[12] As Mr. Westcott, the writer of the article Essenes in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, has misunderstood this passage and wrongly represented Jost himself as deriving this name from חשאין the silent, the mysterious, we give Jost’s own words:—“Uns will scheinen, dass Josephus den Namen allerdings von חשא schweigen, geheimnissvoll sein, ableitet; dahin führt seine Uebertragung des Wortes חשן in die griechischen Buchstaben ἐσσην Ed. Hav. Ant. 1, 147, welches Wort die LXX λογεῖον übersetzen. Da das Wort חשאין seinen Zeitgenossen sehr geläufig war, so konnte er annehmen, dass man sich unter dem Namen der Sekte einen angemessenen Begriff dachte und er keiner Erläuterung bedürfe. Ja, es wäre möglich, dass er den Begriff aus חשן selbst ableitet, und auf λογεῖον oder λογίον, als mit Weissagung begabte, zurückführte. Vergleichte Gfrörer, Philo 1, 196.” [↑]
[13] Aboth di. R. Nathan, cap. xxxvi. [↑]
[14] Comp. Epiphan. Haeres. xix. lib. i. tom. ii. sect. 4, p. 120, ed. Petav. [↑]
[15] Comp. Petite Variae Lectiones, c. xxviii. p. 2600. [↑]
[16] Josippon b. Gorion also called Gorionides, lived in Italy about the middle of the tenth century. He is the compiler of the celebrated Hebrew Chronicle called Josippon, or the Hebrew Josephus. His real character and the value of his Chronicle are discussed under the article Jossippon in Dr. Alexander’s edition of Kitto’s Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature. [↑]
[17] De Rossi, also called Asarja min Ha-Adomim, was born at Mantua in 1513, and died 1577. For an account of this eminent Jewish scholar, who may be regarded as the father of Biblical criticism at the time of the Reformation, see Dr. Alexander’s edition of Kitto’s Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, Article Rossi. [↑]
[18] Salmas. Plinian. exercitat. in Solinum cap. xxxv. p. 432, edit. Ultraject. [↑]
[19] Comp. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden. Dritter Band, Zweite Auflage, Leipzig. 1863, p. 464, &c.; Frankel, Programm des jüdisch-theol. Seminars von 1854. [↑]
[20] Comp. Philonis Opera, ed. Mangey. London, 1742, vol. ii pp. 457–45. [↑]
[21] Josephus, who also mentions this fact, distinctly says that their not offering sacrifices in the temple is owing to the different degree of holiness which they practised. (Vide infra p. 228.) From the repeated declarations in the Bible, that a life of uniform obedience and faithful service is far more acceptable to God than the cattle of a thousand hills ( 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; Ps. xl. 7 ; l. 7–14 ; li. 17 ; Prov. xxxi. 3 ; Isa. i. 11 , 17 ; lxv. 3 ; Jer. vii. 21–23 ; Hos. vi. 6 ; xiv. 3 ; Micah, vi. 6–8 ), the Essenes could easily be reconciled to their abstaining from offering animal sacrifices, and would be led to attach infinitely greater importance to the presenting of their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. (Comp. also Rom. xii. 1 ). This circumstance led Petitius to the conclusion that Herod, who was friendly to the Essenes in consequence of the favorable prophecy about him uttered by the Essene Menahem (vide infra p. 50), employed them to translate the Prophets and the Psalms into Greek, and that they availed themselves of the opportunity to introduce their tenets and rites into this version, now called the Septuagint. Thus, for instance, when David said “Sacrifice and burnt offering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened” ( Ps. xl. 6 ), the Essenes rendered it “Sacrifice and burnt offering thou dost not desire, but a body hast thou prepared me,” interpolating three of their tenets. 1. They made the Prophet speak absolutely, as if God had entirely rejected sacrifices because they would offer him none. 2. By dropping the words, “mine ears hast thou opened,” they showed their disapprobation of slavery. (Comp. Exod. xxi ). And 3, by substituting “a body hast thou prepared me,” they understood the college of devout Essenes, who met together as a body, and whom God appointed instead of sacrifice. Comp. Basnage, History of the Jews, English translation. London, 1708, p. 128. [↑]