Fair enough. I actually listened to the video in this thread last night:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3638999/posts
Go to 38:30 mark where he briefly discusses the Essenes. He clearly agrees with your timeline but the reasons for the sect breaking away are not far from what I posted. There’s not a lot of information on the Essenes and I certainly wouldn’t be an expert.
I’ll add that I had never heard of the person in the video before and I didn’t particularly care for the presentation. I would like your opinion on his comments.
I don't know this lecturer, Philip, but I have no real argument with him. It is like this: he says 167 BCE and I say 'about 170'. The thing is, we do not know exactly when 'BC' began, although many say *4 BC*... Well, you get the idea. You are right when you say your reasons are not far from fact; that is why I said you are incorrect, not 'wrong'. It is just that there is about a 400 year gap yawning in there.
Maybe tomorrow I will return to this and burn up a bunch of bandwidth telling you who I think the Essenes really were and why they were copying all those books of the Tanach - reasons that would confirm that I am no expert either... sigh The Teacher of Righteousness predicted another Teacher of Righteousness to come, and I wonder if that prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist - 'who must come before'. It gets a bit complicated - but exciting. The lecturer mentions a scroll fragment that seems to mimic the Gospel of Mark (?), But parallels between spiritual concepts in the scrolls and the Gospel of John are more compelling... But, as I say, it can get complicated. As the lecturer says, the Essenes were preparing the way for Messiah - but they 'missed' Messiah when He came. Quite possibly everyone has missed 'why' they got it wrong. . . . G'nite.