting a fire, did not pick up any object, or even defecate. In a nutshell, Essenism was a superlative of Pharisaism. They did not object in principle to the Temple, but only to laxer purity standards than those they practised. The Essenes were fundamentally close to the Pharisees, but considered themselves a ‘higher grade’ of piety, not alien to Judaism but purer than those around them. Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE), the most famous Hellenistic Jewish philosopher of the first century, lived in Egypt, and estimated their number at 4,000 (this estimation was confirmed later by Josephus). The Essenes were not only against polygamy, many of them did not marry at all. And if they did, then only for reproduction. Sex for pleasure was sin. So Essenes were monogamous, if they married at all, not because they held women in high esteem. They were so for the very opposite reason! I quote here a paragraphe from the 'Apology for the Jews' written by Philo. He writes about the Essenes (Apology 11:14-17):
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‘They repudiate marriage; and at the same time they practise continence in an eminent degree; for no one of the Essenes ever marries a wife, because woman is a selfish creature and one addicted to jealous in an immoderate degree, and terribly calculated to agitate and overturn the natural inclinations of a man, and to mislead him by her continual tricks; for as she is always studying deceitful speeches and all other kinds of hypocrisy, like an actress on the stage, when she is alluring the eyes and ears of her husband, she proceeds to cajole his predominant mind after the servants have been deceived. And again, if there are children she becomes full of pride and all kinds of license in her speech, and all the obscure sayings which she previously meditated in irony in a disguised manner she now begins to utter with audacious confidence; and becoming utterly shameless she proceeds to acts of violence, and does numbers of actions of which every one is hostile to such associations; the man who is bound under the influence of the charms of a woman, or of children, by the necessary ties of nature, being overwhelmed by the impulses of affection, is no longer the same person towards others, but is entirely changed, having, without being aware of it, become a slave instead of a free man.’
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From Josephus we learn that there was a second Essene order, where marriage was allowed, but only for procreation. And he nuances their rejection of marriage (War 2:121):
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'They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the succession of mankind thereby continued; but they guard against the lascivious behaviour of women, and are persuaded that non of them preserve their faithfulness to one man'
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In the 1st century AD, three authors wrote about the Essenes (Pliny, Philo, Flavius Josephus) – the latter two on several occasions – and in my book I shall provide a brief overview of this, as well as many other fascinating details about this movement. This article here is rudimentary and does in no way reflect the complexity of this movement, that cannot be summarised in a short article. But will pay it due attention in my book. For the reader who wants to have a systematic approach to this mouvement, I recommend reading the book The Essenes, the Scrolls, and the Dead Sea of Joan E. Taylor.
By Chris Zürcher. Page updated on 26 September 2026
