ABSTRACT
This chapter supports the statement that there really were some Jewish monks in Egypt, such as the Therapeutai described by Philo. And certainly there was no Jewish monasticism in Palestine in the first century A. D. In spite of his ignorance of the country, Philo did not dare to go so far as to state that his Essaioi were cenobites. According to him, the Essaioi were sturdy villagers who avoided all abstract philosophy and all logical discussion. There never was a Jewish monasticism in Palestine, neither in the first centuries of the present era nor before. Not a mention of this kind of life is to be found in the vast Jewish literature, and it is well known that the Jewish religion considers celibacy a grave sin. We should remember that Christian monasticism is of Egyptian origin. A meticulous study of any remains in the enclosure should make it possible to see if the smelting furnace really was only a symbolic reconstruction.
