Essene Book of Everyday Virtues
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Overview
More than two thousand years ago a dedicated group of religious ascetics and visionaries fled the opulence of Jerusalem and sequestered themselves in a desert stronghold at Qumran in a utopian attempt to forge a purer, more spiritual existence. By the end of the first century of the Common Era this ancient Judean sect had disappeared, but the library of scrolls they secreted away in limestone caves would remain hidden until their sensational discovery in 1947. The Essenes, or Sons of Light, as they called themselves, copied thirty-eight books of the Hebrew Bible - the oldest known copies in the world - as well as apocryphal material, original rule books for community living, psalms, and books of prophecy. In the "Essene Book of Everyday Virtues", Hebrew scholar Kenneth Hanson PhD uses information contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls, accounts from the ancient historian Josephus, and contemporary archaeological discoveries to create a handbook of spiritual living for contemporary readers. Culling from his own translations of the most evocative passages from the massive and impenetrable scroll texts, Dr. Hanson shows how we may share in the timeless vision of the Sons of Light, with its emphasis on community, simplicity, learning and perseverance, to achieve spiritual wealth and personal abundance in our lives today.Synopsis
More than two thousand years ago a dedicated group of religious ascetics and visionaries fled the opulence of Jerusalem and sequestered themselves in a desert stronghold at Qumran in a utopian attempt to forge a purer, more spiritual existence. By the end of the first century of the Common Era this ancient Judean sect had disappeared, but the library of scrolls they secreted away in limestone caves would remain hidden until their sensational discovery in 1947. The Essenes, or Sons of Light, as they called themselves, copied thirty-eight books of the Hebrew Bible - the oldest known copies in the world - as well as apocryphal material, original rule books for community living, psalms, and books of prophecy.
In the "Essene Book of Everyday Virtues", Hebrew scholar Kenneth Hanson PhD uses information contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls, accounts from the ancient historian Josephus, and contemporary archaeological discoveries to create a handbook of spiritual living for contemporary readers. Culling from his own translations of the most evocative passages from the massive and impenetrable scroll texts, Dr. Hanson shows how we may share in the timeless vision of the Sons of Light, with its emphasis on community, simplicity, learning and perseverance, to achieve spiritual wealth and personal abundance in our lives today.