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The doctrine of the Essenes is this:–That all things are best ascribed to God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; and when they send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer sacrifices, {d} because they have more pure lustrations of their own; on which account they are excluded from the common court of the temple, but offer their sacrifices themselves; yet is their course of life better than that of other men; and they entirely give themselves over to husbandry. It also deserves our admiration, how much they exceed all other men that give themselves over to virtue, and this in righteousness: and indeed to such a degree, that as it has never appeared among any other men, neither Greeks nor barbarians, no, not for a little time, so has it endured a long time among them. This is demonstrated by that institution of theirs, which will not allow anything to hinder them from having all things in common; so that a rich man enjoys no more of his own wealth than he who has nothing at all. There are about four thousand men that live in this way, and neither marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves, they minister one to another. (Ant. 18:18-21 JOE)
The feeding of over 5,000 men in Matthew 14:13–21, Mark 6:31–44, Luke 9:10–17, and John 6:5–15 and over 4,000 in Matthew 15:32–39 and in Mark 8:1–9, does it allude to the Doctrine of the Essenes?
