The Essene Odyssey: The Mystery of the True Teacher and the Essene Impact on the Shaping of Human Destiny

by Hugh J. Schonfield

The Jewish Brotherhood of the Essenes flourished in the Near East at the time of Jesus. Knowledge of their teachings and way of life was sketchy until the spectacular discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which helped to decode the sect's writings and its prophetic and medical skills. The scrolls also revealed the existence of a mysterious personality among the Essenes called the True Teacher or Teacher of Righteousness, Prophet and Lawgiver, whose real name and identity were concealed by supporters.
In this clear and informative book, the fruit of years of research, the Essenes emerge from the darkness of the past. Dr. Schonfield has unearthed evidence of the Essenes' influence down through the centuries on orders such as the Freemasons and Templars as well as on Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. This is a truly fascinating journey through one of the early influences on the Christian church.

Genres: History, Religion

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Born in May 1901

Reviews

[Victor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh J. Schonfield has to be one of the most underrated scholars of the New Testament era. Perhaps as a Jew writing about the transition from Judaism to Christianity, a contest the latter can be said to have won, he is given less credence. But it is his knowledge of the nuances of Judaism that makes works like his The Essene Odyssey more unique and informative. As one of the original Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, and the author of The Passover Plot, a daring tome of its own, The Essene Odyssey discusses the intriguing order of the Essenes and its influence upon other religions and groups, such as the Templars, Freemasons, and the Rosicrucians, throughout the ages.
In places it is a scholarly work that takes some plodding to get through, but scattered throughout are insights that only a dedicated scholar, who is also both humanist and spiritual seeker, can come up with.
In the introduction, Schonfield writes: "There could be some psychic cause in the scheme of things why so much that is evidential was lost for centuries, and is now being restored to us when we are experiencing a period of transition and grave uncertainty." Referring here to the Dead Sea Scrolls, hidden away in caves in the First Century and rediscovered only in the twentieth century, Schonfield suggests that such a sequence may not be all luck, accident or chance. Recommended for its history, philosophical insight and spiritual content.
Left open is the historical identity of the True Teacher of Righteousness, the featured hero of the Essenic documents. The author tries the description on several historical figures, Jesus and John the Baptist among them, but for him none fit it precisely. He does, however, cast the hero into a archetypical role that is beyond any one individual and that leaves the reader somewhat satisfied although still very curious, like maybe more scrolls remain in the desert to be discovered.

[Julian Hadlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the ideas of the Essenes.

In particular, Schonfield discusses the idea of "The True Teacher", who in his estimation existed in the second century B.C. The prototype of the True Teacher is the "Sky Man" who is basically an archetype of mankind, similar to Adam Kadmon.

He is also of the opinion that the Messianic view of The True Teacher was shared between a number of others, including John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ.

He pursues the line that this archetype has come down to modern times. My own assumption is that the line of those connected with The True Teacher still exists.

All in all, a good book, but it leaves many unanswered questions, mostly due to stretching far back in time to a period where little is firm, or well documented. Still, excellent food for thought.