The Origins of Jewish Religion in the Hellenistic Period

The Dead Sea Scrolls have led some to theorize two approaches to Jewish religion in our period within the broad movement known as Phariseic Judaism. The Essenes are a hypothetical, super strict group of Jews whom Josephus talks about. They separated themselves off from the main Sadducean Pharisee groups and went off to live in the desert because they were so serious about their Judaism. Soak scholars put forward Essene hypotheses, identifying the Anokics with the Essenes.