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Qumran
[John the Baptist] grew
and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day
of his manifestation to Israel. - Luke 1:80
Qumran
was the center of the Essene community, a Jewish sect in the time of John
the Baptist. The Essenes estabished a monastic settlement some 25
miles southeast of Jerusalem, in the Judaen desert near the Dead Sea. They
lived a devout and ascetic life. They believed and lived in preparation
for a great apocalyptic battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of
Darkness. Their numerous writings were well preserved in clay jars
hidden in cliff-side caves for some 2000 years. In 1947 a Bedouin
boy accidently discovered them when he threw a rock into one of the
caves and heard the crash of pottery. John the Baptist, who lived
in the Judaen desert, may have had some contact with this community.
Also see | Dead
Sea | Masada | Ein Gedi
| Ein Feshka | Wadi Qelt
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