In my view, Josephus did not invent the Essenes nor the Pharisees nor the Sadducees, his interest in Greek goups notwithstanding--comparison does not equal origin. All three are real, historical groups, who wrote using real ink, well attested groups outside of, and not depending on, Josephus. Bannus is one individual, if that, not an organizied group. The estimate numbers are actually *more* than 4000, more than 6000, and then Sadducees, probably smallest of the three. But don't forget that Philo also wrote there had been "myriads" of Essenes over time (Apologia pro Iudaeis [Hypothetica] in Eusebius, Praep. evang. 8.11.1). Pliny, Philo and elsewhere all indicate a widespread, large, long-lasting group of Essenes. No chimera group owned manuscrips so numerous that 900 or so are still partially extant today. Qumran mss plainly are not Pharisee, and not Sadducee. And not all Judaeans (and/or Peraeans, Gallileans, Syro-Palestinian Jews) were members of a neutral- sense "heresy." The majority were am ha'aretz. AJ 18. 9-25 is fourth philosophy, already counted, precursor of zealots, in any case after first century BCE. The 3 groups are attested not only in Josephus and other writers, but in 4QMMT, and possibly in Strabo, and in 4QpNah, etcetera. Other putative groups are often illusory, as is M. Goodman's attempt in JJS to push R. Yohanan's symbolic 3rd century mention of 24 kitot of minim into second temple times (yerushalmi Sanhedrin 28c; details on request). Even Al Baumgarten once wrote (Graeco-Roman Voluntary Associations and Ancient Jewish sects," p. 107 in Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, M. Goodman ed., 1998): "It is probable that Pliny's Essenes were the Qumran community."
best, Stephen Goranson _______________________________________________ g-Megillot mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.McMaster.CA/mailman/listinfo/g-megillot
