5. Influence on heresies. — If it is doubtful whether tiie Church in her normal development owed anything to Essenism, it is not doubtful that its influence is discernible in the rise of a number of heresies. Here too, however, its influence has sometimes been exaggerated. It is highly question- able whether Essenes have, or possibly could have, any connexion with the 'weaker brethren' of Romans or the errorists of Colossians. The former, as seems indicated in Ro 15^ are probably Gentiles given to the asceticism which was not un- common in the heathen world at that time (A. C. McGittert, Christianity in the Apostol. Age, 1897, p. 337). The latter, though scholars like Lightfoot and Weiss regard them as clearly Essen ic, are really as likely to be Alexandrian as Palestinian Jews (p. 368). According to all our authorities, Essenes were confined to Palestine. We have stated Pliny's view above ; Philo knew of them in many towns and villages of Judaea; Josephus knew them all through Palestine. The last two authorities are obviously anxious to make tlie most possible of the Essenes, and, had they had a wider distribution, we may be sure we should have been informed of it. The Essenes arrived at their
ESSENES
ETERNAL, EVERLASTING 369
Seculiarities by uniting heathen elements with udaism ; and wherever Jews came in touch with like influences, similar results might be produced. Leaving out the Roman and Colossian errorists as doubtfully Essenic, to say the least, we proceed to those heretical movements where, with great pro- bability, Essenism is influential.
(a) Tlie Essenes are of undoubted interest for the history of Gnosticism (q.v.). They may be called 'the Gnostics of Judaism.' Their fondness for speculation on cosmogony, their allegorizing of the OT, of which Philo speaks, their dualistic views, which involve a depreciation of matter, their magic and their esoteric books — all connect them with Gnosticism. And they are important as showing that in essence there was a pre-Chris- tian Gnosticism, (b) They influenced those Jew- ish Christians who came into contact with them (see art. Ebionism). The Ebionites, as described by Epiphanius, show traces of Essenic influence in their asceticism and frequent baptisms. The Elke- suites are Essenized Ebionites. Epiphanius (Hcer. xix. 2, XX. 3) identifies Elkesaites with Sampsceans (sun-worshippers), and calls them a remnant of the Essenes who had adopted a debased form of Chris- tianity, (c) The history of the Essenes after the Fall of Jerusalem is obscure. They suffered severely, and endured bravely, in the persecution, and pro- bably their Order was broken up (Lightfoot, Col. p. 169). Many would attach themselves to the neighbouring Christians, with whom they would find several affinities, and carry elements of their Essenism with them. In the Palestinian Judceu- Christian heresies, then, we may, with practical certainty, trace Essenic influence.
6. Conclusion. — The whole subject of Essenism is wrapped in obscurity : the Essenes remain, and will remain, the 'great enigma of Jewish history.' The obscurity is all the more tantalizing because we know enough to perceive that for the history of religion the Essenes are of surpassing interest and importance. In them the Western world saw for the first time a monastic Order and a sacramental worship. In them, too, Gnosticism began its career. These are three points of vast importance. The 'regions beyond Jordan' are of special in- terest for the syncretism of which they were the scene. There, first Judaism and later Christianity were unable to maintain themselves in their original form. In a general way, we can understand the process of this syncretism. In that region Perso- Babylonian, and even perhaps Buddhistic, influ- ences, pressing westward, impinged upon Judaism, and Essenism is the most prominent of the various amalgams that resulted. In the more obscure Sampsseans, Nasaraeans, Hemerobaptists, etc., we have, no doubt, other examples. And as it was with trans- Jordan ic Judaism, so it was with trans- Jordanic Judaistic Christianity. It found in Essenism and its cognates what they had found in eastern heathenism — an influence too strong to be resisted. But as to the precise details of both syncretisms, we are left in ignorance, and nearly every statement must begin with ' probably.' As has been indicated, in estimating their influence on Christianity, Catholic and heretical alike, we must beware of the tendency to exaggerate it. Our view is — the Essenes had no appreciable influence on the development of Catholic Christianity, but in Judaeo-Christian heresies their influence is con- siderable, while for the history of Gnosticism they are of great interest.
LiTERATDRB. — This IS Very abundant. We mention only P. E. Lucius, Der Essenismus, 1881 ; J. B. Lightfoot, Colossians, 1875; E. Schurer, HJP ii. ii. [1885] 188 ff.; A. Hilgenfeld, Ketzergeschichte des Urchrintentums, 1884 ; W. Bousset, Re- Ugion des Judentnms im NT Zeitaiter, 1903 ; artt. in HDB, EBi, JE, CE, and EBr^^, where further Laterature is mentioned.
VV. D. NiVEN. VOL. I. — 24
ETERNAL, EVERLASTING.— ' Eternal' and
' everlasting ' are employed in the AV of the NT somewhat indiscriminately to render three Greek words — di'Stos, aiuv (used adjectivally in genitive plural), and aiwvtos. d.i5ios is found only in Ro 1^* and Jude ®, AV rendering ' eternal ' in the first case and 'everlasting' in the second. 'Eternal' is the translation of twv alijvwv in Eph 3^^ 1 Ti 1'^. aldivLos is of very common occurrence ; but while AV in most cases gives ' eternal,' it not infrequently substitutes 'everlasting,' and sometimes does so, apparently, for no other reason than to avoid the repetition of the same English word (cf., e.g., Ac U^ with v.*8 ; Ro 622 ^Yith V.23). For dtStos (a con- traction for df iStos, fr. ad ' ever ') RV properly re- serves 'everlasting.' For tG>v aiuvwv it gives the literal meaning ' of the ages.' For altivios (fr. alu)v) it regularly gives ' eternal,' except in Philem ^', where alihviov is treated as an adverb and rendered 'forever.' 'Eternal' for aluvios is etymologically correct, since Lat. ceternus (for ceviternus) comes from oevum, the digamniated form of alwv, from which al(Jjvios is derived. Moreover, no better English word can be suggested— unless the trans- literation 'seonian' could be accepted. None the less, ' eternal ' is misleading, inasmuch as it has come in English to connote the idea of ' endlessly existing,' and thus to be practically a sjoionym for ' everlasting.' But this is not an adequate render- ing of alLovios, which varies in meaning with the variations of the noun alJiv, from which it comes.